Seattlest: Burning the Past

Katie

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:07:42 -0800

Thanks for that, Jeremy. I had no idea McSweeney's was in such a dire situation! It was hard to keep myself from gushing about 826 National/Eggers/McSweeney's in that post, but I'm happy to do it down here. GO BUY SOMETHING: www[dot]mcsweeneys[dot]net. Because a literary world without McSweeney's and 826 will be a miserable one!

Jeremy M. Barker

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:41:31 -0800

I also have to point out that now is the best time to support 826. The national organization, started by Dave Eggers and associated with McSweeney's publishing, was hit hard earlier this year when their distributor, Publishers Group West, declared bankruptcy and defaulted on payments to its publishers. McSweeney's lost about $130,000 and is currently liquidating stock and trying to keep afloat as it seeks bankruptcy protection. That threatens crucial support for 826 programs, who likely themselves lost money in the PGW bankruptcy.

Julia

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:05:49 -0800

Thank you so much for writing about this on Seattlest. I was involved the the project (design-wise) for both years and I think it's an amazing project. 826 does really great things and their volunteers are incredibly committed. It's crazy what can accomplished by a non-profit. Everyone should go out and buy a copy of the book because the writing really is excellent, and it comes with an audio CD!