A Buoyed Beau

While six- and seven-figure printings are what make bestseller lists rock, more often a five-figure run will make a publisher very happy. Beau Friedlander's Context Books, based in New York, has a hit on its hands with After Dachau by Daniel Quinn, a book that began with a 15,000-copy first printing and is now up to 35,000. Friedlander is thrilled with the support of independent booksellers; sales at those outlets have given the book a ranking of #25 on the ABA Book Sense list. And that was even before the 20-city tour that kicked off March 4 at Cody's in San Francisco and ends in North Carolina at Malaprop's a month later. Quinn's earlier book, Ishmael, garnered a sizable international audience, and the publisher is hoping this book will do the same. A February 19 PW Book News story detailed the small publisher's (total staff consists of Friedlander and an assistant) generous advance copy distribution—about 700 copies, with a large number going to independent booksellers. To help keep the momentum going, Friedlander is mailing out 10,000 full-color postcards promoting the book to retailers, libraries, the media, etc.