Hail to the Chief! PETER MAYER to Receive 2007 Poor Richard Award

Peter Mayer, President and Publisher of The Overlook Press, will be this year’s recipient of the New York Center for Independent Publishing’s (NYCIP) Poor Richard Award for outstanding contributions to independent book publishing. The award will be presented to Mr. Mayer by special guest presenter Ed Victor, the internationally renowned literary agent, at the NYCIP’s Winter Benefit. The Center is an educational program of the non-profit organization, The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen (GSMT). The Benefit will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2007, at The General Society’s literary landmark building at 20 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

“We feel privileged to be honoring an independent publisher of Peter’s stature,” said Karin Taylor, the NYCIP’s Executive Director. “The Poor Richard Award is a way of recognizing the importance of independent publishers to our society. Peter’s decision to leave the corporate publishing world and enter the field of independent publishing full-time is an inspiration to our publisher members. Most important, in this era of thinning mid-lists, Overlook is a refuge for meritorious books that might otherwise go unpublished.”

Benefit tickets are available by calling the NYCIP headquarters (212.764.7021) or by emailing Christopher de la Torre (christopher@nycip.org). All proceeds will benefit the Center for Independent Publishing, a non-profit cultural and educational program of the GSMT, serving the independent publishing community.