Wyatt-MacKenzie 2018 Acquisitions ~ Spring & Summer

I’ve had so many “how-did-I-get-here?” moments over the last few months—I mentioned my disbelief to my copy editor and her response was, “You got here with hard work and integrity. This is where you were always destined to be! Hang in there, and be yourself, as you happen to be a very special publisher and person. You’re going to wow them!” The pitches I’ve received make me giddy, sweaty, and proud to have even spun into the stratospheres of these incredible individuals. We still have a handful of breath-taking “possibles” for our Fall 2018 roster; here are some awesome titles we’ve already signed . . .

SUMMER 2018

I wrote about the incredible acquisition backstory of I Ran Into Some Trouble earlier, and here’s the cover reveal! The famed typographer and poster designer Wes Wilson, who knew Peggy Caserta from the Haight-Ashbury days, created this mind-blowing cover for the memoir. I still can’t believe it, if I have to be honest. As a graphic designer turned publisher, this is beyond my wildest dream. Peggy keeps reminding me that when we met, in January 2017, and she mentioned Wes in her stories, I gasped. I almost felt the synapse in my brain sizzle. She tells me I whispered, “I’d kill to have him design your cover.” And here we are. We’ve moved the publication date of this one up to Summer of 2018, to coincide with the docudrama.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I scrolled through the email for this pitch, first I got excited about another “eco fiction” angle—our last was a family drama about fracking, and Meltdown is a thriller about a nuclear power plant—and the writing itself is powerful and poetic. Then I saw that the book was edited by Richard Marek, the publisher and editor of Silence of the Lambs and the Bourne Identity. Cool. At the end of the pitch was more about the author. He’s provided music and sound mixing for Snoop Dogg, Amy Winehouse, Patti LaBelle, Kylie Minogue, and Seal as well as television shows including “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “True Blood,” “Last Comic Standing,” “The Maya Rudolph Show” and several dozen award-winning feature films. His artist created this killer cover illustration, and he has some incredible blurb-writers lining up. Cool. Cool. Cool.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 SPRING 2018

Outside Myself is by Kristen Witucki, one of the most incredible authors I’ve had the privilege to publish. Kristen has been blind since birth and writes about her perspective in this young-adult novel that will charm all ages. Impeccable timing aligned Kristen’s proposal with my “Applied Ethics” class in graduate school—we’re releasing accessible editions through Bookshare, distributed to their half-million visually-impaired members, for free. To think about a Wyatt-MacKenzie book in braille makes me so happy. We have two professional narrators and the audiobook is sounding sensational.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Wealthy Teacher is our fourth book with the Kofke family. Danny has done well over 500 media appearances, talking about simple ways to be more financially secure. I love his books, this one returns to his roots—the topic he was published on many years before I met him, helping his fellow teachers.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beyond the First Draft was agent-represented, and I liked it from the first line of the pitch: How often do writers say, “What’s wrong, and how do I fix it?” Writing instructor, novelist, and writing coach, Laurel Yourke brings together years of thought, research, and experience and synthesizes concepts from her own writing “bibles” in this helpful how-to. Laurel is the originator of UW Madison’s renowned annual “Write by the Lake Retreat,” an enormously popular writing conference, currently expanded to fourteen sections with two masters’ classes. Next year it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, I could not turn this one down. I just wanted to look at the folder with the title You Are Not Crazy on my hard drive every day. Psychotherapist David Klow brings deep insight, wisdom, and warmth as he helps readers find new understanding about themselves. Through a series of heartfelt letters to his patients, he relates timeless information that normalizes life’s struggles to readers who reap the rewards of a therapist from their own couches.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m excited as the advance review copies of these titles start circulating, and we’re circling the wagons for the Fall decisions . . . that we will surely share on a future post.

CREATE! launches in NYC

I still can’t believe Wyatt-MacKenzie had a book launch at the Union Square Barnes and Noble in New York City! Here are some pics of Ronald Rand and the incredible panel I’m so honored participated.

 

Panelists included: Iconic film actor BRIAN COX, stage and screen star ELIZABETH ASHLEY, stage and film actress NICOLE ANSARI, Artistic Director Encompass New Opera Theatre NANCY RHODES, one of America's finest sculptors CAROLYN D PALMER, Broadway, film and TV director MICHAEL PRESSMAN, Cultural Historian LOUISE KERZ HIRSCHFELD and legendary portrait painter EVERETT RAYMOND KINSTLER.

Listen to Brian Cox talk about the bravery it takes to be an actor...

Highlights from the panel...

* Brian Cox went into depth about how he discovered the child inside Winston Churchill

* Elizabeth Ashley talked about how she finds a way into creating a character

* Everett Raymond Kinstler shared his stories about painting his famous John Wayne portrait; one was about how John Wayne and Clark Gable had discussed billing for a movie. They couldn't decide what to do and finally John Wayne flippantly said, “We’ll flip on it.” And he flipped a coin. Gable caught it and said, “No. No, I'm not going to leave that up to a flip of a coin.”

* Carolyn Palmer talked about how she created Eleanor Roosevelt as a statue for the blind

* Michael Pressman talked about his film which he adapted from Terrence McNally’s play

* Louise Hirschfeld talked about going to the theater with Al Hirschfeld, and how he would spend his time at the dress rehearsals capturing the different stars in ink

* Nancy Rhodes had just gotten back from Korea, attending the Paradigm Shifts Festival similar to the one she had just produced in NYC

Reviews...

Thrilled to see CREATE! featured in the July/August 2017 issue of Foreword Reviews (you can read it online here) ... it was chosen as an Editor’s Pick, and the magazine had a pullout quote!

“This interview collection is an effective time capsule 

of some of the best years of the American stage.”  
—Foreword Reviews

PULL-OUT: “Kelsey Grammar and Alec Baldwin discuss what keeps them doing live theater, long after they established personas in other media, Eve Ensler discusses her transition from writing her work to performing it, and Al Hirschfeld argues for the importance of arts education. The work also includes a large number of deceased legends, including writer and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, monologue master Spalding Gray, actor Ossie Davis, and jack-of-all-trades Marvin Hamlisch.”

From a reader and Master Acting Teacher...

“Ronald Rand’s profound new book CREATE! is an encyclopedia of interviews, illustrations, photos and Ronald Rand's interviews reveal pearls of wisdom from famous artists from all fields. 

What a wonderful book!”

From a panelist...

“Thank you so much for including me on the panel for CREATE! It was such an incredible gathering of unique artistic forces. I thought the interviews had so much dimension, since they represented all the different planets of the arts. For me it was a profound and deeply moving experience. I don’t know what possessed you to ask me to join the panel, but it was one of the loveliest gifts I’ve had in a long while. I’m sure your book will be a success in many ways, inspiring and encouraging all, and teaching us how to live. I also think it will be a financial success, and artists all over the globe will be joining and enriching your community of artists!”

 Purchase CREATE! at BarnesandNoble.com

It's Book Award Season!

I am completely and utterly over the moon that our three novels swept the "Cover Design" category in the Indie Book Awards. THE MERMAIDS OF LAKE MICHIGAN by Suzanne Kamata with its gorgeous underwater illustration by Erika Craig WON BEST FICTION COVER! And TRIPLE LOVE SCORE by Brandi Granett and SECRETS OF WORRY DOLLS by Amy Impellizzeri were both Finalists. (Wow. Wow. Wow!)

 

UNWRITTEN by Lori Desautels and Michael McKnight was also a finalist in the "Education" category. Thrilled for them, this book could (and should) change education as we know it.

 

Amy’s SECRETS OF WORRY DOLLS also took home a SILVER WIN at ibpa’s 29th Benjamin Franklin Awards in "Cover Design" (again, this gives me an extra special fuzzy feeling since I landed in publishing by way of graphic design). This is our third Ben Franklin Award in 19 years (2000, 2007, 2017), so its especially fulfilling to get this prestige again. And our imprint Judy Scales-Trent took a SILVER WIN in "Biography"—see her other awards for this incredible book below.

Our favorite indie outlet, Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year INDIES, awarded SECRETS OF WORRY DOLLS a BRONZE Win in "Multicultural Fiction" (Woot!). And Judy's A BLACK MAN'S JOURNEY FROM SHARECROPPER TO COLLEGE PRESIDENT was a Finalist in the "Biography" category.

 

Crazy-excited that Suzanne's MERMAIDS won a SILVER IPPY in "Best Regional Fiction - Great Lakes" and our MATILDA, THE ALGONQUIN CAT by Leslie Martini and illustrated by Massi Mongiardo (his second win with Wyatt-MacKenzie!) won a BRONZE IPPY in "Children's Picture Books."

Another one of our favorites, National Indie Excellence Awards, gave UNWRITTEN a Finalist in "Education" and PIPER: ONCE & AGAIN shined in her meant-to-be category "Visionary Fiction."

Imprint BLUSH: WOMEN & WINE by Molly Davis WON in both "Women" and "Wine" (gotta love that!) and TUSCANY, our second travel guide with Matt Walker and Zeneba Bowers, WON in "Travel." Our sweet turtle-loving imprint STAY WHERE I CAN SEE YOU by Lori Samlin Miller garnered a Finalist in "Picture Books."

 

And finally, our impressive imprint Judy Scales-Trent and her grandfather's 1400 footnote (which almost destroyed our layout dept.) biography of her grandfather Won a Silver Nautilus Award.

Congrats to all! Every year thousands of books are entered in these competitions. I am honored and humbled to see our books and imprints always appear on finalists lists and still pinch myself when we WIN. One of my biggest joys is telling our authors to add "award-winning" to their taglines and bling to their covers.