Our story
Bess Press Inc. is a family owned publishing company located in Kaimukī. For over 43 years, the Press has been creating and developing content for Hawai‘i and the greater Pacific.
Today, the Press has grown to become a leading educational content producer of Hawaiian and Pacific Island studies curriculum for use in preschool through high school. Our company is comprised of varying divisions focused on educational publishing, trade publishing, online publishing, distribution, and retail. Our work is entirely dedicated toward enhancing the multiple voices, cultures, and shared stories that make up Hawaiʻi and Oceania.
Bess Press has published over 700 titles within the genres of children’s literature, language, history, coloring and activity, biography & memoir, as well as informational and nature guides, along with custom publishing projects.
Our founders
Little did husband and wife co-founders, Buddy Bess and Dr. Ann Rayson, expect that what started in a small basement, with a single textbook, over 43 years ago, would grow to become a thriving publishing enterprise and family business.
"Publishing books is not a science, but rather a combination of art and commerce. We treat each book like one would do with a family member; with high hopes for the future and at some point in time the reality that each of us and each of our books has its own life force."
- Benjamin "Buddy" Bess
- Hawai'i the Pacific State: Originally published as Hawaii: The Aloha State in 1960. Bess Press acquired the rights to that text in 1979, then revised and updated it
- Hawaiians of Old: Written by Betty Dunford in 1979 and first published in 1980. Realizing there was a need for an elementary school book on ancient Hawaiian culture, Dunford partnered with Bess Press and authored Hawaiians of Old, now in its 4th edition.
- Pacific Nations and Territories: Originally published in 1982, Bess Press acquired the copyrights to Pacific Nations and Territories, a college text and released a revised second edition in 1988.
- Pacific Neighbors: Based on Pacific Nations and Territories, Pacific Neighbors was produced with the same intent of providing students of the Pacific with histories about their communities, but written at a lower reading level for more widespread use in school grades.
- Hush Little Keiki: In 2015, Bess Press expands on the interactive board book concept releasing this charming fold-out book.
- The Musubi Man: In 1996, a classic local food snack became the subject of this enduring title based off a timeless fable.
- History of the Hawaiian Kingdom: Originally publishing as The Hawaiian Monarchy in 1983. this title was revised and rewritten as History of the Hawaiian Kingdom with 200+ primary source documents, photos, and drawings.
How it started
Bess Press was founded by husband and wife team, Buddy Bess and Dr. Ann Rayson. Operating out of their Pālolo Valley home basement, Buddy, a New York City publishing veteran, and Ann, a literature professor at UH Mānoa, bought the rights to a Hawaiian History textbook to support the new social studies mandates born from the 1978 "Con Con."