By Emily Witt 12/08/11 9:12am

Goodbye to all that

Silverberg, right, singing with Bob Morris in 2008.

Hi Ho Silverberg! Lit Agent Books it to Washington, Leaves Publishing Bereft

Everybody in New York publishing is very happy for Ira Silverberg. The former literary agent, a fixture in the industry for 26 years, started his new job as literary director at the National Endowment for the Arts earlier this week. And from the day his departure was announced to the day the job began, colleagues and clients have affected determined good cheer.

“I’m sorry for his writers,” said Sarah Burnes, a literary agent and friend. “But I’m happy for the writers of America.”

“It’s the perfect job for him,” said Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review, “securing money for worthy projects — especially projects that aren’t on the face of it worthy or obvious.”

But beneath all the breezy congratulations a hint of dread could be detected. Ira Silverberg might have left New York, but was New York ready to lose Ira Silverberg? Especially to Washington D.C.? Read More

By Emily Witt 10/26/11 8:00am

orthography

Greenman, spelling champion.

Ben Greenman Beats Nancy Franklin and Jonathan Burnham in Literary Spelling Bee, Occupies Alphabet

The contestants represented New York’s spelling elite. Many of them had whole careers’ worth of spelling behind them, elevated reputations and steady salaries underpinned by the public’s faith in their agility with words.

Now, sitting in two rows before an audience on the third floor of the Standard Hotel, wearing comically large name tags and sparkly bumblebee antennae that bobbled gently as they fidgeted, they awaited the bloodletting. Read More

By Emily Witt 5/25/11 12:18am

Novel Ideas

The Laborious (Boring?) Lit Life

“You should write about how boring BookExpo America is,” New York literary agent Ira Silverberg told Transom. “Yeah, right,” we thought.

But then there we were, at a BEA  kick-off party thrown by Flavorpill and Electric Literature at Le Bain, on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel, which someone remarked was like standing atop a Read More

By Leon Neyfakh 7/21/09 9:02pm

Hey, Look at All These Novels to Read!

Fall is coming.

In publishing, this signals the start of a season that many believe has the best chance of any in recent memory to redeem the industry after one of its darkest years, and to show that, even in 2009, big, beautiful hit books are still possible. 

Many publishers are saying their fall catalogs Read More

By Matt Haber 9/10/08 11:42am

Lineup for September 10, 2008

What happened to NBC, wonders Felix Gillette. "In recent days, MSNBC’s president, Mr. Griffin, has told a number of reporters that the change was not made as a result of outside pressure. Still, some TV insiders continue to play the MSNBC parlor game, speculating about how and why the McCain camp appeared to have Read More

By Leon Neyfakh 5/30/08 11:18am

What Is the Former JT Leroy Selling at BEA?

LOS ANGELES, May 30—Ira Silverberg had not seen his former client Laura Albert in almost a year. The last time was in a Manhattan courtroom, when Ms. Albert stood trial for pretending to be a young man with H.I.V. named JT Leroy. She wrote books under this name, and had Mr. Silverberg, a literary agent, Read More