Pop Culture Publishing: Liars, Werewolves, and Mockingjays

Moderator Justin Chanda, Vice President & Publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and Margaret K. McElderry Books

A sea of familiar faces greeted attendees of the thirteenth NYU Media Talk, sponsored by the NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing Digital & Print Media. Sure, students and faculty filled a jam-packed Rosenthal Pavilion at the Kimmel Center, but what instantly got the crowd buzzing were the displays of book cover blow-ups featuring today’s most beloved characters of young adult fiction, including Bella Swan, Sebastian Verlac, and Emily Fields. The latest NYU Media Talk was titled “Pop Culture Publishing: Young Adult Megahits,” and everyone in attendance wanted the answer to one particular question: “What is the secret sauce to producing hits like Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments, or Pretty Little Liars?” Indeed, as young adult books continue to transcend their traditional audience and shape a new generation of readers (including plenty of adults!), the publishing industry is actively trying to understand how and why children’s books succeed in acquiring their blockbuster-level status.

On the Inside at Time Out New York

Time Out New York Editor Freidson with M.S. in Publishing students

The Students of the M.S. in Publishing program at NYU-SCPS ventured this week to the place that helps turn events into hot parties and couch potatoes into busy bodies: Time Out New York (TONY).

Michael Freidson, editor-in-chief of Time Out New York, welcomed us in an industrial-chic conference room with whiteboards covered in notes about cover and story ideas. Freidson, in beaten denim jeans and a sharp powder blue dress shirt, began with the history of the weekly print magazine. Englishman Tony Elliott created Time Out in his bedroom in London in 1968 because, said Freidson, “there wasn’t a resource that could digest all of the events going on in London at the time.”