By Christian Coleman | It’s another fest of firsts for Octavia E. Butler! The multi-award-winning author and MacArthur fellow is having a moment, or rather a series of rolling moments that’s been gaining speed over the last few years, and we hope it keeps going! Read more →

“Science and technology have permeated nearly every aspect of our lives throughout the course of human history. But perhaps, never before in living memory, have the connections between our scientific world and our social world been quite so stark as they are today. . . . As new technologies take root in our lives, from artificial intelligence to human genome editing, they reveal and reflect even more about the complex and sometimes dangerous social architecture that lies beneath the scientific progress we pursue.” Read more →

By Gayatri Patnaik | Patrick J. Carr, Associate Professor of Sociology and an Affiliated Professor to the Program in Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, passed on April 16, 2020. I had the privilege of being Pat’s editor on Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America that Beacon published in 2009. He coauthored it with sociologist Maria Kefalas, who is also his wife, and I loved working with this duo immediately. They were an immensely talented and vibrant couple. Pat was warm and intense and tended to be quieter than Maria, who was equally warm with a vibrant presence and who more frequently shared her thoughts. Read more →

It’ll be a while before we can go back to bookshops in person to browse the shelves, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t get excited about the next book to dive into! Our editors came together to assemble a list of titles they’ve worked on that have been released this season and ones lined up later this year. Biography, history, criminal justice reform, queer equality . . . take your pick! We can’t wait for you to read them! Read more →

The coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis that is impacting our lives in significant ways. In our ongoing efforts to promote public safety during the COVID-19 outbreak, Beacon Press staff started working from home last week and will continue to do so until further notice. While some things are in flux, you should know that we are continuing to work hard—and creatively—on getting the books we publish in front of the right audiences. Read more →

Sanj Kharbanda has been named director of sales and marketing at Beacon Press, the 163-year-old independent publisher based in Boston. Kharbanda’s appointment, which is effective June 5, was announced on May 31 by Beacon’s longtime director, Helene Atwan. Kharbanda, a member of Beacon’s Board of Advisors since 2014, has thrived at the intersection of books, marketing, and transformative technology for over twenty years. He was most recently Senior Vice President, Digital Markets at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where he worked for eleven years. Kharbanda also has experience at the store level, beginning in publishing as a bookseller and store manager at WordsWorth Books in Cambridge, MA. Read more →

By Helene Atwan With thirteen consecutive years of surpluses behind us, we are feeling stronger than ever in our modern history, and ready to grow. After a national search, we’re bringing in two new Senior Editors not only to expand... Read more →

President Obama’s decision to re-establish commercial and diplomatic ties with Cuba caused Beacon's Associate Publisher Tom Hallock to think about what it might mean for publishers, writers, and readers, and to reawaken hopes he had when he visited Cuba almost twenty years ago. Read more →

Beacon Press has a new home! Here are some of the features that make it the perfect, environmentally responsible place for us to continue our mission of igniting hearts and minds. Read more →

Ever wonder what publishing professionals read in their spare time? Wonder no more! Here is the definitive list of Beacon Press's reading recommendations for 2013. A professional cyclist kicked out of the sport, a cigar smoking dragon, a Greek chorus of gay men lost to AIDS, a boyhood marred by abuse, a bullying presidency, Albert Einstein, the poetry of quietude, and so much more. Who could argue with a list like that? Read more →

Texas abortion laws, immigration reform, bizarre natural remedies from the 1700s, and single mothers voting Republican. These are some of the items we read about this week. Read more →

World Book Night, the science of racism, the Affordable Care Act, backpacking in Idaho, and more. Here's what we've been reading this week. Read more →

Book-browsing turkeys in Harvard Square, SCOTUS and greenhouse gas regulations, doctor empathy, and more. This is what we've been reading about online this week. Read more →

Here's a roundup of what we've been reading and watching online this week. Read more →

Here's some recommended reading around the web from this past week. Read more →

A look at recent mentions for Beacon authors and books. Read more →

What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine by Danielle Ofri One of the NYTimes most emailed stories this week is from Danielle Ofri, MD: I never told anyone about my lapse — not my intern, not my... Read more →

Are you in New York for BookExpo America? Here's the low-down on how to connect with Beacon Press. Read more →

The latest news about Beacon authors and books. Read more →

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks gets a rave New York Times review, and author Jeanne Theoharis appears with another civil rights pioneer on Democracy Now. Read more →