STONE GARDEN’ PUBLISHER ANNOUNCES MILESTONE SALES OF 20,000 BOOKS
Asbarez
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Aug 18, 2009
LOS ANGELES-The publishers of Armenia’s first commercial travel guide
reached a milestone in August with the news that they have sold 20,000
Armenia-subject books since the company’s founding in 1999.
The publisher, Stone Garden Productions, specializes in Armenia books
and photography, and has released titles such as "The Stone Garden
Guide: Armenia and Karabagh" (2006); "Edge of Time: Traveling in
Armenia and Karabagh" (2001) and "Out of Stone (1999)."
The 20,000-book milestone happens to coincide with the company’s
ten-year anniversary. Author-photographers Robert Kurkjian, Ph D
and Matthew Karanian, Esq., founded Stone Garden Productions in 1999
after they had each lived and worked in Armenia for five years.
Bedros Safarian, the company’s business manager, says that
he’s thrilled with the achievement, and is excited about future
projects. "The Armenia market is very small, and to have sold 20,000
copies to the community is an outstanding achievement."
Sales are not limited to the Armenian-American community,
however. According to Karanian, the company’s co-founder, non-Armenians
throughout the world have purchased their books. "We’ve shipped books
to every continent except Antarctica," says Karanian.
And their Armenia titles have been promoted on an array of media
ranging from Rick Steves on National Public Radio to publications
such as CNN Traveller, Geographical, and Photo District News. Their
Armenia photographs have been exhibited at prominent venues including
at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, at Los Angeles City
Hall and at private galleries in New York, and Washington, DC.
Kurkjian and Karanian got their start with the hard cover art
photography book "Out of Stone." The art book retailed for $55
in 1999, and the after-market price for a good used copy has today
quadrupled to more than $200. The author-photographers launched Stone
Garden Productions as a publishing company that would be dedicated
to portraying Armenian subjects that a larger commercial publisher
might not consider.
In 2001, Stone Garden Productions became the first publisher
to release a stand-alone commercial travel guide to Armenia and
Karabagh. The current version of the travel guide, "The Stone Garden
Guide: Armenia and Karabagh," is a best selling title and winner of
three national book awards. It is one of the only guides to strongly
promote environmental conservation.
Stone Garden Productions plans to publish a new art photography
book on Armenia and Karabagh, in addition to its numerous ongoing
photography projects. To learn more about the company, visit
To purchase a postpaid copy of
their latest travel guide to Armenia, send $24.95 to Stone Garden
Productions, PO Box 7758; Northridge, CA 91327. Postage is free to
addresses in the US. Shipping outside the US is $10.