Pohlman Reaps a Bountiful Literary Harvest

Matt Cheney of The Mumpsimus does something I wish I’d thought of doing (or, to be honest, that I wish I’d followed up on when it crossed my mind months ago): he interviews Harvest editorial director Tina Pohlman about how she’s brought hot new writers who published in hardcover with small presses—Kelly Link, Lydia Millet, Laila Lalami, Michelle Tea, and Salvador Plascencia—to her trade paperback line. Her acquisition strategy has a beautiful simplicity:

“I bought The People of Paper, Magic for Beginners, and Oh Pure and Radiant Heart first and foremost because I read them and fell in love with them. I also realized that all three writers were clearly going to keep writing wonderful books, so I saw lots of publishing potential for the future, which just gave me another good reason to acquire them.”

About the only thing I would’ve done differently if I’d been having that conversation with Pohlman would be to ask about last January’s dance with Houghton Mifflin, in which she almost became that house’s trade paper editorial director until Harvest countered with a promotion from her then-status as senior editor. It certainly sounded at the time as if more than just money factored into her announced departure and subsequent return, and it would’ve been illuminating to learn more about her editorial motivations.

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