Dec 04 2008
Wednesday Dec. 3 might be the "Black Monday" of the epic 1929 stock market crash for the newspaper and publishing business.
Saying "Merry Christmas" to its workforce, the Gannett newspaper group axed nearly 1,000 workers at 26 papers. In New York, Simon & Schuster gave 35 workers pink slips, Random House announced mergers that sent several publishing pros packing and downgraded the august Doubleday imprint, the religion publisher Thomas Nelson cut 54 from its flock, at least eight more lost their jobs at the staggering Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and freezes in pay were posted at other houses.
A sign of the times: Holiday cards from publishers usually start arriving by now. None have turned up in the book department mailbox so far. I'll be charting the cards as my economic indicator for the trade.
Response to Patrick's comments: Check out the blog of Pat Holt, once book editor in San Francisco. She has the same thoughts, but you need to read 'way down after her National Book Award repartee.
Dec 02 2008
The Drue Heinz Lectures drew down the curtain on its fall season Dec. 1 with a remarkable charmer, Will Shortz. He's the country's No. 1 source for puzzle creation from the crossword to mental teasers heard on NPR's Sunday Morning show.
For nearly 90 minutes, the unassuming, yet entertaining Shortz held the crowd in rapt attention with his brief history of the crossword, his editing of the New York Times puzzles (each entry is checked by five people) and a wide ranging Q&A.
The wrapup was a puzzle competition as he split the Carnegie Music Hall crowd -- the event's largest of the season, I was told -- into two teams, the Black and the Gold. Then, we battled through several brain-twisting puzzles.
His favorite crossword clue: It winds through stories.
The answer: A spiral staircase.