Category Archives: West Coast

December 03, 2015   Erin   book club, books, Erin, reading, West Coast, winter  
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Winter Books

As Los Angeles starts to get colder, and by that I mean a brisk seventy degrees at midday, it gets me in the mood for winter books, which in my mind means anything involving snow. I still regard snow with child-like wonder, having grown up in Southern California where my family likes to go to the beach on sunny Christmas Days. Last year it snowed on New Years and the next morning ice sprinkled across bright green lawns and palm trees—it was magical. Unfortunately, this was an anomaly, and I only really get to experience snow on vacation or fantastically.

That’s why I chose The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell to read this winter. I found this novel off the shelf of my local bookstore, immediately attracted to the cover, which features lots of snow and wolves (creatures I inaccurately associate with winter). It takes place in the deep, icy woods of Russia, and follows a girl as she stands up for the wolves her and her mother reintroduce into the wild after their neglectful lives in captivity.

Last year, I read George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones because Jon Snow says, “winter is coming.” In the past, I read Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials for the polar bears and northern lights, and Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak for the sleigh rides (there are a lot of them).

It may be a weird tradition, but it has inspired me to read a lot of wonderful books I might not have read otherwise. What winter books will you read this year and what makes you read them?

September 30, 2013   Jane   adaptation, agents, Jane, media, West Coast  
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A tale of two cultures working together

Last week, I journeyed to LA to meet a group of TV/film people, find out what they are looking for in the way of new projects and tell them about many of the books we are representing which we hoped they would be interested in reading and ultimately optioning.  Often we work through a community of co-agents to get to these producers, but I always feel that meeting in person, when possible, cements a relationship.  Putting a face to a name is a good thing.

I hadn’t done this kind of trip in many years–film people come through our offices all the time–and I really enjoyed meeting all of these new folks.  The differences between our two cultures (book publishing and Hollywood) really struck me, though.

First and foremost is the fact that the people in the LA movie business are totally dependent on their cars–they need to drive everywhere as public transportation is very limited.

Another difference is that we in publishing submit our projects almost exclusively online.  Theirs, on the other hand, is a world of in-person pitches.  Co-agents meet with producers, directors and sometimes writers to pitch them projects.  We do almost all of this electronically. Here is a photo of a pool we sat beside to pitch a producer some of our books (not a bad way to do it, actually, except hard to accomplish in New York City).

Finally, the Hollywood folk spend a lot of time on the phone.  This is something we in publishing really try to avoid.  Of course, sometimes phone calls are necessary to describe a project we are really passionate about, and/or to begin or complete a negotiation, but most of the time we find it more efficient and, frankly, legally sound to keep our communications written.

The “publishing lunch,” though, is something the folks in the film business enjoy equally.  The difference between us is that we journey to our destination on foot, by cab, or subway, while they drive.  Here is a photo outside the CAA Headquarters where you can see a large number of valets who are on staff to park and bring up cars for those entering and leaving.

Bottom line, though?  I think this was a very productive trip in every way and now I am looking forward to digging in and sending out the numerous projects that the people we met with want to consider.

July 25, 2013   Jessica   conferences, short stories, West Coast, writing  
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WWYK?

I am typing this on a plane headed for Seattle, happy to be en route to the always-terrific PNWA conference.   I don’t get to as many far flung writers conferences as I did before I had children, but that makes the ones I do attend a particular treat.  I love fielding pitches, talking about the book business and listening to writers who, despite the vagaries of this difficult marketplace, are united by a love for what they do.  It also gives me an opportunity to see my Seattle-based clients, in this case, the prodigiously talented Valerie Trueblood, whose new short story collection, Search Party: Stories of Rescue, was just released yesterday by Counterpoint Press.  Valerie’s previous collection, Marry or Burn, was shortlisted for the Frank O’ Connor prize, and this one (I say without a shred of bias) is every bit as wondrous.

Trueblood writes short fiction that is mind-bendingly capacious. Whole lifetimes and histories, epiphanies and slow revelations are coiled into her stories, like DNA inside a cell. And like a double helix, their structure is impossibly elegant. She is also wonderful because, to some extent, I think she writes what she does not know, quietly flouting what Ben Yagoda in this week’s NYT cites as the third of the three cardinal rules of writing. First is “Kill your darlings” second is “Show don’t tell,” both well-worn but worthy cliches of the craft that I lean on heavily.  This third one I’m not so sure about.  Yagoda concedes that WWYK is a notion is “rightly scorned as leading to the literary solipsism that, in fact, so many short stories, novels, essays and memoirs exhibit.”   Still he argues that the “motto is nonetheless true.”  Yagoda expands the definition of “what you know” to include what you research and learn, thank goodness, but I’m still skeptical.   One of my favorite Trueblood characters is a convicted murderess, and I am pretty certain that Valerie has not done time.

What do you think? Do you WWYN? Where do you come down in your experience as a reader, as a writer? How far do you venture outside your comfort zone?

 

 

December 15, 2011   Michael   Michael, West Coast  
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Merriment

Tonight is DGLM’s annual holiday party, one which I’m so happy to be attending. Now that I live on the West Coast, my attendance isn’t a given. But I’ve only missed one party thus far, the year that I moved, and I’m happy to have attended the rest (and I did Skype in for the one I missed). I’d love to tell you that these are wild, crazy parties with lots of drunken reveling and debauchery. But, for better or worse, they don’t tend to get raucous; we are, after all, book people. But it’s a great time for all of us to get together and recount the year’s successes, as well as recall the ghosts of Christmases (and employees) past. Our favorite holiday party story involves a former co-worker (whom we all adore), two glasses of wine, an inflatable fruitcake, and her napping under the conference table.  At 9 PM. This will surely come up tonight.
What will also come up tonight is what a great year it’s been for us all. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we’re very excited about the year to come. And as always, we are grateful to our amazing clients and colleagues in the industry who make our jobs so fulfilling. We’ll drink to all of you tonight. Cheers!
February 25, 2011   Michael   fun, Michael, nonfiction, West Coast  
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I like to talk about the weather

There’s a real possibility that it might snow here in LA over the next couple of days!  Overnight temps here are supposed to get into the low 30s, and there could be snow at elevations as low as 500 feet.  Craziness, especially considering how warm things were up until last weekend.  But yes, folks, it really can get cold here in sunny California, and it can actually get cloudy, too–today is one of those days (though as I typed those words, the sun broke through the clouds–it can’t be kept down for long).

What’s this got to do with books?  Probably not much, but I’m feeling the blogger’s block this week, and I was tickled by this Jacket Copy post on the weather and the Farmer’s Almanac.  For those that know me, I’m a bit of a Farmer’s Almanac fanboy.  I have no use for the information, really–I don’t garden–but I love both weather and predictions, so it’s the perfect combination for me.  And it’s impressive just how often they get it right, even if they seemed to have missed the mark with this cold snap we’re having.

Any other Almanac fans out there?

November 05, 2009   DG&B   about us, calendar, changes at DGLM, conferences, fun, Michael, queries, SCBWI, Twitter, West Coast, What's New at DGLM  
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California dreaming

As my clients know, and as many of you may have heard, I’m moving to Los Angeles at the end of this month to open up a West Coast office for DGLM. I’m really excited about starting something new, and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for my clients, the agency and me.

I’ve had a few questions about how this will work, so I’ll try to address those here. First and foremost: I want to be very clear that I will continue to agent my amazing clients, and I remain on the lookout for exceptionally talented new authors. I’m a literary agent, and that’s not going to change.

Though I’ll be living and working in L.A., you can expect to see me in New York. Often. I’ll be back at the end of January for more than a week (I’ll be attending the SCBWI Winter conference to do the roundtables on January 29), meeting with editors, publishers and, of course, authors. There will be several trips like that throughout the year, so you New Yorkers can breathe easy (or not!).

I’ll be working New York hours, at my desk about 9:30 AM – 7 PM Eastern time, and I’ll be at my new phone number, 310-363-0252. That number is already live, so feel free to call me there any time (it’s forwarded to ring me wherever I am). My email remains the same: mbourret@dystel.com. I’ll still be on Twitter, where I’ll try to be more active–computer issues have kept me off a bit that past couple of weeks–and you’ll see me blogging more than before.

Speaking of Twitter, I asked my followers there for questions they wanted answered about the move. Either they’re all comedians or already knew everything, but here are a couple of questions and answers:

Question: Is it true that people sparkle in LA? :)

Answer: I don’t know, but I’ll find out and will let you know.

Question: Could you cover submission guidelines and how to submit, if that’s changed?

Answer: Great question! I’m now only accepting email queries. Please do not mail queries to the New York office. (Though all other official mail should still go to the New York office.)

Question: Do you remember driving? I would love to see how that’s treating you.

Answer: I actually drive several times a year, and I didn’t grow up in NYC, so driving isn’t going to be new. Getting a car, however, is a very bizarre notion. I’m going to have to bring a friend because I have no clue how it works!

-Michael