PowerHouse Books, world-renowned and critically acclaimed publisher, is best known for a diverse publishing program—specialized in fine art, documentary, pop culture, fashion, and celebrity books. They have blazed a trail through the staid book publishing industry, releasing books that have sparked cultural trends and redefined commonly held perceptions of the purpose and role of art books in contemporary culture. While much is known of their books, little is known of the people who have made powerHouse Books a global name.
Founder and Publisher Daniel Power started powerHouse Books in 1995, and was joined by Craig Cohen in 1996. The early years had Power and Cohen tag-teaming on a few books at a time, raising the bar each season when, in 1998, powerHouse Books had its first best-seller, Women Before 10 A.M. by Véronique Vial. Power and Cohen followed up that success in 1999 with the critically-acclaimed cult monographs X-Ray, by François Nars, and Life is Paradise, by Francesco Clemente and Vincent Katz.
In 2000, Cohen became a partner in the company, assuming the title of Vice President and Associate Publisher—now Executive Publisher. He quickly signed up the next company bestseller, Back in the Days by Jamel Shabazz, and in the same year developed a packaging deal with Capitol Records to produce the Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science. With the publishing program growing rapidly, Power and Cohen hired Sara Rosen, who served as Publicity Director from 2000-2009.
The company has since redefined the cultural landscape of the illustrated book, the only U.S. independent publishing company to do so.
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