Backlists Get a Boost

The Literary Ventures Fund (LVF) -- a not-for-profit foundation that invests in works of literature by entering into partnership with publishers on select titles -- has announced the launch of Back List Boost. Through the Back List Boost program, the foundation partners with publishers to offer bookstores select backlist titles at deep discounts. Back List Boost serves as a pilot companion program to LVF's JumpStart, which offers deep discounts on frontlist titles.

"Both JumpStart and Back List Boost make it possible for bookstores to get more quality books into the hands of their readers," said Zachary Marcus, the foundation's director of strategic marketing. "By partnering with our great bookstores, we can more effectively launch books into the community, give them a needed boost along the way, and ensure that these books are read by more readers for years to come."

Founded in 2005, LVF is a private not-for-profit foundation that supports fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry through philanthropic investment. The fund serves as a partner-in-risk providing various types of financial and marketing resources to publishers, who then can offer additional discounts to bookstores.

"LVF wants to make quality books more available to all bookstores," said Marcus, "so they can buy more copies, take bigger risks, and offer more display space to allow these books to catch some kind of buzz. That's just what had happened with Monique and the Mango Rains [Kris Holloway, Waveland Press]." LVF partnered with Waveland to promote Monique and helped garner media attention for the memoir, which tells the story of a West African midwife.

"LVF was very helpful in getting exposure for the book," said Neil Rowe, publisher of Waveland Press, which primarily publishes academic textbooks. "They've done a really good job of spurring a lot of interest and activity." --Karen Schechner