Interview With “Charming As A Verb” Author Ben Philippe!

BEN-AND-BOOKWhen asked for advice about what authors should look for in agents, editors, and publishers, award-winning and Charming As A Verb (Balzer + Bray, October 13, 2020) author Ben Philippe, encourages finding industry professionals whose emails they are unafraid to receive. “I have friends who are also writers, they have that fear of their own editors and publishers,” he tells So Booking Cool. “They’re like ‘Oh, I made too … Read the rest

Book Report: RIP Publishing Legend Sonny Mehta, Kobe Bryant, Happy belated Langston Hughes; The “Diverse Editions” Backlash; Current reads & more!

sbc epi 1 collageWe discuss some of the latest news in publishing including the late publishing legend Sonny Mehta (Knopf and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group); we also recognize Kobe Bryant and Langston Hughes; we discuss the backlash Barnes and Noble Fifth Avenue and Penguin Random House received for their Diverse Edition initiative; Jessica Simpson’s new, trending memoir; some of our current and anticipated reads, as well as other bookish tidbits. Check it out! Read the rest

Interview With Ben Philippe, Author of “The Field Guide to the North American Teenager”!

ben 2If you are passionate about writing and want to pursue it professionally, you might want to keep certain skills off your resume. Ben Phillippe, author of the forthcoming debut novel, The Field Guide to The North American Teenager (Balzer + Bray, January 9, 2019) is one of many who had jobs that he disliked, but when he removed Microsoft Excel from his resume, he yielded opportunities that … Read the rest

Interview With Alessandra Balzer, Co-Publisher of Balzer + Bray!

alessandra balzer

When Alessandra Balzer was fresh out of Colgate University, where she majored in French Literature and minored in English, she took her first job at HarperCollins as an editorial assistant. Years later she would become co-publisher of her own imprint at the same company. Balzer and Donna Bray, a fellow HarperCollins colleague, were both experienced and eager to become entrepreneurs. In 2008, they launched Balzer + Bray. 

Dumplin’ by … Read the rest