The History Spoken Here blog was created by Spinner Publications to more readily reach our readers and supporters. This site will allow Spinner to share some of the vast amount of unpublished information accrued while researching and producing award-winning projects over the past 37 years; preview upcoming projects; and act as a platform for new works.
The goals of the History Spoken Here blog are to:
- Keep our readers and supporters up-to-date on the latest Spinner news and projects
- Share information about the region’s history through photographs and written stories
- Allow readers to engage more directly with the authors, editors and publishers
- Encourage citizen historians to share their knowledge and findings with the community
Spinner Publications, Inc. is a community-based, non-profit publishing house based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Our mission is to record and promote the history and culture of the cities and towns of southeastern New England, primarily through the publication of books. We collect oral histories and create documentary, photographic and illustrative accounts that tell the story of the individual, the city, the land; stories of families and their work. We seek to promote the humanities and arts of the region and collaboration among artists to present local history in an accurate, dramatic and entertaining way. Spinner’s aim is to bring out the story of individuals, to show how people’s lives have impacted the community, and to portray the culture as it is realized in the lives of community members.
Spinner Publications was founded in 1981 when Donna Huse, a professor at UMass Dartmouth, collaborated with Joseph Thomas, a freelance photographer, to produce a series of publications that would tell the story of immigrants and neighborhoods, of farms and factories, whalers and fishermen. Their shared vision struck a chord in the community and since then Spinner has published over 40 major book titles and numerous small publications, employing hundreds of local artists, writers, photographers, historians and educators. As the area’s only independent, non-profit publishing house, we are proud that our name is synonymous in the region with the telling of history.
Another important dimension of Spinner Publications is the Spinner Archives which houses a photographic collection of more than one million images. This important asset represents one of the largest repositories of photographs of southeastern New England.
We are indebted to many people for our survival. In particular, ongoing support has been generously granted by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Mass Humanities, the Henry H. Crapo Foundation, and the New Bedford Arts Council.
The content of this site, unless otherwise credited, is copyrighted by Spinner Publications, Inc.