Bittersweet news for fiction fans. Evanston-based Agate Publishing is offering the e-book of Rosalyn Story’s novel, “Wading Home, ” for free on its website and on Amazon all this month. Story has two previous books under her belt, and her last novel, 2004’s “More Than You Know,” garnered significant critical attention and sales. In “Wading Home,” she returns to themes explored in her first novel—love, jazz and the African-American family—with a story set against the chaos of post-Katrina New Orleans. Agate’s African-American line led its fall publishing season with “Wading Home,” and it’s not hard to see why: it’s a novel by a recognized black writer about a pivotal event in recent history, released on the fifth anniversary of the disaster. Despite significant publicity, including a five-city promotional tour, the book failed to garner as much attention from critics and readers as hoped. Doug Seibold, Agate’s president, blogged recently on the company’s website that part of the reason may be that since 2004 “the number of freestanding book reviews has diminished sharply,” while the “amount of attention devoted to African-American fiction writers seems to be falling even more sharply.” But the last six years has also seen the advent of the e-book, which could provide a second life for “Wading Home.” Seibold says that with the e-book offer, “Rather than go to a traditional media gate keeper, we’re taking advantage of digital media and going right to the readers.” The fate of “Wading Home” is thus, in some ways, symbolic of the perils and possibilities of modern publishing. While the dwindling number of published reviews makes getting attention for a book from a wide readership more difficult, new technology and social media can complement traditional print publicity. Since the e-book offer began, Seibold and Story report increased attention in terms of blog posts, tweets and Amazon reviews. But for Story, the Kindle should never replace the bona fide book. “Authors will never want to write only for an electronic download; that doesn’t interest me,” she says. “I like the tactile feel of the book, of holding it in your hand. I think all authors like that.” (Benjamin Rossi)
Different Kinds of Love: An Interview with Michele Morano As a follow-up to her critically-praised travel memoir "Travel Lessons," DePaul professor Michele Morano shares "Like Love," a memoir of interconnected essays that grapple with seeking out, and sometimes, putting herself as close to love as you can get.
Bittersweet news for fiction fans. Evanston-based Agate Publishing is offering the e-book of Rosalyn Story’s novel, “Wading Home, ” for free on its website and on Amazon all this month. Story has two previous books under her belt, and her last novel, 2004’s “More Than You Know,” garnered significant critical attention and sales. In “Wading Home,” she returns to themes explored in her first novel—love, jazz and the African-American family—with a story set against the chaos of post-Katrina New Orleans. Agate’s African-American line led its fall publishing season with “Wading Home,” and it’s not hard to see why: it’s a novel by a recognized black writer about a pivotal event in recent history, released on the fifth anniversary of the disaster. Despite significant publicity, including a five-city promotional tour, the book failed to garner as much attention from critics and readers as hoped. Doug Seibold, Agate’s president, blogged recently on the company’s website that part of the reason may be that since 2004 “the number of freestanding book reviews has diminished sharply,” while the “amount of attention devoted to African-American fiction writers seems to be falling even more sharply.” But the last six years has also seen the advent of the e-book, which could provide a second life for “Wading Home.” Seibold says that with the e-book offer, “Rather than go to a traditional media gate keeper, we’re taking advantage of digital media and going right to the readers.” The fate of “Wading Home” is thus, in some ways, symbolic of the perils and possibilities of modern publishing. While the dwindling number of published reviews makes getting attention for a book from a wide readership more difficult, new technology and social media can complement traditional print publicity. Since the e-book offer began, Seibold and Story report increased attention in terms of blog posts, tweets and Amazon reviews. But for Story, the Kindle should never replace the bona fide book. “Authors will never want to write only for an electronic download; that doesn’t interest me,” she says. “I like the tactile feel of the book, of holding it in your hand. I think all authors like that.” (Benjamin Rossi)
