In this interview, Bonnie discusses the process of putting together her new book, Too Good to Get Married, how long it took to go from idea to publication, and more.

Name: Bonnie Yochelson
Literary agent: Albert LaFarge Literary Agency
Book title: Too Good to Get Married: The Life and Photographs of Miss Alice Austen
Publisher: Fordham University Press, Empire State Editions
Release date: June 3, 2025
Genre/category: Biography, photography, Gender Studies, New York City history
Previous titles: Jacob A. Riis: Revealing New York’s Other Half, A Complete Catalogue of His Photographs; Alfred Stieglitz New York; Rediscovering Jacob Riis, Exposure Journalism and Photography in Turn of the Century New York; Esther Bubley On Assignment; New York Changing: Rephotographing Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York,” Photographs by Berenice Abbott and Douglas Levere; Jacob A. Riis, Phaidon 55 series; Berenice Abbott: Changing New York; Pictorialism into Modernism: The Clarence H. White School of Photography (co-author); New York to Hollywood, Photography by Karl Struss (co-author)
Elevator pitch: Explore Gilded Age New York through the lens of Alice Austen, who captured the social rituals of New York’s leisured class and the bustling streets of the modern city. Celebrated as a queer artist, she was this and much more

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What prompted you to write this book?

In the 2010s, Historic Richmond Town (HRT) digitized and catalogued Austen’s collection of more than 7,000 prints and negatives. As an art historian and curator, I have specialized in studying and interpreting archives of well-known but little studied New York photographers. The accessibility of the collection plus the need for a new book made Austen a natural subject for me.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication?

So long!

And did the idea change during the process?

I agreed to collaborate with HRT on a book as early as 2013, but a complete catalog of Jacob Riis’s photographs and a cascade of Riis exhibitions kept me busy until 2017. When I began research on Austen, I found that there were not only the photographs but a mountain of Austen family memorabilia and a trove of letters at the Alice Austen House—a lot to digest. Two former HRT curators who had worked on Austen for years generously offered their support, which greatly improved the book but prolonged the research phase. There was also the complex issue of gender history, which was new to me. Fordham University Press waited four years for the manuscript, for which I am very grateful.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

My previous books were commissioned by museums. This was my first book that was subject to peer review —twice: by the Gotham Center (CUNY Grad Center) that offered me a writing fellowship, and again by Fordham. The input from scholars in several fields was much needed and fantastic for me.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

There were many factual discoveries. For example, Austen claimed that her father returned to his native England, abandoning her mother when she was a baby. Austen’s father, it turns out, lived in Brooklyn and was buried in his family’s plot in Greenwood Cemetery!

The biggest mystery was this: Austen took her now-famous lesbian photographs before the concept of lesbianism was understood. What was going on? I found a plausible explanation through carefully studying the chronology of the photographs and the letters and understanding how American woman began challenging Victorian feminine norms in the late 1890s.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Austen was a strong-willed, talented woman, full of contradictions. Loyal to her privileged class, she explored her sexuality and found happiness in a lifelong partnership with a woman. She left almost no written testimony, but her photographs, properly understood, offer a fascinating portrait of Gilded Age American life.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

This book was more challenging and rewarding than I anticipated, coming at is did at the end of my career. I am grateful that I was able to see it through and proud of the result. Advice? No thoughts on that.

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In this interview, Brendan discusses the words of wisdom that became his north star while writing his new biography, The Front Runner, his advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Brendan O’Meara
Literary agent: Susan Canavan of WLA Books
Book title: The Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release date: May 20, 2025
Genre/category: Biography
Previous titles: Six Weeks in Saratoga: How Three-Year-Old Filly Rachel Alexandra Beat the Boys and Became Horse of the Year
Elevator pitch: The Front Runner is a definitive reappraisal of the iconic distance runner, Steve Prefontaine, ahead of the 50^th anniversary of his passing, May 30, 2025. It’s a story that seeks to get to the man behind the myth, of the young man who still towers, all these years later, over American track and field.

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What prompted you to write this book?

There’s a long-ish answer and a short-ish answer, and out of pity for readers of this magazine and website, I’ll favor the latter.

I’m always looking five to 10 years ahead for major anniversaries. I happen to live in Eugene, Oregon—TrackTown USA—and knew the 50^th anniversary of Steve’s passing was approaching. Much to our surprise, there hadn’t been much written about him from a pure journalistic point of view in decades. So, as a subject, he was ripe for the picking.

I always knew him to be a fascinating figure; movie-star looks, brazen. I worked for a few years in specialty running retail and we’d often have Without Limits, one of the Prefontaine movies, going on the TV in the background on weekends. Around 2017, when statues were being torn down and interrogated, I thought there is no statue taller — figuratively speaking — in Oregon than Prefontaine, so I started saving string for what would ultimately be The Front Runner.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

The seed of the idea came in 2017, but it didn’t take root until a chance phone call with my soon-to-be-agent-at-the-time Susan Canavan in March 2022. I had pitched her an as-of-yet unpublished baseball memoir, which she said was fine and all, but “you’re not famous, and memoirs are a tough sell. Are you working on anything, perhaps, more commercial?”

I filibustered, being caught flat-footed by the query, when I peeked over at my bookcase and say Tom Jordan’s slim biography simply titled Pre. I told Susan I had been saving string on a Prefontaine project thinking ahead three years to the 50^th anniversary of his death. She cut me off and said, “I can sell that on proposal.”

The proposal process took about a year to get it right, and then, once the book sold, I had 14 months to report, research, and write a serviceable draft to my kind and brilliant and patient editor.

The arc of the book changed significantly. If I’m being honest, once the book sold, I didn’t look at my book proposal at all. That said, it was always going to be a straight, unauthorized, journalistic biography from the beginning to the end of his short life. And through hundreds of interviews and thousands of articles, I sought to humanize him in a way that got beyond the mythology and grounded him in his humanity. My north star was a quote from Jonathan Eig, this in reference to his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography on the Rev. Dr. Martin Lurther King, Jr., “We’d turned him into a monument and a national holiday and lost sight of his humanity. So, I really wanted to write a more intimate book.”

Taped that below my monitor!

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Oh, yes! For one, I thought I’d get my second book advance payment when I met my deadline on April 15, 2024. But turns out, you only get that second payment once it passes the legal review, which didn’t happen until January 2025.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

When you write a rough draft of 160,000 words and you need to get it down to 105,000, you quickly need to ask of your reporting and research what work those anecdotes and scenes are doing for you, for the story you’re hoping to tell.

Also, even in biography, the author can have a point of view; not explicitly first-person, but, as my editor told me several times, “You have your thumb on the scale. Nobody has done as much research on this guy as you, so you can assert; you are the driver of the car pointing out things to the passengers saying, ‘This is important and this is why.’”

I often outsourced much of the commentary to quotes early on, mainly because so many of these great people in this story were so quoteable. But you soon realize you need to put much of it in your own words, paraphrasing and be a more confident narrator.

And this isn’t so much as a surprise, exactly, but even when you’re operating in nonfiction, where the backdrop and the facts need to be verifiable, there is an element of world-building, something we typically associate with fantasy and other fictions. But these real people operated under a certain set of circumstances, and those circumstances acted upon them. That’s an exciting element of biography that I don’t think gets spoken about enough.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Steve Prefontaine was ahead of his time in so many regards, and his story is one of inspiration, yes, but also one of exploitation that we’ve only recently seen athletes claim the power they deserve. This was a novel, even revolutionary, concept—certainly in track and field circles—in the early 1970s.

Steve packed a lot into his 24 years, and maybe we can all heed his most famous quote that, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” That maybe we’ll spend less time on the trivial and push the boundaries of what we once thought impossible, that there is no shame in failure, and that there is, in fact, a higher standard than victory.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

In a day and age where we’re so hyper-connected and it’s all too easy to feel crummy about our lives/careers when we look online and see such perfect avatars of literary merit and success, my go-to advice is: Run your own race. No two careers are alike, especially now. Comparison breeds resentment and jealousy, and it’s a fuel that doesn’t burn clean.

You never know what privilege certain people benefit from. They might tout that it was all a matter of hard work but fail to acknowledge they have no student load debt, or don’t have to worry about being the breadwinner and health insurance provider of the family; this list can get awful long. (I’m very transparent about the privilege I benefit from, but I won’t weigh that down here.)

I speak from experience of comparing my rotten career path to what seemed like the rocket ship of everybody else’s. It bred a ton of bitterness that cost me a lot of time and energy better put into getting better at the work. Out of that crucible came “The Creative Nonfiction Podcast,” the show I started in 2013, which, a decade later, gave me a fairly attractive platform on which to land a Big Five publishing deal for The Front Runner (and hopefully more books). None of my heroes have my weird, wobbly path, nor should anyone behind me follow mine.

But if we lean into irrefutable, timeless skills of the craft, we can ride the currents of technology and publishing trends and find the path that works best for each of us on a time scale that might not be celebrated on the covers of magazines, or touted in those dreadful 30-under-30 lists. If you’re a late bloomer, embrace it. I’m a late bloomer, too.

The post Brendan O’Meara: Even in Biography, the Author Can Have a Point of View appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Paul discusses how a DM on Twitter led to his new biography, Song So Wild and Blue, the questions he poses for other writers about their own work, and more.

Name: Paul Lisicky
Literary agent: Matt McGowan, Frances Goldin Literary Agency
Book title: Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell
Publisher: HarperOne
Release date: February 25, 2025
Genre/category: Biography and Autobiography, Music, Performing Arts, Self-Help
Previous titles: Later: My Life at the Edge of the World, The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship, Unbuilt Projects, The Burning House, Famous Builder, Lawnboy
Elevator pitch: A love letter to the music of Joni Mitchell, as well as to the mentors across my life. It’s a book about making a life in art, love, community, connection and letting go.

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What prompted you to write this book?

All of my books have nodded to Joni Mitchell’s songs in some way, whether to individual song titles or lyrics. During the pandemic, I wrote a draft of a book in which her music, and its influence on me, kept coming into the narrative through a side door. Joni likely wanted a bigger part in the book than I realized at the time.

At some point in December 2021, I posted a photo of Joni alongside her recent collaborator Brandi Carlile, to my (then) Twitter feed. I’m not even sure what I wrote in the caption. I’m awful when it comes to checking my DMs, but Rakesh Satyal, an editor at HarperCollins, sent me a message. He said, “Paul, would you ever think of writing a book about Joni?” I wrote back, faux nonchalant, “That’s an interesting idea.” He wrote, “Who’s your agent?” I told him my agent’s name. He said, “I love him, I’ll be in touch with him last week.” I should say that Rakesh had known my work, he’s a huge Joni fan himself—for years he had a show in New York in which he performed the songs from Blue. I should also say that the publication story behind my previous six books was never so simple or direct. Sometimes it took years for them to find their final home, which often took a toll, but this time it felt like — “magic” is an overused word. I’ll say kismet instead.

I suppose the lesson is to check your DMs.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

Three years and three months—that’s shorter than any previous book. My original proposal was based on the album Hejira; I don’t remember the point of view I had in mind, but I do know that my own story was in the background. Rakesh gently said, “No, we want more of you here.” So, the second proposal was much more expansive, and it used pressure points from my own life to think about how Joni’s music, across the body of her songs from Clouds to Shine, might have helped to clarify a struggle. When I started the book, I was dating someone who was a big Joni fan. We came together through our shared love of her music, and the story became central to the first and final chapters. When I started the book, the general assumption was that Joni’s performance days were in the past—she was still coming back from a brain aneurysm back in 2015. But since then, she performed at the Newport Folk Festival and the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State and most recently at the Hollywood Bowl. My partner and I got to see her at Gorge, and the awe of that night became an important part of the book. We did not expect to see, in person, a resurrected, performing Joni Mitchell in our lifetime.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

My previous books had been published by indie presses. I always assumed that working with a big five publisher would involve a certain loss of input from me. The exact opposite has been true. HarperOne has run everything by me, from jacket copy to cover design, and we’re always quite open to my suggestions—and very appreciative. I said, for instance, that I thought the cover should have a graphic novel influence, and I got to see all the drafts from the most rudimentary sketch to the final version and offer specific feedback along the way. Everything about the final production is extraordinary, and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful to the team at Harper. It just goes to show that a team can make a beautiful thing together.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

My writing typically comes about through a long process of searching—writing many pages to find the core, the constraints, the structure. A lot of necessary mess. With Song So Wild and Blue, I had mapped out the structure in the proposal, all the while thinking, this could be dangerous. What if I’m fixing something in place before it’s had the chance to find itself? What if I’m predetermining the surprise out of the book? The truth was there were plenty of surprises, of a more granular form, along the way. In fact, having the sturdiness of pre-existing structure might have encouraged me to risk more on a sentence-to-sentence level. That revelation was huge for me.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

In many ways the book is as much a love letter to Joni’s work as it is all the mentors across my life, from my elementary school music teacher, Mrs. Hill, to friends and family and ex’s and animals and more—all the lessons learned from them. I didn’t initially intend to write a long act of gratitude, but it came out that way. Who are your mentors? How do we live in thanks to them?

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Rather than advice, I’ll pass on three questions: What books, music, art, film do you love? How does your own work talk back to them? What do they continue to teach you, specifically, on multiple levels?

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In this interview, Mallory discusses how writing a different book led her to the subject of her new nonfiction book, Daughter of Daring, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Mallory O’Meara
Literary agent: Amy Bishop-Wycisk at Trellis Literary
Book title: Daughter of Daring
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Release date: February 18, 2025
Genre/category: Nonfiction, history, biography
Previous titles: The Lady from the Black Lagoon, Girly Drinks, Girls Make Movies
Elevator pitch: The story of America’s first stuntwoman

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What prompted you to write this book?

I was in the middle of working on my third book, Girls Make Movies, when I stumbled on Helen’s story. I was blown away that America’s first stuntwoman was not a modern figure, but instead a woman who worked over 100 years ago. I became immediately enamored with the silent era of Hollywood because it was an industry full of women.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

A couple of years! Nonfiction, at least for me, takes extra time because of the research process. This book took about six months for the research alone.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

There were loads of surprises. This book was supposed to be a straight biography, but as I worked on it, I couldn’t help but include information about how early Hollywood was a world of women. I was continuously stunned not just at the history, but that more people did not know about this incredible period of film.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Besides hoping that readers get excited about the life and work of Helen Gibson as I am, I hope they see that women have a legacy in film. Female filmmakers and audiences were essential to the creation and shaping of the American cinematic landscape. We’ve always been here, since the very beginning.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Whoever is reading this, please stop slouching and sit up straight.

The post Mallory O’Meara: Early Hollywood Was a World of Women appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(9 Things I’ve Learned Writing a Memoir.)

I have been fortunate to visit and collect some of these artists. I have visited the South Pacific many times, including Guam, Pohnpei, Taiwan, Truk, Palau, Bali, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, its Great Barrier Reef, Tahiti and its surrounding islands, and the Hawaiian Islands. My writings take me back to regions where my subjects lived.

My first book, Tyree: Artist of the South Pacific, was published in 2017. It took four years to complete because there was little information about Ralph Burke Tyree, who died in 1979. As a Marine, Tyree was stationed in Samoa during World War II, where he first painted the Polynesian people and local flora and fauna and became a premiere artist of Tiki culture in the 1960s. To uncover his history, I conducted extensive interviews with his family, including his wife and seven children. The rewards were Gold Medals for Best Biography and Best Cover from the Independent Book Publishing Association, 2018.

My interest in Tyree and his brilliant work would later lead me to write Beauty in the Beast: Flora, Fauna, and Endangered Species of Artist Ralph Burke Tyree. This book explores the last 10 years of Tyree’s life and was published to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. It highlights his paintings of endangered animals, the gems of our planet. I co-authored it with Tyree’s granddaughter, Paige Herbert.

The second artist I researched and wrote about was Edgar Leeteg for Leeteg, Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art. This book also required four years of research. Leeteg was an artist famous for painting vahines (Polynesian women) from his Tahitian estate. His life was shrouded in myth, much of it stemming from James Michener’s Rascals in Paradise. Writing his story necessitated multiple trips to Tahiti. The book was awarded the Gold Medal as Best Biography from the Independent Book Publishing Association in 2022.

My latest book, Edithe Beutler: Beautifying Hawaii with Color, completed in about a year, explores the life of Edithe Beutler, a pioneering colorist who oil-painted black and white Hawaiian photos before the advent of color photography. I had an extensive collection of her paintings but needed help getting accurate information about her life from the newspapers and Ancestry.

My search for Edithe led me to a treasure trove of material via her son’s collection of his mother, grandmother, and other family members. Fortunately, she had a famous silent film star daughter named Sally Phipps and a book written about her by her son Robert L. Harned. I tracked him down via social media. He knew Edithe, his grandmother, well, having lived with her in Honolulu. He also had a plethora of photos of Edithe to supplement my collection of her art. Together, we completed an adventure to tell the story of this most exciting lady, talented artist, entrepreneur, and family matriarch.

Edithe Beutler exemplifies resilience, creativity, and determination. She overcame significant personal challenges, including two short marriages, estrangement from her actress daughter, and job loss during the Great Depression. Despite these hardships, she built a successful career as a celebrated colorist and business owner in Honolulu. Her art, created during a time when women were expected to stay home, stands as a testament to her trailblazing spirit. Through this book, I hope readers will be inspired by her legacy and beautiful contributions to art and history.

If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: Write about your passions. In my case, it’s history, art, and the South Pacific. Here are three key tips for aspiring writers:

1. Be Curious: Use the internet, explore resources like Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com, and dive deep into your subject.
2. Connect With People: Interview family members, collectors, and others who might have firsthand knowledge. Approach them kindly and gently—being a detective means following leads with respect and determination.
3. Enjoy the Journey: Research and writing are adventures in their own right. Embrace the process, and let your curiosity guide you.

Check out C.J. Cook’s Edithe Beutler: Beautifying Hawaii with Color here:

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In this interview, Marcus discusses how leaning into his own unique voice helped him write his new biography, High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul), his hope for readers, and more.

Name: Marcus J. Moore
Literary agent: William LoTurco, Founder of LoTurco Literary
Book title: High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul)
Publisher: Dey Street Books / HarperCollins
Release date: November 19, 2024
Genre/category: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Music History and Criticism
Previous titles: The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America
Elevator pitch: Not only does High and Rising tell the story of one of the most influential rap groups of all time, it’s a deeply personal coming-of-age story about my own journey through life with De La as a backdrop—a tale about staying the course, and how holding true to your virtue can lead to dynamic results. Fans of the writers Hanif Abdurraqib and Danyel Smith will appreciate the mix of reported biography and first-person narrative, while fans of De La Soul will enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I like to write books that celebrate legends who’ve been somewhat underrated by time. I also want to highlight musicians who warrant deeper study in the literary space. We can read several books about Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles and Miles Davis, but what about the next crop of cornerstones? With Black music books especially, there’s this notion to write them off as “too niche.” Ever the disrupter, I believe artists like Kendrick Lamar and De La Soul deserve flowers the same as the aforementioned acts, and with High and Rising, I wanted to assess De La while also examining my own upbringing alongside their music. I grew up with their work, and I remember when the albums 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate and Stakes Is High were released. I felt it was time to highlight these and other albums while discussing the grand impact De La has made on music and pop culture overall.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I first had the idea to write a De La Soul book in 2020, a few months before my Kendrick Lamar book was released. I locked in the deal, then life took hold, and I had to push the book aside for a bit. Then Dave from De La passed away and my mother soon after. From this sadness came the final push to finish the book, because it would allow me to salute Dave and my mother in a raw, emotional way. The focus of the book shifted about midway through. At first this was going to be a straightforward biography. But after thinking about it, I decided to make it a memoir as well. While there is reporting and research in the book, I thought it was important for me to assert my own voice, which I believe made for a stronger story. Plus, if I’m being honest, I grew frustrated with the number of people who either flaked or didn’t respond to interview requests. That’s when I realized I have a voice, and—thankfully—I’ve reached a point in my career where fans of certain genres want to know how I feel about certain topics. I decided to lean into that.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I think the biggest surprise was the ease with which I wrote. Of course, writing a book isn’t easy, but High and Rising felt like a conversation with the reader. I wanted to say things plainly and honestly without belaboring the point. I was also surprised by how much I could pull from within — the memories, the joy, the personal hurt and the suffering, the good and mixed feelings I felt all those years ago listening to De La. As a semi-regular journalist who’s spent years self-assessing and running down the work before it publishes, I was surprised by how self-assured I’ve been through this process. Will everyone like the book? No, of course not. But High and Rising feels right in all aspects. I’m surprised by this newfound confidence I have within the literary landscape.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Even if you’re on the fence about De La Soul, I hope readers can appreciate the bravery with which they operated. They paved the way for many rappers, instrumentalists, and comedians to be their fully authentic selves. And they did so at a time when it was risky. Without De La Soul, there is no Common, Queen Latifah, The Roots, or Mos Def, and therefore a large swath of artistic excellence doesn’t come to fruition. I hope readers can appreciate the revolution of De La, as a band who showed others that it’s OK to show love, have fun, and experiment with music. Because it’s partially a memoir, I also hope readers get to learn a little more about me as a writer and a person.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Dare to be different. As enticing as it might be to write about the same topics as everyone else, don’t be afraid to cover things that aren’t being covered. It may be a lonely road initially, but if you keep writing with force and sincerity, you’ll build a genuine fanbase. The world needs more writers willing to explore the unknown, because those are the stories that need to be told.

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In this interview, Cindy discusses how conversations with her daughter’s wedding dress seamstress led to writing the biography, The Alterations Lady, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Cindy Miller
Literary agent: Leticia Gomez
Book title: The Alterations Lady
Publisher: Apollo Publishers
Release date: October 29, 2024
Genre/category: Biography
Elevator pitch: In 1996, when the Taliban took over Kabul, Lailoma Shahwali watched with her young son as insurgents executed her husband for having been associated with the previous president. The Alterations Lady documents her story as she flees her country with her five-year-old son—first over the treacherous Hindu Kush mountains into Pakistan and ultimately to the United States, where she finds success against all odds.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I had worked in publications for many years as a writer and an editor. It was a satisfying career, and on the day I met Lailoma I had no intention of writing a book. As she was marking my oldest daughter’s wedding dress for alteration, I found so much more than “just a seamstress.” Circling the mounds of ivory on her knees as she carefully pinned the hem, she opened up about her husband’s brutal murder, her escape into Pakistan and transitioning to life in the U.S. As I heard more and more of her compelling story, I knew that I couldn’t not write it. I also knew telling the story would require more than a few thousand words.

How long did it take you to go from idea to publication?

I learned the basics of Lailoma’s story in late 2009, and we started in-depth interviews in 2010. Since both of us worked, we confined our conversations to weekends. The project was daunting, and several times I set it aside for brief periods. Should I keep going, or should I quit? I didn’t quit, though, for two reasons: Quitting is against my nature, and I didn’t want to let down Lailoma. As much as I wanted to tell her story, she wanted it told. In 2019, I worked with an editor who not only was a good editor but also had experience with, and a heart for, the refugee community. After our work, she coached me through the process of finding an agent.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Yes. Even though I had been writing and editing for many years, I knew the input and expertise of a publishing house would be invaluable—and it was. In that regard, the only surprise to me was the length of time between signing the contract and actually seeing the published work. To be fair, the publisher had told me that upfront, but I was still surprised.

I was also surprised, pleasantly, at how vested I became in Lailoma’s extended family, including getting to know her son, whom I watched mature and eventually become accepted to medical school, and her mother, with whom I shared many pleasant interactions. Lailoma was one of nine children, and through our conversations, I came to know each of them by name, along with parts of their stories.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope that, like me, readers will realize there’s a story behind every face. We don’t know what someone else is going through—or has gone through—without asking. I hope that, like me, readers will become a little more empathetic and realize that, while we are all different, so much we experience is universal.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Persevere. If you feel compelled to write a story, it’s probably worth writing. I was often tempted to give up on this project. Writing is work, and I could think of a million reasons not to continue my efforts. In the end, I just couldn’t let it go.  

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My Catholic Hungarian parents survived WWII and came to the US to build a better life. I was 27 years old when I learned that most of what I knew about my family was a lie. My father was Jewish. But it took 30 years to have the time and courage to excavate the truth.

(How to Write a Biography of a World Leader.)

In 2011, a box was miraculously rescued from my parents’ house fire. Its contents—documents, letters, a handwritten family tree book with unfamiliar names, and photographs—were the catalyst that launched my journey of discovery. Through a friend of a friend, I was introduced to András Gyekiczki, a Hungarian sociologist and brilliant sleuth who played a pivotal role in unraveling the story of my family’s past.

Starting with names and dates on gravestones, András traced birth, death, and marriage records, most handwritten in ancient registers. He uncovered centuries-old donation books and tablets, tax ledgers, land certificates, election registers, school reports, phone books, newspaper advertisements, articles written by or about a relative, a name mentioned in a book, or a book written by a relative. Many of his discoveries emerged from the most unexpected places.

Two books, written by my late relatives, were particularly instrumental in discovering my past. Our Family History, written by my great-great-great-great uncle, Zsigmond Politzer (1842-1920) told the stories of family members starting in the 1700s. The second was written by my father’s cousin about his experiences from 1943 to 1945 during the Holocaust.

I soon realized that simply finding my family was not enough. I needed to grasp the zeitgeist of the time and place they inhabited. To truly understand them, I had to understand history. I immersed myself in history books, articles, biographies, and memoirs, seeking depth and context. Exploring the political, social, and economic conditions of their era gave me a clearer perspective of their experiences, motivations, and decisions.

Zsigmond’s account of his growing up in Hungary highlights how historical context shapes and deepens our understanding of individual experiences. After his father’s sudden death when he was 12, Zsigmond struggled in school and faced further challenges when his mother refused to support his higher education. He went to work for several older brothers in a series of jobs, each one grueling manual labor under thankless conditions. Eventually gaining independence, Zsigmond seized an opportunity to prove himself. An Austrian army officer asked Zsigmond to source supplies for a large cavalry troop that was arriving unexpectedly to be stationed in nearby towns. Zsigmond singlehandedly negotiated a mutually beneficial contract with local farmers and the military. He not only fulfilled the contract, but did so with remarkable profitably, showcasing his resourcefulness and determination.

At first, Zsigmond’s actions baffled me. It was 1860, just 11 years after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, when Hungary’s brave fight for independence was crushed by Austrian forces, aided by the Russians. Zsigmond’s family had endured the brutal aftermath of Austria’s reign of terror. So why would he, of all people, serve the enemy by feeding Austrian troops? Was it greed? Ambition? As I delved deeper, a more complex story emerged. I learned that Emperor Franz-Joseph had begun easing his iron grip and decided to restore Hungary’s legislative body. Elections were set for the following spring. The army’s presence was not one of occupation, but of safeguarding this new chapter. Understanding this nuance transformed my view of Zsigmond. His actions were not betrayal, but a testament to hope. He had acted not out of selfishness, but with a vision for a peaceful, united future. This new perspective reminded me of the intricate layers that shape our ancestors’ choices.

While András cast a wide net in his research, following every lead and exploring multiple threads, I chose a more focused approach, honing in on one family member at a time. Each discovery, layered with historical context, was carefully documented on my computer. I printed these pages and organized them by individual, enabling me to trace timelines, unravel relationships, and pinpoint pivotal events. My childhood love of puzzles served me well.

Next, I set out to write their stories—one family member at a time—immersing myself in their lives. My intent was to fully capture the intricate tapestry of their experiences with accuracy and respect. I resisted the urge to fill in any gaps with speculation, staying firmly rooted in the facts we had uncovered. Where details were missing, I acknowledged the uncertainty. Through writing, I sought to breathe life into my Jewish ancestors, giving voice to their stories without distorting the truth.

Over seven years I devoted myself to researching and writing. Tracing back eight generations was both overwhelming and deeply rewarding. My forbears were remarkable individuals: doctors and lawyers, entrepreneurs and industrialists, writers and musicians, artists and art collectors, and philanthropists. András once wrote “I hardly know any non-fiction sagas to better exemplify Hungarian Jewish fate of the past 300 years as this Politzer, Misner, Ambrus story …. All that fantastic talent, diligence, and readiness to act for the birth of modern Hungary. All those sufferings, torture, and misery they went through ….”

When the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives decided to create a permanent exhibit based on my family’s stories, I knew that I had to compile my writings into a book. Encouragement from early readers further motivated me to pursue this. I decided to collaborate with an editor.

My editor embraced the stories with enthusiasm, providing round after round of insightful feedback—a weak section removed here, a reordering there, fuller explanations where needed, a reworking to emphasize key points. She suggested breaking out some of the historical explanations into sidebars I called “Learning More.” This approach helped maintain the story’s arc and keep the reader engaged.

A designer and artist helped to integrate the prose with 150 images, including the photos I had found in the box, family trees, and maps. No longer unfamiliar names, these visual elements helped to further bring my relatives to life, allowing their stories to be felt as well as read.

I set out to uncover the truth about my family, my Jewish family. With each story, a window into their world opened, revealing the grace with which they navigated unimaginable hardships. As I wrote I felt a profound connection—not just to the events of their lives, but to the unwavering strength that sustained them. They became real, woven into my very being. In that connection, I began to understand my roots and the legacy they passed down. By bringing their stories to light, I was able to honor their memories in a deeply meaningful way and truly grasp the essence behind the Jewish expression of condolence, “May their memory be for a blessing.”

Check out Linda Ambrus Broenniman’s The Politzer Saga here:

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In this interview, Amy discusses the evolution that took place with how to go about writing her new biography, The World She Edited, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Amy Reading
Literary agent: Susan Golomb at Writers House
Book title: The World She Edited: Katharine S. White Edits The New Yorker
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release date: September 3, 2024
Genre/category: Biography
Previous titles: The Mark Inside: The Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con
Elevator pitch: The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker is a biography of the woman behind the making of the magazine and a large swath of 20th century literary culture. White edited an impressive list of women writers like Mary McCarthy and Elizabeth Bishop, in addition to men like John Updike, Vladimir Nabokov, and her husband, E.B. White.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I found Katharine White when I sorely needed a mentor in my writing life. I read an essay about her decades-long editing friendship with Jean Stafford, and I just ached with how moving it was. Katharine helped pull Stafford out of a collapse after her brutal marriage to the poet Robert Lowell and was a steady and responsive reader for Stafford’s work, calling stories out of her and working to shape them, suggesting story ideas, even introducing Stafford to another New Yorker writer, the reporter A. J. Liebling, who became her third husband. I was enchanted to see how much Katharine directly influenced Stafford, and I realized the author-editor relationship, which is rarely studied, can be quite crucial to literary culture. It also gives us an understanding of how canons are made and a realistic, non-mythologized description of what the writing life truly entails. But basically, I just wished I could be mentored by Katharine!

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

It has taken almost eight years. I learned about Katharine in 2017 and spent a year researching her and drafting a book proposal. Initially, I wanted to write solely about White and Stafford as a crystal-clear story about the effects of gifted editing, but my then-agent, Geri Thoma, said that I couldn’t possibly leave out all the other authors whose careers White influenced. So next I proposed a book in which each of six chapters would focus on her relationship with a different writer. Geri said the same thing: No, we need more. She thought that book would leave the readers wanting the full life. So, the third pitch was a cradle-to-grave biography. One thing I didn’t anticipate was that women editors would so enthusiastically respond to a proposal about a woman editor—but of course they did! They were the first and arguably most vested readers.

Once I settled on the genre of biography, the idea did not change much. I did not write the book in the three years that I initially promised, and only part of that broken promise was because the pandemic forced research libraries to close for a time. I didn’t end up writing exactly the table of contents I proposed—for instance, the book was originally going to have fewer, longer chapters, and instead has 44 shorter, shapelier ones—but the themes stayed the same. I knew that I wanted to treat Katharine’s editorial memos to her authors as a serious body of work to be read and analyzed, worthy of literary critical study (and fascinating for her voice and the New Yorker gossip!). I wanted to look at how her life—college, marriage, two children, divorce, remarriage, another child, health trouble—influenced what she published, what stories attracted her, how she understood readers like herself who were college-educated and ambitious and engaged with the issues of the day. And I wanted to trace change over time. How did The New Yorker evolve from a scrappy little humor magazine to a literary powerhouse? How did Katharine’s feminism shift as she lived through the first 77 years of the 20^th century? How did she and E.B. White maintain their long and successful marriage between a world-class editor and a beloved writer?

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I was surprised at how much editing I received on this book about editing! I’ve had thorough, sensitive reads from two rock star editors at Mariner (formerly Houghton Mifflin). Deanne Urmy, who acquired the book, said all the right things. She read the first few chapters “without a pencil in my hand,” as she put it. I love that phrase and totally understood it after seeing so many of Katharine’s pencil-marks. She meant that she read it first for pleasure as a reader would, not an editor, and her response was, “This is great. Just keep doing what you are doing, and we’ll take a scalpel to it later.” I didn’t know that’s exactly what I needed to hear, that affirmation of my process. Then I had several substantial rounds of editing with Jessica Vestuto, who was so sympathetic to the material and so interested in Katharine as a person. Lots of writers say that publishing has no room for editing these days, but that has not been my experience.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

As someone who loves research and archives and crumbling letters in acid-free folders, I was surprised to discover the pleasure of meeting and interviewing actual people. I was so fortunate to get to know many of Katharine’s descendants. The best surprise was befriending her son, Roger Angell, and his wife Peggy. Roger was 99 years old when I first met him, and his memory was long and impeccable. He was so generous with me, but even more than that, he was curious about and open to things I was learning about his mother that he never knew. His mother had hired him at the fiction department at The New Yorker, so he was both a writer and an editor, and therefore he knew exactly how to foster me as a writer—the perfect reader. I wasn’t expecting that my heart would be as involved in the writing as my mind.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

An understanding of editing as an art; an appreciation for the unheralded work of a woman in publishing who invented her job as the only woman in the room and made the writing life possible for dozens of women authors; a sense of how some of the best writing was made in the twentieth century; a behind-the-scenes look at a powerful and magnetic literary institution

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Write the book that will bring about the world in which you want to live. This can be grand, if your book seeks to change our social, cultural, political world, but I also mean it in a smaller sense. Write the book that will reel in the people, the ideas, and the other books that you need in your life. I did end up feeling a bit as if Katharine had mentored me, or at least had drawn women and men into my life who have enormously influenced me. What a gift.

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As a set and costume designer, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Endowment for the Arts/TCG Fellowship for Theatre Designers, the Independent Theatre Award and the Arlin Meyer Award. She has received multiple awards for her picture book illustrations, including three Sydney Taylor Medals. She’s a 2023 Eisner Awards nominee.

Her debut author/illustrator picture book, Anya’s Secret Society, received a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection Award. She’s an author/illustrator of Typewriter and Mona Lisa In New York. Her latest book, I Hate Borsch!,is the Gold Winner of the 2022 Foreword Indies Book of the Year Awards. Born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, she now lives in New York City. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

In this interview, Yevgenia discusses how being confronted with her doppelgänger inspired her to write and illustrate her new picture book, A Party for Florine, her hope for readers, and more!

Name: Yevgenia Nayberg
Literary agent: Anna Olswanger was the agent for this project.
Book title: A Party for Florine: Florine Stettheimer and Me
Publisher: Neal Porter Book/Holiday House
Release date: July 16, 2024
Genre/category: Picture book biography
Previous titles: Author/Illustrator of Anya’s Secret Society, Typewriter, Mona Lisa in New York, and I Hate Borsch!
Elevator pitch: A Party for Florine is a fantasy fan letter inspired by the art and life of the Jewish American painter Florine Stettheimer. Florine was a colorful, larger-than-life character. She’s a perfect imaginary friend for a shy, creative child.

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What prompted you to write this book?

In 2017, The Jewish Museum held an exhibition of Stettheimer’s work. A friend attending the show sent me a photograph of Florine’s early self-portrait. I was shocked by how much I resembled her! I was instantly inspired by this mystical connection to a painter born 100 years before me. As I explored her art and poetry, I became drawn to her exuberance, wit, and her way of looking at the world through an ironic lens.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I had a vague idea that I needed to do something with the story of my doppelgänger, but it was not a clear one. It just sat quietly in the back of my mind for about three years. I have illustrated several picture book biographies in the past but was never interested in writing one. Then suddenly, I had an idea of writing in the first person: If I were to meet Florine, how would it change my own melancholic and boring life? And that’s how this book wrote itself: a biography of Florine, but also a bit of my own story.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

As much as I like Florine’s work, my own artistic style is quite different. The most exciting challenge was inventing a style that resembled Florine’s without losing my own. I’ve lucked out with my editor, Neal Porter, and Art Director, Jennifer Brown, who were incredibly supportive and cheerful throughout the process.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

The Author’s Note! When Neal asked me to write the Author’s Note, I told myself, “This is my chance to play an art critic.” I really enjoyed switching from my succinct picture book voice to something a bit more adult. I’m also continuously surprised that I manage to write in a foreign language!

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

It’s up to us to create “the world full of color and full of surprises.”

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t worry about pleasing an unknown child with your story. Write for the child that you once were—or better yet, for the child that you are.

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