Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's Blog, page 68

Is This Really the Cover of "Girls" Creator Lena Dunham's Book?

Lena Dunham, the creator of HBO’s Girls, sold her book to Random House

Gawker has posted an alleged cover of Lena Dunham’s upcoming book which the writer and creator of HBO hit Girls reportedly sold to Random House for more than $3.5 million. I can’t tell from the tone of the Gawker piece if this is a real sneak peek at the cover or a mocking mock-up considering the hardcover hasn’t come out yet and it’s got a paperback dot whack on it. The writer of the Gawker post also presents it with sarcasm: “Here it is, weighing in at $56,000 or so per page.” Either way, I’m charmed by the retro-style cover — takes me back to the books of my childhood. You? She got the deal  on the strength of a 66-page proposal she sent around that included illustrations. Publishing execs think the humorous advice tome could be a bestseller along the lines of Tina Fey’s Bossypants. If so, 2013 will be another banner year for Random House which did so well this year thanks to E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey success that the company was able to give most of its employees a $5000 bonus, each.

Diverse Children’s Books to Put on Your List

Secret Saturday’s is a compelling chronicle of a Latino boy coming of age in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Latinos make up 16% of the U.S. population and almost 25% of public school students, but they are not adequately reflected in children‘s literature (one of the only growing sectors in the publishing industry) or on classroom reading lists, Motoko Rich pointed out in a New York Times article this week. Citing Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Magic Treehouse series among his favorite reads, eight year old Mario Cortez-Pacheco is quoted in Rich’s article as saying “I see a lot of people that don’t have a lot of color.”

Not being able to personally identify with or relate to content has been linked to poor performance on standardized tests, which obviously has farther reaching ramifications on the future success of students. Writer Mona Se Queda gave a compelling example in a piece published in Persephone Magazine:

“I once saw an essay question asking children to write a persuasive essay about why fishing is fun. That seems at first glance to be a pretty innocuous question, as I was raised with a father who loves to fish.  However, how many children from the inner city go fishing? How would they know if it is fun or not? A student may be able to produce a well-thought-out essay in general, but if they are not familiar with the prompt, they will not succeed according to the exam.” 

There needs to be more balance. It’s not only important that kids like Mario see stories that reflect them and their experiences in the classroom setting; it’s crucial that all students be exposed to a diversity of stories. I’m not just talking race. Reading books that handle class, gender, geographical location, sexual orientation, and culture are just a few of the ways students can begin to understand and learn to empathize with experiences that are unfamiliar to their own.

Shouty goes from “overweight and overwhelmed to fit and focused”

Understanding and empathy are a large part of why stories are so powerful. As writers, we strive to tell our stories — stories we hope will connect across race, gender, class, etc — because we ourselves will never forget the first time we connected with a story or character in a book.

That flutter of recognition and identification validated what we were feeling and who we were/are. Likewise, we’ve been consumed with stories we couldn’t put down even though, on the surface, we had nothing in common with the characters/no familiarity with the setting or subject matter because the story transcended all the barriers to capture the human experience we all share.

We need to advocate for inclusion of more diverse stories on kids’ school reading lists, and personally expand the reading selection of the kids in our lives. With the holidays upon us, this is a good opportunity to gift a book.

Bookseller Aurora Anaya-Cerda shares her recommendation of Latino children’s titles in a companion New York Times article on the topic.

Nine-year-old Indigo Blume spearheads a clean-up campaign in her neighborhood

She includes one of my faves, Torrey Maldonado’s middle-grade title Secret Saturdays about a young boy struggling to define what manhood is in the absence of his incarcerated father. I also recommend:

1. Sharon Draper’s award-winning Copper Sun about a young girl ripped from her village in Ghana and shipped to America as a slave,

2. Kwame Alexander’s Indigo Blume and the Garden City about an intrepid and poetic nine-year-old girl that spearheads her neighborhood’s clean-up campaign and rooftop garden,

3. Martin Wilson’s YA novel What They Always Tell Us about a gay teen struggling to come out to his family,

4. Liza Monroy’s Mexican High about an American teenage girl who starts her senior year of high school in Mexico when her mother, an employee of the State Department, gets reassigned,

5. NeonSeon’s charming Life of Shouty picture books that adults will enjoy too,

6. and my own book, Powder Necklace, about a teenage girl whose mom ships her off from London to boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana after she catches her entertaining a boy at home unsupervised.

Barnes & Noble Will Close 15 Stores By Fiscal Year End

[image error]There will be fewer Barnes & Noble stores to host readings and signings in. B&N’s second quarter filing revealed the bookstore chain’s plans to close 15 stores by April, Publishers Weekly reports. A spokesperson told PW, it will open “a few retail stores in new geographic markets, [but] the company expects to reduce the total number of retail stores.” B&N also indicated it will off load online platform Tikatok which it bought for $2.3million in December 2009.

NYT Will Now Distinguish Between Middle Grade & YA on Bestseller Lists

The New York Times’ bestseller lists for Children’s Fiction will now be separated into Middle Grade and YA, editor Pamela Paul announced on Twitter Wednesday. The distinction is important because juvenile fiction is among the few divisions seeing growth in the traditional publishing industry. The decision to divide the lists reflects increased attention to the category, and will specifically allow for increased recognition of titles/authors that cater to children aged eight to 12. Middle grade fiction author Nathan Brunsford blogged of the news, “When I say I write children’s books, even children’s novels, people’s minds go straight to picture books. So, needless to say, it was with great interest that I saw the NY Times’ announcement.” The lists will incorporate e-book titles.

Reese Witherspoon to Produce & Star in "Gone Girl" Movie

Flynn and Witherspoon

Gillian Flynn’s critically acclaimed bestseller has been atop almost every “best of 2012” book list, and now it’s set to hit the big screen. E News reports that Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon will produce and star in the film adaptation of Gone Girl. Together with ‘ Fifty Shades trilogy and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Gone Girl contributed to a year so banner for Random House, the publisher blessed most employees with a $5000 bonus each.

Veteran Agent Launches LGBT Multi-Imprint E-Book House

The E-Book business continues to grow. Just days after Random House announced it was launching three new digital-only imprints, Publishers Weekly reports veteran literary agent and publisher Lori Perkins has partnered with Alyson Books alum Donald Weise to form Riverdale Avenue Books. Specializing in LGBT titles, Riverdale will launch on December 17th with two non-fiction titles: The Secret Life of : An Authorized Biography by Marc Shapiro and Deeply Superficial: Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward and Me by Michael Menzies. Riverdale will release one title a month, thereafter.

New Book Coming from "Kite Runner" Author

Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini, author of the 2004 bestseller The Kite Runner, has signed a deal with Bloomsbury to publish his next novel And the Mountains Echoed. Alexandra Pringle, Bloomsbury’s group editor-in-chief bought the UK and all Commonwealth Rights (excluding Canada). She said of the book, “Khaled has written a big book in every sense of the word. He has told half a century of history, of a land and a people, through so many different characters, all of whom the reader loves and cares for.” The Bookseller reports it took Hosseini six years to write the novel.

Random House Blesses Staff with "Fifty Shades" Bonus of $5K Each

Thank you, E.L. James!

The New York Times reports that Random House is sharing a slice of their 2012 profits with staff — from senior editors to warehouse personnel — via $5,000 bonuses. The traditional publishing industry has been beleaguered with slipping sales and competition from Amazon, but the release of bestsellers ‘ Fifty Shades trilogy,  Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild made it a profitable year for Random House. James’ first book Fifty Shades of Grey, the article reports, sold over 35 million copies in the US alone.

NYC Restaurant Hosting Charles Dickens Dinner Series

The poulard on the “Dickens Dinner” menu

You don’t have to wait till January to “Eat, Drink, and Be Literary” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s upcoming season of literary dinners. Starting tonight, Manhattan’s Amali Restaurant is offering a unique pop-up style dinner series inspired by the food, design, and spirit of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, helmed by Executive Chef Nilton Borges, Jr.

Inspired by scenes from the classic holiday tale, the menu Borges created takes welcome culinary liberties with the Past, Present, and Future structure of Dickens’ story including an imagining of Bob Cratchit’s “hot mixture in a jug,” the “great, round, pot bellied baskets of chestnuts,” and tasty plum rocks iced via liquid nitrogen. If you’re lucky, Chef Borges, affectionately known as “Junior”, will offer amuses bouches reflective of his own Brazilian Christmas traditions.

Chef Junior Borges of Manhattan’s Amali Restaurant

The fireplace Chef’s Studio has been transformed for the series. Co-owner James Mallios consulted with designer Christopher Hyland whose holiday décor has been profiled in the New York Times, Town & Country and Elle Décor to garnish the room with evergreen garlands. Antique furnishings contemporary to the period were provided by Prop Rentals NY.

Each dinner will be marked by a Victorian era glass lantern hanging outside the restaurant and guests will be escorted to the Dickens Dinner via a separate entrance in the Manhattan townhouse located at 115 East 60th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. Reservations are required. Call 212-339-8363 or visit www.Amalinyc.com; reservations are limited to two seatings a day (one in the afternoon and one in the evening.)

The series will run from December 6 (tonight) through January 6, 2013. (December 6th is the traditional feast day of St. Nicholas and (according to Victorian tradition) January 6th is also known as the twelfth or final day of the Christmas celebration.

Price: $95 Adults, $40 Tiny Tims (under twelve). Does not include tax, most beverage or gratuity.

How'd You Get Published: Eisa Ulen

Crystelle Mourning by Eisa Ulen

Eisa Ulen‘s debut novel Crystelle Mourning was published by Simon & Schuster’s Atria imprint as a hardcover in 2006 and released in paperback by Washington Square Press in 2007. In the book, Crystelle is living a comfortable life with her fiance in New York City when a ghost from her West Philly past compels her to look back to move forward. The Washington Post called Ulen’s voice “rhythmic,” adding that Crystelle Mourning is “a rich…tapestry that evokes days gone by with affectionate yet clear eyes.” She shared her “How’d you get Published” story with us. Like author Leslea Newman, featured last week, Ulen’s advice for authors currently shopping for a publisher is this: “Don’t just sit there waiting to hear a response. Start writing your next book. Now.”

How/why did you choose Atria to publish Crystelle Mourning?

I was excited to work with one of the more powerful women in publishing, Malaika Adero. I talked to other writers, some much more established in their careers than I am, and everyone had great things to say about her. That’s rare. I mean, no one had anything bad to say. At all.The overwhelmingly positive responses I got from other authors firmed that Atria would be a good place for me. Atria has published the work of Jewell Parker Rhodes, one of my favorite living authors, and Carl Hancock Rux, a writer whose work I greatly admire. So, when my agent, Michele Rubin of Writers House, told me we were having lunch with Malaika to talk about my book, I was thrilled.

Please share the details of your publication process.

Crystelle Mourning was in pretty good shape. I had won a fellowship from the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center and another from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. Through FDCAC, I was able to develop my work with author Grace Edwards, and while at Provincetown I worked with A.J. Verdelle. That process of revising the work prior to submission helped the publication process go much more smoothly, I think. Michele, my agent, is really amazing. I remember visiting her in her office one afternoon long before she had even sent Crystelle Mourning out to editors, and we started chatting about the cover art for books by contemporary Black women writers. Months later, she remembered that conversation and arranged to give me some influence on my book cover when she was negotiating the terms of my contract. That turned out to be a really valuable clause–one that helped me feel fully invested in the publication process. When I was able to gaze at that cover for the first time, to hold the hardcover of Crystelle Mourning in my hands, well, that was a wonder.

Eisa Ulen on the cover of Mosaic Literary Magazine

How did Atria support you once the book was finished?

Again, Malaika was terrific. She refused to let Crystelle Mourning fall through the cracks and really advocated for me within the company. Her then assistant, Krishan Trotman, got the paperback deal done with Washington Square Press. They were both supportive when I was out there in the trenches, trying to connect with readers.

Would you recommend other writers seek publication with Atria? Please explain.

I would definitely encourage any writer given the opportunity to work with Malaika to take it.

What’s the biggest revelation you’ve had about the publishing business in your experience getting Crystelle Mourning published?

Probably the importance, the influence, all the other gatekeepers in the business have. I’m thinking of the reviewers, the television and radio producers, the people who curate reading and lecture series in their communities, the leadership in all those book clubs out there. When a publicist at another house, Linda Duggins of Hachette, invited me to read at an annual event she does at Chelsea Piers, I was happy to be there. I was chatting with a person in the audience, and he turned out to be the publisher of Mosaic Literary Magazine, Ron Kavanaugh. Ron made the decision to put me on the cover a few months later, and I’ve done work for Mosaic ever since. The business is made up of people–many, many people–supporting and encouraging each other. These gatekeepers who work outside the publishing companies can have more impact on a book’s success than the teams working in the houses themselves.

What advice do you have for authors currently shopping their manuscripts for publication?

Advice for authors currently shopping their books through an agent? That’s easy: Don’t just sit there waiting to hear a response. Start writing your next book. Now.

Follow Eisa on Twitter @eisaulen