The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damn Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher

Paperback, 6 x 9, with over 40 black- and-white photographs, 384 pages.

ISBN: 9781597142878.

By Kim Bancroft

Winner of the California Book Award, Gold Medal for Contribution to Publishing.

Winner of the Northern California Book Reviewers Recognition Award.

In an age of big box stores and media conglomerates, how can an independent publishing house survive—and even thrive? Kim Bancroft takes us into Heyday, a small press that for forty years has spotlighted California’s best stories. Drawing from the words of founder Malcolm Margolin, this compelling portrait recounts the making of Heyday, from its roots in the do-it-yourself/change-the-world clime of 1970s Berkeley to its present-day status as the “cultural linchpin for the state” (Northern California Book Booksellers Association). A chorus of friends, including Maxine Hong Kingston, Robert Hass, and Kevin Starr, enriches our understanding of a vibrant literary community and its one-of-a-kind leader. Funny and provocative, The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin reveals the workings of a courageously unconventional enterprise run on beauty, passion, friendship, and joy.

Reviews

''[An] adventurous, insightful, and delightful saga of storytelling.'' Midwest Book Review

''Malcolm Margolin has spent a lifetime bringing the California legend to life. He has brought our unrivaled diversity of native languages, cultures, species, and habitats into our hands and imaginations. There's no greater tribute to the man than what he's inspired us to save.'' Mike Sweeney, executive director, The Nature Conservancy

''Kim Bancroft here elegantly wrestles into flowing prose the joyous intellect, the contagious spirit, and the rapturous soul of Malcolm Margolin. Sharing the poignant path of this passionate publisher and community builder, Bancroft gives us all the gifts that are Malcolm and all that he has shared about this place we call California.'' Anthea M. Hartig, executive director, California Historical Society

''Reading Malcolm's story here--and reading others' stories about Malcolm--put me in the presence of the wonderful, brilliant, and kindhearted man that I've known and cherished. What a treasure!''

''If you don't yet know Malcolm, prepare yourself to meet the uncle you wish you had, the glue that holds the sweetest parts of California together, and some very hilarious picaresque adventures amid this still-golden state.'' Rebecca Solnit, author of The Faraway Nearby

''Malcolm Margolin should be bronzed (if it wouldn't hurt). He and Heyday are treasures beyond computation, bringing to light authors and issues that too many overlook or ignore. On top of that, he's a wise and kindly man and in this degenerate age his perspective should have the widest possible audience. Read this book. You won't be disappointed.'' Peter Coyote

+ Show all reviews

Category History

About the Author

Kim Bancroft

Longtime teacher turned editor and writer, Kim Bancroft earned a B.A. in English from Stanford, an M.A. in English and a teaching credential from San Francisco State University, and a doctorate in education from UC Berkeley. She has taught at high schools and community colleges in the Bay Area, at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico, and at Sacramento State. In 2014 Kim edited H.H.B.’s 1890 autobiography, Literary Industries, published by Heyday Books. She also wrote a biography of the founder of Heyday Books, called The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damn Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher. Of many other memoirs that Kim has recently helped create, she has edited two of Native friends in the Willits area where she now lives in a cabin in the woods. Kim is also seeking to publish a book she wrote with a former classmate, David Waddell, called Same School, Different Class: A Dual Memoir of School Integration.

Preview

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damn Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher

By Kim Bancroft

Reviews

About the Author

Kim Bancroft

HEYDAY IS AN INDEPENDENT, NONPROFIT PUBLISHER AND A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF WRITERS AND READERS.

P.O. Box 9145Berkeley, CA 94709(510) 549-3564

Newsletter Sign Up

PRIVACY POLICY