Drawn & Quarterly Reissues Mark Alan Stamaty's 'Who Needs Donuts?' After Two Decades Out of Print
This month, Drawn and Quarterly has re-released Mark Alan Stamaty's children's classic 'Who Needs Donuts?', which had been unavailable since 2023. Initially published by Dial Press, the book was in circulation from 1973 to 1983 and was revived by Janet Schulman for its 30th anniversary in 2003. The reissue comes after a favorable mention in the 2024 New York Times Book Review, which resulted in sold-out listings for used copies on Amazon, with prices soaring to $750. Stamaty, who once impersonated Elvis, has contributed to The Village Voice and The New York Times Book Review. The book's tagline was inspired by a comment from an elderly patron at Bickford's Coffee Shop. Currently, Stamaty is working on an autobiographical graphic novel.
Key facts
- Drawn and Quarterly republished 'Who Needs Donuts?' this month; the book had been out of print since 2023.
- Mark Alan Stamaty's book first appeared in 1973 via Dial Press and stayed in print until 1983.
- Janet Schulman of Knopf Random House revived it in 2003 for its 30th anniversary; it remained in print about 20 years.
- A 2024 New York Times Book Review piece on search-and-find books praised it, triggering sellouts and used prices up to $750.
- The tagline 'Who needs donuts when you've got love?' came from an elderly woman's remark at Bickford's Coffee Shop at 3rd Ave. and 23rd St.
- Stamaty created 'Washingtoon' in 1981 for The Village Voice and The Washington Post editorial page, and 'Boox' ran monthly in The New York Times Book Review from 2001 to 2003.
- Nora Ephron traded two of her books for two of Stamaty's after the East Hampton library copy disappeared.
- Stamaty has finished the text of an autobiographical graphic novel begun eight years ago; artwork remains on 10 of 12 chapters, expected to take about two more years.
Entities
Artists
- Mark Alan Stamaty
- Nora Ephron
- Bob Odenkirk
- Patty Jenkins
- Elvis Presley
- Frank Asch
- Janet Schulman
- Peggy Burns
Institutions
- Drawn and Quarterly
- Dial Press
- Knopf Random House
- The Village Voice
- The Washington Post
- The New York Times Book Review
- Cooper Union
- East Hampton library
- Amazon
- eBay
- PRINT Magazine
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Gramercy Park
- MacDougal Street
- Jersey shore
- East Hampton
- California