Dear Old and New Friends of New Horizon:

“Life, misfortunes, isolation, abandonment, poverty are battlefields which have their heroes; obscure heroes sometimes greater than illustrious heroes.”

Twenty years ago, as an assistant professor at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, the words of Marius in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables resonated in my mind. I taught a wide diversity of students, many of whom had overcome issues of adversity and challenge in their lives to become the first in their families to enter college. It was then that I realized that, though masterful writers like Thomas Carlyle had championed the cause of superhero worship from history, it was the lives of everyday heroes in our world who made the choice not to be victims that would inspire and motivate not only my students but many others. These exemplary people of courage face tragedy and challenges in their lives and want—as one would-be story teller recently wrote me—”not just to be a survivor, but a victor.”

And so I began New Horizon, with the help of my mentor Ben Rayburn, who founded the distinguished Horizon Press, bringing to light works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Sir Herbert Read, James Farrell and Robert Olen Butler. My goal was and is to champion the voice of the common, everyday hero among us, to exemplify the human spirit. As Jeff Herman wrote in his heralded Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents,

“The New Horizon list (“Real People... Incredible Stories”) accents true-life events in narrative nonfiction accounts told by actual participants. In its broader program, the house addresses topics of social concern, including corporate and professional responsibility, behavioral diversity, and politics, as well as personal self-help, how to and mainstream business books... These incredible tales of real people display an intense human-interest appeal and often embody an investigative journalistic stance that probes related public issues.”

Highlighted on the New Horizon 2010-11 list:
The Color of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child and a Cold-Blooded Killer —A gripping true crime narrative of the grisly abduction and murder of a rape victim, her baby daughter and the emergence of more bodies as the FBI searches for the killer and her father presses for justice.
In Cold Pursuit: My Hunt for Timothy Krajcir—The Notorious Serial Killer—The riveting tale of the trail of blood left in the wake of a vicious serial killer by the man who finally brought him to account twenty-five years later.
Defusing Angry People: Practical Tools for Handling Bullying, Threats and Violence—Key steps and strategies to proactively protect ourselves and others when a person unleashes unpredictable fury.

Small Horizons’ “Let’s Talk” series for children (ages 4-8), written by teachers and mental health professionals teaching crisis, coping, tolerance and service skills, will add Joni and The Fallen Star: Helping Children Learn Teamwork and The Tale of the Teeny, Tiny Black Ant: Helping Children Learn Persistence.

We are, as always, searching for proposals and manuscripts about today’s true-life heroes and important current issues. If you hear of one or have a story to tell, we welcome unsolicited submissions and ideas. Please let us hear from you with your suggestions and comments.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joan S. Dunphy Publisher and Editor in Chief