For the past several weeks, Osama Bin Laden and Taliban book titles have topped the National Campus Bestseller List at the Penn Bookstore. But none of those books were published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
The Penn Press, which boasts an active backlist of over 800 titles, has no books of particular insight or relevance to the events of Sept. 11.
Penn Press Director Eric Halpern said the organization had focused primary on its historical series instead of books with contemporary importance.
As a result, the Penn Press is flailing in the wake of the terrorist attacks, according to Halpern, who called September sales "dismal." The press brought in only two-thirds of the money it expected for the month.
Widespread economic distress has disturbed book sales across the nation.
But presses at competing Ivy League institutions were more prepared to meet the rush for Middle Eastern titles.
Columbia University Press has enjoyed tremendous sales, reprinting Hazbollah, Inside Terrorism and Terrorism in the Media after Sept. 11. Demand for these books continues to overwhelm the publisher.
Penn Press Book sales have been suffering since last April. And Halpern said he does not anticipate that sales will reach anywhere near last year's admittedly-meager level.
Books, magazines and other print entertainment are especially struggling to find their niche following the attacks on New York and Washington.
And Halpern anticipates its slump will continue for months to come.
"Because books take so long it's not easy to react quickly," said Halpern. "They can sometimes take years."
Halpern said that "there is a lot of soul searching going on. It's resulted in reappraising what it is we do."
Now, the Penn Press plans to pay more attention to books of global relevance.
The press will expand its series on Middle Eastern cultures, political science and human rights. However, these long-term projects will not aid in the immediate sales crisis.
But several Ivy League presses cannot keep their Middle Eastern titles on the shelves.
Religion and State, published by Columbia earlier this year, recently sold out of stores and is currently on back order.
And Yale University Press experienced a similar spike in sales. In one month, the Yale Press increased its printing of The Taliban from 10,000 copies to over 200,000 copies.
"With the demand for those books comes a decreased demand for other books," Yale Press spokeswoman Heather Dauria said.
In the meantime, the Penn Press will pump up promotions for its recent, non-terrorist-related titles, including The Man Who Made Wall Street and La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany.
