This is a big week for Chronicle Books. Today I am honored to launch our blog, which all of us here at Chronicle have been eagerly anticipating. It also marks the launch of our 40th anniversary celebrations. And where better to pop the champagne than in our brand new office?

By the time you turn 40, you really are grown up enough to get your own place. And you should see our new digs! It’s a wonderful post-earthquake (as in 1906 earthquake) warehouse—lots of red brick, exposed beams, massive drayage doors—that’s been converted into a fantastic contemporary space. Although I myself reside in what can only be described as The Batcave, the rest of the building is flooded with light.

Our company is inspired by the magic and importance of books in people’s lives. As a publisher, though, you can’t help but feel guilty about all the trees that go into our craft. That’s one reason we prefer to print our books and stationery titles on papers from sustainable forest growth. We’ve also tried to refurbish the building in an environmentally conscious way. For example, we’ve installed solar panels on the roof.

All the old carpet tile was removed and immediately reinstalled in two local projects. And many of the furnishings are crafted here in the Bay Area and have been created from recycled materials. My own favorites are the seats made out of craft paper that look like giant mushroom caps. There’s this moment of faith as you lower yourself on to this humongous fungus and lo! it’s comfy! There’s also a gorgeous and gigantic refectory table made from a naturally fallen log. Even when you’re perched atop a counter stool, it hits somewhere about chin height. Although Sandy, our receptionist who presides over this area, will greet you with a smile that’s far more benign than that of the Cheshire Cat, the whole effect is a wee bit Alice in Wonderlandish. A reference to our Children’s list, perhaps—or a nod to 1967 and our founding 40 years ago in the Summer of Love?

The building has also been designed to enhance in-house communication in myriad ways, with lots of casual creative space throughout and the entire top floor devoted to both informal and formal areas for coming together with colleagues. This blend of the past and the present, of creating things in unexpected ways is borne out not only in our new building but also in our business in general. It’s mirrored in our history and how we go about our publishing.

Our Chairman, Nion McEvoy, is the great-grandson of Michael DeYoung, who founded the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, so his family has been in the vanguard of local media since the 1800s. Here at Chronicle Books we take pride in being in the forefront, in seeing things differently. Looking back over these 40 years, that’s meant taking all different kinds of risks. Maybe it was publishing something that raised a few eyebrows—such as our book Sushi, originally published in 1983, when, in the U.S. at least, raw fish was usually eaten only by the cat. Sushi was also one of the first fully illustrated food books, establishing not only Chronicle’s reputation in the kitchen, but also an entirely fresh perspective on cookbooks. Or maybe it was Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine, the epistolary series of novels that we decided to take a punt on with a first printing of 10,000 copies before going on to sell over 3 million. Then, again, maybe it was a different approach to doing business. Jack Jensen, who started at Chronicle Books as a sales rep and is now the company’s President, tells the story of how, about 20 years ago, he went to sell the big bookstore chains our lovely, lovely, new books one season—and they didn’t take a single one! That’s when he determined we needed to get into special markets—and why nowadays you’ll find Chronicle titles at your local gift shop, at the car wash, in mall retailers, as well as your local bookstore, whether that’s a chain or an independent. The same desire to see things differently also prompted us to start a Gift line of stationery, journals, kits—allowing us as a publisher to deliver information and delight in all sorts of innovative forms.

But enough about us! (Forgive me: it’s not every day you turn 40.) Our blog is, first and foremost, about you. We hope you will take this as an opportunity to tell us what you think of our work and share your ideas. Mercifully, you won’t have to listen to me every day. Many of my colleagues will be contributing to this blog, sharing their perspectives and what’s new in our key publishing areas: art, design, and photography; food and wine, crafts, and the home; well-being; pop culture; children’s books; and stationery. Whether they’re from editorial, design, production, sales, marketing, or operations, they’d love to hear your thoughts. From when the company was founded in 1967, we’ve always cherished being in touch with our customers. Now, 40 years later, we’re grateful for the all the exciting conduits we have for doing that—this blog among them.

As a way of saying thank you, we’re giving away 40 free titles to one of our readers every month this year. Please enter via our Giveaway page at www.chroniclebooks.com/40th.

Wherever and whenever we celebrate our birthday this year, we will be raising a glass to you. In the meantime, thank you, on behalf of all of us here at Chronicle Books, for your support—past, present, and future. Here’s to you!

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