Check out our ad in the latest issue of VegNews. Pick up your copy today and be sure to check out the latest titles from Lantern Books or visit our catalog. It's a great time to get started on your summer reading!
When people ask me, "Is Lantern a non-profit?" I always joke, "only to our accountant." It's true: we're not a non-profit organization, but publishing is one of those non-business businesses that are more cultural endeavor than money-making venture.
All this is by way of saying that, while we'd really like to get by on just publishing books and creating websites, we could make use of a donation or two to help us keep doing what we're doing. It's not tax deductible, but it would be much appreciated.
Or you could buy a book for your local library or send one to a prisoner you know, or give one to your local high school. There are all sorts of ways to support us, and we hope you will. To all of those who have already bought one or more of our books: thank you! We hope you've been enlightened, entertained, infuriated, and otherwise engaged with.
Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan of Our Hen House interviewed yours truly about Lantern, Sistah Vegan, and the future of books for their online podcast. You can listen to the whole show here.
You'll notice in the top-right hand corner of the home page, just below the listing of the recent blogs, that Lantern is now on Twitter. We hope you'll become a follower, so you'll be able to know when we've published our latest blog or book. You can also get our blogs and postings on an RSS feed and follow us and become a fan on Facebook. We often produce videos for our authors and other clients. So, check us out on YouTube.
Of course, we know it shouldn't be one-way traffic. If you make movies, we can share subscriptions; if you have a comment for one of our blogs, make it in the comments section of the post. If you want to tell us what's going on in your life, friend us on Facebook. Just visit the various sites, and, as they say in our neighborhood, let's tawk.
Here's the video of Lantern's Tenth Anniversary Party. Thanks to all who came, and who sent their regrets, and who offered us their best wishes. Here's to another decade of trying to walk the talk and publish books that can change the world!
So, we at Lantern finally got around to recognizing that we've been in existence for ten years and decided to tag on an admittedly very abstemious party on to a booksigning at Jivamukti Yoga School in Union Square, Manhattan, for Ruth Lauer-Manenti's An Offering of Leaves. The signing was a roaring success, and I think most Lanternites had a good time. There'll be video and photos soon of what happened. In the meantime, there follows the speech I gave to thank all the folks who've made Lantern possible.
Still kicking (from left: Gene, Kara, Laura, Evander, and Martin)
Ten years ago this month, Gene Gollogly and I finally finished getting Lantern's new offices at Union Square painted and wired up, acquired all the office furniture and supplies we needed (it helped that Staples was literally next door and that the previous tenant had left us a bunch of tables and chairs), and set about the business of making websites and producing books. We immediately hired an intern—the redoubtable Patrick Dwyer—and got down to programming and editing.
As Lantern enters its eleventh year, we’ve had cause to reflect with some satisfaction on our first decade of doing business. We’ve published over 150 titles, reprinted many of them several times, and handled several hundred more volumes from publishers we’ve distributed. We’ve saved thousands of trees through our work with the Green Press Initiative and by printing on recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. Meanwhile, through LanternMedia, we’ve also made, maintained, and hosted more than sixty websites. Along the way, we’ve made many friends and learned a whole lot; we hope you, our readers and customers, have done the same.
According to ConEdison Solutions—which just sent me a certificate to make its point—Lantern Books managed to purchase 760 kilowatt-hours of green energy in 2008. The certificate states that "In satisfaction of your 2008 purchase of wind power, this certificate verifies that clean, emission-free electricity in the amount shown above was produced and delivered to the electric grid." The sources? "The Fenner, Madison, Maple Ridge, Noble Bliss, Noble Clinton, Noble Ellenburg, Steel Winds, and Wethersfield Wind Farms, as well as other wind farms in the region."
How much is 760 kWh? About enough to run an energy-efficient fridge for one year. It's not much, but I guess it's a start.
"Nothing is as beautiful as spring," wrote the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. And we at the Lantern office are inclined to agree with him. These are some of the sights of spring in Lantern's garden, this year.
My man Joe Connolly, Brooklyn-born and now San Francisco-habitué, is the publisher of the peerless VegNews, and he was one of those cheering me on at my recent NYC Marathon excursion. You can read his blog entry, posted for November 5, 2009 Marathon by all means necessary. Gives a new meaning to a run on the presses.
Here's another fun (and very geeky) thing to do. Go to this page, and type in my name or anyone you know was running in the last NYC marathons since 2001, and compare them with such greats as Paula Radcliffe or Martin Lel or Marilson Gomes dos Santos, and then plot them as they go around the course. Believe me, it is a truly humbling experience!
Some scenes from Lantern's neighborhood, including the local community garden and the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), set to the music of the late Eva Cassidy.
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