1990 an Interview celebrating the first 25 years!!

1989

KC DenDooven: He Publishes the Stories Behind the Scenery

 

You can see much of the man reflected in his work. His books are big, bold and colorful, with an uncompromising attention to quality.

The man, KC DenDooven is the nation's leading publisher of national park books, with more than 14 million books in print as his Las Vegas-based firm celebrates its 25th anniversary in 1989.

DenDooven started Las Vegas-based KC Publications from scratch in 1964, with little experience in publishing. "If I had known how much was involved, I never would have started," he says. "I was too dumb to know it was impossible," he quips, "so I did it anyway.

Born in Boston, DenDooven spent his first decade out of college as an engineer and amateur photographer for annual reports of mineral companies.

At 32, he bought a small magazine called Northern Gateways of Arizona. "The magazine was essentially a fancy calling card to show off my photography," he admits. But soon he found "the tail wagging the dog," and shifted his emphasis more toward publishing photographs than taking them.

During this period he traveled extensively in the southwest,, gaining a deep affinity for the land and its people, while developing a "personal relationship" with the scenery that he has brought to millions of American homes. "I learned that a picture of Death Valley has to look hot" he says.

DenDooven began thinking about moving away from a magazine format, and into books without advertisements. He felt he could exercise greater control of content; free of deadlines, he could take more time to polish the finished product. "Even at its best," he explains, "a magazine is a throwaway."

Two years later, KC Publications was born with "Southwestern Indians Arts and Crafts," a full-color, large-format, soft-cover book on Indian culture which sold surprisingly well. now in its ninth printing, it is one of 70 titles published by Dendooven, of which 50 are the photo books of parks which have made the firm famous.

After 25 years KC Publications has grown beyond the wildest dreams of its founder. Dendooven's "The Story Behind the Scenery" series of 47 books on national parks and scenic locations is the largest of its kind. His publishing administrator who started with him 25 years ago, Maryellen Bailey, says "We don't know of any series with as many titles or as many years in print." No other company has published as many books on individual parks . . . including the National Park Service itself."

"I have never read any book I've published after it came out," DenDooven still says. "there's only one book that interests me--the next one."
Printed February 1990