News and Dialogue for the Next Generation of Publishers

Brittany Hazelwood

Brittany Hazelwood on why the Festival Neue Literatur is a can’t-miss event for all young book-professionals located in the Big Apple February 10-12, 2012.

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The Festival Neue Literatur (FNL) (that’s “Festival of New Literature”), celebrates its third year by bringing rising German-language authors– representing Austria, Germany and Switzerland–to New York. The diversity among the featured authors runs the full gamut, from debut authors to prizewinners, along with multicultural storytellers and rapidly ascending literary stars. The six selected German-language authors, Catalin Dorian Florescu, Inka Parei, Monica Cantieni,Linda Stift, Erwin Uhrmann, and Larissa Boehning, will engage in a series of panels and readings in English with their American fellow-writers, Francisco Goldman and Chris Adrian. For many of the featured German-language writers, the selected works represent untranslated titles, with the exception of Parei and Cantieni, who have found English-language publishing homes.

(Meet Susan Bernofsky & this year’s featured authors:)

For readers of Publishing Trendsetter in New York, the FNL is a rare opportunity to engage with German-language authors at the beginning of their literary careers who have exemplified great talent and promise great things ahead. For young New York-based book professionals, especially those in editorial who are not yet acquiring books, we suggest you approach Festival Neue Literatur as a bookmark, one that provokes curiosity and inspires further exploration of featured authors. And for young editors who are acquiring books, FNL offers a truly exceptional slate of the finest ascending writers from abroad, handpicked by this year’s curator and esteemed translator Susan Bernofsky and the many members of the FNL organizing collective. And for book professional in general, FNL is a platform to network with the full spectrum of professionals that make up the literature in translation scene, from fellow editors interested in world literature to translators to literary critics and institutions such as the German Book Office that advocates for German books in translations–and all of this is right here in your own backyard!

When I think about the future of literature in translation, my thoughts hone in especially on readers of Publishing Trendsetter. That three percent figure that haunts literature in translation in the US is, in many regards, in the hands of young and future book professionals. If world literature emerges as a key interest for this crowd, then that puny three percent could finally see some growth.

Thus we hope to see young book professional at Festival Neue Literatur amongst the attending literary fans and German-language literature connoisseurs. In the worlds of FNL moderator and literary critic Liesl Schillinger, “The Festival Neue Literatur opens a window on the current view from the Danube and the Rhine; giving voracious readers a chance to update their reading lists, and open their minds.”

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Brittany Hazelwood is a project manager at the German Book Office New York (GBO). Prior to her work at the GBO, she was an independent researcher in Berlin with the DAAD Fellowship Program. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in German Literature and Cultural Studies.

This idea sprang from a phone conversation overheard a few months ago in the Market Partners International offices, in which one of the partners was reminiscing with an old friend about publishing animals past and present. Although heavy on whimsy, the stories behind these animals are one of those peeks at “vintage” publishing trivia that most of us, deep down, have difficulty getting enough of.

Black Dog & Lenventhal

JP Leventhal told us the story this way: “When I was starting up, I had originally thought of calling the company ‘Black Dog Books.’  Everyone in my family was in publishing or had been.  I was in publishing,  My wife was in publishing.  My two sons were in publishing.  My sisters had been in publishing.  Even my sisters’ ex-husbands had been in publishing.  Only our dog, Tess, was not in publishing, and I therefore thought it fitting to honor her by calling the company ‘Black Dog Books.’ Peter Workman, [our distributor] thought that name was too impersonal and that I should put my name in.  … Our name remained unresolved. Peter and I got together again a few weeks later. On that day it was clear that we should combine Peter’s instinct and mine.  Of course the name should be ‘Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.‘  Eureka!  It worked.  Silly perhaps, but it has withstood the test of time.”

Alfred A. Knopf

“The coursing Borzoi has always been our trademark . . . A neighbor next door has a good specimen of Borzoi, and I have checked my details–head, build, etc.–with that dog. From the very beginning we have frequently been asked the meaning of the word “Borzoi” and what it has to do with books. When I started in business the publisher I admired most was London’s William Heinemann, and the sign of a Heinemann book was a windmill… Since a windmill obviously had nothing to do with books, I saw no reason why we could not adopt the Borzoi as our mark.”

–Alfred A. Knopf, 1948

Candlewick Press

In 1992, beloved illustrator Helen Oxenbury created the colophon of a bear holding a candle. It is innocent and wise, childish and benevolent, as well as timeless. Initially seen in full color, the Bear has been developed into a silhouette and appears today on every book for young children from Candlewick Press.

Duckworth Press

The stylized figure with the single pipe on the leaping dolphin that represents Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company today was created by Ismar David in 1958. The dolphin, chosen by Aldus Manutius to represent swiftness, has grown increasingly vigorous and playful. We know it today to be a friendly creature of great intelligence, and as such it is an appropriate symbol for many kinds of communication HMH seeks to make accessible to the public.

The Nonesuch Press fell out of independent operation in the mid-1960s, but since their founding in 1922, they have sported my personal favorite publisher’s animal: the hiking bear.

W. W. Norton

Via the very official medium of Twitter, W.W. Norton informed us that the story behind their seagull is “a closely guarded secret.” For whatever reason that may be, we admit to being a little relieved it’s not modeled (at least openly) after Chekhov‘s seagull. We’d hate to see this illustrious publisher end up like that eponymous bird, after all…

Overlook Press

Overlook Press’ Publisher, Peter Mayer, told us this amazing story: “Many years ago,  a picture story appeared in LIFE about two photographers who went to Africa to try and solve the mystery of where  elephants go to die. In the herd the photographers were following, an old female elephant  started to stumble along on the trail.  On either side of her, the elephants leaned against her and pushed her forward so that she could continue with the herd.  But she just couldn’t, and fell down, still alive.  Then the herd made a circle around her and trumpeted. The photographers were asked why the elephants showed this incredible support and empathy.  And one of the photographers said, ‘I guess elephants just like elephants.’  I turned the page of the magazine and there were six or eight pages of the War in Vietnam–fire, bombs, blood. And I thought, as I saw these pages, ‘But people don’t really like people.’
Years later, when I started the Overlook Press, I thought of this story and decided on an elephant as the logo.  I asked my friend,  Milton Glaser,  (who also designed the iconic ‘I [heart] NY’ logo) to design something, and he came back with an elephant sporting wings, saying to me, ‘Peter, if you can make an elephant fly, you can do anything.’”  That was more than 40 years ago.

Penguin Group

“Penguin’s founder, Allen Lane, wanted a “dignified but flippant” name for his new series, suggesting an animal or a bird.  His secretary, Joan Coles, came up with the idea of a Penguin.  Edward Young of the Production Department went off to the London Zoo to sketch the new symbol.”  (from Fifty Penguin Years, © Penguin Books, 1985)

Pocket Books

“The original Gertrude designer was Frank J. Lieberman, an artist who had been commissioned to create covers for some of the first ten Pocket Books. When it was noted that the company had no identifying symbol, Lieberman sketched a bespectacled kangaroo, with her nose in a book and another paperback stashed away in her pouch. The designer… received all of $25 for the marsupial colophon. He also gave the creature its name. Why Gertrude? ‘For some unknown reason, I named it after my mother-in-law,’ Lieberman recalled.’”

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One creative solution to being lost in the sea of freelancers–what’s yours?

When thinking about a professional future in publishing, the question of freelancing is bound to come up–especially for editors and especially in the increasingly “outsourced” climate we live in. Last week, one publishing veteran, Jeremy Soldevilla had some great ideas for the ways that freelancing can contribute to building a career. But what if you’re a few years in? Is being a freelance editor, publicist, or marketer as rewarding, challenging, lucrative or–to use a very technical term–”real” as working in house?

I was really impressed by the 5E newsletter that landed in my inbox a few weeks ago for several reasons. Firstly, delivering pithy info on different areas of editing business and trends allows each of these freelance editors to show off her own expertise and “connectedness” to the wider world of book business quite nicely. It’s some pretty easily achieved gravitas, I’d say.

But perhaps even more importantly, banding together as colleagues affords these editors definition and visibility that even they as well-respected and established professionals need to fight for, “unmoored” from a house as they are. What’s more, by juxtaposing their different perspectives, each seems to shine more brightly in her corner of the freelance firmament.

Take a look at the newsletter and see what you think. Are you a young freelancer? What are some of the most important things you do to stay visible to the authors and publishers you work with? Or maybe you work in-house and team with freelance colleagues. What are some of the things that you’ve learned from them about the diverse shapes a publishing career can take? Would you consider going freelance yourself–and not just while looking for another job in house? Why or why not?

Jeremy Soldevilla

How can you get a virtual foot in the publishing door from a thousand miles away? According to Jeremy Soldevilla: Make like an author and build a platform.

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Publishing has always been a difficult industry to land that first job in—almost as hard as it has been for a new writer to get published. But in the past few years, thanks to technology, that’s changing. A young person with skills, energy, and passion has many more opportunities than ever before to jump into the industry.

Traditional publishers have historically been the gatekeepers of what gets published. Generally they got it right, but a number of well-written books got rejected—there are hundreds of stories of famous writers whose early work got rejected. However, with the emergence and “ease” of self-publishing anybody can “publish” a book, regardless of the quality.  But, is that true publishing? I have to say “No.” Publishing requires a wide set of skills learned over several years, and usually, concentrated in one area or another—editing, design, production, marketing or sales.  In a “technologically eased” publishing environment—for both authors and industry hopefuls—the trick is to open one of the many new doors available, but just make sure that excellent publishing still stands behind it.

I began in publishing in 1970 after graduating as an English Literature major —a major I chose because I loved books. So, when I graduated, it seemed natural for me to gravitate towards publishing. I was hired as a copywriter trainee in an Read More »

As you think about all the places it’s possible to work in book business–and the ever-more unexpected places it’s possible to find yourself in said business–the most recent episode of “Cubes” is highly recommended. GalleyCat peeks in for a tour of  Audible, which is only one of the many exiting undertakings going on in the Wild World of Amazon these days. Here’s what they found:

Susan Toy is a veteran book professional who is carving out a niche for herself in a nascent-but-booming section of the business: author-focused expertise. Or, as she much more glamorously likes to put it, she’s an “Author Impresario.” 

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 I’ve had a life-long love affair with books. As a child, I read voraciously then studied English literature in university, knowing full well that the only job I’d be qualified for was as a bookstore clerk. I managed to land that position in the late 70s and never looked back.

Since then, I’ve been a bookseller, a sales representative for various publishers, and have begun writing my own stories. I’ve studied publishing and editing online and have taken writing workshops, all of which helped me develop new skill sets.

Throughout my employment in this business, the people who stood out were the authors. And why wouldn’t they? These were the people who were creating what I was selling, the books I enjoyed reading. I realized, though, that authors were not receiving the attention from publishers and booksellers that they deserved. Unless they won a major national prize or became a media darling, their books quickly fell off the radar at the end of a season. Authors were then left to fend for themselves, to find further attention, reviews, and speaking engagements in an attempt to keep their books from floundering on the dreaded backlist. I knew as a sales rep that publishers are quick to head into the next sales season, and put the past list behind them, especially if last season’s sales were not stellar. These authors require someone to help continue the buzz—their own personal champion (preferably not a blood relative) to lead the cheer about their books.

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