His love of language and word play enriched and directed his life, and he shared this love generously with everyone he met. Publishing naturally became his distribution method for his desire to share not just ideas but experiences. Later in life after a career in book publishing and specifically large print and audiobooks at GK Hall and Chivers North America (1972-1995), after which he launched hi
s own publishing company specializing in large print. He began working for The Granite State News, a local weekly, first as a general office manager, working his way into reporting and eventually becoming its chief editor. He was very involved in local politics and charitable works, and was well-liked by the community. Over the years between 2004 and when he passed in April 2019, he published over 170 titles in his World Classics in Large Print imprint. He accomplished most of this work on his own. Before he passed away in April 2019, he asked his niece Val Cooper, who had followed his footsteps into book publishing, to continue his work. Val began her career in 1991 with Samuel Weiser, Inc., in York Maine, and later worked for Heinemann and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Portsmouth, NH from 2007 - 2010 and 2017-2023. In between her positions, she worked freelance and edited hundreds of books for private clients. Val reincorporated the Large Print Book Company business in Maine in July 2023 and repositioned the assets Tom had created for print-on-demand deployment in order to enable the purchase of LPBCo books directly from us online, thus decreasing the company's need for space, electricity, and heat, and freeing up time for cultivating a robust online community she hopes to engage in the development of future large print projects. Val is committed to taking Tom's vision into the future. In the spirit of American independence, our books facilitate reading for those who struggle with type in standard print products. The great classics of literature represent a well to which all may come to draw wisdom about our share human experience. We hope that readers will be reminded that we are never alone in our struggles and have many teachers to whom we can turn.
