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.

Both the publishing industry and the Internet have changed and evolved since we first opened our doors in August 1999. Technology has made it easier than ever to publish or post your own work. Numerous platforms—from Facebook to YouTube, print on demand (POD) and e-books—now provide many opportunities for creators and communicators to find the right medium for their message. Yet it’s also harder than ever to earn a living through the written word or to trust that you’ll be heard among the numerous voices competing for attention.

Lantern is responding to these challenges by printing more books on demand, working with our authors on promotional opportunities, blogging, making films and audio recordings, and selling our titles as e-books and downloads. And we still adhere to our founding themes: vegetarianism, animal advocacy, environmentalism, natural healing, social justice, and religion—unified by a belief in nonviolence to the earth, self, and others.

Please continue to visit our websites at lanternbooks.com and lanternmedia.net. We look forward to continuing our mutual journeys over the next decade as we work together toward a more peaceful and sustainable planet.