“Third Man Books will continue in the manufacture and sale of beautiful things. Those things being books,” note co-founders Chet Weise and Ben Swank (also co-founder of Third Man Records). “Much like the identity of our multiple Grammy-winning record label, Third Man Books will be based on adventure, bordering on recklessness, yet bound by craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail.” The press plans to print contemporary poetry, literary fiction, photography, biography, and more. With all TMB titles, there will be audio/video components and also craftsmanship to complement the work and love the author has paid to her/his words.
TMB’s first book was the ambitious Language Lessons, published last summer. A hardbound anthology comprised of three hundred pages of poetry and prose from notables ranging from Pulitzer and National Book Award finalists C.D. Wright, Adrian Matejka, and Dale Ray Phillips, to punk rock progenitors Richard Hell and Tav Falco, the collection also features two vinyl LPs of music and five frame-worthy broadsides. Upcoming Fall books include Hidden Water by Frank Stanford, a companion to Copper Canyon Press’ highly anticipated poetry collection, What About This. Described as “outtakes,”Hidden Water: From the Frank Stanford Archive includes a selection of unpublished poems and features facsimiles of drafts, letters, and artwork, plus a download of Stanford reading his poem “The Boathouse.” Both books will be the subject of a major feature in the May issue of Men’s Journal.
Another upcoming title is The Truth is We Are Perfect by Janaka Stucky, an ex-mortician, 2010 National Haiku Champion, and “Boston’s Best Poet” (the Boston Phoenix). Stucky will be reading on multiple dates with bestselling author Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket). Also publishing in the Fall is Pain: The Board Game by Sampson Starkweather. A book of poetry featuring a board game called “Pain,”Pain is dark, with touches of hysterical humor, and is modeled on the popular 1970s board game Life.
“While some may believe Third Man’s devil-may-care celebration of enduring artistry a recipe for twenty-first century disaster, Jack White, myself, and Chet Weise consider it natural,” affirms Ben Swank, co-founder, Third Man Records and Third Man Books. “Many thought Third Man Records’ dedication to the The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records Volume 1–2 project was borderline funny-farm, but we only saw it as necessary, and won a 2015 Grammy Award. The same ethos drives TMR’s involvement in the renaissance of vinyl records, which are now breaking sales records. Our hope is that Third Man Books creates a new kind of literary community that we can learn from and add something back. In Consortium we find a kindred, independent partner who has a far reach and gets the job done, and also answers the phone to say, ‘Hello, how are you.’”
Julie Schaper, president and COO of Consortium, comments: “I love the bridge Third Man is trying to create between records and books. We’ve often thought indie music fans overlap with indie fiction fans and Third Man Books is proving that notion true. I look forward to a long, fruitful partnership that generates lots of new ideas and creative collaboration.”
“It’s a great honor to welcome Third Man Books into the Perseus and Consortium family,” notes David Steinberger, president and CEO of the Perseus Books Group. “We, and the publishing industry, just got a lot hipper with their foray into the literary world. I am confident Consortium can offer the best springboard for Third Man to continue to surprise audiences and defy expectations.”
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