July - November, 2007
Dear Friends—
Before we get to the publicity news, I want to take a brief moment to introduce myself. My name is Betsy Steve, and I took the position of Publicist with NYU Press back in June of this year. Previously, I was a Senior Publicist with Avalon Publishing, which included the imprints Carroll & Graf, Thunder’s Mouth Press, Nation Books and Marlowe & Company. It’s been an exciting and busy five months, and I have much to report, so let’s get right to it.
 First up, our break out Fall bestseller,
Children At Play by Howard P. Chudacoff, the George L. Littlefield Professor of American History at Brown University. Library Journal gave the book a STARRED review in their September 1, 2007 issue raving, “Chudacoff uses excellent historical methodology and perceptive psychological insights.” Chudacoff and the book were featured in the New York Times on August 14, 2007 in a story by culture critic, Patricia Cohen. In her piece that was subsequently syndicated to smaller newspapers across the country, Cohen writes, “The tension between how children spend their free time and how adults want them to spend it runs through Howard P. Chudacoff’s new book like a yellow line smack down the middle of the highway.”
Americanheritage.com ran a glowing review the same day, “Children At Play is a strong addition to the growing literature on childhood, but it’s also good reading for adults seeking a fresh perspective on their own kids.” As a result of the Times piece, Chudacoff appeared on NPR’s “On Point,” the popular Minneapolis morning radio show “Mornings with Ian and Margery Punnett” and “Radio Free Europe.” In the New York Times Book Review September 23, 2007 issue, reviewer and editor in chief of House & Garden, Dominique Browning calls Children At Play “a fascinating and provocative survey.” Chudacoff’s local newspaper, The Providence Journal ran a review on October 7, 2007, as did the autumn 2007 issue of The Wilson Quarterly, which said of the book, “His history demonstrates that the topic of play is anything but trivial. And by showing us where we’ve been, he can help us decide where, as a culture, we want to go.”
To celebrate the publication of Children At Play, Chudacoff was invited to speak at the renowned Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. The very successful event took place October 24th, and Chudacoff got the word out about his appearance on several radio programs including WARM-FM’s “The Morning Show”, WXXI-FM’s “1370 Connection with Bob Smith”, and WCBS-FM. We are awaiting upcoming appearances on WNPR-FM’s “The Faith Middleton Show” and NBC-10 TV’s “Sunday Morning Live” (local Rhode Island station), and reviews in The Atlantic Monthly and Minnesota Parent. We are already back to press for a third printing in only four months of publication.
 From children’s play we move to the hit at this year’s American Sociological Association conference and just named a CHOICE outstanding academic title Sperm Counts by Lisa Jean-Moore, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies and Coordinator of the Gender Studies Program at Purchase College. To kick off the book’s publication, Moore sat down with a reporter from salon.com who then posted a three page interview on July 18, 2007, and said of her book, “SPERM COUNTS is a serious book, and the first on its subject. But it also includes anecdotes from Moore’s life, lending it a more conversational tone than most academic works.” The interview generated nearly 15 pages of passionate reader’s comments, and was one of the most commented on pieces salon.com has posted. Moore went on to be interviewed by KPCC-FM’s “Airtalk with Larry Mantle,” Sirius Satellite Radio’s “Playboy Radio,” Nerve.com, Between the Lines Magazine and Here TV!’s podcast “Here! with Josh & Sara.” A review appeared in the fall 2007 issue of Bitch Magazine, “[Moore] approach[es] the topic of semen with precision and diligence.” The icing on the cake was a lengthy review by acclaimed novelist Camille Paglia in the September 21, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Chronicle Review. In her piece entitled, “Rigid Scholarship of Male Sexuality,” Paglia favored SPERM COUNTS of the three titles she spotlighted saying, “Sperm Counts is a lively, funny read.”
 From the wonderful world sperm, we move on to the dangerous world of the PKK in Blood And Belief by Aliza Marcus, formerly an international correspondent for the Boston Globe. When things were heating up in the news about Turkey and the PKK, Marcus was called upon by NPR’s All Things Considered, Bloomberg TV and radio, NBC-TV, Voice of America Radio, Air America Radio’s “The Thom Hartmann Show” and the New York Times to share her insight and expertise on the subject. Christopher Hitchens mentioned Marcus and her book in his Slate.com column, and Marcus spent an hour on WHYY-FM’s “Radio Times” program talking about the PKK. Marcus took part in the National Press Club’s 30th Annual Book Club and Author’s Night on November 1, 2007, and will speak at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on November 15. Look for more to come on this book as well, including reviews in the Washington Post, Boston Globe and The Economist.
 We now leave the political world of Turkey, and move to the world of political cartoons in
The Art of Ill Will by the award-winning author, Donald Dewey. This is also the first book mentioned from our fall 2007 list. . The September 15, 2007 issue of Library Journal reviewed the book saying, “This hybrid volume mixing history and sociology with political cartoons entertainingly brings the past to light.” The New York Sun review followed on September 26th and we were delighted that to see that the Sun not only featured three color cartoons from the book, they featured one on the paper’s front page with a teaser for the review inside that said of the book, “[a] handsome and bracingly irreverent history of the form.” Another great review appeared in the Village Voice on October 10th, “The true stars of this book are the cartoons themselves. During a period when an entire government seems drawn by a satirist, it’s instructive to look back at a history of politics reduced to two dimensions.” The Austin-American Statesman ran a review on October 14th, “[a] striking panorama of the unruly history of the American cartoonist’s trade…a welcome does of sobering analysis of a medium in search of a future,” and interview with Donald appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on October 21st. The renowned cartoonist Edward Sorel reviewed the book in the November issue of Penthouse, “What?! Another book on the history of the American political cartoon? Do we really need one after Drawn and Quartered and Cartoon America? Well, after reading Donald Dewey's The Art of Ill Will, the answer is YES."
Here are some noteworthy current and selling books from our fall 2007 list:
 From September there is Writers Under Siege edited by Lucy Popescu and Carole Seymour-Jones, which Publishers Weekly called, “As an act of commemoration, as well as a sobering reminder of a world in which writers are frequently—and all too easily—silenced, this is an exceptional anthology.” Library Journal also ran a glowing review, “The selections make clear that many countries not ordinarily thought of as authoritarian are nevertheless not really safe for free expression.” Here’s a line from the wonderful review that ran in the September-October 2007 issue of Utne, “Some of the prose is sparse, testifying to the economy of the writers hurried by the threat of discovery; other pieces are rich with the care of dazzling minds left with no company but words.” And the book received a lovely review in the Sept/Oct/Nov 2007 issue of Bookforum saying, “an invaluable anthology” and “The individuals in this anthology…tell stories so vital and impassioned that we are moved to become lecteurs engagés, moved not merely by their writing but by their courage and conviction of the their lives.”
 Also from September is The Unfinished City by Thomas Bender, the University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at New York University. The book was included in Sam Roberts’s New York Times column “Reading New York” on October 7th, “His collections of essays…offers a thought-provoking perspective on the city’s historical development and the continuing efforts to finish the place.” The book was also included in the “Begley the Bookie” column which appears in the New York Observer.
 The American Jesuits by Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., Professor of Humanities at St. Peter’s College, was praised in Publishers Weekly, “Blending history and analysis, Schroth chronicles the society’s weaknesses and failures, too, including its foot-dragging on racial issues…This is an absorbing read ...” And praised again in Library Journal, “[Schroth] here offers a readable overview of the society …This book fills a gap in general works on the subject.” There are a lot of reviews still expected for this title, including Christianity Today, America Magazine, Conversations, American Catholic, Catholic Digest and Church History. There will be more to report by next newsletter!
 The second edition of Chained to the Desk by Bryan E. Robinson, Professor Emeritus of Counseling, Special Education, and Child Development at the University of North Carolina was reviewed in Library Journal, “The many revealing case studies, self-analysis tools, and the author’s personal story of his struggle with workaholism make for a thorough, solid package.” Forbes.com interviewed Bryan for a piece entitled, “So You Married a Workaholic.” And the New York Times quoted Bryan as an expert in a Sunday Business section Q&A.
And with that, I say goodbye. Until next newsletter— |
