Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative
| Predecessor | Writers and Readers Cooperative, Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Glenn Thompson, Sian Williams, John Berger, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Appignanesi, Arnold Wesker, Chris Searle |
| Country of origin | U.S., previously United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London (1974–1987), then New York City (1987–2001), now Danbury, Connecticut |
| Key people |
Glenn Thompson Dawn Reshen-Doty Merrillee Warholak |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | history, philosophy, politics |
| Imprints | Harlem River Press Black Butterfly Children's Books |
| Official website | forbeginnersbooks.com |
| Country | England United States |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc. For Beginners, LLC |
| Published | 1975–present |
| Media type | Paperback |
For Beginners LLC is a publishing company based out of Danbury, Connecticut, that publishes the For Beginners graphic nonfiction series of documentary comic books on complex topics, covering an array of subjects on the college level. Meant to appeal to students and “non-readers,” as well as people who wish to broaden their knowledge without attending a university, the series has sold more than a million copies.
The For Beginners series was launched in the mid-1970s, but became out of print and often unavailable after the 2001 death of co-founder and publisher Glenn Thompson. In 2007, a consortium of investors revived the series, reprinted back issues, and promised to publish between six and nine new issues each year. The current publisher is Dawn Reshen-Doty.
The company began as Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, a London, England-based publisher founded in 1974 by Thompson, his then-wife Sian Williams, Richard Appignanesi, Lisa Appignanesi, John Berger, Arnold Wesker, and Chris Searle, A publishing cooperative, the founders of Writers and Readers shared the work and the profits. (The Cooperative also operated a London bookshop at 144 Camden High Street until the mid-1980s.)
The For Beginners series has its origins in two Spanish-language books, Cuba para principiantes (1960) and Marx para principiantes (1972) by the Mexican political cartoonist and writer Rius, pocket books which put their content over in a humorous comic book way but with a serious underlying purpose. An English-language version of the first book was published in 1970 by Leviathan Press of San Francisco and Pathfinder Press of New York, to no particularly great impact. However, when Richard Appignanesi edited the first English edition of Marx for Beginners (1976), it was soon clear that the collective had a hit on their hands. With a successful format identified, further For Beginners titles soon began to appear. The line's most enduring titles, all published during this period, were Marx for Beginners (1976), Freud for Beginners (1979), Einstein for Beginners (1979), and Darwin for Beginners (1982).
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