.Best Small Publisher: An altruistic press that makes building community a priority

In an age in which people feel increasingly disconnected, it’s good to know that there’s someone out there finding dynamic community action and publishing books about it. The brainchild of Lynne Elizabeth and a national publishing project of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, Oakland-based New Village Press tackles topics as diverse as youth justice, community gardens, and community arts for not just professionals but activists in the thick of the struggle to nurture their neighborhoods. Upcoming titles include Performing Communities: Grassroots Ensemble Theaters Deeply Rooted in Eight US Communities; Works of Heart: Building Village Through the Arts; and Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons Through Prison Horticulture. Is there a market for all this? Who knows? But one of these books could change your life.