Publishing Insider

the last time I saw Harvey Pekar

At GLBA in Cleveland last fall, Harvey was waiting to do a signing, and he was lying on the floor in the hallway, knees up, head at a ninety-degree angle to his body, staring off into space. He seemed lonely yet totally at peace.

best job in the world?

Choosing music for the Weather Channel's Local on the 8's?? Someone there loves the sax solo from Can't You Hear Me Knockin'...as do I!!

another delightful Irishman

i met Kevin O'Hara at the NAIBA Trunk Show will hoofing it with Mike Perry, and Kevin is a pure delight! Please check out his true adventures of Ireland.

John Adams

Just finished the HBO series. Incredibly moving and enlightening! (I AM going to brush my teeth even more diligently now.)

too-Starry Night

Trouble in paradise? MOMA in NYC is free on Fridays from 4-8 PM, which is so great. Nothing like letting more people see great art. People, esp. the blessed tourists helping to get this city vibrant and solvent, line up for hours. I take advantage of the free time a few times a year, but I go at 6 PM; I hate lines. And the museum is packed, sometimes too much so to really enjoy the art, but no matter: it’s all for a good cause. And Starry Night is still magnificent . . . UNLESS there are people posing alongside of it having their picture taken!!!!! The ubiquity of PDA cameras has caused an epidemic of non-flash picture-taking, and even that’s fine…but not the posing alongside of it, like Picasso is the Naked Cowboy, as if Dorothea Lagne is Elmo. (Elmo and Spongebob characters are currently hanging out regularly on B’way and 48^th;, which in this heat, qualifies that as THE worst job in America right now.)

 Fellow museumgoers; please: use the cameras in your head.

Stop Smiling Books

Found this recent trade pb popping up on a few indie lists, from Stop Smiling Books: LIsten to the Echoes - interviews with Ray Bradbury. Neat!

nuts...i mean kudos!

Editor Gary Fisketjon at Knopf has a hit in the novel, Mr. Peanut. It's been catching on, esp. on the NEIBA, NAIBA and SIBA lists - due to word-of-mouth, a great jacket, and the author on tour (more on this another time; the recent WSJ article made my head explode) - and now it's top 15 on the Indie Bound nat' list. Kudos to all x-town at Alfred A.

Cooped up...not

If you’d like to brighten your day, get a taste of a guy who’s get it self-deprecatingly in perspective, and has some great stories from the road, read up on Michael Perry’s 2-week bookstore tour, with tales of music, sock supplies, and great bookstores. If you'd like all of his eloquent and charming road blog posts, let me know; I have them edited into 3 Word docs. You will smile.

quelle night

It’s been neat to see that our Audrey Hepburn/Breakfast of Tiffany book has been selling very well in LA, also. Nice to see some Hollywood nostalgia in Hollywood.