Alison Gervais Tell us a little about yourself. My name is Alison Gervais and I am the Director of Production at Abrams Books. I oversee our Adult and Kids divisions as well as some imprints under the Abrams Comic Arts division. I moved to the Bronx just a few years ago after 25 years in Brooklyn. I have a 3-month-old Mini Goldendoodle named Quinn and besides books, I love running, art, knitting, and music. How did you become involved with NYBF? I previously ran the program committee for the Book Industry Guild of New York and after several years of not being involved in industry-related or ..read more

This is the first in a series highlighting the people who make NYBF happen! Tell us a little about yourself I’m Brigid Black, Senior Production Manager at Simon & Schuster and Vice President of the New York Book Forum. I’m originally from Brooklyn. My family uprooted to southern Maine in 2020 when remote work became a reality. I’ve been working from home ever since. My non-book related interests include softball, snowshoeing, and karaoke. How did you become involved with NYBF? I was brought into the fold during the heart of the pandemic. NYBF had a broad focus on literacy and the large ..read more

By Tyler Carey For the past few years, getting together at the end of the year to celebrate as we typically did pre-pandemic was challenging for a lot of folks for obvious reasons. Even last year, as I attempted to put together a small focus group meeting in mid-December for one of the markets we serve, I found that the 2021 Omicron surge was still front of mind for a lot of New Yorkers and we had a lot of last minute cancellations. All of this was completely understandable for everyone’s own decisions about their situation and the safety of themselves and their loved ones. So, it was a refres ..read more

By Anne McCarthy Once upon a time, in the early aughts, podcasts—a portmanteau created from the words iPod and broadcasts—were a newfangled, mysterious medium developed to download online radio broadcasts to iPods. Today, in 2023, there are over three million podcasts worldwide, according to ListenNotes. However, only 44 percent of those podcasts create more than three episodes. Yet there are still over 150,000 podcasts in the world releasing weekly episodes to loyal listeners. Popular podcasts focus on every imaginable topic, from the practical (finance, health, money, parenting) to th ..read more

By Anne McCarthy The robots are coming . . . they may even be coming for our jobs! Or, at least, that’s what some recent headlines may have people believing about artificial intelligence (AI) software like ChatGPT, or AI proofreading apps, such as Proofcheck. But is it true? “I’m a copywriter. I’m pretty sure artificial intelligence is going to take my job,” writes Henry Williams for The Guardian in an Op-Ed earlier this year. The author writes, “My amusement turned to horror: it took ChatGPT 30 seconds to create, for free, an article that would take me hours to write.” Alan Henry, auth ..read more

By Anne McCarthy Actress Viola Davis joined EGOT status when she won a Grammy this month for her audiobook performance for her memoir Finding Me, published by HarperCollins in April 2022. The Hollywood powerhouse now has a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and she has her work in the audiobook field to thank for this newly minted status. Accepting her award, Davis said joyfully at the Grammy’s, “I wrote this book to honor the six-year-old Viola, to honor her, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything.” The demand for audiobooks, such as Finding Me, continues to rise am ..read more

A Preview of 2023 Programming Looking ahead at the year to come New York Book Forum is excited to announce a slate of events and informational panels for 2023! This year’s lineup features a wide range of topics, including modern marketing, self-publishing, romance novels, and more. While we are still finalizing the details and dates for each event, we are committed to providing dynamic and engaging experiences for all attendees, with some panels in-person, and others virtual. Join us for an unforgettable year of learning and stay tuned for more information about March’s event coming soon ..read more

We are happy to announce the election of PEGGY SAMEDI as president of New York Book Forum. Peggy has been a regular attendee of board meetings in her capacity as co-chair for the New York Book Show and formally joined the board as a director in 2022. The convergence of Peggy’s steadfast support of the Forum, publishing industry experience, and calm leadership make her ideally suited for this position. Please join us in congratulating her! We are also pleased that BRIGID BLACK has been elected as vice president. Brigid has been an active board member since February of 2021. Her energy and enth ..read more

Happy New Year! We at the New York Book Forum are pleased to introduce a new feature for 2023: podcast-formatted versions of our virtual and live events! Our first foray into audio was recorded December 12, 2022: “Opening a Bookstore”—The How-To Guide for Design, Market Outreach, and Success—is an exclusive peek into the debut of P&T Knitwear in lower Manhattan. The conversation runs approximately 1hr 16min. LAUREN WHITE-JACKSON (our program director) was joined by JOSEPH DEMES, events and outreach manager; SERGE RODRIGUEZ, floor supervisor and podcast studio coordinator; and JULIE WERNE ..read more

By Anne McCarthy Washington lawyer Robert Barnett is one of the premier authors’ representatives in the world for political books. His clients include Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Dick Cheney. Barnett, who’s a partner at D.C. law firm Williams & Connolly, tells New York Book Forum why he believes political books remain so popular. He says over email, “Political books sell because politics is fascinating (and sometimes maddening) to many. The personalities, the issues, and the twists and turns are often more surprising than the best of fiction.” Barnett’s client President ..read more