MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
July 2 – July 9, 2009 Edition
Indy Publishing Center Struggles to Survive
NEW YORK, NY/07/02/09–The non-profit New York Center for Independent Publishing (NYCIP) is struggling to survive in the downtrodden economy. In February the Center laid off Karin Taylor, the Center’s executive director of more than 20 years. This month the chairman of the Center’s April Round Table Writers Conference, Tim Brown, notified the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, which provides funding for The NYCIP, that 80 speakers had each not been paid a $50 honorarium the Center promised to pay in a timely manner.
Clive Beasley, executive director of the General Society union, responded with an apology to Brown’s e-mail, saying that the organization has had to do “considerable stretching” to make short ends meet and said the Society would find the funds to make the payments as soon as possible.
Brown said the situation threatens to alienate many in the writing and publishing community at a time when the Center is looking for ways to move forward.
After Karin Taylor’s departure earlier this year, many members of the Center’s executive board walked out in protest over Taylor’s dismissal. Interim director Leah Schnelbach has called a meeting of the advisory council this week to explore new directions for the Center and to urge development of a five-year plan and educational programming. The NYCIP was formerly known as the Small Press Center.
