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Prometheus Books

Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by the philosopher Paul Kurtz (who was also the founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry).[1][2] The publisher's name was derived from Prometheus, the Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to man. This act is often used as a metaphor for bringing knowledge or enlightenment.[3][4]

Prometheus Books
Parent companyRowman & Littlefield
StatusActive
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
FounderPaul Kurtz
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationAmherst, New York
Key peopleJonathan Kurtz, President
Nonfiction topicsSkeptical literature, atheism
ImprintsHumanity Books (for academic works in the humanities)
Official websiteprometheusbooks.com

Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, focusing on topics such as science, freethought, secularism, humanism, and skepticism. It has published in the "atheism" category since its founding in 1969, and is considered the "grandfather" of atheist publishing in America.[5]

Their headquarters is located in Amherst, New York, and they publish worldwide. Jonathan Kurtz was an executive editor of Prometheus.[6] Rowman & Littlefield acquired Prometheus Books in 2019.[7]

The publisher has roughly 1,700 books currently in print,[8] and publishes approximately 95–100 books per year.[9] Since its founding, Prometheus Books has published more than 2,500 books.[10]

Imprints

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Prometheus Books obtained the bulk of the books and manuscripts of Humanities Press International in 1998.[11][12] It has been building and expanding this into a scholarly imprint named Humanity Books. This imprint publishes academic works across a wide spectrum of the humanities and is now distributed by the academic division of Rowman & Littlefield.[13]

In March 2005, Prometheus Books launched the science fiction and fantasy imprint Pyr.[14] In October 2012 it launched the crime fiction imprint Seventh Street Books.[15] In 2018, it sold both imprints.[16]

Lawsuits

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Prometheus has been involved in two "major libel lawsuits."[17] In 1992 Uri Geller sued Victor J. Stenger and Prometheus Books for libel over his book Physics and Psychics.[18] The suit was dismissed and Geller was required to pay more than $20,000 in costs to the defendant.[19] Geller also sued Prometheus for publishing The Truth About Uri Geller [20] by James Randi, a book that he said was defamatory.[21][22]

Book series

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  • Contemporary Issues in Philosophy Series
  • Great Books in Philosophy
  • Great Minds Series
  • Thomas Taylor Series

Partnerships and sale

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In 2013 Prometheus Books partnered with Random House in an effort to increase sales and distribution.[23]

In 2019, it was acquired by Rowman & Littlefield,[24][7] and Random House ceased sales and distribution of its titles as of June 30, 2019.[8] Its building was sold in early 2019 for over $1 million.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Weber, Bruce (October 23, 2012). "Paul Kurtz, Humanist and Philosopher, Dead at 86". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Oppenheimer, Mark (October 1, 2010). "Rift at Humanist Center Reveals a Deeper Division". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Pyne, Stephen J. (June 5, 2016). "Fire in the mind: changing understandings of fire in Western civilization". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 371 (1696): 20150166. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0166. ISSN 0962-8436. PMC 4874404. PMID 27216523.
  4. ^ "Prometheus Books". www.prometheusbooks.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Winston, Kimberly (April 12, 2013). "Atheists, the Next Generation: Unbelief Moves Further into the Mainstream". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Frazier, Kendrick (May–June 2020). "Promethus Unbound: Publisher of Skeptic, Freethought Books Enters a New Phase". Skeptical Inquirer. Vol. 44, no. 3. Amherst, New York: Center for Inquiry. pp. 6–9.
  7. ^ a b Milliot, Jim (June 19, 2019). "Rowman & Littlefield Buys Prometheus Books". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Rowman & Littlefield Acquires Prometheus Books". Rowman & Littlefield. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "Working at Prometheus Books". Glassdoor. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  10. ^ "Prometheus Books: Accepting Submissions". Authors Publish. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "Prometheus Books: Spreading Freethought Worldwide". International Humanist and Ethical Union. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  12. ^ "BUFFALO'S BRAINY PUBLISHING HOUSE PROMETHEUS BOOKS HAS ACHIEVED WORLDWIDE RENOWN IN ITS NICHE". The Buffalo News. May 30, 1999. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Somers, Erin (June 19, 2019). "People, Etc". Publishers Lunch. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  14. ^ Milliot, Jim (November 12, 2018). "Prometheus Sells Fiction Imprints to Start Publishing". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Patrick, Diane (June 1, 2017). "BookExpo 2017: Seventh Street Books Marks Fifth Anniversary". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  16. ^ locusmag (November 12, 2018). "Prometheus Sells Pyr Imprint". Locus Online. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  17. ^ Kreidler, Marc (February 4, 2019). "History of CSICOP | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  18. ^ Stenger, Victor J., 1935-2014. (1990). Physics and psychics : the search for a world beyond the senses. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 087975575X. OCLC 22207643.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Geller, Uri. "Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2006. Self proclaimed "psychic" Uri Geller had to dismiss a multi-million dollar libel suit and has to pay over $20,000 in sanctions in an action he brought against skeptical book publisher Prometheus Books of Amherst, New York.
  20. ^ Randi, James. (1982). The truth about Uri Geller (Rev. ed.). Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0879751991. OCLC 9164994.
  21. ^ Kurtz, Paul (October 29, 2010). Exuberant Skepticism. Prometheus Books. p. 193. ISBN 9781615929702. prometheus books lawsuit uri geller.
  22. ^ "CSICOP and the Skeptics: An Overview by George P. Hansen". www.tricksterbook.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  23. ^ Mehta, Hemant (January 15, 2013). "Prometheus Books is Partnering Up with Random House Publisher Services". The Friendly Atheist. Pantheos Press. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  24. ^ "Amherst's Prometheus Books sold to Maryland-based publisher". The Buffalo News. June 26, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  25. ^ Watson, Stephen T. (March 11, 2019). "Amherst building that houses Prometheus Books sells for $1.1 million". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
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