Prometheus Books Explained

Founded:1969
Founder:Paul Kurtz
Status:Active
Topics:Skeptical literature, atheism
Country:United States
Headquarters:Amherst, New York
Imprints:Humanity Books (for academic works in the humanities)
Parent:Rowman & Littlefield
Keypeople:Jonathan Kurtz, President

Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by the philosopher Paul Kurtz (who was also the founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry).[1] [2] The publisher's name was derived from Prometheus, the Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to man. This act is often used as a metaphor for bringing knowledge or enlightenment.[3] [4]

Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, focusing on topics such as science, freethought, secularism, humanism, and skepticism. It has published in the "atheism" category since its founding in 1969, and is considered the "grandfather" of atheist publishing in America.[5]

Their headquarters is located in Amherst, New York, and they publish worldwide. Jonathan Kurtz was an executive editor of Prometheus.[6] Rowman & Littlefield acquired Prometheus Books in 2019.

The publisher has roughly 1,700 books currently in print,[7] and publishes approximately 95–100 books per year.[8] Since its founding, Prometheus Books has published more than 2,500 books.[9]

Imprints

Prometheus Books obtained the bulk of the books and manuscripts of Humanities Press International in 1998.[10] [11] It has been building and expanding this into a scholarly imprint named Humanity Books. This imprint publishes academic works across a wide spectrum of the humanities and is now distributed by the academic division of Rowman & Littlefield.[12]

In March 2005, Prometheus Books launched the science fiction and fantasy imprint Pyr.[13] In October 2012 it launched the crime fiction imprint Seventh Street Books.[14] In 2018, it sold both imprints.[15]

Lawsuits

Prometheus has been involved in two "major libel lawsuits."[16] In 1992 Uri Geller sued Victor J. Stenger and Prometheus Books for libel over his book Physics and Psychics.[17] The suit was dismissed and Geller was required to pay more than $20,000 in costs to the defendant.[18] Geller also sued Prometheus for publishing The Truth About Uri Geller [19] by James Randi, a book that he said was defamatory.[20] [21]

Notable authors published

Some notable authors and books published by Prometheus include:

Steve Allen

Molefi Asante

Isaac Asimov

Jeremy Bentham

Rob Boston

Ludwig Feuerbach

Antony Flew

R. Barri Flowers

Martin Gardner

Guy P. Harrison

William R. Harwood

Sidney Hook

Julian Huxley

S. T. Joshi

Dr. Jack Kevorkian

John Maynard Keynes

Philip J. Klass

Leon Lederman

John W. Loftus

Joe Nickell

Friedrich Nietzsche

Mario Perniola

Robert M. Price

James Randi

David Ricardo

Michael Ruse[44]

Nathan Salmon

George H. Smith

John Steinbeck IV

Victor Stenger

Tom Toles

Ibn Warraq

Robert Zubrin

Book series

Partnerships and sale

In 2013 Prometheus Books partnered with Random House in an effort to increase sales and distribution.[50]

In 2019, it was acquired by Rowman & Littlefield,[51] [52] and Random House ceased sales and distribution of its titles as of June 30, 2019.[7] Its building was sold in early 2019 for over $1 Million.[53]

Notes and References

  1. News: Paul Kurtz, Humanist and Philosopher, Dead at 86. Weber. Bruce. 2012-10-23. The New York Times. 2019-08-22. en-US. 0362-4331.
  2. News: Rift at Humanist Center Reveals a Deeper Division. Oppenheimer. Mark. 2010-10-01. The New York Times. 2019-08-22. en-US. 0362-4331.
  3. Pyne. Stephen J.. 2016-06-05. Fire in the mind: changing understandings of fire in Western civilization. . 371. 1696. 20150166. 10.1098/rstb.2015.0166. 0962-8436. 4874404. 27216523.
  4. Web site: Prometheus Books. www.prometheusbooks.com. 2019-08-22.
  5. Web site: Atheists, the Next Generation: Unbelief Moves Further into the Mainstream. Winston. Kimberly. April 12, 2013. Publishers Weekly. August 22, 2019.
  6. Frazier . Kendrick . Kendrick Frazier. May–June 2020 . Promethus Unbound: Publisher of Skeptic, Freethought Books Enters a New Phase . . Amherst, New York . . 44 . 3 . 6–9.
  7. Web site: Rowman & Littlefield Acquires Prometheus Books . Rowman & Littlefield . 2019-08-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200118021052/https://rowman.com/Page/RLPROM19 . Jan 18, 2020 .
  8. Web site: Working at Prometheus Books. Glassdoor. en. 2019-08-22.
  9. Web site: Prometheus Books: Accepting Submissions . Authors Publish. en-US. 2019-08-22.
  10. Web site: Prometheus Books: Spreading Freethought Worldwide. 2003-11-01. International Humanist and Ethical Union. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207140615/http://www.iheu.org/node/976. 2012-02-07. 2008-10-09.
  11. Web site: BUFFALO'S BRAINY PUBLISHING HOUSE PROMETHEUS BOOKS HAS ACHIEVED WORLDWIDE RENOWN IN ITS NICHE. 1999-05-30. The Buffalo News. en-us. 2019-08-22.
  12. Web site: People, Etc.. Somers. Erin. 2019-06-19. Publishers Lunch. en-US. 2019-08-22.
  13. Web site: Prometheus Sells Fiction Imprints to Start Publishing . Milliot. Jim . Publishers Weekly . November 12, 2018. August 22, 2019.
  14. Web site: BookExpo 2017: Seventh Street Books Marks Fifth Anniversary. Patrick. Diane. June 1, 2017. www.publishersweekly.com. 2019-08-22.
  15. Web site: Prometheus Sells Pyr Imprint. locusmag. 2018-11-12. Locus Online. en-US. 2019-08-22.
  16. Web site: History of CSICOP Skeptical Inquirer. Kreidler. Marc. 2019-02-04. en-US. 2019-08-22.
  17. Book: Stenger, Victor J., 1935-2014.. Physics and psychics : the search for a world beyond the senses. 1990. Prometheus Books. 087975575X. Buffalo, N.Y.. 22207643.
  18. Web site: Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed . 2006-12-08 . Geller, Uri . Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . Self proclaimed "psychic" Uri Geller had to dismiss a multi-million dollar libel suit and has to pay over $20,000 in sanctions in an action he brought against skeptical book publisher Prometheus Books of Amherst, New York. . https://web.archive.org/web/20061205032721/http://www.csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html . 2006-12-05.
  19. Book: The truth about Uri Geller. 1982. Prometheus Books. Randi, James.. 0879751991. Rev.. Buffalo, N.Y.. 9164994.
  20. Book: Kurtz, Paul. Exuberant Skepticism. registration. 193. prometheus books lawsuit uri geller.. 2010-10-29. Prometheus Books. 9781615929702. en.
  21. Web site: CSICOP and the Skeptics: An Overview by George P. Hansen. www.tricksterbook.com. 2019-08-22.
  22. Book: Allen, Steve, 1921-2000.. Meeting of minds : the complete scripts, with illustrations, of the amazingly successful PBS-TV series. 1989. Prometheus Books. 0879755504. Buffalo, N.Y.. 20802027.
  23. Book: Allen, Steve, 1921-2000.. Steve Allen on the Bible, religion, & morality. 1990. Prometheus Books. 0879756381. Buffalo, N.Y.. 21876648.
  24. Book: Allen, Steve, 1921-2000.. Dumbth : the lost art of thinking : with 101 ways to reason better & improve your mind. 1998. Prometheus Books. Allen, Steve, 1921-2000.. 1573922374. Amherst, N.Y.. 39556411. registration.
  25. Book: Election day 2084 : a science fiction anthology on the politics of the future. 1984. Prometheus Books. Asimov, Isaac . Greenberg, Martin Harry.. 0879752580. Buffalo, N.Y.. 11351873. registration.
  26. Book: The roving mind. Asimov, Isaac. 1573921815. New. Amherst, New York. 37695729. 1997. registration.
  27. Book: The Tyrannosaurus prescription and 100 other essays. Asimov, Isaac . 0879755407. 19672853. 1989. Prometheus Books .
  28. Book: Past, present, and future. Asimov, Isaac. 1987. Prometheus Books. 0879753935. Buffalo, N.Y.. 15108192. registration. Internet Archive.
  29. Book: Why the religious right is wrong about separation of church & state. Boston, Rob. 2003. Prometheus Books. 1591021146. 2nd. Amherst, N.Y.. 51460712.
  30. Book: Taking liberties : why religious freedom doesn't give you the right to tell other people what to do. Boston, Rob. 9781616149116. Amherst, New York. 854613911. 2014.
  31. Masters of True Crime by R. Barri Flowers (Editor). Ian Walkley. July 31, 2012. The Big Thrill.
  32. Book: The New Age: Notes of a Fringe Watcher . registration . Prometheus Books . Gardner, Martin . 1988 . New York . 0879756446 . Internet Archive., at Internet Archive
  33. Book: Harrison, Guy P.. 50 simple questions for every Christian. 9781616147273. Amherst, New York. 818827981. 2013. registration.
  34. Book: Harwood, William R.. Mythology's Last Gods: Yahweh and Jesus. 9780879757427. Amherst, New York. 25713535. 1992. registration.
  35. Book: Sidney Hook on pragmatism, democracy, and freedom : the essential essays. 2002. Prometheus Books. Talisse, Robert B.. Tempio, Robert. 1591020220. Amherst, NY. 50559672. registration. Internet Archive.
  36. Book: Sidney Hook : philosopher of democracy and humanism. 1983. Prometheus Books. Kurtz, Paul. 0879751916. Buffalo, N.Y.. 9576292.
  37. Book: Prescription: Medicide, the Goodness of Planned Death. registration. Kevorkian, Jack. 1991. 978-0-87975-872-1. Prometheus Books . Internet Archive.
  38. Book: Loftus, John W.. The outsider test for faith : how to know which religion is true. 9781616147372. Amherst, New York. 818827984. 2013.
  39. Book: Nickell, Joe.. The science of ghosts : searching for spirits of the dead. 2012. Prometheus Books. 9781616145859. Amherst, N.Y.. 764387236. registration. Internet Archive.
  40. Book: Nickell, Joe.. The science of miracles : investigating the incredible. 9781616147419. Amherst, NY. 818738031. 2013.
  41. Book: Price, Robert M., 1954-. Deconstructing Jesus. 2000. Prometheus Books. 1573927589. Amherst, N.Y.. 42413414. registration.
  42. Book: Price, Robert M., 1954-. The Da Vinci fraud : why the truth is stranger than fiction. 2005. Prometheus Books. 1591023483. Amherst, N.Y.. 60419877. registration. Internet Archive.
  43. Book: The empty tomb : Jesus beyond the grave. 2005. Prometheus Books. Price, Robert M. . Lowder, Jeffery Jay.. 159102286X. Amherst, N.Y.. 57344117. registration. Internet Archive.
  44. Web site: Taking Darwin Seriously .
  45. Book: Smith, George H., 1949-. Atheism : the case against God. 9781633881976. Amherst, New York. 930446791. 2016.
  46. Book: Stenger, Victor J., 1935-2014.. God and the atom. 9781616147532. Amherst, New York. 818827986. 2013.
  47. Book: Ibn Warraq.. Why I am not a Muslim. 1995. Prometheus Books. 0879759844. Amherst, N.Y.. 32088699.
  48. Book: Ibn Warraq.. Virgins, what virgins? : and other essays. 2010. Prometheus Books. 9781616141707. Amherst, N.Y.. 466343479.
  49. Book: Ibn Warraq.. Defending the West : a critique of Edward Said's Orientalism. 2007. Prometheus Books. 9781591024842. Amherst, N.Y.. 137306010.
  50. Web site: Prometheus Books is Partnering Up with Random House Publisher Services. Mehta. Hemant. Hemant Mehta. 15 January 2013. The Friendly Atheist. Pantheos Press. 31 August 2013.
  51. Web site: Amherst's Prometheus Books sold to Maryland-based publisher. 2019-06-26. The Buffalo News. en-us. 2019-08-22.
  52. Web site: Rowman & Littlefield Buys Prometheus Books. Publishers Weekly . Jim . Milliot . Jun 19, 2019 . en. 2019-08-22.
  53. Web site: Amherst building that houses Prometheus Books sells for $1.1 million. subscription . Stephen T. . Watson . 2019-03-11. The Buffalo News. en-us. 2019-08-22 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822175307/https://buffalonews.com/2019/03/11/kurtz-family-sells-amherst-building-that-houses-prometheus-books-for-1-1-million/ . 2019-08-22 .

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