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 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

Interview With Senior Editor at Simon and Schuster, Christine Pride!

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Like many publishing professionals, Christine Pride, a senior editor at Simon and Schuster, did not know there were opportunities for bookmaking, i.e, publishing. Pride earned her Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and then worked at a non-profit organization catering to disadvantaged mothers.

It was during her four-year tenure at the organization as a Public Relations Associate and Director of Development and PR that she connected … Read the rest