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Publishing Talks Interview with Ken Whyte of Sutherland House

October 22, 2024 by  
Filed under Publishing History, PublishingTalks, The Future

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I began Publishing Talks a number of years ago as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology. Most of these interviews originally involved the future of publishing, books, and culture, talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened to include conversations to go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met or worked with during the many years I have been in the book business.

More recently, I’ve been talking to book folks about what is going on in publishing today, quite often about the changes in marketing and promotion that have marked all media industries as social media has overwhelmed traditional media, creating an extremely complex and constantly changing environment.

One thing is certain about publishing – there are no final answers, but there are many really important questions that we should be asking all the time.

I recently had the opportunity to (virtually) meet and talk to Kenneth (Ken) Whyte, founder and president of the Toronto based Sutherland House publishing company. I discovered Ken through his excellent and thoughtful newsletter called SHuSh, where he writes about a wide range of book industry matters as well as people and books he is connected to or has published. Ken started in journalism and magazine writing and publishing, wrote nonfiction books himself, and then started Sutherland House. One might reasonably question why any sane person would start a commercial publishing house in the current troubled media environment, but Sutherland House appears to be successful and is clearly well run and intelligently managed. I thought it would be interesting and valuable to talk to Ken about his thinking about books and publishing. He is an innovator and clearly a smart publisher who has figured out how to sell books.

We talked about a wide range of subjects and concerns that will be of interest to anyone who follows current publishing and media trends. We talked about the current state of Canadian publishing, which is simultaneously similar and very different from the US publishing scene. And we talked as well about many of the challenges and opportunities that exist for publishers and authors in Canada and the USA alike. We talked about AI and its actual uses in publishing, consolidation in retail and how publishers must navigate markets, author income issues, ebooks, book pricing, changes in the overall media landscape, and much more.

From the Sutherland House website:

At Sutherland House, we believe in the power of a distinct aesthetic, and each of our publications reflects the unique essence of our brand. From inception to launch, every title undergoes meticulous market testing to ensure its resonance with our discerning readership. All of our books are simultaneously published in both Canada and the United States, supported by robust sales and distribution channels in both countries. 

Kenneth Whyte was editor-in-chief of Saturday Night Magazine, founding editor of The National Post, editor and publisher of Maclean’s, president of Rogers Publishing, and founding president of Next Issue Canada. He is the author of The Sack of Detroit: General Motors and the End of American Enterprise and The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of Willian Randolph Hearst.

 

 

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Abraham Chang: 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers

October 3, 2024 by  
Filed under Fiction, WritersCast

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888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers: A Novel — Abraham Chang — Flatiron Books — Hardcover — 978-1-250-91078-3 — 400 pages — $29.99 — ebook $14.99 — May 7, 2024
I met Abe Chang several years ago when he was gainfully employed at Simon and Schuster as a sales rep. I was immediately impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and the pure joy he exuded as a person, always coming across as an authentic character who combined a sharp eye for detail and a unique sense of humor. I had literally no idea that he was also an accomplished poet, musician and evidently, a terrific novelist and storyteller at the same time.
A few months ago, I heard that Abe had left his job at S&S, and then a short time after that, an email announcing the publication of a new novel called 888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers appeared in my inbox, and I thereby discovered that Abe is also a novelist. Since I am always interested in the writings of friends and associates, there was no question I would want to read this book.
And now that I have read this very engaging first novel, I am very happy that it reached me. I literally had no idea during all the various business meetings where we talked about how to sell other people’s books, that all along, Abe was writing his own complex and funny book.
While I do not believe that fiction can or should be read literally – novels are not simply memoirs in hiding – we always learn something about an author from their fiction, however indirectly that may be. Reading novels by someone you know can be confusing, as it is always tempting to read between the lines – is this his real family in disguise, was this girlfriend really so utterly cool, and other questions that arise during the course of absorbing the story line. It is crucial to tamp down those kinds of questions and to not think so literally – just read the damn book as if you did not know the author at all.
888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers is fast paced, quirky and is carefully designed and constructed by the author to carry the reader along a personal journey of discovery as its main character learns who he is and how he can function in a complicated emotionally charged universe. Numbers and their secret meanings chart his path. The book is full of surprises and is impossible to put down.
It’s also full of pop culture references, some of which are central to the experience of the book and which may be unfamiliar to some who are much older than its Gen X author, so be prepared to use your favorite search engine and YouTube to check in on some of the bands and songs Abe includes in the book.
Here’s a quote from the book that might give you an idea of its pop culture infused approach:
“You are obsessed with Robert Smith and company, Morrissey and Marr, and Gahan, and Gore. You spend hours ruminating on their obtuse Anglo references and overanalyzing their overly clever lyrics –how these pasty British men sing of a life through jangly guitars with jutted-jaw irony, and someone manage to reflect your preferred, parallel worldview: repressed, depressed, well-dressed. The chimes in ‘Pictures of You’ give you chills.”
I am certainly now a fan of Abe Chang’s writing. We had a lively engaging discussion about the book and his writing journey which I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.
Official bio: Abraham Yu-Young (Abe) Chang is an award-winning, published poet with an MFA in creative writing from New York University. He has worked in the publishing industry since 2000 and was most recently in charge of Special Sales for Simon & Schuster. He lives in Forest Hills, Queens, with his wife.
Author website
Buy the book from Bookshop.org

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