NEWS: Bridge Books Announces Acquisition of StepSister Press
NEWS
Bridge Books Announces Acquisition of StepSister Press
Bridge Books, a division of Bridge Art NFP, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that publishes the Bridge Journal, the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, and that recently announced the launch of its Bridge Books Division, today announces the acquisition of the Chicago-based StepSister Press. Founded by artist-turned-translator Annie Heckman, the press will continue to exist and operate as a stand-alone imprint within the newly founded Bridge Books division, and continue to fulfill orders for its full slate of titles. A new homepage for the press has been launched at bridge-books.org.
Bridge Books will manage all StepSister existing titles, ensuring that current titles will enjoy full continuity for orders and fulfillment. In addition, a number of new and legacy projects already slated for publication will move ahead, including publication of the annual journal of the Museum and Exhibition Studies graduate program under the leadership of professor Therese Quinn.
“Back in 2007, I was building a small art press business with a friend and started a file folder on my computer called ‘stepsister.’ I dropped projects in that folder if they inspired me, but somehow didn’t fit the mission of our shared organization. This label was sort of a literary reference to Cinderella, but it didn’t exactly make sense — it was more of a gut move for how we manage all the information flowing through a business. When the press that my friend and I were developing failed to launch, I went into my folder and started a limited liability company called StepSister Press instead. The main criterion for books early on was simply that each title should include work by a contemporary artist. Since then, the goals of the press have evolved with its contributors. It now includes a number of standalone titles as well as a robust museum studies series. It so happens that Bridge was establishing its books division just as I was seeing that StepSister was truly too big for my personal capacities. I’m so happy to watch it leave my hands, alive and well, and continue in a spirit of collaboration and longevity.”
"I'm thrilled that our journal, and all of StepSister's titles, will continue on with Bridge.” says Therese Quinn, Professor and Director of the program in Museum and Exhibition Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Editor of FWD: Museums. “It's important to the program and valuable for our students to work with one of Chicago's fine independent presses."
“It’s an exciting time to be working here at Bridge. In development for some time, the announcement of Bridge Books’ acquisition of StepSister Press is an important puzzle piece in the slate of fascinating titles, projects and partnerships launching in 2023,” says Bridge Executive Director Michael Workman. “StepSister Press brings with it an opportunity to expand the reach of our not for profit programming to their existing audiences, provide continuity for existing authors, and develop new titles under the StepSister imprint. It also marks our first partnership with an academic institution in the Program in Museum and Exhibition Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago.”
View the full press release here.
