Bess Press

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Bess Press
Founded1979;46 years ago (1979)
FounderBenjamin Bess
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters location Honolulu
Publication typesBooks
Official website www.besspress.com

Bess Press is an American publisher, based in Hawaii, that issues various books on Hawaiian and Pacific history and culture. [1] It was founded in 1979 [2] by Benjamin "Buddy" Bess and his wife Ann Rayson [3] who came to Hawaii in 1976 from New York.

The company was created after the 1978 Constitutional Convention which mandated all schools to teach the history of Hawaii, creating an instant nationwide demand for history books. [3]

Bess bought the rights to two out-of-print textbooks on Hawaiian language, Hawaii: The Aloha State and Hawaii: Our Island State that local schools asked about when he was a sales representative for mainland publishers. He reprinted both volumes for $15,000, and pre-sold the copies, thus making a profit.

The publishing house has been an Amazon first-party vendor since the 1990s. [4] In the late 2000s, Bress Press lost 20% of its distribution network when Borders went under. [4]

Bress Press has 5 publishing divisions and a store in Kaimuki. [3] In 2011, it acquired the local publishing company Editions Limited. [5] David DeLuca was named director of publishing in 2012. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Nilsen, Robert (2007). Moon O'ahu. Avalon Travel. p. 368. ISBN   978-1-56691-958-6 . Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  2. ↑ "About". Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Mendoza, Jim (2021-06-11). "42 years young, a family-owned publishing company looks forward to the next chapter". www.hawaiinewsnow.com. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  4. 1 2 3 McInnis, Brian (24 June 2021). "David DeLuca of Bess Press Inc. on the evolving publishing industry". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  5. ↑ Alex (2011-02-09). "Bess Press acquires Editions Limited - Hawaii Book Blog" . Retrieved 2025-08-22.


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