Publishing Insider

Back in NYC

A wonderful week in Denver now complete...well, mostly. I still have 100 papers to grade. My respect for teachers of any stripe have gone up yet another notch!

T-shirt fling

Day 2 of the Pub Institute saw Betsy Hulsebosch of Random House flinging t-shirts to students with the right answers. A sight to see.  A-Rod, watch out! It was a great session about advertising and book promotion on budget. Then sales rep David Waag sold a list to Cathy Langer of Tattered Cover; flashback for me, as a former sales rep. And got to the new TC store Monday night. Oh my. Just beautiful.

yesterday and today

Really good day yesterday talking to and with the students at the Denver Pub Institute. Very earnest, eager people who want to be in editorial or marketing roles in publishing. Great questions and the week continues with more people coming in to talk advertising, sales and more.

Rocky Mountain hi

Today's schedule: espresso at the drive-thru Xpresso Stand in hotel parking lot, breakfast at local favorite Le Peep, talk for 7 hours at Denver Pub Institute, and then to the new Tattered Cover tonite!

Mice, beware

It's been great to see the Warriors series take off. Move over Redwall. Check out our cool website.

Blind leading the blind

I'm off to teach a week of Marketing at the Denver Publishing Institute. Going to fill 100 pliant minds with enough to make all 100 spin. Seriously, this biz of ours is changing so fast, it's going to be hard to capture the scope of the change, both from where we've come so fast and where we're headed. Wish me luck!

Armistead

sSo psyched about Robin Williams and Sandra Oh in Night Listener, based on Armistead Maupin's novel. All 3 of them are on 20/20 tonite, and Robin on Fresh Air next week. Movie opens Aug. 4.

Spelling mistakes

I'm a pretty good speller, but I always trip up on a few regulars. I want to put a second s in occasion, and I want to take out an s in misspell. That still doesn't look right. Tell me your most annoying spelling hiccups. (By the way, spellcheck doesn't like the word 'blog.' Hello!)

Summer music

Bruce Cockburn slowing growing on me, in a big way. Always liked a few earlier songs, but he's blossoming. Ditto Lucinda Williams, once I get over the cry-in-one's-beer pity. Shawn Colvin coming to NY area soon; yay. Hot blues can still be heard at Terra Blues most every night. Favorite new guy: Duncan Sheik. I think I could like Joss Stone. The new Mark Knopfler/EmmyLou Harris sounds good. And finally rented the DVD of Heart of Gold, Neil Young's concert DVD. Really grew on me with each song, and oh that Emmylou. And what's up with the extra-stoic bass player?

Spiegelman's first book?

I'm over the moon that I found my beat up 70's copy of Book of Whole Grains, a book of counterculture quotations that got my through college. I think this was the first book that Art Spiegelman illustrated; can anyone confirm that or remember the book also?