La Gazette du 221B : Hello Andrew, When and why was the BSI Press created ? Can you tell us its history?
Andrew Solberg : Like many Sherlockian chronological questions, there are several answers to that. The first book published by the BSI was a copy of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” back in 1948. Edgar W. Smith was the head of the BSI at that time, and, of course, he had published some wonderful Sherlockian books and believed in publishing. He edited The Baker Street Journal (“BSJ”), using his considerable staff (he was a Vice President at General Motors) to help get it out. During his leadership, the BSI published six books.
- 1948 The Blue Carbuncle
- 1955 Baker Street Studies, Bell, H.W.
- 1957 Baker Street and Beyond, Smith, E.W.
- 1957 The Incunabular Sherlock Holmes, Smith, E.W.
- 1959 Introducing Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Smith, E.W.
- 1959 Leaves from The Copper Beeches, Johnston, A.; Hart, T.; Shalet, H.A.; and Starr, H.W. (Editors)
So, arguably, the BSI has always been a publishing entity, and BSI Press was started under Edgar back in 1948.
Julian Wolff, M.D. became head of the BSI in 1960. Julian also had taken editorship of the BSJ, but he did not have the staff that Edgar had, and he typed the issues himself and assembled them on his dining room table. (See, Commissionaire: Julian Wolff and His Baker Street Irregulars, (New York: The Baker Street Irregulars, 2020.) Perhaps, because of that, there were not any books published during his tenure.
Tom Stix became the BSI’s head in 1986. One of his initiatives was to re-establish the BSI as a publishing entity. So, after a drought of thirty years, five books came out under Tom, four of them about the history of the BSI.
- 1989 Sherlock Holmes by Gas Lamp, Shreffler, P.
- 1989 Dear Starrett-Dear Briggs, Lellenberg, J.
- 1990 Irregular Memories of the Thirties, Lellenberg, J.
- 1991 Irregular Memories of the Early Forties, Lellenberg, J.
- 1995 Irregular Memories of the Mid Forties, Lellenberg,
Arguably, Baker Street Irregulars Press got its start by Tom Stix.
In 1997, Michael Whelan became head of the BSI. Mike wanted to continue the BSI’s role as publishing entity. He wanted to institutionalize the publication activity, establishing Publishers to oversee the endeavor and make sure that a new book(s) would come out every year. Under Mike’s reign (1997-2019), seventy-one books were published! There have only been one or two years when no book was brought out. This steady, continuous publication of wonderful books is what we think of when we refer to BSI Press today. So, arguably, BSI Press started under Mike Whelan in 1997.
Like I said, this is another opportunity for Sherlockians to argue about chronology.
Michael Kean, the current head of the BSI since 2019 has continued the publishing tradition. Since he became Wiggins, the BSI has published eighteen books, and we have two coming out in January 2025.
G.221B : How is it organized?
A.S. : The organization is quite simple, though it has changed over the last few years. John Bergquist and I are the Co-Publishers. My good friend Bob Katz was one of the Co-Publishers, and he stepped down last year to focus on being “Cartwright” in the BSI (second in line of the BSI). Michael Kean asked me to step in for Bob as Co-Publisher. So, I have only been in the role of Co-Publisher for less than a year. John is the production editor and prepares every book to be sent to the printer. I oversee the various series that we produce, oversee acquisitions, and make other decisions as they present themselves. I also edit some books and review all the book drafts that John and I receive. We have had several series over the years: Manuscript Series, International Series, Professions Series, BSI History Series, Biography Series, BSI Expedition and Special Volumes, etc. You can view all of our series at bakerstreetirregulars.com/bsi-books-list/.
For example, our most popular series is the Manuscript Series. Each book includes a high resolution scan of Conan Doyle’s handwritten manuscript of a Sherlock Holmes stories, with transcripts of the manuscript, and chapters about how it differs from published versions, the provenance of the manuscript, what was going on in Conan Doyle’s life, and interesting aspects of that specific adventure. These books are remarkable, as you can see the story in Conan Doyle’s hand and see what changes he made while writing it and afterward. Each book has an editor (or co-editors), and Andrew Fusco is the Series Editor, who chooses the editors and makes sure that they are producing the book on time. I have co-edited (with Bob Katz) four of the Manuscript Series books, and I have loved doing them.
Also, Bob and I co-edited two books on Sherlock Holmes and Medicine (Nerve and Knowledge and Stimulating Medicine) for the Professions Series. We “pitched” the idea for these books to the Series Editor (Marcia Pollak). Other Professions Series books include Canon Law, Education Never Ends, Corporals, Colonels, and Commissionaires, and My Scientific Methods.
Randall Stock has handled our online sales and dealings with the distribution company. Randall is a professional website designer and is the IT guy for the BSI. I worked closely with Randall when I was the Chair of the BSI Trust (the BSI’s institutional archives at The Lilly Library) and redesigned the Trust website to be able to accommodate a page for every BSI Dinner. He was wonderful then, and he’s wonderful now.
Monica Schmidt joined the team as our marketer last year. We collaborate on keeping track of our inventory, and she does a terrific job making sure that all of the books get to people they should get to. Monica is also in charge of BSI “swag,” ties, scarfs, pins, etc. She’s a joy to work with.
A few years ago, Ira Matetsky was recruited to find available Conan Doyle Sherlockian manuscripts and negotiate with the owners to allow us to publish them. Before Ira joined the team, it was a matter of who knew whom. We are getting down to a more limited number of available manuscripts, and it’s great to have Ira getting them for us so we can make them available to the public.
As Wiggins, Michael Kean has the final responsibility (as has his predecessors) for setting the tone and making sure that we don’t order thousands of copies of books. So, we run most decisions by Michael, and we both value his judgement and defer to it.
None of us is getting paid for what we do, and I am grateful for all of the hard work that goes into running BSI Books on everyone’s part.
G221B : How many works a year do you get and how do you choose which one you will publish?
A.S. : We plan out our publication schedule several years in advance in order to make sure that we have, for example, a Manuscript Series book or to assure that we are not bringing out too many books in any year. There have been years in the past that BSI Press has published six books, but that is not nearly the norm. We plan on bringing out two to three books each year.
Most of our books are not ones that are “pitched” to us (though I am editing one that was that will come out in 2026). Most of them are ones that we plan and find editors for. The editors choose the chapter topics and authors for them.
One thing that we are considering now is reprinting a book that has been out of print for a while but for which we have had requests. We’ll see where that goes.
G221B : When and how did you become the publisher?
A.S. : As I stated previously, I became the Co-Publisher last year when Bob Katz, who had been in the role, decided to step down (or step up, to focus on being “Cartwright”). Wiggins asked me to step in.
G221B : What are the BSI Press projects for the coming years?
A.S. : We have two wonderful books coming out in January 2025. One is a Manuscript Series book on “The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier,” edited by Ira Matetsky. This is the first of two adventures that Holmes said he wrote himself. There has been a lot of commentary about whether he did write them over the years, and that is reflected in this book. Also, because the story has medical aspects to it, there are chapters which discuss that. And there are other interesting chapters on issues raised in the story. The other book is about Tom Stix, who was “Wiggins” of the BSI between 1986 and 1997, written by Sonia Fetherston. It is a terrific characterization of both Stix and that era. Stix is the one who opened the BSI to women, so that time was momentous. And, Sonia captures it all wonderfully.
The following year, we have a book coming out on the BSI during the 1950s, edited by Julie McKuras and Bill Mason. If you’ve ever read Jon Lellenberg’s BSI History Series books (which I enjoyed even before I was invited to my first BSI Dinner), you’ll know how these books put the BSI in context of the times. I am looking forward to it. We are also planning on a second book. As you know, every year, Al Rosenblatt and his daughter Betsy perform a review of the year and the BSI Dinner in verse at the Saturday afternoon Cocktail Reception. These annual verses have become a major event and traditional part of the BSI Weekend. They really are remarkable. Before Al started doing them in 1990, Ezra Wolff began doing this in 1969 and performed it every year until 1989. Al pitched to us a book on BSI related poetry and a compilation of the annual verses from 1969 onward. It is a great book. I am currently editing it. Both books are something to look forward to.
And we’re already planning for 2027. So, BSI Press’s future continues to look very bright.
La gazette du 221 B 