Readers will recall from our May eNEWS that BNC decided to expand this Section to include the people that make the City of Berkeley such a special place. With that in mind, we couldn’t let this issue go by without acknowledging the 40th anniversary of Heyday Books and its founder, publisher and author, Berkeley resident, Malcolm Margolin. In his early seventies, with his long white beard, and short sleeved shirts, Mr. Margolin looks like he lives by his motto, anything that gets you out of the office is good.
He launched Heyday Books in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed and distributed The East Bay Out, a natural history of the hills and shores of Berkeley and Oakland. In the subsequent 40 years, Heyday published some 350 titles, 200 of which are still in print. To celebrate the anniversary, they published The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damn Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher. It’s a collection of stories by Mr. Margolin, his family and his colleagues, and what wonderful stories they are. In writing about this book, the San Francisco Chronicle (September 1, 2014) said:
Margolin’s children, Reuben, Sadie and Jake, remember growing up in rented houses full of books — boxes and boxes of them filling bathrooms and hallways. Their beds consisted of plywood boards placed over boxes of books.
The books that Heyday published have an emphasis on California and Native Americans. Many of them may never have seen the light of day if it hadn’t been for Mr. Margolin. In this day when the pleasure of holding a real book in your hands is being challenged, we owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. Margolin for providing us with information that ranges from the Ohlone to guiding us through the High Sierra. Listed among their Best Sellers are:
- A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us
- Citiscapes, San Francisco and Its Buildings
- The Laws Field Guide to the High Sierra
- Journey to Topaz (a Japanese girl’s internment during World War II)
- The Ohlone Way-Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area
- Tahoe Beneath the Surface
- Wherever There is a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California
Listed among their current titles are:
- Secrets of the Oak Woodlands
- Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970
- An Exploration of California’s State Parks
- Creating an Indian Style Coiled Basket
- A Short History of San Francisco
Along the way, Mr. Margolin turned Heyday Books into a 501(c)3 nonprofit with the following mission:
Heyday is an independent, nonprofit publisher and unique cultural institution. We promote widespread awareness and celebration of California’s many cultures, landscapes, and boundary-breaking ideas. Through our well-crafted books, public events and innovative outreach programs we are building a vibrant community of readers, writers and thinkers.
Heyday is now run by a 16-member Board of Directors and supported by hundreds of your Berkeley neighbors. You can find out more about their books, donating and special events at www.heyday.com. A Fortieth Anniversary Celebration is being planned for November 1st.
We thank you Malcolm Margolin, your family and what you have created with Heyday Books and what you have contributed to life in Berkeley. Happy Anniversary and may you and your work long prosper!