Your Unsolicited Manuscript Is A Sign That The End Is Near

Appalled by declining morality and expanding chaos, people have been predicting the apocalypse since time immemorial--incorrectly, of course. But this dire forecast from an Assyrian clay tablet dating back to 2800 BCE offers an unusual twist:

“Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching” [my italics].

I can only assume that the Assyrian soothsayer was a freelance editor wearied by the constant stream of mediocre manuscripts--clay tablets, I mean--dropped on his doorstep by would-be authors . . . 

Remembering Carol Southern

It has been a steamy summer of unsettled weather here in New York as well as a time of stubborn recalcitrance and lack of progress in the economy and in politics.  But for us in CEA it will always be remembered as the summer we lost our friend Carol Southern.  In her years at Clarkson Potter she was known for editing beautiful books, finely designed and filled with colorful images drawn from life, which actually is a reasonable accurate description of Carol's personality as well.  Not only was Carol a long-time sweet and generous presence in our conversations, she also graciously hosted many CEA meetings in her West Side apartment filled with memories of life with her husband, the dangerously witty Terry Southern.

We miss her already.