SlushPile.net

Yesterday, I referred to a New York Times article that described Kathleen McGowan’s transformation from self-published author to toast of the big-time corporate publishing world. McGowan racked up credit card debt in order to attend the 2005 BEA on her own dime, but this year, with a seven-figure advance in the bank, she signed autographs for an hour and entertained [...]

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The New York Times had an interesting article about Kathleen McGowan. Last year at BEA, McGowan was a self-published author who paid her own way to the convention and “‘had to really beg people to come talk to you.’ Returning to the couple’s hotel room one night, she broke down in tears. ‘I was, like, [...]

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A couple of fine Southern writers sealed up new publishing deals recently. One of my favorites, William Gay, author of I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down: Collected Stories Provinces of Night, and The Long Home, sold a new work entitled Twilight to MacAdam/Cage. North Carolina’s Clyde Edgerton sold a book entitled The Bible [...]

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Publishers Weekly reported that 22,366 “verified” attendees walked through the doors at BEA this year. I’m not entirely sure how accurate that figure is since some of the ushers were less than enthusiastic about scanning convention goers badges. Some were tyrannical in making you stand in line, show your badge, and get scanned. But others just [...]

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Since I grew up in the horse racing industry, everyone I’ve encountered recently wants to talk about Barbaro. My family was about tens of millions of dollars away from The Triple Crown races, but I’ve still felt my share of anxiety, fear, and sadness when a horse is injured. Luckily, as I check the news this evening, the latest [...]

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The convention floor of BEA had a definite geography to it. Like a high school cafeteria or prison yard, different areas were dominated by certain cliques. The leviathan publishers congregated in the middle of the floor. They were usually on the inside aisle, so you could step right into their swanky publishing home-away-from-home. On the other [...]

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From the great Bookslut, I learned about this Slate experiment where they created pulp-like covers for classic books. The artists used classic pulp novels as inspiration and treated books such as Jane Eyre and Animal Farm to new cover work. Here are some of my favorite pulp covers from the Slushpile.net library.

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Now, I realize that the Harry Potter books got millions of kids excited about reading. I understand the books have sold a bazillion copies. I know scientists recently named a dinosaur after the danged school. I get it, okay. But when CNN runs an article claiming Harry Potter inspires vision of invisibility cloak, I just have to wonder [...]

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Our free book today has been claimed. I’ll have more giveaways next week so keep your eyes open. Thanks!

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I’m running a bit behind on my final BEA recollections because I’m hobbling around with an ice pack strapped to my leg and lacking any more energy to keep writing tonight. My team’s first soccer game was this evening and I’m feeling it. We spotted our competitors four goals in the first half but put [...]

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Most people took part in the advance reader’s copy looting to one degree or another. Some folks (I doubt bloggers because we can often score things through the mail) wheeled suitcases behind them as they hauled off their literary booty. For me, I tried to focus my attention on the smaller, independent publishers. I’m as excited [...]

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  As you probably know, I recently reviewed Going Postal for PopMatters. This is a grueling, challenging book about workplace and school massacres by Mark Ames. Even though Mark’s traveling through Russia and near the Chinese border for the next few days, he’s been kind enough to agree to an interview with me. So keep an [...]

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