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Publisher’s Weekly

Publishers Weekly: Books Are Just the Beginning

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Publishers Weekly President George Slowik, Jr. (standing) with M.S. in Publishing students
Publishers Weekly President George Slowik, Jr. (standing) with M.S. in Publishing students

Just as you might expect, the offices of Publishers Weekly (PW) are a bibliophile’s dream: everywhere you look are stacks of books piled on desks and overflowing onto tables and the floor. While the ambiance is of a library or bookstore of years ago, there is nothing traditional about the 141-year-old publication. The PW staff is involved in podcasts and radio shows, e-newsletters, e-blasts, and webcasts, plus services for self-publishers and much more, including plans to digitize their extensive archives. To learn more about this multiplatform business devoted to serving the book publishing industry (and that means libraries, too!), a group of NYU SCPS M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media students last week spent a fascinating time at PW. They met key staffers and heard what they do. [Read more…] about Publishers Weekly: Books Are Just the Beginning

BEA 2013: Volunteers and Voices of Change

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Volunteers Megan Bender (Summer Publishing Institute), Janea Brachfeld (M.S. in Publishing), and Chris Kottmeier (Summer Publishing Institute)
Volunteers Megan Bender (Summer Publishing Institute), Janea Brachfeld (M.S. in Publishing), and Chris Kottmeier (Summer Publishing Institute)

Students wearing neon green T-shirts with the slogan “Keep Calm and Read On” seemed to be everywhere last week at Book Expo America. There they were in the autograph area controlling crowds, at publishers’ booths helping with signings, at conference sessions, and at author breakfasts. Forty-nine Master of Science in Publishing: Digital and Print Media and 2013 Summer Publishing Institute students were roaming the massive BEA space at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center serving as volunteers and picking up industry knowledge—and plenty of great swag as well. Advanced reading copies anyone? ARCs were there for the picking from bestselling authors like David Baldacci, Scott Turow, Lisa Scottoline, Cassandra Clare, and more. All in all, getting the chance to volunteer at the largest book conference in America was a great treat for students and an awesome way to kick off a summer of studies—and reading!

[Read more…] about BEA 2013: Volunteers and Voices of Change

Blogging for Love (and Maybe Money)

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Bloggers Sarah Wendell, Jennifer Hart, David Gutowski, Rachel Deahl and Sarah Weinman at NYU's Summer Publishing Institute

“When it comes to social media, I fly by seat-of-your-pants airlines. I have a lot of miles there,” quipped Sarah Wendell, who runs the well-known book blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.  Wendell was participating in a blogging panel at the NYU-SCPS Summer Publishing Institute.  The moderator was Sarah Weinman, who created the blog Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind (currently on hiatus) and is now a reporter for Publishers Lunch. Under her deft guidance, the conversation turned to the need to change and adapt to a constantly evolving online landscape. Four bloggers, who came from all corners of the publishing and blogging landscape, were eager to share their thoughts.

When asked how publishers’ relationships to bloggers have changed in the last ten years, Jennifer Hart, Vice President and Associate Publisher of HarperCollins and the creator of the blog Book Club Girl, didn’t hesitate with her answer: “Tremendously!” she said, noting that bloggers are invited to parties, author events and receive galley copies. “Publishers really rely on them to be our word of mouth in the world.” [Read more…] about Blogging for Love (and Maybe Money)

The Other Side of Publishing: Alternatives to Corporate Life

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Ami Greko, Rebecca Fitting, Lorraine Shanley (back), David Nudo, Sandi Mendelson

As the Summer Publishing Institute wound down and students scrambled to complete projects and find jobs, an esteemed panel of publishing entrepreneurs helped to put everything in perspective. “We are all in this room because we are passionate about communication,” said panelist David Nudo, former publisher of Publishers Weekly and co-founder of Literati-A-Go-Go, validating every student’s desire to go into publishing. By sharing stories of their own career trajectories and advice on how to build a successful career, each of the panelists offered a refreshing look at what it means to be a part of the publishing industry in this new digital age. [Read more…] about The Other Side of Publishing: Alternatives to Corporate Life

Spotlight on M.S. Publishing Alumni

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Three notable graduates of the NYU M.S. in  Publishing program recently spoke with current student Seth Harris, a digital business development analyst at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., about their newest roles within the publishing industry. They also discussed how they are applying aspects of the program to their current jobs, and advice for new and current students.

Random House Children's Books' Till Wirth
Till Wirth was recently promoted at Random House.

Till Wirth recently was promoted to manager of digital content and product development at Random House Children’s Books. He began working at Random House as an intern while a graduate student in publishing at NYU, where he received the program’ s Oscar Dystel Fellowship and  2008 Excellence in Achievement Award in Book Publishing. Before coming to New York, Wirth managed his family’s book publishing house in Germany. [Read more…] about Spotlight on M.S. Publishing Alumni

How I Got Published: A Summer Publishing Institute Success Story

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Kia DuPree: all smiles over her literary good fortune
A good friend asked me how much my dream was worth. I was totally confused by his question. “Is your dream worth more than two thousand dollars?” he asked. “Yeah,” I said.  “Then take two thousand dollars and publish your own book. Trust me. You’ll more than double your money, if it’s any good.”

He was right. That advice plus my experience as a student in NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute in 2006 made all the difference in the world.  I had been calling myself an “aspiring novelist” for years. Until I actually published a book, I didn’t think I could ever call myself a novelist. I took money  from my savings account and published Robbing Peter, a novel about three fatherless families. I sold it at work, to friends and family, online, at the grocery store, at hair salons and at night clubs. Everywhere. It was a lot of work. To my surprise, it went on to win a Fiction Honor Book Award from the Black Caucus of The American Library Association. It was the first self-published novel to do so. [Read more…] about How I Got Published: A Summer Publishing Institute Success Story