The Boston Popouts

Step aside, Boston Pops:

A Chat with Hans Florine

Hans Florine leads some life. He's a successful author, he's married to a former supermodel, and--perhaps most enviably--he lives in the Bay Area. Oh, he's also a legendary climber who set the world's record this summer for scrambling up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park faster than anyone before--3,000 feet, straight up, in just over 2 1/2 hours. Hans stopped by the booth at OR and told me about his historic ascent, as well as his recent, aptly titled book, Speed Climbing!: How to Climb Faster and Better:

Author Stewart Green

Writer, photographer, and outdoor adventurer Stewart Green is the author of, count 'em, 18 books--most for GPP and FalconGuides. Since March, he has run About.com's climbing site. I got a chance to sit down with Stewart at OR to discuss his blog, the K2 tragedy, and his latest book for Falcon, Rocky Mountain National Park Pocket Guide, complete with nifty PopOut maps.

Eric Horst's Book Signing

Falcon author Eric Horst met fans and signed copies of Conditioning for Climbers:

"Party Favors" Bash

On Tuesday night, the New York social set showed up at Michael’s to fete Nicole Sexton and Party Favors, her comic novel about the seamy side of the political fundraising world. The party was hosted by Nicole’s mother, Marlyne Sexton, Somers Farkas, and Margo MacNabb, and attendees included Broadway producer Marty Richards and Lauren Bush who, though not feeling well, made an appearance and grabbed a copy of the book before she fled.

For those who missed all the glitz, I walked through the party with a Flip Camera. That’s Susan Johnston, Nicole’s co-author, who I caught with her mouth full. And, yes, you’ll see Kathleen Turner in the crowd—not once, but twice.

Maura Teitelbaum, Nicole’s irrepressible agent, introduced Nicole with a rousing speech that was part Norma Rae, part Elmer Gantry:

Wicked Good Party for "Cuisines of the Axis of Evil"

The premise of Chris Fair's book Cuisines of the Axis of Evil is simple: If you want to understand why some of the world's most troublesome nations are the way they are, sample their food. A country's cuisine offers a window into what its people think and how its leaders rule. Thus, Fair's "dinner party approach to international relations."

How to launch such a book? Why, a dinner party, of course! But it couldn't be just anywhere. It would have to be in Washington D.C., and it couldn't be at a restaurant. Too predictable. It would have to be at a private home--and not just any home... Long story short, I approached lobbyist and D.C. hostess extraordinaire, Juleanna Glover, whom Washingtonian magazine lists as of the "most influential women in Washington," and she agreed to host the party at her spectacular Kalorama townhouse.

Held on July 23, the event's more than 120 guest included: CBS senior correspondent Rita Braver, super agent Robert Barnett, Atlantic Monthly publisher Elizabeth Baker Keffer, Congressman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), and bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith. Other media big wigs included Newsweek's Jeff Bartholet, The Hill's Hugo Gurdon, CNN's Sam Feist and Amy Holmes. The Washington Post was amply represented by Amy Argetsinger, Roxanne Roberts, Juliet Eilperin, Richard Leiby, and Warren Bass.

But the media weren't all there simply to nosh on kabob and sip red wine--NPR's "Weekend All Things Considered" interviewed Chris and guests for an upcoming segment; Jayne Clarke covered the event for USA Today; and Michael Hirsh took notes for Newsweek. Mediabistro's Fishbowl DC snapped photos, which they published here. Publishers Weekly also ran a party photo as their "Picture of the Day."

Here are some photos taken by Liz Gorman. Click this pic for a slideshow:

The New Blog on the Block

Welcome to “As the Globe Spins,” a blog chronicling life at Globe Pequot Press—a small publishing house with big ideas and goals. “Small,” of course, is a relative term. A 130-plus staff company that publishes more than 500 titles a year, GPP has been a big player in regional and outdoor rec publishing for decades. But over the past couple years we’ve taken our program to a whole new level—competing against the major trade houses with new and revitalized imprints focused on: politics and current events (Lyons Press), women’s issues (Skirt!, GPP Life), do-it-yourself (Knack), and PopOut maps. And, while we’re stepping up our game, we’re also proactively adapting to challenges of publishing in the digital age.
 
How are we doing all this? How do we compete against bigger houses for shelf space at bookstores? How can we cover a larger house’s expense on—for now, at least—a smaller house’s numbers? These are great questions—and we’re working on answers, keeping our eyes open, our thinking fresh, and our reflexes quick.
 
And so it is in these heady, parlous times that “As the Globe Spins” will offer one employee’s glimpse into the ever-changing, and never boring, world of GPP. The blog will feature random reflections, book news, author interviews, event photos, video clips, quotes, and as much water-cooler gossip as the higher-ups will allow.

New Website for Cuisines of the Axis of Evil