the behind the scenes story of

Established 1995

Established 2006

“Some people ask me why I make books, in my case illustrated volumes of photography and the photographic
image. To some I say: we don’t know any better, and to others lament: it’s the only thing we know how to do.
But truth be told, it’s our native human desire to tell stories, to help others tell them.

“So how do those of us with such limited practical aptitude or knowledge of smarter things to do with our lives,
and scarce monies?
“We get lucky.
“Yes, getting lucky is the great success secret of publishing; friend-of-friends, neighbors, romantic entanglements,
happenstance, and most importantly, kismet are the foundations of some of the most successful publishing
lists and individual titles we know today. In publishing, inevitably, something will happen. You just have to be
smart enough to recognize it and good enough to do something with it.”

—Daniel Power, Founder and Publisher, powerHouse Books

powerHouse Books, the world-renowned and critically acclaimed publisher, is best known for its diverse
publishing program—specialized in fine art, documentary, pop culture, fashion, and celebrity books. We have
blazed a trail through the staid book publishing industry, releasing books that have sparked cultural trends
and redefined commonly held perceptions of the purpose and role of art books in contemporary culture. While
much is known of our books, little is known of the people who have made powerHouse Books a global name.

Founder and Publisher Daniel Power got his start at Stuart Brent Books, a now-defunct bookstore in Chicago.
He quickly became Store Manager and the lunch companion of Stuart Brent, Chicago’s most famous and idio-
syncratic bookseller. In late 1987, he was hired by George Braziller and moved to New York City.

Five months later, he moved on to the Aperture Foundation, working in sales and marketing. After 18 months
of enlightening frustration, Power moved on again to part-time gigs with both Artforum and Parkett magazine.
In early 1990, Power met Sharon Gallagher, and along with the Parkett team formed
distribution consortium D.A.P.

Power left D.A.P. at the end of 1994 and started powerHouse Books. His first release, Jack Pierson’s All of
a Sudden, was an artist’s book. “It did very well, and I thought, hey, this is easy,” Power recalls. “Then I did my
first ground-up book, Red Light: Inside the Sex Industry, and while successful, it proved to be a lot more
difficult than I anticipated.”

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com
powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.
 Sensing the need for either a sounding board or a padded cell, Power opted for the former and allowed Craig
Cohen to join the mayhem in 1996.

The early years had Power and Cohen tag-teaming on a few books at a time, raising the bar each season until,
in 1998, powerHouse Books had its first best-seller, Women Before 10 A.M. by Véronique Vial, and followed
up that success in 1999 with the critically acclaimed cult monographs X-Ray by François Nars and Life is Paradise
by Francesco Clemente and Vincent Katz.

In 2000, Cohen became a partner in the company, with the title of Vice President and Associate Publisher. He
quickly signed up the next company bestseller, Back in the Days by Jamel Shabazz, and made a deal with
Capitol Records to produce the Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science. “For me, these two
projects defined our ability to break out of the publishing curve,” observes Cohen. “ Back in the Days virtually
single-handedly revived the old-school hip hop genre, and our Capitol Records deal showed that we could play
with the big boys and perform at the highest level.”
With the publishing program growing rapidly, Power and Cohen hired Sara Rosen as Publicity Director in
2000. She instantly established a stellar rep in the industry: “A vivacious and creative Miss Rosen brings
the ruckus with her innovative promotional campaigns highlighting powerHouse’s creative visions,” comments
Janene Outlaw at The New York Times. “She is the Truth!”
In addition to handling publicity, promotions, and marketing, Rosen was Project Manager for Autograf: New
York City’s Graffiti Writers by Peter Sutherland (now in its third printing), and started her imprint, Miss
Rosen Editions, in Fall 2005, with powerHouse Books. Her titles include It’s All Good by Boogie, Bombshell:
The Life and Crimes of Claw Money, and Bears by Kent Rogowski.
The brain trust of powerHouse Books was now set, and the company has since redefined the cultural landscape
of the illustrated book, the only U.S. independent publishing company to do so.
New York September 11 by Magnum Photographers was a visceral, instant document by Magnum and pH,
the best thing a publishing company and a photo agency could do to help the city and the country both
remember and recover (Giuliani’s famous response to the terrorist attack was for New-Yorkers get back to
doing what they normally do as quickly as possible); the book went on to sell some 300,000 copies worldwide,
enabling powerHouse Books to donate over $600,000 to the New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund.
In 2002, pH partnered with Nike to publish Sole Provider: 30 Years of Nike Basketball, a history of their
famous sneaker line; the book sold out in a record one week. “The relationships we’ve been able to form with
corporate partners for branding and packaging have been one of the keys to our success over the past few
years,” says Cohen, who worked with the The Gap to secure their promotional support for Alice Harris’ book
The Blue Jean, as well as Olympus and Aveda for support of Patrick McMullan’s 2004 book InTents. More
recent deals include partnerships with international diamond titan De Beers for Alice Harris’ second pH book,
The Wedding Album, Puma for The African Game, Ultimate Fighting Championship for Octagon, Burton
Snowboards for 28 Day Winter, Glamour for In Search of Hope, and Urban Outfitters for the new series of
pH Classics.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

 powerHouse Books has had immense critical, as well as commercial success, for a wide variety of books: Guy
Oseary’s Madonna Confessions, Kevin Roberts’ Lovemarks: the future beyond brands, LeRoy Neiman’s
The LeRoy Neiman Sketchbook: 1964 Liston vs. Clay—1965 Ali vs. Liston, Helen Levitt’s Crosstown,
François Nars’ Makeup Your Mind, Ron Galella’s Disco Years, Jim Jocoy’s Phil Stern: A Life’s Work, Jeff
Bridges’ Pictures (with Herter Studio), Patrick McMullan’s so8os, and Mike and Doug Starn’s
Attracted to Light (a Blind Spot Book).

“powerHouse Books has brass cojones to publish the material they do,” observes Arlene Gottfried, author of
Midnight, a collection of portraits spanning two decades in the life of her friend Midnight, a paranoid schizophrenic.
powerHouse has also published books on adult infantilism (The Babies by Polly Borland), the aging male
nude (A Body and Body Parts by John Coplans), government repression in Guatemala (Our Culture Is Our
Resistance by Jonathan Moller), the Taliban—before anyone had ever heard of them (Afghanistan Diary
1992–2000 by Edward Grazda), youth crime (Juvenile and East Side Stories: Gang Life in East L.A. by
Joseph Rodriguez), and the homeless (Sidewalk Stories by Salvo Galano), among many other challenging
subjects.

In addition to taking on hardcore subject matter, pH has also taken the company’s public persona to the next
level by opening a gallery and bookstore. “Being naturally thrifty,” Power reveals, “I saved up enough to move
our 950-square foot cubby hole at 180 Varick Street to a sumptuous new 5,000-square foot space around the
corner, at 68 Charlton Street, in the then up-and-coming Hudson Square area of lower Manhattan.”

In its first incarnation, The powerHouse Gallery & Bookstore, designed by Scott Koniecko, occupied the
front 1,500-square feet of the office space in the Hudson Square. An area described by The New Yorker as
“...a still-lonely section of West SoHo where grunge (UPS shipping depot) coexists with glamour (multimillion-
dollar apartments)...This neighborhood has an appealingly motley heritage...”

The powerHouse Gallery & Bookstore proved a spectacular space for exhibitions and special events. John
Cohen, author of There is No Eye and Young Bob, commented that the maiden event hosted at the space
reminded him of the parties held in the bohemian Greenwich Village of the 1960s.

Susanne König became the director of The powerHouse Gallery upon its opening in 2003. The powerHouse
Gallery hosted exhibitions for established and upcoming artists to launch their books with powerHouse,
including Judy Chicago, Charles Peterson, Larry Fink, David Yellen, Christopher Griffith, LeRoy Neiman,
Martha Cooper, Christopher Makos, Jamel Shabazz, Janette Beckman, Ricky Powell, Ron Galella, Steven
Katzman, Helen Levitt, and Thomas Roma.

In 2005, pH launched its first foray into photography and publishing services by offering seasonal portfolio
reviews at The powerHouse Gallery and bringing together industry professionals from book and magazine
publishing, galleries, and agencies, as well as powerHouse Books artists, to critique the work of non-profes-
sional photographers in a traditional portfolio review setting. During that summer, powerHouse Books provided
in-depth insight and expertise in a series of publishing workshops at The powerHouse Gallery, focusing on
editorial, design, production, and promotion for aspiring authors.

Eventually, the rat-infested neighborhood became too much—that is, the human variety of rat, the new net
leaseholders of the 68 Charlton Street location in particular—so in March 2006 pH decamped to a new outpost,
37 Main Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, and in the process launched a laboratory for creative thought, exhibitions,
installations, presentations, displays, viewings, performances, readings, and retail therapy—all drawing upon
photography and popular culture as sources of inspiration.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

 In October 2006, The powerHouse Arena opened: a 10,200-square foot marquee showroom and retail space
unlike any other in New York City, featuring a soaring 24-foot ceiling on the 5,000-square foot ground floor,
and an equally impressive 5,200-square foot mezzanine—with over 175 feet of glass frontage combined. This
incredible new venue was designed by the esteemed archetectural firm David Howell Design.

“I’ve always dreamt that we would inhabit an inspirational space—a space where classical architecture mixes
with vaulted ceilings and height to emphasize the nobility of man’s loftier pursuits of knowledge and pleasure.
Nothing in any borough comes close to the feeling that comes from our new space, save for Grand Central
Station,” says Power. “The general vibe of DUMBO is what certain places in Manhattan felt like decades ago;
the East Village and SoHo in the late 80s, Hudson Square in the 90s. In DUMBO, questions and possibilities
abound; this will be a perfect place to situate a laboratory of thought, which is what powerHouse intends to do.”

powerHouse Books was selected for the 37 Main Street space by Two Trees Management Co., which owns
most of DUMBO (short for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”). The company’s holdings include 13
buildings and the second-largest portfolio of commercial space on the Brooklyn waterfront, which totals 3
million-square feet in size.

“We’re excited to welcome powerHouse to our DUMBO community,” said Jed Walentas, a partner in Two
Trees Management. “The addition of this bookstore/creative laboratory brings us closer to the vision we have
for DUMBO—an intoxicating lifestyle and environment where people can live, work, shop, and play.”

Power says this is merely the beginning. “We’ve only just gotten the place, and it has already paid numerous
dividends in the form of future cultural collaborations with the city’s leading arts entities and our corporate part-
ners, including the most dynamic and innovative agencies out there. The future is white hot, and the possibili-
ties grow themselves.”

In early 2007, the powerHouse Arena Skylounge was born: a second gallery, located on the mezzanine, featur-
ing a selection of images from powerHouse limited editions and a rotating series of exhibitions. Then the Fall of
2007, the powerHouse Arena launched Windows on Main: The powerHouse boilerRoom, a new gallery, utiliz-
ing 250-square feet of window space on the Arena’s Main Street side. Visible from the street level, the boiler-
Room is open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing exhibiting artists maximum visibility to the
neighborhood’s vibrant arts community. boilerRoom exhibitions combine a mélange of fine art, commercial
work, retail products, advertising, and other forms of dynamic visual ephemera. It would seem the sky is truly
the limit for the powerHouse enterprise.

For more information, please contact Sara Rosen, Publicity Director

powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 212-604-9074 x105, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: sara@powerHouseBooks.com

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

 “Daniel Power runs powerHouse Books the way all publishers should: with personal care,” notes Myriam
Santos-Kayda, author of David Bowie: Live in New York. “About putting out books with something to say.
About books with guts. About books with personality. It was a pleasure working with the whole team.”

The dedicated staff of powerHouse Books also includes Kiki Bauer, Production Director and Art Directors’
Club Award-winning designer of A Body by John Coplans; Mine Suda, Senior Designer; Wes Del Val, VP,
Sales; Will Luckman, Managing Editor; Craig Mathis, Arena Events Manager; Tami Mnoian, PR/Marketing
Associate; Orkan Benli, Designer; Chaz Requina, Director of New Media; and Nathan Brown, Arena Manager.

“Now’s the time for powerHouse Books to be declared a national treasure,” declares Marvin Heiferman of
Lookout Books, author of Love Is Blind and packager of Clown Paintings by Diane Keaton. “In a publishing
climate driven by uninspired salesmen and marketers, and in contrast to one-note publishers content to crank
out a safe and predictable product, powerHouse takes risks, pushes boundaries, supports fresh talent, and
nurtures an ongoing dialog between images and ideas. How can you beat that?”

For more information, please contact Sara Rosen, Publicity Director

powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 212-604-9074 x105, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: sara@powerHouseBooks.com

Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

 powerHouse Press

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201-1021 tel 212 604 9074 fax 212 365 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com

powerHouse Books is a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, Inc.