Our Mission
Heyday Institute occupies a unique niche in the publishing world, specializing in books that foster an understanding of California history, literature, art, environment, social issues, and culture. Our commitment is to enhance California's rich cultural heritage by providing a platform for writers, poets, and other artists, scholars, and storytellers who help keep this diverse legacy alive. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving a wide range of people and audiences, with a commitment to providing a platform for those who help keep California's diverse literary legacy alive. Heyday publishes books of quality and distinction that promote the cultural and natural landscape of California, emphasizing voices of previously unheard authors and artists, as well as overlooked geographic regions, to more fully present the state's literary wealth.
We also sponsor over 250 events a year (including readings, panels, exhibitions, lectures, etc.) to promote our books and our authors, often in partnership with many other cultural and educational organizations. To find out more about our events, please visit our Events page.
History of Heyday Institute
Heyday Institute was founded by Malcolm Margolin in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed, and distributed The East Bay Out, a quirky, personal, affectionate guide to the natural history of the hills and bayshore around Berkeley and Oakland. Out of this modest first effort a major California cultural enterprise has taken shape. Heyday Books publishes around twenty-five books a year, founded two successful magazines--News from Native California and Bay Nature--and has taken a lead role in dozens of prominent public education programs throughout the state.
Our thirtieth anniversary in 2004 marked a great change for Heyday Books: the independent publisher merged with its nonprofit wing, Clapperstick Institute, to become Heyday Institute, completing its transition to a full-fledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit enterprise. For a list of our funders and supporters, please see our donors.
If you would like to find out more about how you can support Heyday Institute--and receive lots of terrific benefits--please visit our Friends of Heyday page.
Our Partnerships
From the start, Heyday has worked in partnership with many of California's leading cultural organizations. We cofounded California Historical Society Press with the California Historical Society and together have published several distinguished books. Heyday also has produced books in conjunction with the California Council for the Humanities; the California State Library; the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; the Oakland Museum of California; the Commonwealth Club of California; Santa Clara University; the California Academy of Sciences; the Japanese American National Museum; the Yosemite Association; and many others.
Working with the California Legacy Project at Santa Clara University, we produce our California Legacy series, which serves to preserve and promote our state's literary and cultural heritage. Our books on the Inland Empire focus on the inland region of southern California, and we recently formed a partnership with the Inlandia Institute at the Riverside Public Library. Our Great Valley Books imprint promotes wide appreciation of the diverse Central Valley. In 2008, we began publishing books on Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada for the Yosemite Association.
Heyday's Board of Directors
Michael McCone, Chairman
Barbara Boucke
Peter Dunckel
Karyn Y. Flynn
Theresa Harlan
Leanne Hinton
Nancy Hom
Susan Ives
Bruce Kelley
Marty Krasney
Guy Lampard
Katharine Livingston
R. Jeffrey Lustig
Lee Swenson
Jim Swinerton
Lisa Van Cleef
Lynne Withey
Thanks to Our Donors
We are grateful for the generous funding we've received for our publications and programs during the past year from foundations and individual donors. Major supporters include:
Anonymous; Audubon California; Judith and Phillip Auth; Barona Band of Mission Indians; B.C.W. Trust III; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; Barbara and Fred Berensmeier; Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Civic Arts Commission; Joan Berman; Peter and Mimi Buckley; Lewis and Sheana Butler; Butler Koshland Fund; California State Automobile Association; California State Coastal Conservancy; California State Library; Joanne Campbell; Candelaria Fund; John and Nancy Cassidy Family Foundation, through Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Creative Work Fund; Columbia Foundation; The Community Action Fund; Community Futures Collective; Compton Foundation, Inc.; Lawrence Crooks; Ida Rae Egli; Donald and Janice Elliott, in honor of David Elliott, through Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Evergreen Foundation; Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria; Mark and Tracy Ferron; Furthur Foundation; George Gamble; Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation; Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund; Ben Graber, in honor of Sandy Graber; Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund; Walter & Elise Haas Fund; James and Coke Hallowell; Sandra and Chuck Hobson; James Irvine Foundation; Marty and Pamela Krasney; Robert and Karen Kustel, in honor of Bruce Kelley; Guy Lampard and Suzanne Badenhoop; LEF Foundation; Michael McCone; National Endowment for the Arts; National Park Service; Organize Training Center; Patagonia; Pease Family Fund, in honor of Bruce Kelley; Resources Legacy Fund; Alan Rosenus; San Francisco Foundation; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Deborah Sanchez; Contee and Maggie Seely; James B. Swinerton; Swinerton Family Fund; Taproot Foundation; Thendara Foundation; Lisa Van Cleef and Mark Gunson; Marion Weber; Albert and Susan Wells; Peter Booth Wiley; Dean Witter Foundation; and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.
