About

Jim Baumer is a Maine-based writer who cares about people and the places that define them. A regional writer with a passion for his home state, Baumer’s first book, When Towns Had Teams, has become the definitive book about the kind of baseball that was the heart and soul of small town life in the state just after WWII, and for the next three decades, before disappearing. The book provides a snapshot of a place and time that has all but faded from view.

In 2004, he began RiverVision Press, a small press committed to publishing books about Maine and the unique qualities that characterize the state. When Towns Had Teams was RiverVision’s first release and the book was awarded an IPPY by Independent Publisher as their top nonfiction title for the Northeast in 2006.

He followed up his first release with the popular Moxietown, in 2008. The book is currently sold out with plans to reprint in 2010.

In addition to his books and running RiverVision Press, Baumer offers consulting services to other authors, helping them launch their own independent releases. Drawing on his own successes as an independent publisher, Baumer knows the ropes, and brings considerable sales and marketing savvy to bear on the publishing process.

Not only has Baumer carved out a niche as a writer and publisher, but he’s also become an effective workforce trainer, helping others to find their life’s calling, just as he has. A captivating and motivational public speaker, his diverse talks run the gamut, from sharing information about Maine’s baseball glory days, a tidbit about Moxie, or calling on the state’s leaders to focus their energies on the workforce/economic development realities facing Maine over the next decade. Because of this, Baumer regularly finds himself in front of an audience at a Rotary or Chamber breakfast, or giving a library talk somewhere in the state.

For more information about his books, writing/publishing services, or to book him to speak to your group, you can contact him at jim(dot)baumer(at)gmail(dot)com.