Chicago Review Press turns 40

In the early '70s, when Curt and Linda Matthews were just out of graduate school (his degree in American literature and hers in English literature), the young couple conducted experiments to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives.


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They taught at Northwestern University, opened a tiny bookstore on Walton Place near the Drake Hotel and founded a publishing company called the Chicago Review Press. They dabbled in all three vocations, discovering what they liked and what they didn't. After about four years, they settled on the Chicago Review Press and put their full energy behind making the company a success.

It seems their zeal was not wasted.

Chicago Review Press celebrates its 40th anniversary in publishing this year and is having one of its most profitable years to boot. Sales for 2013 are up more than 10 percent, according to publisher Cynthia Sherry.

In a small conference room in the Press' River North office, one wall filled with shelves of the Press' books, the Matthewses recalled how quickly they changed their "highfalutin" ideas about what books were worth publishing.

"We published a couple of really good books, including these Japanese poetry books in translation, and they didn't sell worth a darn," Linda Matthews said. "We soon said to each other (that) if we wanted to keep eating, we better do something that made a little more money, so we became much more commercial. Curt's business instincts surfaced very quickly."

The Press' next books were histories of local corporations and Chicago guidebooks targeted to hip, young travelers. With these nonfiction titles, the couple found the sales channels their Japanese poetry books couldn't.

Today the Press' inventory is almost all nonfiction books, including "First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School" by Alison Stewart, "Women Heroes of World War II" by Kathryn J. Atwood and "Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare" by John Austin.

"I am always looking for books where there is an audience," Sherry said. "I am looking to figure out whether somebody needs this book."

The couple also adopted technological advancements early, purchasing a computer in 1982 and publishing e-books beginning in 2001.

And they had a stroke of luck that allowed them to prosper in their first years: Their book "The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar," a memoir by Frank Hohimer, a mob-connected burglar, was optioned by director Michael Mann and made into the 1981 movie "Thief."

"In the book business, you sell options to movies all the time, and they almost never happen," Curt Matthews said. "This one actually got made, but first they paid us $25,000 a year for seven years before they made the movie, so that helped."

Sherry, who started in the accounting department, took over as publisher in 2005. Under her leadership, the Press rarely offers large advances, but it is willing to spend time working with debut authors.

"It's amazing because they are incredibly supportive," said Ytasha Womack, author of "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture." "They saw my work, heard my voice and believed in it and wanted to support me through and through."

Many Chicago Review Press authors commented on the publisher's diligence.

"There were a lot of really tough conversations about the right title and the right cover that seemed agonizing at the time," said Natalie Moore, co-author with Lance Williams of "The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang." "But I really appreciated their expertise in making sure that booksellers would take to the book."

Sherry plans to expand the Press' portfolio to 75 new print titles next year, 10 more than this year. She's also looking to expand the Press' e-book offerings, including increasing the number of packages that offer e-books bundled with print editions.

The Matthewses are not heavily involved in day-to day operations anymore, but are active in the company's direction and focus. They have a simple wish for the next 40 years.

"I hope our future holds more of the same," Curt Matthews said, smiling and glancing at the book-filled wall.

Courtney Crowder covers the Chicago literary scene for Printers Row Journal.

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