Soft Skull News

Michael Muhammad Knight is a great man. This was my conclusion after picking him up from the KALW studios in San Francisco—surprisingly located in a dank corner of the AV wing of a public high school. I gave him a ride back to his artist's colony paradise in Marin, where he's staying for a while, working on the forthcoming Journey to the End of Islam. While we stopped at a grocery store, I bothered him about Osama Van Halen final copyedits, and waxed poetic on the beauty of the fresh-from-the-printer copy of Blue-Eyed Devil I had sitting on my desk but inexplicably forgot to bring to him. (We're doing a lot of his books at the moment.) But I promised to bring it to his reading the next day, and I promised it was beautiful.

So it was, the following evening found me with said copy of Blue-Eyed Devil, excitedly/geekily showing Mike the various tiny changes we made since he last saw the book. And off Mike went to prepare for the reading/talk he was supposed to give. And then, no more than two minutes later, back Mike came, with the book open to a page. What did I do? What did I misspell? I was mortified before he said a thing. And sure enough, there it was, my nemesis, the copyright page. I left the "this is fiction" slug in the copyright page, when clearly, this book is nonfiction. Granted, anyone shopping for this book in the "Memoir" section will not be confused. And granted, everything on the back cover—hell, everything on the interior, including the lawsuit that was dropped, but which we printed in the Appendix—is nonfiction. But lo, a lame note on the copyright page stands there, waiting to confuse the average reader. Maybe this makes it a collector's item, who knows. Anyways, let it be known now and forever: NONFICTION! Sorry Mike.

In other, non-guilt-inducing news, Soft Skull has a book on breastfeeding called The Food of Love. It got its first US review last week, which is sort of like a baby getting its first tooth. This one's got bite! Hilarious drawings and a very logical, sane, and researched approach make it a must-have for all those new mothers out there who just can't bring themselves to read the back of a baby formula package (this book is way more entertaining). Kate Evans, the British author and cartoonist, worked with an American lactation consultant to make it relevant for the US audience, and I promise it will not disappoint. Take it from the book's 24-year-old male editor! Or take it from Roxy Aliaga, a Counterpoint senior editor, who had just had a kid when she proofread this book, and who said she'd buy it for a child-rearing friend in a heartbeat.

Well that's about it for now. Anne should be back around with some crazy news about a Soft Skull title from just a few years back being featured in an upcoming BBC documentary (no, not An Amputee's Guide to Sex), and possibly some insider news on what's to come a year from now. Peace ho!

Posted by Adam Krefman at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Howdy all. As Anne promised last week, I'm Adam, straight from the book-production trenches of Soft Skull, on the Berkeley side of this massive, twelve-person (give or take) operation we call Counterpoint/Soft Skull. I hope I'll be able to give you all a very clear and forward-looking view into what's going on over here, almost like a window at a fudge shop, only instead of fudge, we're making books about muslim punks, artists on sexual escapades, poets on the path of Elvis, and young Americans meeting their counterparts in China's various underground scenes. So without further ado...

Kevin Powell on Oprah! Author of Soft Skull standbys No Sleep till Brooklyn, Someday We'll All Be Free, and the forthcoming Open Letters to America, Kevin was on the program speaking from childhood experience about ending violence against women and girls. A great cause, a well-spoken messenger, and a dynamic writer. When not on TV, Kevin's putting the finishing touches on what should become defining essays for an Obama-generation-led world. In his spare time, he's running for office in Brooklyn.

Elsewhere, China Underground is whipping up a minor frenzy over in Asia, and seems now to be picking up steam here in the States. Zack's touring in April and May (including a couple events with Pasha Malla), so be sure to click the Events link on this site to hear him read, and possibly have that badass book signed. And, should you buy the book, note the "gritty matte UV" cover made to look almost like drawings on construction paper—sorry, I geek out on these details.

Poetry! Who publishes that stuff anymore? We do. That's who. And we have two award nominees on our list. First: Daphne Gottleib, whose heartbreaking verse in Kissing Dead Girls was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Second: CAConrad won the Gil Ott Book Award. We just recently sent off to print CAConrad's love epic/homage to Elvis, titled Advanced Elvis Course. It's roughly a portrait of America via Elvis, including interviews with Memphis locals, answering-machine messages to Elvis (prompted by a flier claiming that the author's home phone number is in fact Elvis's—which is recreated and printed in the book, with the real number, in case you want to talk to "Elvis" too), and of course, amazing poems about Elvis's power and grace.

Stay tuned for some graphic novels, a book cover with a banana on it and the titled printed on said fruit's sticker and said sticker being a real sticker, removable and all, and a couple full-color art books, believe it or not.

Posted by Adam Krefman at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s a transitional time here at Soft Skull, but an interesting time, and a good time to post an update, we think!

We expect Richard to continue to do great things in the world of independent publishing, and we wish him the best. It’s been an incredible opportunity, at least for me, to work closely with a true publishing visionary, a person with boundless intelligence, quickness, creativity, knowledge about publishing, and ambition for Soft Skull—not to mention great warmth, kindness, and grace. Meanwhile, there are a number of folks who are continuing on in their involvement with Soft Skull, and we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves.

I’m Soft Skull’s assistant editor, and I’ve been lucky enough to work for Richard for the past three years, both pre- and post-acquisition by Counterpoint. I came on board in time to be involved with the publication of some of my favorite Soft Skull books—Jamestown by Matt Sharpe, American Genius, A Comedy by Lynne Tillman, Lydia Millet’s How the Dead Dream, Tim Wise’s new book and the reissue of his earlier classic, White Like Me, the new edition of Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s That’s Revolting, the American release of Martin Millar’s oeuvre ... and many other wonderful books. I’m very happy to be able to confirm that Soft Skull will continue to operate from our New York office and that I will remain with the company, working on developmental editing and acquisitions.

We’ve also got a wonderful staff in Berkeley, headed by our publisher, Charlie Winton. While Counterpoint and Soft Skull books will remain distinct, there is much crossover in terms of personnel, and Soft Skull would be paralyzed without the efforts of the Berkeley staff. In particular, I’d like to introduce Adam Krefman and Charlotte Williams. Adam, who worked previously at McSweeney’s, works on Soft Skull’s production. He will most likely be the most frequent contributor to this blog. Charlotte is also a crucial member of Counterpoint/Soft Skull’s staff. She is also the person who handles all direct orders from the Soft Skull website. She will be a frequent contributor to this blog as well.

And I’m also happy to be able to say that I will not be alone in the New York office for too long. We are hoping to have a new senior editor in place sooner rather than later—someone with his or her own bold vision of independent publishing, someone experienced, someone who loves the current and past list of Soft Skull books and authors and who is ready to take that list in a new direction. There’s no question that we will not be the same without Richard, but with this change, there is also an opportunity to continue evolving as a company, and to build upon the great legacy of books Richard has left for us.

So on that note, here's our kickass Spring and Fall 09 catalogs. Check em out.


Thanks for reading, and Adam and Charlotte and I are looking forward to updating you as Soft Skull 3.0 begins to take shape.

Anne Horowitz
anne@softskull.com

Posted by Anne Horowitz at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)