Happy Birthday, Milton Glaser!

Today ushers in the 84^th year for legendary graphic designer Milton Glaser, the man behind New York Magazine, the iconic I (heart) NY logo, Bob Dylan’s psychedelic profile, Brooklyn Brewery’s label, and our very own Winged Elephant to name a few of his many, many accomplishments. Glaser is special to us not only as the artist behind our logo and the author of four books we are proud to publish, but also as a dear friend to our publisher, Peter Mayer (learn how Milton secured Peter his first job, here and how they collaborated on our logo here!).

To honor this great artist and loyal friend today, we would like to share some of his wisdom, an abbreviated list—laws to live by, if you will—gathered from a talk he gave at AIGA in London. 

Milton’s Manifesto—The full essay can be found on his website.

1.     YOU CAN ONLY WORK FOR PEOPLE YOU LIKE

2.     IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE, NEVER HAVE A JOB.

3.     SOME PEOPLE ARE TOXIC; AVOID THEM.

4.     PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT ENOUGH OR THE

5.     LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE

6.     STYLE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED

7.     HOW YOU LIVE CHANGES YOUR BRAIN

8.     DOUBT IS BETTER THAN CERTAINTY

9.     ON AGING—“IT DOESN’T MATTER”

10.   TELL THE TRUTH

  

Happy Birthday, Milton! We love your work, your ageless wisdom, and your sense of humor!

                                                             *  *  *

Although today is Milton’s birthday, we’re excited to give a gift to one lucky Overlook Press reader.  Leave a comment below and we’ll enter you to win a signed copy of Glaser’s DRAWING IS THINKING presented in an Overlook tote emblazoned with his design.  Good Luck! And be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday via twitter @MiltonGlaserInc!

Career Advice from Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer

If you've been following our "Conversations with Peter Mayer" video series, you've already witnessed a number of stories highlighting forty years of Overlook history—from anecdotes about our company's humble beginnings as a publisher of re-printed hardcovers to tales of our long term creative partnership with acclaimed graphic designer Milton Glaser, the brilliant mind behind our beloved winged logo.

Today Peter returns to the blog to share his insight and experience with a new generation of eager readers looking to break into the competitive field of book publishing. With more than five decades of publishing experience under his belt, Peter is an industry veteran in a position to offer valuable advice to anyone trying to land their first job. Check out this video to hear Peter's own story about his first forays into the trade, and his advice to ambitious literary upstarts who also wish to make their mark on the book business.

Milton Glaser's Latest Overlook Collaboration

Available March 14, we are thrilled to publish Milton Glaser’s new book, In Search of The Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another, a unique and lavishly illustrated volume based on his exhibit of the same name, which unveiled in 2010 at the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).

Borne from a phrase that has persisted in Glaser’s memory for many years, In Search of the Miraculous offers a rare and exclusive view into the creative process behind his design work, revealing ideas and sketches that organically developed into practical applications for both commercial work and deeply personal art. While demonstrating how design concepts build on one another or are repurposed by the designer, Glaser expounds on the idea that the pursuit and the risks involved in creating art are what become most illuminating and valuable in an artist or designer’s career.

In Search of the Miraculous is Glaser’s fourth book published with Overlook, following Graphic Design, Art is Work, and Drawing is Thinking. Aside from being a visionary and icon in the world of graphic arts, Glaser is a delight to work with and has been a dear friend to our publisher Peter Mayer for many years. In the video below, Peter speaks about the moment when he and Milton Glaser became colleagues to collaborate on his first book, Graphic Design.

EARLY PRAISE FOR IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS

“In Search of the Miraculous aptly captures the tension involved in reconciling the artist’s aspirations to do great work and the client’s objectives. This book eloquently, articulately, and with great panache, and provocation, illuminates the extraordinary outcomes that emerge when the artistic process miraculously works.”

--New York Journal of Books

"Artists, designers, and art students will appreciate this little, low-key exhibition catalog."

--Library Journal

Conversations with Peter Mayer: The Origins of Overlook

As dedicated readers of the Winged Elephant already know, in 2011 Overlook celebrated its 40^th birthday as an independent publisher. Founded in 1971 by Peter Mayer, who was then serving as the head of mass market paperbacks at Avon Books, Overlook was never meant to be a publishing company, but has nonetheless flourished to become the publisher of more than 1,500 titles as well as the home to Ardis Publishers and Duckworth.

With four decades of experience under our belts, we’ve acquired some interesting stories along the way. Beginning today, and continuing as a regular supplement to the blog, we’ll be hosting videos from our publisher Peter Mayer, bringing to life the history of Overlook through a series of personal stories highlighting the books and authors that have kept us in business over the past 40 years.

Aufbau (Reconstruction), an anthology of articles originally published in the German language newspaper of the same name, was the first book released by Overlook. Check out the video below for the full story of how Aufbau was conceived, as well as Overlook’s humble origins as a publisher of re-printed hardcovers.

Guest post from publisher Peter Mayer: On Meeting Charles Portis

An older photo of Charles Portis.

A special guest post from Overlook publisher Peter Mayer, on his trip to Arkansas to meet Charles Portis, author of TRUE GRIT (along with other wonderful novels Norwood, Masters of Atlantis, Gringos and Dog of the South). Portis won't be participating in the media coverage surrounding the upcoming release of the Coen Brothers' film adaptation of his 1968 novel True Grit, he's considered one of the great American writers and a fascinating person. Here's Peter's experience meeting the man himself.


Meeting Charles Portis was an unlikely dream that came true. I had never been to Arkansas before, much less Little Rock, but as I found myself having to be there for another reason a couple of years ago, I just took a shot at calling or writing my author, despite having heard from many that Charles Portis was “reclusive.” He certainly over many years had ignored our various blandishments to take part in one or another author promotions, personal appearances, even some not too far from Little Rock.

As it turned out, Portis was anything but reclusive, simply not interested in being part of the publishing machine in which authors, for better or worse – and sometimes of necessity – play a leading role. He wanted his peace and he wanted it in order to write.

When my plane touched down in Little Rock, I didn’t believe he’d be there to meet me, but there he was with an anything-but-a modern pickup, half-ton I think, and before I’d climbed into the cab, hooked up my seat buckle, he asked me whether I was up for a drink. Indeed I was, I even hoped that Arkansas state laws permitted a thirsty man to drink and smoke at the same time. This not being the case, we went to The Capital Hotel. I’m not sure if this was a regular watering hole of his; I wasn’t sure then and after two days in Little Rock I still didn’t know. He certainly knew the clientele, many of the better known Little Rock grandees and good old boys. I quickly came to see that Charlie Portis was, yes, very regional, but also something much more sophisticated, something certainly not apparent in his novels. There probably are good reasons why readers sometimes mistakenly connect him with regional writers but variant purposes like Mark Twain and Cormac McCarthy. The connections have often more to do with a sense of place than anything else.

Frankly, I found myself – a New Yorker and a sometimes Londoner – not quite at home in The Capital Hotel. Unlike many New York-based publishers, I’d had broad experience in Texas, Indiana and Oklahoma and suspected that there must be a more basic Little Rock than the Capital Hotel. I wondered if my author had taken me to a place he imagined I’d be comfortable in. Happily, that evening, perhaps guessing my drift, he took me to more basic Little Rock haunts where I ate the kind of food I’d been hoping to find, along with many glasses of iced tea.

The discovery that my author was neither a recluse nor someone easily defined by Little Rock emerged when we started to talk about New York editors, agents – in particular his agent Lynn Nesbit – publishing, newspapers and journalism in general, New York itself, and then London, where he had been for some years the London Bureau Chief of The New York Herald Tribune. He asked me quite markedly about various people it turned out we both knew, in particular about Nora Ephron, whose work and gifts in general had never been lost on him. In fact, he talked about everything, everything except what I was greatly interested in – what was he writing now and when I would get to see it. “Eventually,” he said. All I learned was that he was indeed writing, that he didn’t write quickly.

Then we went back to anything he could tell me about the state of Arkansas, his book covers, his pleasure that we had put all his books back into print. Incredibly they had all been out of print when Overlook started what turned out to be a kind of mission: to turn America on to this extraordinarily gifted writer who seemed to us not to be getting his due. But he never asked how his books were selling – increasingly well, in fact. He just said he was glad they were available for anyone who might want to read them. Even in England, he said, as he had received letters from British readers. He was interested in everything I could share with him, but in a very self-contained way. A very good guy, I thought, a straight arrow with a habit and mind for the foibles of mankind. Anyone who reads his books will find, I think, that below the surface of all the extraordinary and extremely humorous details and characters he creates, there’s a very straight American arrow pointing heavenwards.

Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer in The Bookseller Magazine

In a column appropriately named "Forever Young," John Blake writes about Peter Mayer in The Bookseller magazine: "Ask people to name a truly iconic publisher—and I think many would come up with the name of Peter Mayer.

His rise from runner at the New York Times, to two decades brilliantly creating the modern Penguin Group, to his fabulous career at Overlook Press in New York and Duckworth in London, is the stuff of ­legend. I was thrilled, honoured and (to be honest) slightly terrified, therefore, when he first bought US rights to our biography of Lady Gaga by Emily Herbert, then announced he was flying into London and would like to meet.

“He’s a genius, he speaks six languages, you won’t have a clue what he is talking about,” friends warned me. Thanks. Anyway, he shambled into Sheeky’s restaurant, looking a little like Keith Richards’ younger brother, then proceeded to charm and amaze me for a couple of hours.

Despite his own very considerable contribution to serious literature, Peter appeared fascinated by the success of our fast turnround books (he brought a copy of his edition of Lady Gaga with him, less than a month after buying rights, which is entirely unprecedented in the slow-motion world of US publishing). He talked about his success with a high-speed Susan Boyle book, of how he brought sudoku to the US, and of the new outlets and sales opportunities for selling books in the UK and the US.

While all of us who love books are saddened to see wonderful independent shops, and chains such as Borders, going under we have to deal with the new world order, or go out of business. And, though Peter has already chugged effortlessly past his 70th birthday, he is still exhilarated and excited by the challenges we now face.

Reflecting, afterwards, it came to me that book publishers, with a passion for what they do, seem to have discovered the secret of remaining forever young. In Fleet Street, where I worked in another lifetime, youth is every­thing. William Lewis, the editor of the Telegraph, is 39. Dominic Mohan, the latest editor of the Sun, is all of 40. Meanwhile, in the world of literature, Ernest Hecht at Souvenir Press continues to publish wonderful, original titles (and to tell very funny stories) even though he has swung effortlessly past his 80th birthday. Naim Atallah, at Quartet, is 78 but still has the enthusiasm of a teenager. Even Ed Victor, that doyen of agents has, unbelievably, reached 70.

Despite all the new challenges, the magic of constantly dealing with wonderful new stories and ideas seems to be the best tonic in the world. Aren’t we lucky?"

Peter Mayer on R.J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS

A letter from Peter Mayer, publisher of The Overlook Press, to all the loyal readers of The Winged Elephant:

Dear Friends:

I’ve been in book publishing now for nearly 50 years, but finding a book like A Quiet Belief in Angels, or indeed an author like R. J. Ellory, is as exciting to me now as it ever was. It’s a wonderful book—a most unusual thriller set in Georgia— but the story of how this book came to be, and the story of the author himself, is every bit as good.

Ellory was orphaned at the age of seven, and at seventeen sent to prison for poaching. He found a new world in reading, immersed himself in literature, and began to write fiction. He composed twenty-two novels in longhand and submitted them to various publishers… and soon had a private collection of literally hundreds of rejection letters. The standard response from all the UK publishers was that they could not seriously consider the possibility of publishing novels based in the United States… written by an Englishman. He was advised to send his work to American publishers, which he duly did. He received from them equally polite rejection letters, most of which said it was not reasonable for American publishers to publish books set in the US… written by an Englishman. Events have not proved them right.

Ellory finally got an acceptance. His first book, Candlemoth, was published in 2003 and was instantly shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. Five other novels followed, including the one you now hold in your hand. Each won him acclaim in Britain, as much for his prose as his plotting. With A Quiet Belief in Angels he won unparalleled praise and 300,000 readers. It has now been sold to 20 countries… and counting. It has been shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Fiction, the Prix Du Polar Europeen Du Point, Le Nouvel Observateur Crime Writing Prize and the Quebec Booksellers' Prize. We think it’s strangely fitting that a publisher called “Overlook” should launch Ellory in America, where the entirety of the story takes place. Yes, we’re a little bit late to the game, but we have come to play.

I am extremely proud to publish R. J. Ellory, and I hope you’ll enjoy A Quiet Belief in Angels as much as all of us at Overlook have. We are going to knock ourselves silly in publishing and marketing this book, and I hope all of you will help us spread the word about this wonderful novel. And please visit our brand new website for A Quiet Belief in Angels.

With all best wishes,
Yours,

Peter Mayer
Publisher
The Overlook Press
pmayer@overlookny.com

Peter Mayer Talks to Marketplace About Fiction and the Economic Crisis

Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer spoke to Ashley Milne-Tyte on Marketplace about the impact the current economic crisis may - or may not - have on contemporary fiction. From Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath to Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities to Little Dorritt, the classic Charles Dickens novel - the panelists discuss "financial fiction" in this fascinating report. Listen to the interview on the Marketplace/American Public Media website.

Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer Talks to GalleyCat

Peter Mayer spoke to Jason Boog of GalleyCat this week in Overlook's SoHo office. Here's the post: "GalleyCat caught up with Overlook Press founder Peter Mayer to study the fine art of literary obfuscation. This month, Overlook Press will publish The Stranger by Max Frei--a literary fantasy novel supposedly written by the novel's main character. In reality, The Stranger was written by a reclusive female artist and has sold millions of copies in Russia. After hearing Russian readers rave about the book, Mayer scooped up the eight-book series. "A great deal of Russian literature has been disguised," he explained. "Russia was an autocratic state with great curtailments on people's personal lives... [obfuscation] is a feature that kept a lot of writers out of jail for many years."

Mayer saw some recession-era parallels in the book: "Max arises from his despair in life and creates his own reality. People are looking for escapism during a recession... But the recession was the last thing I was thinking about when I bought it." Mayer said Overlook picked up fantasy books "by accident," but carved out a niche in the market. "There's a dumb world of fantasy and an intelligent world of fantasy. I'd like to think we inhabit the later."

The publisher also told readers to look out for A Quiet Belief In Angels, R.J. Ellory's thriller by set in Georgia, USA. Overlook will publish between 50,000 to 100,000 copies of the British thriller this fall. "This guy can really write. He wrote 22 novels before he published," Mayer said. "He said, 'Those books were my university. That's how I learned how to write.'"

SIMA'S UNDERGARMENTS FOR WOMEN Launch in NYC

Overlook publisher Peter Mayer hosted a reception for author Ilana Stanger-Ross on Monday in honor of the publication of Sima's Undergarments for Women. Ilana and Peter are pictured here with editor Juliet Grames.

Ilana Stanger-Ross will read and discuss her new novel at McNally-Jackson in NYC on February 28 and Freebird Books in Brooklyn on February 29.

Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer on the Frankfurt Book Fair

The August issue of the Frankfurt Book Fair Newsletter includes an interview with Overlook Publisher Peter Mayer. Peter speaks about his time as CEO at Penguin International in the 1980s and 1990s, and offers his views on how the Frankfurt Book Fair has evolved over the years. Now in its 60th year, the Frankfurt Book Fair will be held October 15-19, 2008.

A Toast to THE WENTWORTHS!

Spirits were high at the Overlook party for Katie Arnoldi last night at the home of publisher Peter Mayer. The Wentworths, Katie's fabulous new novel, has hit the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List and is drawing terrific review attention far and wide. Marie Claire called the book "savagely funny," and Elle noted "while tales of dysfunctional familes abound, this one separates itself from the pack with concise prose, escalating tension, and wry humor." Andy Heidel reports on the scene for Galleycat.

Peter Mayer Honored with Trilogy Lifetime Achievement Award at London Book Fair

PW London Book Fair Updates: Mayer Endorses Publication of the Good and Commercial

"Introduced by agent Ed Victor as a “publisher to his core,” Peter Mayer, former head of Penguin and who now runs both Overlook Press and Duckworth Press, was presented with the Trilogy Lifetime Achievement Award at a lunch during Tuesday’s London Book Fair. Mayer, who began as a publisher of mass market paperbacks and became known for publishing some on publishing’s most respected authors, said it is important to publish not only serious books, but dangerous books and commercial titles as well. He noted that it was his decision to publish a series of Sudoku books that will permit the publication of more worthwhile works well after the Sudoku craze is over. Reflecting on the changes that have occurred over his career, Mayer said publishing has become “more retailer driven” with authors more tied to agents than editors, and editors more aligned with marketing concerns as successful frontlist books are often a key to moving ahead today. Still, Mayer said there is much to celebrate in publishing and while the printed word may be under siege, it is far from dead. The years ahead, however, may bring new economic models, speculating that authors may need to consider taking less money up from and share more in risk, and profits. At age 72, Mayer said he feels like he is once again started over and intends to cause more trouble for years to come." By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly

Per Olov Enquist to be Honored at Scandinavia House in NYC on March 31

Per Olov Enquist, one of Sweden's most celebrated contemporary writers, will be honored at Scandinavia House in New York on Monday, March 31. Enquist's novels, plays and short stories have been published in 26 countries, and his latest novel The Book About Blanche and Marie received widespread acclaim all over the world. Mr. Enquist will be joined by translator Tiina Nunnally and Overlook publisher Peter Mayer. For more information: (212) 879-9779.

Overlook's PETER MAYER to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2008 London Book Fair

The Bookseller reports "Peter Mayer is to be awarded with a lifetime achievement award at this year's London Book Fair, following in the steps of Lord Weidenfeld, Christopher MacLehose, John Lyons, and Lynette Owen. Mayer will pick up the fifth annual LBF/Trilogy Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair on Tuesday 15th April at a special reception in the Earls Court Conference Centre. The award, voted for by the London Book Fair's advisory board, was unanimously agreed after the merits of a shortlist of six international publishing figures were debated. This year's judges commented that Peter Mayer had made an outstanding lifelong contribution to the international publishing industry through his various roles including Penguin India. From 1978 to 1996 he was the chairman and c.e.o. of the Penguin Group, based in London and New York. Since 1996 he has held the position of president and publisher of The Overlook Press and since 2003 he has been the president and publisher of Duckworth Publishers in the UK. Simon Master, chair of the advisory board, said: "Peter Mayer has long been an inspirational figure in the publishing industry both in the UK and overseas. His dedication to British and international publishing has distinguished his career and makes him fully deserving of the London Book Fair/Trilogy Lifetime Achievement Award 2008."