Small Publisher Hits It Big

Ever heard of Bellevue Literary Press? I didn't think so. Neither had I and I've been in the book business over 30 years. Yet, when our head buyer, Sheryl Cotleur, told me she had fallen in love with a novel, I was amazed that it came from a press that's connected to a hospital that makes most of us think of mental illness. In fact, the Bellevue Literary Press offices are on the sixth floor of the hospital. Sheryl was so excited about Tinkers that she wanted to make it a Book Passage First Edition Club selection. Fine, that would mean the several hundred people who receive an autographed first printing of a book we love each month, would have this treasure in their libraries. But there was hitch, Tinkers by Paul Harding was being published only in paperback. It would be a lovely paperback, but our collectors want hardbacks. Sheryl, the quintessential independent book seller, refused to be daunted. She somehow convinced the publisher to print a few hundred hardback first editions for Book Passage First Edition Club members. Paul Harding happily autographed them. Our customers raved about Harding's tale of a man who is spending his last days in his dining room -- his sick bed having replaced the table where the family always celebrated holidays. In his last hours, as he recalls his life and his father's life, we are treated to a mesmerizing tale. We just heard that Paul Harding has been short listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and that several other literary prize committees have asked to have Tinkers sent to their judges. Pulitzer Prizewinner, Marilyn Robinson and Booker Prize Winner, Barry Unsworth gave Tinkers glowing reviews. Our First Editions Club members scooped up the hardback first editions, but get your hands on a paperback and see why we picked Tinkers. From now on, when I think of Bellevue, I won't think of the mental ward, I'll think about the savvy publisher who saw the promise in a novel other publishers missed.