Market Update
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Apr 25 2007
I recently had lunch with an editor at Perigee. We went to a sushi restaurant on Carmine Street—Yama. Kim was very disappointed in me. It’s one of her all-time favorite restaurants and I’m afraid the yumminess was lost on me. While I’m fine with sushi, unlike Kim and Jacky I just don’t have a passion for it. Give me good Indian any day.
Perigee is one of the nonfiction imprints of Penguin. It’s a house that does primarily what are called backlist titles—these are books that might not sell huge numbers right out of the gate, but they will be around for years and years to come. In truth, they are the types of books all nonfiction agents want to have on their lists.
This particular editor is looking for some career and personal business books. Not the big, sweeping general books, but those that individuals can find helpful. Books on negotiation, career planning, etc. The kinds of books I like to represent. She also has a real passion for green living and organics and was so excited about two new upcoming titles of hers that we spent most of our time talking about vegetarianism, and toxins in household products. It really makes you think twice about what you buy.
Green living is obviously a hot topic these days and I would love to add some of these kinds of titles to our list. I’m going to speak for Jacky and say that I’m sure she would too. It’s something that’s close to both of our hearts. It’s not easy though. Not just anyone can write this kind of book. It’s got to be someone with a platform, of course. Someone who is really active in this community and has a respected and known name. The Perigee editor also pointed out that there are a lot of general books on the subject and that part of the bookshelf is getting flooded. Now they need more specific books, but not too nichey. One of the titles in their most recent catalog was The Toxic Sandbox. I thought it was a brilliant idea and will have to make sure I get a copy. It’s a book that discusses all of the toxins that children are exposed to on a daily basis. Did you know plastic bags were so bad? What a great idea!
So I will keep my eye out for toxic books (ha-ha) and I know exactly who to send them too.
—Jessica
This is so interesting. I have a feeling that this new widespread acceptance of the reality of global warming is going to have a huge impact on absolutely everything, publishing included. I was just talking to my husband about this 10 minutes ago!
Jessica, you should have your editor friend go to http://www.healthfreedomusa.org and watch the video on Codex Alimentarius (could be a book in there, somewhere). I think she’ll find it interesting, particularly in light of all the food recalls in the past few months. Does she know for instance, that the poison pet food was fed to pigs? I’d just bought pork chops when I heard that, and now I want to throw them out.
Okay, call me totally shallow (it’s true, so true), but I got a real kick from hearing where you went and what you ate. It added such a fun touch. Plus, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t appreciate sushi!
Fascinating. I want to buy a copy of The Toxic Sandbox just from the title.