When publishing veteran Ashley Gordon opened her Mockingbird Publishing venture last summer, she realized, “This was my opportunity to take what I’ve learned and do something that really made my heart move,” she explained recently to CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “At Mockingbird, I combine our publishing mission with the mission of a nonprofit and use books and other media to convey their message in a compelling story.”
Mockingbird’s first title, “Year Of Our Lord,” has attracted high praise from authors and audiences. John Grisham writes, “Tom Pearson’s unlikely journey into the troubled soul of the Mississippi Delta yields a story filled with compassion, tolerance, and hope. His travel mate is Lucas McCarty, a 21 year-old white boy damaged at birth. Lucas can’t speak but is always welcome in the choir of a black Pentecostal church where he is accepted without reservation. Author and subject form a unique friendship, one captured not only in Pearson’s elegant prose but also in the extraordinary photography of Langdon Clay.”
As publishing industry observer Brian O’Leary notes, “It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget what drew [us] to this particular profession. Listening to Gordon talk about Mockingbird, ‘a non-fiction imprint whose books marry text and photography to share stories with a larger social message,’ serves as a reminder.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed