In the wake of dwindling magazine subscriptions and more layoffs, a new editor-in-chief is welcomed to a brand new publication inspired by an old journalistic tradition.

Tablet, a daily online Jewish magazine dedicated to news, ideas and culture has named Alana Newhouse as their EIC.

Alana, former mb journalism instructor and former arts and culture editor at the Forward, another Jewish daily, notes the changes of the industry in her welcome letter on the site, but remains optimistic.

"These are difficult times for journalism, uncertain times for the economy, and challenging times for Jews throughout the world.

Launching a new journalistic site devoted to Jewish life now is, in many ways, an act of audacity. It requires faith in the journalistic profession and a strong sense of mission, but most of all it requires the right people."

Tablet, launched on Tuesday, is a project for the nonprofit Nextbook Inc. and will feature a broad range of cultural coverage.

Congratulations Alana!

--Lisa Fraser

RELATED: Upcoming Journalism courses at mediabistro.com
Upcoming memoir writing courses at mediabisto.com

Twin sisters and mb alums Ellen and Julia Lupton released their latest book, Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things, today.

Design Your Life gets big blurb love from Kurt Andersen, who says, "I've never encountered a book about design so smart and fun and unpretentious and easy to love."

Design your Life is an irreverent take on objects and how we interact with them. Illustrated with charming original paintings, the book argues that design is "much more than what's bought at high-end stores or the modern look at IKEA" -- it's critical, creative thinking. Read it to find out what's wrong with potted plants, pillows, bras, and "the other hopeless stuff you use, buy, water or put away everyday."

The sisters took Brett Leveridge's online humor writing course together. They credit Brett with helping them "develop a light, direct tone for this book about how stuff works and fails to work in ordinary situations."

The twins also write the popular Design-Your-Life blog and have separately and together authored a number of other books, including Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students and DIY: Kids.

--Lisa Fraser

RELATED: Upcoming Humor Writing courses at mediabistro.com

Ronald Cotton, Lesley Stahl, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and Erin Torneo at the Picking Cotton book party March 9. Photo by Sascha Paladino.

Writing a memoir can be a daunting task. Writing a memoir on a true story involving mistaken eyewitness testimony and wrongful convictions can be even more challenging.
Erin Torneo, co-author of Picking Cotton, shares with us how she helped construct this true story of hope and forgiveness and provides her personal experience on how she has dealt with the recession as a writer and her next step:

Can you explain your recent book project, Picking Cotton. How would you describe the process?

Picking Cotton is the true story of the unlikely friendship forged between a woman and the man she misidentified as her rapist and sent to prison for eleven years. I worked on the book with the two people it is about, Jennifer Thompson Cannino and Ronald Cotton. The case, State of North Carolina v. Ronald Junior Cotton, is frequently taught in law schools as an important example of the dangers of eyewitness testimony. One of main things we hope this book does is educate people about the relationship between mistaken eyewitness testimony and wrongful convictions, and increase awareness of reform measures needed throughout the United States. But beyond that, the human interest element of the case--the incredible ordeals of Jennifer and Ron and their extraordinary reconciliation--made it the kind of story a writer dreams about. You just couldn't make up anything better.

After the jump: advice for breaking into publishing and life after 60 Minutes.

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In the hyper-sharing digital age of blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, everyone seems to have an opinion to express in a public forum. As social media platforms fade in and out, one medium that has withstood time as a credible and highly regarded source of opinion is the op-ed section.

Lion Calandra, editor of the op-ed page of the Daily News, and mediabistro.com Op-Ed Writing instructor, shares with us how op-eds have been influenced by the current economy and the future of op-eds within an unsteady media landscape.

Read our interview after the jump.

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Susan Shapiro recently sold her first novel, Speed Shrinking, in a two book deal to St. Martin's Press thanks to her new agent (and fellow mb instructor) Ryan Fischer-Harbage.

Sue sold the book, which is about food addiction, while she was fasting on Yom Kippur. It should be coming out August 2009. She says, "I've been trying fiction since 1981 and this is the first word of it I've ever sold. (Of course my family and husband think everything I've written has been fiction.)"

Sue is the author of several memoirs including Lighting Up, Five Men Who Broke My Heart, and Only As Good as Your Word.

RELATED:

Upcoming novel writing courses at mediabistro.com
Upcoming book proposal writing courses with agent and instructor Ryan-Fischer Harbage

Lawrence Everett Forbes joins the long list of mediabistro students to publish in The New York Times' Modern Love column. His essay, "A Brother as Significant as Any Other," explores the relationship of a pair of gay and straight siblings. Mediabistro's connection to Modern Love goes back to the inaugural column, written by instructor and man-about-town Steve Friedman.

During his mediabistro class, Lawrence wrote an essay about the effects of his spinal surgery on his family. It was published on Newsweek.com.

Lawrence is currently polishing up his first memoir, which has attracted the attention of literary agents. Meanwhile, check out his blog, "Notes of a Bourgeois Dork".

RELATED:

Upcoming journalism courses at mediabistro.com

Kelly McMasters' memoir Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town got a shout-out from O, the Oprah Magazine: "[Kelly] also pulls off a small miracle in the telling, making rundown, unbeautiful Shirley a place of dignity, a place of heroic people and stubborn fighters, a place you'd be proud to call home."

You can also watch Kelly on the telly (sorry) in an interview on the CW11 Morning News.

RELATED:

Courses with Kelly McMasters at mediabistro.com

Funny lady Cindy Perman says she got her first book deal "as a direct result" of her Humor Writing class. Ha! Her new book, New York Curiosities, is part of a state-by-state series from the Globe Pequot Press, and will definitely liven up your summer road trips. Cindy's also a writer at CNBC.com, covering the stock market and personal finance.

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Fiction instructor Jackson Taylor sold his novel The Blue Orchard to Touchstone/Fireside at Simon & Schuster. Fun fact: Jackson met his agent, Nonfiction Book Proposal instructor Ryan Fischer Harbage, through the magic of mediabistro.

RELATED:

Courses with Jackson Taylor at mediabistro.com

Dashka Slater's latest children's book The Sea Serpent and Me (Houghton Mifflin) was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection. Our favorite of the rave reviews says it's "the sort of book that children will remember for years, with images that wend their way into the landscape of dreams." Aww.

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