As a publisher of fine art photography books we look at many things going on around our part of the world here in the Midwest which have interest in the art world. There is currently a wonderful exhibit of Herni Cartier-Bresson’s work at the Chicago Art Institute through October. I for one love his work, and the fact that he worked almost exclusively in 35mm, my particular choice of formats, even for those landscapes I am known for.

Here’s a great article from the Chicago Tribune today about the exhibit:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-08-08/entertainment/ct-ae-0808-henri-cartier-bresson-20100808_1_henri-cartier-bresson-posthumous-exhibit-art-institute

For more on Henri Cartier-Bresson and the exhibition visit the Art Institutes website at: 

http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/cartierbresson

I hope you can all get down to it before they close!

Peace,

Richard

Yesterday we uploaded the files for the dust jacket for our next release Their Love of Music by Steve Azzato. When you design the dust jacket many aspects come into play. Does it accurately convey the meaning of the book? Does the cover image draw in people’s eyes when it sits halfway across the store on a shelf? Can you put info on the outside which will MAKE people want to open it up, or better yet buy it!

Yes, the cover of a book is everything in some ways. I think we did a great job with this book. The image of Pinetop Perkins is perfect. It is interesting how images for every book we’ve published seem to leap out of the pile of images in the book. It is quickly obvious which image works for the cover. Then al the other aspects came into it, the book description for the back cover – along with an image back there and of course we couldn’t pick just one more for there – so we came up with this option which also makes you want to open the book to see what all the other portraits look like. And of course in this case we put the list of profiles artists.

Interestingly one of the hardest parts is the author’s bios! How do you condense a lifetime of accomplishments down to one short paragraph? Yet I guess for a book like this where each artist has one great statement on why they love music it seems appropriate to keep the bios short.

The book is about to go on press next week. Steve’s five year journey on this project is about to turn a new page. And he did it all for the love of music – and photography!

Stay tuned for more news at it develops on this book and its October 1 release – and you can pre-order the book at Quiet Light Publishing now.

Also follow the Their Love of Music Blog where we talk about the artists, profile them, put up video and music links and the latest show notes and announcements on their upcoming shows.

Cheers,
Richard Mack

Today we released the latest copy of the Quiet Light Publishing eNewsletter in which we announced the latest book from Quiet Light, Their Love of Music by photographer Steve Azzato. He sat down with 117 musicians and asked one question – why do you do what you do everyday? The answers are as diverse as the musicians themselves, from Aaron Neville, Dave Brubeck, Roseanne Cash, Dave Mason and Steve Miller. We’ll be writting much more on this blog about the book in the very near future.

We also talk about some of the book awards we received for Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes at BookExpo in New York this spring, including the Gold Medal in the Ben Franklin Book Awards for Best Cover and a Silver Medal for Best Art, Photography and Coffee Table Book in the Eric Hofer Book Awards.

Check it out with the link: Quiet Light eNewsletter June 2010

Peace,

Richard Mack

On Sunday while I was walking along the shore of Lake Michigan I received an email notifying me that my book Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes had won the Silver Medal in the Art, Photography & Coffee Table books category of the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. It is an honor to have received this accolade from the industry. 

In the review of the book US Review of Books said the following: 

“The US Review of Books: The Eric Hoffer Award.”

Great Smoky Mountain National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes, Richard Mack, Quiet Light Publishing - Photographer Richard Mack doesn’t let words get in the way of his sumptuous series of pictures of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. For thirty years, Mack has roamed and captured images of this National Park beauty. The book is divided into the major park sections (i.e. Cades Cove, Oconaluftee, Roaring Fork etc.), exploring the natural subdivisions within each. Occasionally the filters are set for subtle effect, but mostly you will find icy clear depictions of the majesty wrought from this mountainous pine and deciduous forest in every season. It is the kind of coffee table book that draws you in and has you flipping through every page.

 You can view more of the award winners online at www.hofferaward.com.                

It’s an honor to have been considered for this award and even more humbling to have been the first runner up for this award. More awards will be awarded in New York at BookExpo later in May so stay tuned to see how we fair in those awards!

If you haven’t seen the book you can Look Inside the Book at Quiet Light Publishing and purchase signed copies! You can also purchase signed copies of the 2007 Eric Hoffer Book Award Gold Medalist winner The Lewis & Clark Trail: American Landscapes!

Peace,

Richard

The Eric Hoffer Book Awards committee has announced the finalists list for the 2010 Grand Prize Award for Independent Publishing. Quiet Light Publishing’s book Great Smokey Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes, Photographs by Richard Mack has made this short list. Two Grand Prizes are awarded annually, one for short prose and one for excellence in publishing of independent books from small publishers.

The Eric Hoffer Book Awards were established at the beginning of the 21st century as a means of opening the door to writing of significant merit. It honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing as well as the independent spirit of small publisher’s.

We are honored to be named to the short list. The final winners will be named at Book Expo in New York City on May 24-25. They are also covered in the US Review of Books. So now we wait for the final judging!

Peace,
Richard