The Storey Story

For 25 years, Storey Publishing has helped millions of independent readers enjoy simpler, more satisfying lives.

Through an array of how-to books, Storey arms readers with practical skills and inspiration on a range of do-it-yourself topics: gardening, cooking, knitting and other crafts, backyard building, animal care, farming, and home improvement.

Readers turn to Storey for accurate, time-tested knowledge on topics from preserving garden-fresh produce to crate-training a dog. Whatever the subject — natural body care recipes, green thumb tips, inspired color choices for hand-knit projects, ways to raise healthy backyard chickens, or ideas for turning kitchen scraps into stunning houseplants — Storey provides the information that fuels readers’ passions.

“You could call Storey the up-country Martha Stewart of publishing.”
– Boston Globe

Storey is at the center of a vast revival of do-it-yourself lifestyles, a movement that has been fueled by an awareness of environmental responsibility, an appetite for the homegrown and locally raised, an appreciation for one-of-a-kind items, and a passion for nature. Whether picking up a needle and thread for the first time, or nurturing a decades-old passion for horses, readers know that they can turn to Storey for no-nonsense advice and new ideas — every time.

Storey Authors
Authors (left to right) Donna Smallin, Cherry Hill, Paul Tukey, Arden Moore, and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Storey’s authors are experts. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (At Knit’s End) is a decades-long knitter who inspires tens of thousands of knitters through her blog, The Yarn Harlot. Donna Smallin (Organizing Plain & Simple) is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Cherry Hill (How to Think Like a Horse) is an internationally renowned horse instructor and trainer, as well as a judge for many horse breed associations. Arden Moore (Real Food for Dogs) is one of the nation’s foremost experts on pet care. When Barbara Kingsolver wanted to make her own cheese, she turned to Ricki Carroll (Home Cheese Making), celebrated cheesemaker and founder of the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. AHS Award Winner Paul Tukey (The Organic Lawn Care Manual) is cohost of HGTV’s People, Places, and Plants.

As a result, Storey’s readers get more than just encouragement and fresh ideas. They also get the benefit of experience — as if they had a master gardener or an acclaimed fiber artist working alongside them at all times. Storey authors anticipate questions, break skills down into simple steps, and help readers solve complex challenges. Armed with Storey books, readers can be sure that they’ll succeed, whatever the task.

Storey “inhabits a niche that tends to flourish during times of economic uncertainty.”
– Publishers Weekly

It’s not just the authors who have passion for their subjects: independent living is a way of life for Storey’s editors and staff. Storey’s president knits and keeps her own chickens. The crafts editor spins yarn with fleece from her own flock of Romney sheep, the horse editor is a committed equestrian. Walk through the offices and you won’t just find publishing professionals; you’ll also find experts who can help you make an ecofriendly floor cleaner, create your own organic facial cream, move a pig, or whip up an organic, garden-fresh meal.

“Whether the subject is keeping chickens, or knitting, you don’t have to be an expert on the topic to recommend a Storey title. The information will be correct, the presentation pleasing, the directions clear and the price reasonable.”
– Jean Brower, co-owner of Blackwood and Brower Booksellers, in awarding
Storey the 2004 NEIBA New England Book Award for Publishing

Storey’s roots began in the soil, with gardening books that help people grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Later, they added cookbooks and guides to raising animals, building fences and barns, and discovering other independent living skills. More recently, they’ve added books for knitters, pet owners, home brewers, sewing enthusiasts, wine makers, backyard lumberjacks, home renovators, naturalists, horse lovers, and everyone interested in tending home or body.

From the first days in an old creamery in Charlotte, Vermont — when Martha and John Storey purchased the Garden Way imprint in 1983 — Storey has stayed true to the original purpose: to provide dependable, nuts-and-bolts advice to spirited readers seeking to become more self-sufficient.

Today, Storey has sold more than 35 million books and has more than 400 active titles, 70 of which have sold more than 100,000 copies.

“Storey’s entire catalog is a veritable gold mine of heartland advice for home and business.”
– Library Journal

Storey publishes classics in the making. The first title, The Joy of Gardening, by Dick Raymond, quickly became one of the gardening world’s most practical and popular guides. Still in print today, The Joy of Gardening has sold nearly one million copies. Carrots Love Tomatoes, just as relevant today as it was years ago when it first came out, has sold 637,000 copies. The Classic Zucchini Cookbook, brimming with tasty recipes for the most prolific of vegetables, is another best-loved guide, with nearly half a million copies sold. And with the back-to-the-land movement in full swing, The Have-More Plan is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1941. More recently, books like The One-Minute Organizer, The Knitting Answer Book, The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, and The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible have become reader favorites, each with hundreds of thousands of copies sold.

America’s Garden Publisher™

Gardening is the nation’s most popular hobby, and Storey has resources for every level of green thumb.

Whether a reader is already passionate about digging in the dirt or is picking up a trowel and hoe for the first time, Storey’s expansive line of gardening books will instruct and inspire. From making rare ornamentals thrive to creating a no-fuss groundcover, and from planting perennials to harvesting that first tomato, Storey’s gardening resources help gardeners create outdoor spaces that are eye-catching, vibrant, healthy, and productive.

The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, by best-selling author Ed Smith, presents a simple, innovative gardening system that results in fewer weeds, healthier plants, and tastier yields.

The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food, by Tanya L. K. Denckla, is a one-volume resource with in-depth growing, harvesting, and storing information for 765 crops, as well as organic remedies for 201 garden pests and diseases. The Organic Lawn Care Manual, by Paul Tukey, is a must-have reference for creating a lush green lawn without chemicals and pesticides. Foliage and Grasses, both by Nancy Ondra, are essential, coffee-table-worthy guides to adding color and texture to the garden with unique elements. And The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book, by lifelong gardener Barbara W. Ellis, is packed with organic solutions to every pickle a grower could encounter in the vegetable patch.

These titles are just the beginning. Storey has published hundreds of tried-and-true resources for passionate growers everywhere.

Storey’s “best-selling books . . . provide nuts-and-bolts, practical, and most importantly, dependable advice on raising livestock, growing a garden, home renovation, cooking, and well-being. That’s why, at Storey, experts write the books. And experts edit the books.”
– OutHere Magazine