Zezebooks Publishing Profit

Zezebooks Publishing Partnership | A Commitment to Giving Back Alongside publishing my Korean translation of Ayn Rand's Anthem and my bilingual poetry collection, Yesterday Has Yet to Come, Zezebooks made a particularly meaningful commitment: to donate a portion of the profits generated from both books to common&good. What had begun as two personal literary projects would therefore continue contributing to our wider work, not only through my own earnings, but also through the publisher's willingness to share in that purpose. I found this especially meaningful because neither book had originally been written or translated with fundraising in mind. I began translating Anthem out of curiosity about ideas that challenged my own, while my poetry collection emerged from a much more personal desire to put thoughts and experiences into words. They were different projects, driven by different motivations, yet both had unexpectedly become ways of supporting something beyond themselves. The arrangement also made me reflect on the relationship between commercial activity and social responsibility. We often treat earning money and contributing to society as separate pursuits, as though generosity begins only after profit has been made. Yet Zezebooks' commitment suggested that the two could be connected from the outset. A book could remain a creative and commercial endeavour while allowing part of its success to benefit others. I am deeply grateful to Zezebooks for supporting not only my writing, but also the values behind common&good. There is something particularly moving about knowing that a reader purchasing a book for its words might, without ever meeting us, become part of the work those words have helped make possible. Perhaps the most rewarding part of publishing these books is discovering that their stories do not have to end on the final page.