Project Gutenberg Newsletter October 2025

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CONTENTS

• PGLAF CEO Greg Newby’s Medical Status
• Eric Hellman appointed interim director of PGLAF
• Welcome to the PGLAF Board: Robert Tonsing
• Anyone can Help Make New eBooks!
• More About Project Gutenberg: Writings and Podcasts
• Join Distributed Proofreaders
• Find Project Gutenberg on social media
• Recent releases
• Join Distributed Proofreaders
• Find Project Gutenberg on social media

PGLAF CEO Greg Newby’s Medical Status

Greg has worked on Project Gutenberg since 1991, and directed the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (PGLAF) as CEO since its founding in 2000. Greg has been the guiding hand of Project Gutenberg, and PGLAF, along with helping to launch Distributed Proofreaders, for more than 30 years.

Earlier this year Greg was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer and has recently focused his energy on fighting the cancer with the support of his friends and family.

Greg started working with Michael Hart in the fall of 1991. At the time, PG was hosted by Illinois Benedictine College. Greg contributed eBook #51. As Michael continued to advocate for eBooks and public access in the public discussions, Greg took up the ‘back office’ efforts, including technical maintenance, coordinating volunteer efforts and more. When Michael passed in 2011, Greg was the stalwart foundation that kept the Project moving forward and continuing to grow.

In 2006 Digital Proofreaders (DP) was established by a core group of PG volunteers with Greg as a champion for the project’s development. DP is now the primary source of new eBooks for PG.

All of us at PGLAF and DP wish him and his family resilience and strength, and send them our heartfelt prayers and love.

Eric Hellman appointed interim director of PGLAF

Eric Hellman began his involvement with the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (PGLAF) 2018. Since then he has helped PG maintain and develop an array of essential software such as Ebookmaker and the gutenberg.org website.

In September he was elected to the PGLAF Board of Directors, and has been asked to serve as the acting Executive Director in support of Greg. Eric’s technical and strategic contributions have been an essential part of the technical component that keeps the Project Gutenberg website and services running. We thank you Eric, for stepping up and stepping into the role.

Welcome to the PGLAF Board: Robert Tonsing

Robert Tonsing began volunteering with PGLAF in 2018, He coordinates eBook releases, posting announcements to PGLAF’s internal “posted” mailing list (e.g., #75259, Jan 2025; #76911, Sep 2025), and contributes to proofreading through Distributed Proofreaders, with credits on titles like The Roswell Report: Case Closed (#63659, 2021) and The Louvre: Fifty Plates in Colour (#63719, 2020). His ongoing volunteer work supports PGLAF’s mission to digitize and distribute free eBooks.

We would like to extend a sincere welcome to Robert as the newest board member.

Anyone can Help Make New eBooks!

Project Gutenberg was built by volunteers, and all new eBooks are the result of volunteer effort. The best way to help is to join Distributed Proofreaders. DP includes supportive forums for discussion, an online tutorial, and a variety of roles to suit different skills and interests. DP produces eBooks in many different languages.

Distributed Proofreaders Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Congratulations to Distributed Proofreaders! October marks 25 years of this unique coordinated & distributed effort to digitize books and add them to the Project Gutenberg library. The amazing group of volunteers collectively spend massive numbers of hours making sure that great books are made available to everyone, across the planet.

More About Project Gutenberg

• The History and Philosophy of Project Gutenberg by Michael Hart (1992) Project Gutenberg began in 1971 when Michael Hart was given an operator’s account with computer time at the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. As it turned out two of a four operator crew happened to be the best friends of Michael’s and his brother. http://gutenberg.org/about/background/history_and_philosophy.html

• Dr. Greg Newby on being CEO of Project Gutenberg and being with the Government of Yukon Territory (2024) Thanks to Neel Lopes for an interview podcast with Greg Newby, Director of the PGLAF. The podcast covers Greg’s early involvement with Project Gutenberg, and discussion about the background and status of Project Gutenberg’s role in the world of online literature. https://youtu.be/p-HGtQSuhEc

• Saving Alexandria with Project Gutenberg’s Dr. Greg Newby, a podcast from The Poor Prole’s Almanac. The discussion addresses Project Gutenberg’s successes with volunteerism, emphasis on freedom of information, and challenges of lengthened copyright protection terms, and the evolution of the PG collection development policy. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6yduWJUXGCg1HpfmQYTwRj

New Releases at Gutenberg.org Through September 2025

In the last month PGLAF with the help of DP added another 105 new public domain eBooks to the PG catalog. These eBooks are now available at: Project Gutenberg New Releases

A selection of this month’s notable titles:

The fair Mississippian [1908], Craddock, Charles Egbert
443 pages; September 2, 2025
PG #76784 

Heart of New England, Brown, Abbie Farwell
158 pages; September 2, 2025
PG #76783 

A Broken Blossom Vol. 2 of 3, Marryat, Florence
247 pages; September 2, 2025
PG #76780 

Eccentricities of Genius [1901], Pond, James Burton
640 pages; September 13, 2025
PG #76861 

The chocolate-plant (Theobroma cacao) and its products, Anonymous
40 pages; September 10, 2025
PG #76852 

First Course in Biology, Bailey, Liberty Hyde
640 pages; September 10, 2025
PG #76851 

The army behind the army [1919], Powell, E. Alexander
535 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76843 

Arts and crafts of old Japan, Stewart Dick
223 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76830 

Through the Dark Continent (Vol. 2 of 2), Stanley, Henry Morton
490 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76825 

Four American Poets [1899], Cody, Sherwin
254 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76822 

The Great Roxhythe, Heyer, Georgette
424 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76816 

A devil of a fellow and the yellow cat, Steele, Wilbur Daniel
64 pages; September 9, 2025
PG #76815 

A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns (vol. 3 of 3), Keppel, Henry
384 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76810 

A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns (vol. 2 of 3), Keppel, Henry
355 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76809 

A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns (vol. 1 of 3), Keppel, Henry
356 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76808 

Another year with Denise and Ned Toodles, Jackson, Gabrielle E.
295 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76807 

The law of copyright, Wordsworth, William
11 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76806 

Life of George Washington, volume 2 of 5, Irving, Washington
502 pages; September 4, 2025
PG #76805 

Hurlothrumbo: or: the super-natural, Johnson, Samuel
59 pages; September 3, 2025
PG #76792 

Round the Horn before the Mast [1903], Lubbock, Basil
413 pages; September 2, 2025
PG #76788 

The blind bow-boy, Van Vechten, Carl
271 pages; September 26, 2025
PG #76934 

How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acre., Darlington, E. D., Moll, L. M.
202 pages; September 26, 2025
PG #76930 

Maugis, ye sorcerer: from ye ancient French, Gilhooley, Lord
277 pages; September 26, 2025
PG #76929 

Madame Pierre Curie [1910], Béliard, O. & dessins Delannoy, A. (French)
11 pages; September 26, 2025
PG #76928 

The list of registered, operational mirrors is here:  http://gutenberg.org/MIRRORS.ALL

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