Our blog features essays, book reviews, coverage of FTB titles, and noteworthy news of American Jewish experience by our publisher.
How to Self-Publish Your E-Book
Posted on October 2, 2023
If you have a story you want to share, you can easily publish your work in popular electronic bookstores — and maybe even make a little money. Apple’s Pages app for Mac, iOS and iCloud provides all the tools needed to write, design and publish an e-book to its Apple Books store.Credit…Apple By J. D. Biersdorfer […]
Why Audiobooks Are Skyrocketing, and How Writers Can Take Advantage
Posted on September 7, 2023
MARISSA DECUIR Audiobooks are the fastest growing format in publishing, but what exactly does that growth look like, and what should authors be doing about it? In January 2022, The New York Times reported that book sales rose during the first year of the pandemic and kept rising, with sales increasing 13% from January to November of 2021 compared to the […]
The Hollywood strikes explained — and how they could affect you
Posted on August 1, 2023
By Don Aucoin Boston Globe Staff, July 13, 2023 Fran Drescher, actress and president of SAG-AFTRA, speaks about the vote to strike during a news conference in Los Angeles.MARK ABRAMSON/NYT It’s not exactly news that digital streaming platforms like Netflix have transformed the entertainment landscape in recent years. Now a monumental battle is under way […]
Robert Gottlieb, Eminent Editor From le Carré to Clinton, Dies at 92
Posted on July 6, 2023
At Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf and The New Yorker, he polished the work of a who’s who of mid-to-late 20th century writers. Robert Gottlieb at his home in Manhattan in 2016. He turned hundreds of manuscripts into well-received books, many of which sold millions of copies, won awards and made authors wealthy and […]
Is the publishing industry broken?
Posted on June 1, 2023
Is the Publishing Industry Broken? By Rachel Deahl | Sep 02, 2022 photo credit: Illustration by Jeff Drew Max Perkins didn’t do as much administrative work as editorial assistants do today,” said Daniel Vazquez, an editor at Astra House. Although he may not know exactly what the famous 20th-century editor’s day-to-day was like—did Perkins work […]
21 Brilliant Novels That Were Adapted Into Great Films
Posted on April 5, 2023
Buzzfeed – Posted on Feb 1, 2018, by Kat Angus 1. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 2. Room by Emma Donoghue 3. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier 4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky 5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel 6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 7. The Maze Runner series […]
How Barnes & Noble Came Back From Near Death
Posted on March 2, 2023
By Ezra Klein I remember when Barnes & Noble first opened in my hometown. Before that, we had a cramped Crown Books and some lovely but limited libraries. Barnes & Noble was a revelation. There was something wondrous about a room with that many books, each of them a doorway to unknown worlds, ideas and […]
The Long Shadow of ‘American Dirt’
Posted on February 2, 2023
Pamela Paul The New York Times Jan. 26, 2023 Three years ago this month, the novel “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins landed in bookstores on a tsunami of enthusiasm. “Extraordinary,” Stephen King wrote in a prepublication blurb. “Riveting, timely, a dazzling accomplishment,” raved Julia Alvarez. “This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s […]
How to Make the Most of E-Books, and Find Free Ones
Posted on January 2, 2023
Even if you still love printed books, the digital option lets you put an entire library in your bag, just in time for holiday travel and vacation. By J. D. Biersdorfer The early models of e-book readers, created about 25 years ago, weighed more than a pound and needed to be connected to a computer. […]
Tears and Glory Writing Workshops
Posted on December 2, 2022
Boris Fishman * has created a series of writing workshops called Tears & Glory, which will begin in January 2023. Fiction and nonfiction; Zoom and in person; one-offs and series; workshops, lectures, and craft courses; all stages welcome. WRITING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS Choose your adventure: SEMESTER-LONG WORKSHOPS IN FICTION AND NONFICTION SINGLE CLASSES IN-PERSON WRITING […]