New York City: The City That Never Stops Publishing?

According to a 2013 article posted by Publisher’s Weekly on BEA (BookExpo America), “Publishing is to New York what filmmaking is to Los Angeles, or what automobile manufacturing used to be to Detroit. And publishers old and new continue to have prominent bricks-and-mortar presence in the city.” The article even provides a visually appealing map to prove it (attached below). Although the map may look like a nice visual representation of the spread of major publishing houses located within New York City, it is devastatingly incomplete – a fact noted by multiple commenters on the original source. Although I am not entirely sure why some houses made this particular map while others did not (perhaps only those closely involved with BEA were included, or simply to keep the map from looking too cluttered), it’s still a nice glimpse into how many publishing houses are in New York – and how the industry is beginning to change.

As an undergraduate English major, I have always considered publishing a potential career path, much to the dismay of one of my professors. Although no one within my department voiced these concerns directly, I can recall a few conversations about the “unease” and “drastic changes” that were occurring and would continue to occur within the industry – primarily the push to becoming more digital. It doesn’t take much to look for similar opinions as my professor’s concerning the nature and future of the book publishing industry. Simply turning to the internet, you can find numerous articles sharing similar view points: on Forbes, The Next Web, The Huffington Post, and NPR, to name a few. With so many changes occurring – and the awareness of the industry and journalists alike, it leaves one wondering what the future of traditional book publishing will be in New York. Will it soon be replaced by another new media? Or will it simply transform and evolve, ultimately leaving publishing houses relatively intact? I suppose that’s something that only time and close observation can truly tell.