Posted by: Editorial on Oct 29, 2008
Visiting us here in our Naperville home office on Tuesday, October 28, was Alan Cheuse, the "voice of books" on NPR, and author of the recently released novel To Catch the Lightning. We were thrilled to have Alan grace our team with a reading from the book.
Alan was through Chicago toward the tail end of a nationwide tour that has interestingly included meeting descendants of Edward S. Curtis--the subject of To Catch the Lightning--at book signings on the west coast.
Here in Chicago, Alan visited Naperville indie Anderson's Bookshop and our wonderful friends at The Bookstall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka.
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 29, 2008
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 27, 2008
Edward Sheriff Curtis was a man haunted by a desire to capture on film what he saw as a vanishing race: our country's native tribes at the dawn of the 20th century.
To that end, he gave up a solid career in his photography studio in Seattle and a comfortable life with his wife and small children to travel the American frontiers. His goal was to document as many native tribes as he could.
Most of the result resides at the Library of Congress in a collection of more than 2,400 silver-gelatin, first-generation photographic prints made from Curtis' original glass negatives.
By the time Curtis died at age 84 in 1952, he was, as his obituary said, an "internationally known authority on the history of the North American Indian."
His work was not without controversy. Because he photographed ceremonies and had his subjects wear historical costumes, Curtis was criticized by ethnologists as stereotyping Native American cultures.
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 24, 2008
Cheuse catches lightning in a bottle in his take on Edward Curtis, an American first
Last updated October 23, 2008 11:16 a.m. PT
By SCOTT DRISCOLL
SPECIAL TO THE P-I
There's something attractive about "firsts." The first to fly a plane, the first to break a color barrier. We like to think of the people who accomplish these firsts as heroes, if only because we're attracted to the obsession that drove them toward that horizon.
Certainly Edward S. Curtis, the Seattle-based photographer who devoted 30 years of his life to producing 20 volumes of photographic images and writings about North American Indians, must be credited with having earned one of those "firsts." And now Alan Cheuse, in "To Catch the Lightning" (Sourcebooks, 492 pages, $25.95), admirably sets out to establish Curtis' right to hero status.
Posted by: Editorial on Oct 24, 2008
Visiting Naperville on Friday, October 17 was Nikki Giovanni, editor of Hip Hop Speaks to Children and one of the advisory editors on the classic kids anthology Poetry Speaks to Children. Nikki was through the Chicago area as part of her tour for Hip Hop Speaks and swung through our offices on the way to a signing at famed local indie bookseller Anderson's Bookshop .
Perhaps most notable, many of us believe this is the first time one of our authors has been in our offices at the same time their book was on the New York Times bestsellers list . Nikki's book had just debuted at #9 on the picture book list (since then moving up to #3) and it was a joy to be able to celebrate the occasion with her.
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 24, 2008
Congratulations to
Tony Williams, author of
The Hurricane of Independence, for being awarded a
Bronze Medal Citizenship Award from the Virginia SAR (Sons of the American Revolution)!
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 22, 2008
David Seaman, author of Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz: How To Attract Massive Attention For Your Business, Your Product, Or Yourself , was featured in The Arizona Republic's Business Buzz column on October 22.
In addition, David Seaman was the featured guest on the E-Commerce Times podcast posted on October 22.
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 14, 2008
Giovanni Finds Funky Beats To Teach Poetry To Kids
All Things Considered, October 13, 2008 · In school, kids learn about words, syllables and stresses that make up the iambic pentameter.
They learn poetry with rhythm. Award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni says there is another way to learn it - with a funky beat.
While some people might not think of hip-hop as poetry, Giovanni says it fits her definition because it uses cadence and creativity to capture the human experience.
Giovanni's new book, Hip Hop Speaks to Children, is a celebration of poetry that includes several examples of rhythm and rhyme by artists ranging from Langston Hughes to Queen Latifah.
Posted by: Publicity on Oct 06, 2008
Nikki Giovanni Says Hip Hop Essential For Kids
News & Notes , October 6, 2008 · In her latest project, poet and wordsmith Nikki Giovanni brings together poetry and hip hop, in an effort to reach young ears.
NPR's Tony Cox speaks with Giovanni about the new book, Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat.
Posted by: Editorial on Oct 03, 2008
This week we welcomed Francesca Simon, author of the worldwide sensation Horrid Henry books. Francesca's brilliant sense of humor and passionate dedication to literacy were evident as she addressed the entire Sourcebooks team.
Horrid Henry hits American shores in April of 2009 with a four-book launch supported by a massive marketing and publicity effort.
Lyron Bennett, Francesca Simon, Dominique Raccah, Kelly Barrales-Saylor
