Full steam ahead

Not to mention the steamy weather

Summer is fully here, a bit too much in some parts of the world, and Henriette and I are, separately, in various places (including Wellfleet, Cape Cod; Hydra and Epirus in Greece; and Montpellier, France) but we are being busy bees. We very deliberately designed this company to be as minimally reliant on intermediaries and physical location restrictions as possible, so not being at our Boston-area home base does not slow us down. (Although we’re each taking some time for family and relaxation, because we’re also deliberate about work/life balance.)

Donkeys going to work at rush hour on the island of Hydra, Greece

Publishers’ Weekly ran a little feature on us in this past Tuesday’s newsletter. Word is getting out there! (And scroll down for a poll so you can chime in.)

Status of our books

Our four first books are humming along at various stages of production, and we’ve been updating our Gantt charts accordingly. Robyn Ryle’s SEX OF THE MIDWEST has a cover (!) that we shall share when the time is right. (We’ll also share details of our process and design decisions with our paid subscribers, so if you’re interested in some serious behind-the-scenes insights, do consider upgrading your subscription.) We’ve got digital advance reader copies (ARCs) ready, and an order in for printed bound galleys. Our PR rep is lining up some tantalizing opportunities. Lots of exciting prospects for the fall!

Emily Ross’s SWALLOWTAIL is due back from the copyeditor soon, and we’re looking forward to the first cover design proposal next week. Some very cool blurbs are coming in for that book, too. Marian Mitchell Donahue’s BACKSTITCH is back in my hands after her first round of revisions, and Irene Zabytko’s THE DAYS OF MIRACLE AND WONDER is in her hands with my editorial letter and suggestions.

We’re delighted to have the assistance of a summer intern from Goucher College, and to be working with our Business Development and Partnerships Manager on partnerships with local businesses. And we are in discussions with an audiobook producer.

If you’re on Instagram, please follow us and show us a little love! We want to do our best by our community and our authors, so we’re working on upping our social media content. If there are any particular types of posts you’d like to see, please let us know. And/or fill out the little poll below.

We hope everyone is managing to stay cool—in body and spirit.

Anjali & Henriette