Beckham Publications Group, www.beckhamhouse.com, the joint venture house in Silver Spring, Maryland, has added a literary agency component to its services. Their first client is Walter E. Massey, former chairman of Bank of America.
"Some of our authors can benefit from the resources of larger publishers," says Barry Beckham, president and publisher, "so we will query houses about titles that have enormous market appeal rather than release them ourselves. We will focus on memoirs and autobiographies and handle just a few authors a year."
Beckham says that Massey's memoir represents the first time that a board member of Bank of America has described the behind-the-scenes activity during the nation's scariest financial crisis in 2008.
"His inspiring story exhibits the exceptional multi-dimensional capabilities that have catapulted him to success," says the publisher. Massey was the first black physics professor at Brown University, the first black director of the National Science Foundation, head of the Argonne National Laboratory, and president of Morehouse College for 12 years. He has received more than 40 honorary degrees.
"In addition," says Beckham, "he talks about his personal difficulties like a psychologically devastating divorce, a mother debilitated by alcoholism, and his life being threatened during a racial disturbance in St. Louis."
Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago, will write the foreword for "Nonstop from Hattiesburg: The Autobiography of Walter E. Massey."
Thelma Austin, president of My Family Voices, www.myfamilyvoices.com, will serve as administrative coordinator for agency operations. "Thelma has a terrific background in memoirs—and just as impressive—has an MBA from Columbia School of Business," says Beckham.
The publisher met Massey when both were faculty members at Brown University. Beckham was director of the graduate writing program while and Massey was dean of the college.
The company's memoirs include among others, Tony Napoli's "My Father, My Don: A Son's Journey from Organized Crime to Sobriety," Angel Marinaccio's "Be Home on Time When I Put the Water Up for Pasta," and Sidney Offit's "Memoir of the Bookie's Son."
Their unique joint venture publishing assists self-published writers by providing all editorial and production services. Authors make the final decisions and share in the profits. Beckham Publications also offers trade book distribution through Baker & Taylor Publisher Services in addition to print on demand.
Says Beckham, who has authored nonfiction and fiction, "I tell my clients that I'm the only publisher whose novels have been favorably reviewed by the 'New York Times,' been director of a graduate writing program, and serves on the board of the Authors Guild."
About Beckham Publications Group
Beckham Publications Group, Inc. (www.beckhamhouse.com) is a major Internet publisher specializing in cutting edge and multicultural titles. Founder and president Barry Beckham is a novelist whose works have been critically acclaimed by the New York Times Book Review and was director of the graduate writing program at Brown University where he taught for 17 years.
