Sometimes the best stories are found in the most unlikely places—at least according to Henry Quinlan, BC ’61, who brought to life the compelling narratives of everyone from NASA astronauts to senior citizens.
“I believe everyone has a story,” Quinlan said. “And I encourage everyone to write their story.”
Publishing ran in Quinlan’s family, as his dad worked in the legal newsletter publishing industry. After studying economics at BC and Suffolk University Law School, Quinlan’s first venture into publishing came unexpectedly.
His father introduced him to a friend seeking to publish a book by Leo Stapleton, the renowned Boston fire commissioner. Quinlan knew right away that this was something he not only wanted to do, but something he could do right.
“Right away I said, ‘Yeah, let me read it,’” Quinlan said. “‘I think I can sell it.’ And that’s how it started.”
Following this experience, Quinlan took on a range of high-profile and unique publishing jobs, including publishing Robert McCloskey’s 1941 children’s book Make Way for Ducklings in Russia.
Quinlan got involved with the project through his friend Vitaly Churkin, a Russian diplomat. Churkin was visiting the U.S. and looking for someone to publish a book about his life, and Quinlan was the perfect person for the job.
Ultimately, the book was never published, as Churkin was called back to Russia, but the two formed a friendship that lasted long after their business partnership ended.
“Over the years, we became friends, and we would meet in places all over the world,” Quinlan said. “Basically, [we’d] talk about family and travel.”
Churkin helped connect Quinlan with then-President George H.W. Bush, who was looking for someone to publish the book in Russia and commission a duckling statue as a gift to the country.
Bush’s request came as a complete surprise to Quinlan.
“I was sitting in my office with my cousin Dave, and my secretary came in and said, ‘Henry the White House is on the phone,’” Quinlan said. “I said, ‘Jane, you don’t have to impress Dave.’”
Despite Quinlan’s efforts, the book didn’t find much success in Russia.
“To make a long story short, we printed a hundred and had plenty left over,” Quinlan said.
Still, Quinlan looks back on the experience fondly.
“It was a great event,” Quinlan said. “[Bush] was very gracious and invited me to a state dinner, and I could go to the White House anytime I wanted. It was just a storybook experience.”
Since then, Quinlan has published many biographies on high-profile people, like a NASA astronaut and Babe Ruth’s daughter.
Now, he has shifted his focus from mainstream stories to more unconventional ones.
At Omni Publishing Company, formerly Quinlan Press, Quinlan focuses on sharing the stories of everyday people, especially senior citizens.
Quinlan came up with the idea after giving a talk about his work in the publishing industry and discussing how people can self-publish their books without the need for a traditional publishing company.
“I had just finished [a talk] and three people came up to me afterwards because I mentioned self-publishing,” Quinlan said. “One woman had said she had spent hours recording her family stories, and then someone lost the tapes. And all that is gone.”
Quinlan wanted to help her bring her story to life in print.
“I am a believer in [the idea that] the family history can only go so far orally and repeated,” Quinlan said.
For Quinlan, everyone has a story to tell, and he can see potential in a narrative, even when the author may not.
“This woman came up to me after [a talk] … she said to me, ‘My daughter has had a very interesting life, and I would like to ask you some questions for her,’” Quinlan said. “I said, ‘Well, before we talk about her, let’s talk about you. Tell me about you—I think you should write the story.’”
Kevin Stevens, a former editor at Omni Publishing, said Quinlan has a unique ability to identify and publish compelling stories.
“Henry was always very good at coming up with really interesting publishing ideas and then making them happen,” Stevens said.
Stevens worked with Quinlan to publish the book he co-wrote, The Cops are Robbers: A Convicted Cop’s True Story of Police Corruption that was eventually picked up by NBC for a new movie. The book told the story of Gerald Clemente, a resident of Medford, Mass., who was imprisoned for bank robbery.
“That was an exciting project,” Stevens said. “It was big news in the Boston area at the time, and it was a fun thing to do.”
Stevens attributes Quinlan’s success to his risk-taking and ability to recognize opportunities.
“He has always embraced challenges and has always looked for interesting ways of engaging with the world,” Quinlan said. “He took a chance on me when I didn’t have any experience at all. He’s able to see something in people that is of value, and then work with them to bring it to a meaningful moment.”
Maureen Rickenbacker, a former office and printing manager for Quinlan, felt Quinlan’s support firsthand.
“I grew up knowing him as Uncle Henry. It was after getting a job that I wasn’t that satisfied with, [then] speaking with Henry, that he hired me,” Rickenbacker said. “He’s like, ‘Come work for me,’ which was a great beginning of our long journey together.”
This wasn’t the only time Quinlan decided to take a risk, according to Rickenbacker.
“He is a big thinker, and one of the things that I learned from him is don’t be afraid to take a chance or to make a decision,” Rickenbacker said. “Just to be confident, and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but you learn something in the process.”
Quinlan is always looking to the next big thing. This mindset motivated Rickenbacker to move on and start her own business, something Quinlan fully supported despite the fact that it meant losing an employer.
“‘Henry, I retired,’ I said. And he didn’t say congratulations or anything like that. He just said, ‘What are you doing next?,’” Rickenbacker said.
Quinlan has always seen, and tried to push, the best out of everyone around him.
“I think the best thing about him is he’s always encouraging people to live their best version of themselves,” Rickenbacker said. “I would say that’s the thing that I value most about him.”
This mindset is centered around finding the positive in every experience. Quinlan hopes that students at BC can recognize the opportunities around them and embrace them head on, hopefully crafting their own unique stories along the way.
“It’s more about happiness as your framework,” Quinlan said. “Instead of complaining about the professor or the grades coming out or whatever it is, your initial thought should be, well, look at me, and I have the privilege of being at one of the best universities in the country. So it’s all about turning our focus to be positive.”
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