Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (Firm)

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Inc., is a publishing house incorporated in 1982 by University of North Carolina English professor Louis Rubin, Jr., and Shannon Ravenel, a St. Louis fiction editor who had been one of Rubin's creative writing students. The new company's purpose has been to publish non-fiction and literary fiction of unpublished young writers. By 1993, Algonquin had published 178 books. In 1989, Algonquin was acquired by the Workman Publishing Company of New York City. Algonquin retains editorial control over works of fiction while Workman must approve non-fiction books. In 1990, Rubin turned over control of Algonquin to his son Robert and to Ravenel.

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Inc., is a publishing house incorporated in 1982 by University of North Carolina English professor Louis Rubin Jr., and Shannon Ravenel, a Saint Louis fiction editor who had been one of Rubin's creative writing students. The new company's purpose has been to publish non-fiction and literary fiction of unpublished young writers. By 1993, Algonquin had published 178 books. In 1989, Algonquin was acquired by the Workman Publishing Company of New York City. Algonquin retains editorial control over works of fiction while Workman must approve non-fiction books. In 1990, Rubin turned over control of Algonquin to his son Robert and to Ravenel.

In 1982, University of North Carolina English Professor Louis Rubin Jr., and Shannon Ravenel, a Saint Louis fiction editor who had been one of Rubin's creative writing students, formed Bright Leaf Press, Inc. Headquartered in Chapel Hill, N.C., the new publishing company's sought to publish non-fiction and literary fiction of unpublished young writers. Rubin and Ravenel's goal was to offer the kind of personalized editing that characterized American publishing earlier in the century. Ravenel has said that she remembers Rubin vision for Algonquin as a business modeled after early versions of Scribner's, Atheneum, and Knopf, where writers were loyal to their publishers because of their relationship with editors who truly cared about the craft of fiction.

From its beginnings in a garage at Rubin's home with resources that allowed for a printing of only 1,500 copies of its first book, Algonquin, by 1993, had published 178 books. Among the authors it discovered were Clyde Edgerton, Dori Sanders, Jill McCorkle, Larry Brown, and Lewis Nordan.

Although a hit with authors and many book buyers, Algonquin was apparently on shaky financial ground when it turned over some of its operations to Taylor Publishing Company of Dallas in 1987. In 1989, Algonquin was acquired by the Workman Publishing Company of New York City. While Workman allows Algonquin complete editorial control over works of fiction, non-fiction books must be approved by Workman. In 1990, Rubin turned over control of Algonquin to his son Robert and to Ravenel, who closed down the company's office in her home in St. Louis and moved to Chapel Hill.

In the early 1990s, the staff of five editors read more than 2,000 manuscripts per year. In addition to literary works, Algonquin had always published non-fiction works, such as military histories, to support those fiction titles that did not sell well. Along with a new emphasis on publicity and marketing in recent years, Algonquin has also tried to broaden its publishing spectrum, including more gift books and calendars in its offerings. In 1995, Algonquin celebrated its first offering to make the New York Times best seller list.

(Loosely based on an article by Bob Nowell in the Chapel Hill News, 12 November 1993.)