Ecco Press was an independent small-trade publisher known for presenting distinguished new work in international poetry and fiction writing through its books and its journal Antaeus, and for reissuing neglected classics in a variety of fields,...
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Ecco Press was an independent small-trade publisher known for presenting distinguished new work in international poetry and fiction writing through its books and its journal Antaeus, and for reissuing neglected classics in a variety of fields, including travel and food writing. Daniel Halpern (b. 1945) started Antaeus in 1970 with the help of Paul Bowles. His search for financial backing for Antaeus led to the creation of Ecco Press in 1971 with co-founder and publisher Drue Heinz. Heinz retired in 1991, transferring ownership of Ecco Press to Halpern, its editor-in-chief. Ecco Press remained an independent firm, although affiliated with publishers Viking Press and W.W. Norton & Company for sales and distribution, until its acquisition by HarperCollins in 1999. The Ecco Press records contain correspondence, memoranda, administrative and financial records, typescripts, galleys, page proofs, bound books and periodicals, photographs, jacket art, posters, a sound recording and computer data storage that document the founding and day-to-day operations of the press. The records also reflect the personal life and career of Daniel Halpern as an editor, poet, teacher, anthologist, and prominent literary figure, as well as such literary activities as the National Poetry Series which Halpern ran out of the Ecco Press offices. Halpern's papers contain correspondence, diaries, notebooks, writings, subject files and academic, financial and real estate papers.
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