McSweeney's

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McSweeney's
Status Active
Founded 1998
Founder Dave Eggers
Country of origin USA
Headquarters location San Francisco
Distribution Publishers Group West
Publication types Books, Magazines
Official website www.mcsweeneys.net
Cover of Issue 9 of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, published in 2002.

McSweeney's Publishing is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers and headquartered in San Francisco. The recipient of dozens of awards for its contributions to literature and publishing, McSweeney's was named the country's seventh most innovative media company for 2012, just behind Reddit, "for proving the value of print publishing.".[1][2]

In addition to a book list of approximately thirty titles a year, McSweeney's also publishes the quarterly literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the daily-updated literature and humor site McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and the monthly magazine The Believer. The quarterly food journal Lucky Peach and the sports journal Grantland Quarterly, in association with sports and pop culture website Grantland, were both established and incubated by McSweeney's. A quarterly DVD magazine, Wholphin, was decommissioned in 2012. The publishing house also runs four additional imprints: Believer Books; McSweeney's McMullens, a children's book department; McSweeney's Poetry Series, and the Collins Library, which reprints unusual titles. Version 2.0 of the McSweeney's iOS app was released in 2011; the Organist, produced by the editors of the Believer, launched to acclaim in 2012.

McSweeney's has helped launch the careers of dozens of emerging writers, such as Philipp Meyer, Wells Tower, and Rebecca Curtis; it has also published the works of well-established authors such as Michael Chabon, Stephen King, David Foster Wallace, George Saunders, Michael Ian Black, Nick Hornby, and Joyce Carol Oates. The house has also published the work of musicians, critics and artists including David Byrne and Beck. The band One Ring Zero gained notoriety by performing at early McSweeney's events in New York, and solicited lyric-writing assistance from McSweeney's contributors for the 2004 album, As Smart As We Are. McSweeney's was also the subject of the They Might Be Giants song "The Ballad of Timothy McSweeney."

Eggers says that when he was a child his family received letters addressed from someone named Timothy McSweeney, who claimed to be a relative of his mother's. The name took on an aura of mystery. Eggers now claims that the real McSweeney is in care for mental illness, and his letters arrived as a result of confusion over the fact that Eggers' grandfather, who delivered Timothy at birth, and the McSweeney family, who adopted him, had the same name.[3][4]

Company History, cont.

In December 2006 Advanced Marketing Services, since 2002 the parent company of McSweeney's distributor Publishers Group West (PGW), declared bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, PGW owed McSweeney's about $600,000.[5] McSweeney's eventually accepted an offer from Perseus Books Group to take over distribution; the deal reduced McSweeney's losses to $130,000.[6] In June 2007, McSweeney's held a successful sale and eBay auction which helped make up the difference.[7]

Recently, McSweeney's has expanded its operations with creative partnerships with like-minded individuals and companies including eyewear one-for-one Warby Parker and accommodations marketplace Airbnb. For instance, Beck has recently worked in tandem with Warby Parker and McSweeney's to design a custom pair of spectacles. In addition to its FastCompany award, McSweeney's has received Best Of awards and plaudits from SF Weekly and other several other publications.

The company's archives, including rare material from its founding and its early history, are held in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.

Book titles

  • This Shape We're in (by Jonathan Lethem) 2000/02/01
  • The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature (by Neal Pollack) 2000/09/01
  • Lemon (by Lawrence Krauser) 2000/12/01
  • The Pharmacist's Mate (by Amy Fusselman) 2001/03/01
  • The New Sins/Los Nuevos Pecados (by David Byrne) 2001/07/01
  • Samuel Johnson Is Indignant (by Lydia Davis) 2001/10/01
  • Superbad (book) (by Ben Greenman) 2001/11/01
  • English As She Is Spoke (Book 1 in Collins Library) (by Jose Da Fonseca / Pedro Carolino / Paul Collins (EDT)) 2002/04/01
  • I (novel) (by Stephen Dixon) 2002/05/01
  • You Shall Know Our Velocity (by Dave Eggers) 2002/09/01
  • The Middle Stories (by Sheila Heti) 2002/11/01
  • Songbook (by Nick Hornby / Marcel Dzama) 2002/12/01
  • The Berlin Years (by Marcel Dzama) 2003/04/01|
  • To Ruhleben—and Back (Book 2 in Collins Library) (by Geoffrey Pyke) 2003/04/15
  • My Words Consume Me: An Anthology of Youth Speaks Poets (by Chinaka Hodge (FRW) / James Kass (INT)) 2003/05/01
  • Talking Back (by Students of Leadership High School) 2003/06/01
  • Jokes Told in Heaven About Babies (by Lucy Thomas) 2003/09/01
  • Speak, Commentary (by Jeff Alexander / Tom Bissell) 2003/09/01
  • Rising Up and Rising Down (by William T. Vollmann) 2003/11/01
  • Giraffes? Giraffes! (by Mark Wasserman) 2003/12/01
  • Happy Baby (by Stephen Elliott) 2004|
  • Waiting to Be Heard: Youth Speak Out About Inheriting a Violent World (by Students of San Francisco's Thurgood Marshall Academic High School / Isabel Allende) 2004/05/01
  • Lady into Fox (Book 3 in Collins Library) (by David Garnett / R. A. Garnett (ILT) / Paul Collins (EDT)) 2004/05/30
  • English As She Is Spoke (Book 1 in Collins Library) (by Jose Da Fonseca / Pedro Carolino / Paul Collins (EDT)) 2004/06/01
  • Stepmother (by Robert Coover, illustrated by Michael Kupperman) 2004/06/01
  • How We Are Hungry (by Dave Eggers) 2004/11/30
  • The Polysyllabic Spree (by Nick Hornby) 2004/12/31
  • H. P. Lovecraft: Against The World, Against Life (by Michel Houellebecq/ Stephen King (INT)) 2005/05/01
  • I Might Get Somewhere: Oral Histories of Immigration and Migration (by Students at Balboa High School / Amy Tan) 2005/05/01
  • The Facts of Winter (by Paul Poissel / Paul La Farge) 2005/05/22
  • Bicycles Locked To Poles (by John Glassie (PHT)) 2005/06/30
  • The People Of Paper (by Salvador Plascencia) 2005/07/28
  • Dear New Girl Or Whatever Your Name Is (by Wagner, Lisa (EDT) / Dalton, Trinie (EDT) / Horowitz, Eli (EDT)) 2005/08/30
  • Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, And One Other Stories We Could (by Thompson, Ted (EDT) / Horowitz, Eli (EDT)) 2005/09/15
  • The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers (by Vendela Vida (EDT)) 2005/10/10
  • A Child Again (by Robert Coover) 2005/10/12
  • The Better of Mcsweeney's (by Not Available (NA)) 2005/10/14
  • The Future Dictionary of America (by Jonathan Safran Foer (EDT) / Dave Eggers (EDT) / Nicole Krauss (EDT)) 2005/10/14
  • Baby, Make Me Breakfast (by Brown, Lisa (ILT)) 2005/11/11
  • Baby, Mix Me a Drink (by Brown, Lisa (ILT)) 2005/11/11
  • How to Dress for Every Occasion by the Pope (by Daniel Handler / Bennett, Sarah Pinkie (ILT)) 2005/11/11
  • Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated (by Dave Eggers (EDT) / Vollen, Lola (EDT)) 2005/12/01
  • The Riddle of the Traveling Skull [Book 4 in Collins Library (by Keeler, Harry Stephen / Collins, Paul) 2005/12/30
  • Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences (by Lawrence Weschler) 2006/01/30
  • Hello Children (by Dave Eggers) 2006/02/09
  • Here They Come (by Yannick Murphy) 2006/03/12
  • Voyage Along the Horizon (by Marias, Javier / Cordero, Kristina (TRN)) 2006/03/28
  • The Secret Language of Sleep: A Couple's Guide to the Thirty-Nine Positions (by Thomas, Evany / Bauer, Amelia (ILT)) 2006/03/30
  • Icelander (by Dustin Long) 2006/04/28
  • The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (by George Saunders, illustrated by Lane Smith) 2006/04/28
  • Long Time Walking (by Thiep Angui) 2006/06/09
  • Baby Do My Banking (by Brown, Lisa (ILT)) 2006/06/12
  • Baby Fix My Car (by Brown, Lisa (ILT)) 2006/06/12
  • End of I (by Dixon, Stephen) 2006/06/12
  • The Children's Hospital (by Chris Adrian) 2006/09/01
  • The New Sins / Los Nuevos Pecados (by David Byrne) 2006/09/01
  • Housekeeping vs. The Dirt (by Nick Hornby) 2006/09/30
  • Voices from the Storm: The People of New Orleans on the Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath (by Vollen, Lola (EDT) / Ying, Chris (EDT)) 2006/10/28
  • What Is the What (by Dave Eggers) 2006/10/28
  • Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid (by Doris and Benny Haggis-On-whey) 2006/11/17
  • Arboretum (by David Byrne) 2006/11/30
  • The Berlin Years (by Marcel Dzama) 2006/12/28
  • Embryoyo (by Dean Young) 2007/01/28
  • Lunatic at Large (Book 5 in Collins Library) (by Clouston, J. Storer / Collins, Paul (EDT) / Ames, Jonathan (INT)) 2007/03/16
  • McSweeney's Book of Poets Picking Poets (by Orr, David (INT)) 2007/04/18
  • Comedy by the Numbers (by Hoffman, Eric / Rudoren, Gary) 2007/05/04
  • Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences (by Lawrence Weschler) 2007/07/28
  • Bowl of Cherries (by Millard Kaufman) 2007/08/28
  • Heroes in Disguise (by Jim Shepard) 2007/08/28
  • Baby in the Manger (by Lemony Snicket) 2007/10/28
  • Small Box of Short Stories (by Dave Eggers / Sarah Manguso / Deb Olin Unferth) 2007/10/28
  • The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story (by Lemony Snicket /Lisa Brown (ILT)) 2007/10/28
  • Impossible, You Say?: Nothing Is Impossible When Yow Work for the Circus (by McSweeney's (COR)) 2007/12/01
  • Giraffes? Giraffes! (by Doris and Benny Haggis-On-whey) 2008/02/28
  • The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers (by Vendela Vida (EDT)) 2008/02/28
  • Where to Invade Next (by Stephen Elliott / McSweeney's) 2008/02/28
  • Arkansas (book)|Arkansas (by John Brandon) 2008/03/01
  • Maps and Legends (by Michael Chabon) 2008/04/28
  • All Known Metal Bands (by Dan Nelson (COM)) 2008/05/28
  • The Berliner Ensemble Thanks You All (by Marcel Dzama (ART)) 2008/05/28
  • Your Disgusting Head: The Darkest, Most Offensive-and Moist-secrets of Your Mouth, Nose and Ears (by Doris and Benny Haggis-On-whey) 2008/05/28
  • Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives (by Orner, Peter (COM) / Orner, Peter (EDT) / Alberto, Luis (FRW)) 2008/06/28
  • Vacation (by Deb Olin Unferth) 2008/10/01
  • Out of Exile: Narratives from the Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan (by Walzer, Craig (EDT) / Eggers, Dave (INT) / Deng, Valentino Achak (INT)) 2008/11/15
  • Curious Men: Being a Collection of Freaks, Frauds, and Fine Fellows, Gathered by an Eminent Victorian (Book 6 in Collins Library) (by Frank Buckland (EDT)) 2008/12/01
  • Shakespeare Wrote for Money (by Nick Hornby / Sarah Vowell (INT)) 2008/12/01
  • Cold Fusion (by Doris and Benny Haggis-On-whey) 2009/02/01
  • Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids Letters to President Obama (by Jory, John (EDT)) 2009/03/01
  • Be a Nose! (by Art Spiegelman) 2009/02/28
  • The Convalescent (by Jessica Anthony) 2009/04/28
  • Baby Get Me Some Lovin' (by Lisa Brown, (ILT)) 2009/05/01
  • Baby Plan My Wedding (by Brown, Lisa (ILT)) 2009/05/01
  • Read Hard: Five Years of Great Writing from the Believer (by Julavits, Heidi (EDT) / Park, Ed (EDT) / Vida, Vendela (EDT)) Paperback
  • God Says No (by James Hannaham) 2009/06/01
  • Out of Exile: Narratives from the Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan (by Craig Walzer (EDT) / Dave Eggers (FRW) / Valentino Achak Deng (FRW)) 2009/06/01
  • The Weirding Field: The North Texas Spacecraft of Gen Watson, Father and Visionary (by Esther Pearl Watson) 2009/06/01
  • Fever Chart (by Bill Cotter) 2009/09/30

Books published under McSweeney's Rectangular's imprint include:

Non-McSweeney's collections

These titles are typically compilations of McSweeney's works either from print or online sources. The publisher of the works is listed at the end.

  • McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales Michael Chabon 2003 Vintage
  • Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans Dave Eggers 2004 | Knopf
  • McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories Michael Chabon 2004 Vintage
  • Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans Dave Eggers 2005 Vintage
  • The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes 2008 Vintage
  • Mountain Man Dance Moves 2006 Vintage
  • Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face: 100 McSweeney's Postcards 2009 Chronicle

826 Valencia Publications

These titles are releases of/by 826 Valencia. They are not the focus of this page, but these titles have been published by McSweeney's/826.

  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 1 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2003/05/01
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 2 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2003/09/01
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 3 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2004/09/01
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 4 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2005/05/01
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 5 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2005/10/28
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 6 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2006/10/01
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 7 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2007/10/28
  • 826 Quarterly Vol. 8 Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia 2007/11/28
  • 826nyc Review: Issue One Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia / Seeley, Scott / Potts, Sam 2005/08/01
  • 826nyc Review: Issue Two Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia / Seeley, Scott / Potts, Sam 2006/06/01
  • 826nyc Review: Issue Three Students in Conjunction With 826 Valencia / Seeley, Scott / Potts, Sam 2008/09/28
  • 826NYC Art Show: A Limited Edition Catalog of 23 Original Pieces by Prominent Contemporary Artists 826NYC (EDT) 2007/08/28

References

  1. ↑ Fast Company Most Innovative Companies, 2012
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Flak Magazine interview, March 2000
  4. ↑ The Real Timothy McSweeney, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, February 2010
  5. ↑ A financial thriller in the publishing world from the San Francisco Chronicle
  6. ↑ Indie Publishers Act All Indie, from New York magazine
  7. ↑ McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Book Distribution, Bankruptcy, and McSweeney's

External links

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