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Amid uncertainty, there are few things we at Hyperallergic find more comforting than art and culture. Like many around the world, we’re hunkering down at home with our favorite books in an effort to flatten the curve.
Consequently, we’re happy to share that we will now be working with Bookshop to support our colleagues at small presses, wherever possible. This decision comes in response to an initiative led by Ugly Duckling Presse, a nonprofit publisher of poetry, translation, experimental nonfiction, and artist books based in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Together with a group of over 30 small presses, they recently issued a collective call for independent media outlets and book reviewers to “rethink [their] links” and help mitigate the damaging effects of linking book pages to tech behemoths like Amazon.
Unlike other services, Bookshop pledges about 75% of its profit margin to the publisher or bookstore it sources its materials from (significantly more than from Amazon). Bookshop also allows independent publishers like Hyperallergic to receive referral fees through affiliate links, which means you’ll also be supporting your favorite art publication in the process. Check out Hyperallergic’s page on Bookshop, which outlines what we’re reading and reviewing.
As Matvei Yankelevich, UDP’s founding editor reminds us, “This is a moment of deep global uncertainty, where we are all struggling for connection; one way we can meaningfully support each other is by strengthening the links between the independent media and small presses.”
Hakim Bishara has a full report on why independent book publishers are supporting Bookshop.
What took you so long?