Author James Ellroy joins Walter Kirn on BylinerTV for a conversation where nothing is restrained and the boundaries of polite conversation are obliterated.

Ellroy testifies to the vile and glorious corners of L.A., and shares his visions of history without refracting the present day. With all the confidence of a shotgun blast, he tears through the politically correct limits on discussion and breathes fire with each admission and opinion. From his roots in writing, crime, fame fascination and current events, it’s an interview that could be measured on the Richter scale.

Chip Kidd, Associate Art Director at Knopf Books, Peter Mendelsund, Art Director for Pantheon Press, and Stephen Doyle, Creative Director, Doyle Partners; Design Contributor, New York Times and Wired, discuss whether cutting edge visual design can save the print industry. The talk is moderated by Darhil Crooks, Creative Director for the Atlantic, and way down below is the video-taped footage of the event.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
Location: New York Historical Society, NYC

The first Speaker is Chip Kidd and he starts out talking a little bit about working with Neil Gaiman on Neil’s new book, MAKE GOOD ART : Neil Gaiman’s Speech Book. Which, by the way, is coming out on Wednesday, May 15th. Yes, that’s tomorrow! Very quickly, Chip Kidd gives a preview of what the book will look like, discusses some of the design ideas and concepts, and then (in a very sneaky way) he shamelessly plugs his own book that is coming out in October of 2013. We’re talking about his “Teaching Graphic Art to Kids” Book which is titled, “GO! A KIDD’S GUIDE TO GRAPHIC DESIGN“.

Then, next-up is Peter Mendelsund who quickly shares an amazing assortment of some of his work. Like Chip, he mainly designs book covers. But his graphic art has an interesting twist. He designs jackets for new books that are expected to be bestsellers AND he creates new covers for old classics, what they call the “back list”, and it’s all really great stuff like: Franz Kafka, Dante, Plato, Simone De Beauyoir, James Joyce, etc…

Peter also makes a shameless plug for his brand-new Design Book coming out in the Spring of 2014 titled, “COVER” by Peter Mendelsund. It looks pretty cool!

Then, the last guest (last, but NOT least) is Stephen Doyle who shares an amazing art-concept movie he created called CIPHER. This was a project he worked on with some Students and the end result is pretty interesting. He also discusses recent trends in publishing & print media.

Design for change. Design for good. Design for a better world.

These are the premises that fuel DESIGN INDABA. Their goal is for a better world through design, creativity and innovation.

Chip Kidd spoke at their 2011 event and while in Barcelona he stumbled across a caf decorated with book covers that he had designed. He found this both strange… and rather great!

BOOKSCOUT provides readers with personalized book recommendations based on people's Facebook timelines. The app also recommends popular titles - published by both Random House, Inc. and non Random House, Inc. imprints — readers are Liking, sharing, and adding to their bookshelves within the app. It also presents bestsellers from all publishers broken out by category, based on industry sales data.

Information about people's interests from their Facebook timelines is incorporated into the personal recommendations, and Liking books via the app helps create more tailored suggestions - the more books and interests users Like, the better the recommendations will be. Recommendations feature titles from all publishers, and include links to major retailers so people can easily purchase print books and eBooks they're interested in.

Readers can create and organize their own digital bookshelves, sharing what they're currently reading with their Facebook friends, tagging books they'd like to read, and keeping track of books they've read. People can also see what their friends are reading, encouraging organic word-of-mouth recommendations.

"Word of mouth is the number one way readers learn and get enthusiastic about books they want to read," says Amanda Close, Random House's Senior Vice President, Digital Marketplace Development. "By creating BookScout, Random House is helping to encourage conversations about books on Facebook, and broaden the social discovery of books in the digital space."

BOOKSCOUT is the latest initiative in Random House's in-house-developed efforts to guide readers in book discovery, including web verticals like Word & Film, Everyday eBook, Biographile and Suvudu, each of which feature interviews, news and reviews of books in their respective categories, and partnerships with Politico, Epicurious and Publishers Lunch to integrate books and authors onto their sites.

For more information about BookScout and to install the app, please CLICK HERE!

Here’s a video that is a part of the ongoing series created by Random House Books called, “Inside Random House”. These short features give all of us a small glimpse into the workings of the famous publishing house. This particular clip is titled, “Digital Product Innovation”. Here is their quote:

“The way we transform book content into digital experiences is rapidly evolving. Join some of our key in-house digital product experts as they give you an insight into how they approach their work, and highlight a few of our exciting new digital products. Tune in!”

MAY 9th, 2013 | NEW YORK CITY
MANHATTAN PENTHOUSE
“An Evening with Chip Kidd” by Chip Kidd ’86, associate art director for Alfred A. Knopf
Co-sponsored by the Penn State College of Arts & Architecture

Enter the world of renowned author, editor, and graphic designer Chip Kidd '86, called by USA Today "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design. The Manhattan Penthouse, a stately loft overlooking the heights of New York City, will furnish the perfect backdrop for an elegant and exclusive evening, as Kidd shares an insider's look at highlights of his design career spanning over a quarter century and counting. In his signature charismatic style, Kidd will also regale attendees with special previews of future projects. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with fellow Penn Staters during a cocktail reception and a three-course seated dinner, as the city lights gleam through the Penthouse's stunning glass views.

Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his innovative book covers, including notably the iconic T-Rex image he designed for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Kidd is currently associate art director at Knopf, an imprint of Random House. Publishers Weekly has described his book jackets as “creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature." Kidd's TED talk of 2012 has garnered over 600,000 views to date. He was a 2004 Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Fellow Award recipient.

Thursday, May 9, 2013
6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Manhattan Penthouse on 5th Avenue
80 5th Avenue
New York City, New York 10011
212.627.8838

$35 Alumni Association members
$50 non-members

All registrants must be at least 21 years old, as alcohol will be served. Business attire is suggested.

SCHEDULE:

For further information please CLICK HERE!

Here’s some really great Publishing News! Over at the NPR BOOKS website they recently did a very excellent Book Review for Brian Kimberling’s debut novel, SNAPPER. The article was written by Petra Mayer and we could not be happier with the way she really understands the people in this story. The book’s main focus is very character driven & her insight is smart & clever. So, please check it out very soon, here’s a LINK!

Oh yeah, this book was just recently released by Pantheon, a division of Random House.

Pantheon Books (Random House) has just released some Book Signing Dates for SNAPPER by the Author Brian Kimbering! So, please check the list down below, and if you live near by, then be sure to get your copy autographed by the author! Remember: Signed First Editions, especially that of a debut novel, are always worth WAY more! Plus, it’s always fun to meet a favorite Writer.

For further information about new events arriving, please CLICK HERE!

We have some important “Publishing News” to share here that is both kind of sad and also a reason to celebrate. Doubleday Books (Random House) has plans to posthumously publish David Rakoff’s last book, “”Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel”, and it should be available at your favorite bookstores around mid-July, 2013.

Sadly, David Rakoff passed away last year but this is not keeping his latest book from making it to the presses. We’re sure that David would love knowing that his fans will get one more chance to be entertained by his stories. Seriously, David was truly an original and he always had a very unique writing style. He is one of the finest and funniest essayists of our time. He was also a really great guy.

Also, as a side-note, we want to mention that the cover for this book was designed by Chip Kidd, who was both a business colleague, and most importantly, a good friend. Knowing this is what makes everything sort of bittersweet. But this book getting out there is really a tribute to David Rakoff’s genius, we hope you enjoy reading it.

Since David Rakoff’s next book, “Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: a Novel” will be published posthumously this year by Doubleday (Random House) we thought we would mention an extremely wonderful thing done by WBEZ Chicago Radio at their Official Website for THIS AMERICAN LIFE.

Besides being a very talented Author, David Rakoff also made many appearances at Book Tours, Lectures, and, most notably, on a Radio Show called THIS AMERICAN LIFE. Down below is a “Special Tribute to David” they broadcasted after he passed away. Please give it a listen. Then, on their site, you can listen to many different shows that David actually appeared in. There are some really good ones like “Who’s Canadian?”, “Poultry Slam 1998″, “Office Politics”, and many more. There are even some very good interviews. So, to be very entertained, please CLICK HERE.

Also, you can look for David’s last book to hit bookstores around mid-July, 2013.