Map: 100 Southern California independent bookstores to visit in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement<\/a> obtained by Publishers Weekly, the Catapult Workers Collective said that workers had been told of the company\u2019s intent to sell earlier this year while voting whether to unionize, and that the union had since been notified that \u201ccontinued employment with the prospective buyer is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n Novelist Tod Goldberg<\/a>, who published his Gangsterland series for Counterpoint Press and has another book contracted with them, called the news \u201cheartbreaking and devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the end of what I view as an institution of West Coast publishing as we know it,\u201d said Goldberg during a phone conversation. \u201cI mean their backlist, I think, has sustained the company for a very long time \u2026 so clearly whoever is buying it recognizes the real value of this vibrant, still-selling backlist.<\/p>\n \u201cBut inevitably, it won\u2019t be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n As an author, Goldberg said, the publishing house was a rarity, praising the work of Dan Smetanka<\/a>, his friend, longtime editor and Catapult Book Group senior vice president and editorial director.<\/p>\n \u201cDan\u2019s desire to celebrate the rich history of Southern California writing was fundamental to his success,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cIf you went somewhere and a Counterpoint or Catapult or Soft Skull book is being celebrated, Dan Smetanka was going to be there, and that\u2019s hard to replace. I think that\u2019s impossible to replace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think what made Counterpoint special is the personal attention you received. You might not have received the largest advance in the history of American publishing from Counterpoint,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cBut you were treated like you did.\u201d<\/p>\n The novelist praised the dedication of the company\u2019s small but devoted staff.<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew these people,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cEvery author spoke directly to the head of publicity and the head of marketing, Megan Fishmann and Rachel Fershleiser, respectively \u2026 You talked to [creative director]\u00a0Nicole Caputo.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Tod](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/tod.jpg\")
Tod Goldberg. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n