Chicago Publishers Come Together for Spring Meeting

his past Thursday night I had the pleasure of attending the Department of Cultural Affair’s first ever gathering of Chicago publishers for a discussion of “What’s new and what’s next in Chicago publishing.” The event took place at Maxim’s, which was fabulous. The entire place was decorated with plush red carpet, chandeliers, and gold rimmed paintings and mirrors. The event was meant to be just a gathering of people who work in or with the publishing industry in Chicago, and it was packed. I met senior editors and web personalities, such as Bookslut’s very own Jessa Crispin.

The highlight of the event was a panel discussion between three important personalities in Chicago publishing. The panel featured Garrett Kiely, director of the University of Chicago Press, Rick Kogan author, columnist, and radio star, and Donna Seaman, associate editor of Booklist.  The three answered prepared questions about the nature of the industry in Chicago. The first question was simple: what brought you into the publishing industry? Immediately Rick responded by saying that he had always been around writers, that his parents were writers and often threw parties that many famous people in the industry attended, and thus he got his start. He said, “I’m a romantic about writing.” He didn’t think there was any other path for him in life other than writing. Garrett, a publisher first and foremost, began his career with Acropolis in D.C.. From there he moved on to St. Martin’s Press in New York. He recently moved to Chicago and said he thinks that the industry here is doing something important that isn’t happening in New York. Donna cited the fact that she had worked in all of the different parts of the industry, and that she really gets to have her hands dirty with the whole process of producing literature at Booklist, which she loves.

Everyone at the meeting seemed to be worried about the future of publishing, so the next question was, “What remains the same in the industry? What don’t you give up?” Rick responded, “The word,” by which he meant the love of reading and the love of good writing. Garrett concured, saying that no matter what medium is used, the quality of writing needs to stay the same. Donna cited her appreciation for all kinds of media, including radio and newspaper.

Another question on everyone’s mind in Chicago’s industry seems to be, how do we compare to New York. What does the Windy City have the the Big Apple doesn’t? Garrett cited the positives to having a smaller industry. Instead of having niche groups, like children’s books, romance novels, etc. we have the advantage of inter-group communication. Rick has had books published here and in New York, and said that Chicago publishing was infinitely better. He really likes the personal aspect to the industry that he finds here, rather than the Hollywood atmosphere that exsists in New York. Donna cited how big the industry has gotten recently in Chicago, noting the prevalence of MFA programs.

Rick also noted, on the Chicago industry, that we need leaders to stand up and help point the industry in the right direction. He noted that this will likely be the last year that the Tribune will be sponsering Printer’s Row. At this point, a Q&A session was started with the crowd, that ended rather abruptly when a representative from Another Chicago Magazine voiced his opinions on online publishing. The crowd quickly divulged into chatting in smaller groups.

I think that the meeting was a positive one, since so many people got to netword within the industry and a lot of ideas were shared. The Cultural Center is planning on hosting events of this kind every few months, so I’ll keep you posted on what goes down at each one.