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Books were what set Mayapriya Dasi on her road to Krishna Consciousness. A practitioner of Krishna Consciousness for over five decades now, Mayapriya dasi is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. She says that her strong connection with Srila Prabhupada’s vani has sustained her unswerving service to his mission. Back in the 1960s, like numerous other American college students, Mayapriya Dasi and her husband-to-be were spiritual seekers who considered various yoga groups until they received Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is and realized that it answered all their existential questions. There was no looking back after that.

What started Mayapriya on her Krishna Conscious journey eventually became one of her primary services to Srila Prabhupada’s mission. It began simply: when she borrowed a rare, self-published book by Dasaratha-suta Dasa to a friend, who then wanted her own copy but found that no others were available. Realizing the need, Mayapriya offered to publish it professionally, and Dasaratha-suta gladly agreed. Since Mayapriya’s book was the only copy, her husband, Amit Acara Dasa, typed out the entire text. Subsequently, she designed and published it, ensuring it would stay in print.

After that, she went on to publish Dasaratha-suta’s best-selling Cowherd Boys’ Nectar. Soon, more and more of her god-siblings began reaching out to her, and everything seemed to fall into place. “It was a case of ‘If you build it, they will come,'” Mayapriya said.

Fortuitously, she had the right talent and professional experience for this work. “I was always doing art as a kid and being asked by teachers to make posters and signs. It came so naturally that I didn’t think it had much value,” she recalled. “My propensities won out, however.” After working in magazine and newspaper illustration and design in New England, she was mentored by esteemed book designer Richard Hendel, author of On Book Design (Yale University Press). This mentorship honed her book production skills, giving her a solid foundation in publishing. Her career grew as she became the design and production editor for Carolina Academic Press. Since it was a relatively small scholarly publisher, she got to wear many hats, learning all aspects of publishing, and eventually becoming managing editor for the press.

She later moved to Virginia along with her husband, Amit Acara Dasa, founding her own book design studio, Bookwrights, in 1993. Bookwrights Design has worked with some of the largest and best-known publishers in the United States and has won many prestigious design awards. Among the devotees whose books Mayapriya has designed are those of Giriraja Swami, Mukunda Goswami, Indradyumna Swami, Hridayananda Goswami, Vishakha Devi Dasi, and others. Additionally, Mayapriya has also worked with the Bhaktivedanta Archives and various branches of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), including the African BBT and the European BBT. However, it is her publishing company, Bookwrights Press, that has occupied her more in recent years.

Bookwrights Press focuses on publishing works by senior devotees, most of whom are disciples of Srila Prabhupada, including books by Kurma Dasa, Rupa Vilasa Dasa, Dayananda Dasa, Sesa Dasa, Satyaraja Dasa, Sitala Dasi, Purnaprajna Dasa, Hari Sauri Dasa, Sruti Kirti Dasa, Pranada Dasi, and others.

One of the most notable projects under Bookwrights Press has been the publication of A Bond of Love, a book whose profits are dedicated to the Vaishnavi Ministry. Mayapriya has a real affection for A Bond of Love, which contains over 300 interviews with Srila Prabhupada’s female disciples recounting their memories of him. “When people read it, it’s a real eye-opener,” Mayapriya said. “It’s then that they realize how very kind and fair Srila Prabhupada was in his interactions with all his female disciples.”

Another unique offering from Bookwrights Press has been Feast, with Kurma Dasa and 60 Srila Prabhupada disciples—all veteran cooks—who share over 350 recipes intended for gatherings of 200+ people, with the goal of reestablishing sumptuous Sunday feasts in all of ISKCON. Along with the recipes, the book includes Prabhupada’s tips, stories, and devotees’ accounts of their first taste of prasadam. Beyond its value as a feast cookbook, it’s simply a pleasure to read, Mayapriya says. “The Sunday feast was 1/3 of Srila Prabhupada’s preaching strategy for temples, and thus should not be an afterthought. Many, many devotees remember their first feast.”

For someone with as busy a schedule as Mayapriya, the “why” behind her work is essential—the thing that keeps her enthused. “What I feel is most important is that these books don’t fall away—that they stay alive for the next generations. Just as the BBT keeps all of Srila Prabhupada’s writings alive, I feel some responsibility for helping keep Srila Prabhupada’s disciples’ books alive.”

The rising popularity of digital media like YouTube and podcasts doesn’t worry her about people’s future interest in books. “Books have a way of surviving,” she said. “There have been so many things like cassettes, VHS, etc., and now the internet…who knows what the future will bring. But I draw encouragement from Srila Prabhupada’s statement that even if everything fell apart, someday, someone would pick up one of his books and it would all start over again. That’s my attitude toward the books I publish, too—that someday somebody will pick up these books, and they’ll discover Srila Prabhupada as a person. In Srila Prabhupada’s books, you meet the scholarly Prabhupada, but in his disciples’ books, you meet Prabhupada in person and develop an attachment for him.”

Mayapriya noted that in the next 20-30 years, not many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples will be left on this planet. So, it’s very important that these books written by his disciples last, so the next generation can connect with the person Srila Prabhupada.

While publishing is the central part of her service, Mayapriya’s contributions to the devotee community extend far beyond the printed word. She and her husband direct the Bhaktivedanta Center in Woods Mill, Virginia, where they teach Bhakti Yoga and offer spiritual guidance to the local community. They also sponsor the Bhakti Yoga Club, a CIO at the University of Virginia, bringing Lord Krishna’s teachings to a new generation of seekers. Over a dozen initiated devotees have come from their club programs. “People ask us, ‘How can you be so enthusiastic even after so many years?’ I suspect it’s because we preach. When you preach and see people transform, you can’t not be enthusiastic. And part of enthusiasm is reading and studying Srila Prabhupada’s books,” she said.

Mayapriya Devi Dasi’s life is a beautiful example of the power of devotion, talent, and perseverance. Through her work in publishing, she continues to make a vital and invaluable contribution to the Krishna Consciousness movement, one that will endure for generations to come.

Readers are invited to visit the Bookwrights Press store to see all of its titles, as well as learn more about their publishing and design services.