Philip and Ewan, Jan 2021

I recently published some good news about my company and my son Ewan on my blog and am happy I can share it here, too:

I am excited to announce that Ewan Turner is working as Executive Editor and Literary Agent with Philip Turner Book Productions, the editorial services company/literary agency I have been operating since 2009. He is heading up a new division, New Stories, devoted to cultivating bold new work, including fiction, memoir, and essays. Ewan is a fiction writer himself, and a 2019 BFA graduate of The New School. He was the summer 2018 editor of KGB Bar Lit Mag and frequently led readings and open mics. In 2017, he self-published "Sotapanna," a poetry chapbook that was featured at KGB poetry night and at PhotoBookWorks Gallery, Beacon, New York. As an editorial assistant, he has worked with such authors as playwright Mart Crowley; photojournalist Ruth Gruber; literary scholar Michael Patrick Hearn; and Hilary Knight, illustrator of the Eloise books. While we are working together on a number of projects, Ewan also has several of his own clients already and is eager to hear from and consult with more prospective clients. He can be reached at ewanmturner[at]gmail[dot]com and his direct messages are open on Twitter, @EMTurnerBooks.

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Book deals made by Philip Turner Book Productions announced on publishersmarketplace.com:

Culture/Pop Culture
August 12, 2022
Public Theater founder Joe Papp's wife, who worked in the theater world for most of her career, Gail Merrifield Papp's PUBLIC/PRIVATE: MY YEARS WITH JOE PAPP AT THE PUBLIC THEATER, a history of the Public Theater that blends an affecting memoir of the author's life with its founder Joe Papp, and a behind-the-scenes portrait of the influential theater's dazzling history, to John Cerullo at Applause Books, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world). Audiobook rights sold to Audible, as well.

Fiction: Debut
July 23, 2021 THE BARRENS, by Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson
Father and daughter team Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson's THE BARRENS: A NOVEL OF LOVE AND DEATH IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC, a white-water adventure combined with a coming-of-age tale that features two young women canoeing on one of North America's most remote rivers, set amid their tragic love and loss, to Cal Barksdale at Arcade, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Non-fiction: Politics/Current Affairs
April 12, 2022
Foreign languages educator and advocate for immigrants John Webb's MOLYVOS: A GREEK VILLAGE'S HEROIC RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS, a reconstruction of the refugee crisis that washed up on the shores of the Greek village of Molyvos in 2015 and 2016, when local restaurateurs and shop owners bootstrapped an effective DIY humanitarian response to the waves of migrants crossing the Aegean, without aid from international NGOs for nearly the entire period, to Tom Swanson at Potomac Books, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Non-fiction: General
November 10, 2021
Author of 1920: THE YEAR OF THE SIX PRESIDENTS and 1960: LBJ VS JFK VS NIXON—THE EPIC CAMPAIGN THAT FORGED THREE PRESIDENCIES David Pietrusza's 1936: FDR'S WILD LANDSLIDE AND THE ELECTION THAT RAN ON HATE, a panorama of presidential and political personalities, ambitions, plots, and counterplots; racism, anti-Semitism, anti-socialism, and anti-communism; and a referendum on FDR's New Deal policies in the 1936 presidential election, to Keith Wallman at Diversion Books, for publication in spring 2022, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Health

Co-authors of Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob Bob Delaney and Dave Scheiber's HEROES ARE HUMAN: LESSONS IN RESILIENCE, COURAGE, AND WISDOM FROM THE COVID FRONT LINES, a book of comfort for healthcare workers who've been besieged amid the pandemic, the people who love them, and for everyone who seeks a deeper understanding of their immense sacrifices and struggles; a message of healing and acceptance with firsthand accounts from the COVID trenches with guidance on self-care, to David Wilk at City Point Press, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Audio rights also sold for this book, to Tantor Media, for simultaneous publication on Sept 27, 2023.
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History/Politics/Current Affairs

Author of ORDERS TO KILL Amy Knight's THE KREMLIN'S NOOSE: VLADIMIR PUTIN'S BLOOD FEUD WITH THE OLIGARCH WHO MADE HIM RULER OF RUSSIA, focusing on the epic clash between Vladimir Putin and media mogul Boris Berezovsky, who played an outsized role in the rise of the Russian president, to Amy Farranto at Northern Illinois University Press/Cornell University Press, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2023, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

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Pop Culture
Author of BRING THAT BEAT BACK: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop Nate Patrin's PICTURE SHOW PLAYLIST: POP MUSIC IN FILM FROM THE CRYSTALS TO RIHANNA, a compendium of essays detailing the use of pop songs in eighteen different motion pictures from The Crystals' "He's a Rebel" in Scorpio Rising, to Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" in Blue Velvet, to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World, to Rihanna's "We Found Love" in American Honey, covering musical genres ranging from jazz to disco to rap to punk and more, and examining how the music's usage in films changed the way we understand songs, albums, styles, and the musicians themselves, to Erik Anderson at University of Minnesota Press, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2022, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
philipsturner@gmail.com
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History/Politics/Current Affairs
Author of RICHARD TREGASKIS: Reporting Under Fire From Guadalcanal to Vietnam, Ray Boomhower's THE ULTIMATE PROTEST: MALCOLM W. BROWNE, VIETNAM, AND THE PHOTO THAT STUNNED THE WORLD, a biography of Browne, AP bureau chief in Saigon, joined to a chronicle of the iconic photo he shot of the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who in 1963 set himself alight to protest the policies of the government of South Vietnam, a horrific prelude to America's descent into war in Southeast Asia, to Michael Millman at University of New Mexico Press, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2023, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

philipsturner@gmail.com

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Pop Culture

Translator of Alexandre Dumas's Musketeers Cycle, aka Lawrence Schick, an original writer on the team that developed Dungeons & Dragons, Lawrence Ellsworth's CINEMA OF SWORDS: A POPULAR GUIDE TO MOVIES & TV SHOWS ABOUT KNIGHTS, PIRATES, AND VIKINGS (PLUS SAMURAI AND MUSKETEERS), a pop reference tome containing reviews of hundreds of action movies and TV shows about knights, pirates, samurai, Vikings, and gladiators, swashbuckling heroes like Zorro and Robin Hood—cinematic lionhearts who solve problems at the point of a sword, from Sinbad to Kurosawa, from to "Spartacus" to "The Princess Bride," to John Cerullo at Applause Books, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2023, by Philip Turner and Ewan Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

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AUDIO

Janet Somerville's YOURS, FOR PROBABLY ALWAYS, a collection of Martha Gellhorn's letters—braided together with a narrative of the ardent anti-fascist's career as a war correspondent and outspoken advocate for the world's disenfranchised citizens—will be narrated by Gellhorn enthusiast, the Tony award-winning actress Ellen Barkin, to Megan Mills at Penguin Random House Audio, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in May 2021, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world English).
Rights: philipsturner@gmail.com

RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY

Associate professor of biblical studies at Ecumenical Theological Seminary, teacher of Old Testament and biblical Hebrew Brandon Grafius's LIVING WITH HORROR: FRIGHT AND FAITH IN AN ANXIOUS WORLD, examining horror movies and TV shows (and novels, myths, and folk tales before mass media) and how horror can be a valuable, and important, conversational partner for the spiritual questions that animate our lives, showing how horror and faith can interpret and challenge each other in meaningful ways, to Lil Copan at Broadleaf, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2022, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

BIOGRAPHY

Longtime theater critic and arts writer Alexis Greene's EMILY MANN: REBEL ARTIST OF THE AMERICAN THEATER, a biography of the director and playwright known for her Theater of Testimony and the plays "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years" and "Gloria: A Life," examining her career as a woman creating in a theater world long ruled by patriarchal attitudes; Mann is the first woman to lead the Tony Award-winning McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, to John Cerullo at Applause Books, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2021, by Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Associate Professor of Literary Studies at Utah Valley University Todd Goddard's DEVOURING TIME: JIM HARRISON, A LIFE, the first full biography of the poet and fiction writer (1937-2016), examining Harrison's creative life, and how he incorporated life events in to his work, including the auto wreck that killed his father and sister, a ride he had been scheduled to share with them; his fateful introduction to actor Jack Nicholson, who became a patron; and his relationship with publisher Seymour Lawrence who embraced the idea of publishing a collection of novellas, which became Legends of the Fall, to Haila Williams at Blackstone Publishing, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
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Ray Boomhower's WAR DIARIST: THE MANY BATTLES OF RICHARD TREGASKIS, AUTHOR OF GUADALCANAL DIARY, a biography of the prolific combat correspondent whose 1943 book, an instant bestseller acquired by Bennett Cerf, became the first book to emerge from the Pacific theater, to Michael Millman at University of New Mexico Press, with Stephen Hull editing, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2021, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
Rights: Philip Turner

NONFICTION/HOW-TO
Men's style journalist, editor of Toronto's The Hogtown Rake menswear blog, and veteran CBC Radio producer Pedro Mendes's TEN GARMENTS EVERY MAN SHOULD OWN: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BUILDING A PERMANENT WARDROBE, an illustrated guide to dressing well by building a classic wardrobe, an approach to identifying sustainable apparel that aligns with 21st-century environmental values, to Scott Fraser at Dundurn Press, in a nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2020, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (Canada).
philipsturner@gmail.com

FICTION/Historical Fiction
Lawrence Ellsworth's translation of Alexandre Dumas's TWENTY YEARS AFTER, Book III in The Three Musketeers Cycle, continuing his modern translations of Alexandre Dumas, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in December 2019, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
philipsturner@gmail.com

NONFICTION:

NATURE/OUTDOORS
Photographer whose work has appeared in the NYT, Backpacker Magazine, and Men's Journal Alex Messenger's THE TWENTY-NINTH DAY: SURVIVING A GRIZZLY ATTACK IN THE CANADIAN TUNDRA, a coming-of-age story filled with evocations of Arctic landscapes, a marathon canoe journey, and the narrator's harrowing survival following a grizzly bear mauling, to Haila Williams at Blackstone Publishing, in a nice deal, for publication in 2020, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
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HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS
Former police detective in Prague Vladimir Dzuro's THE INVESTIGATOR: JUSTICE AND DEMONS OF THE BALKAN WARS, with insight from his investigations of war crimes cases for the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), a view-from-the-ground narrative about the Balkan Wars while they were still unfolding, and the search for and capture of war criminals after the conflict ended, Tom Swanson at Potomac Books, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2019, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world, ex Czech and Slovak).
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BIOGRAPHY
Carl Rollyson's THE LAST DAYS OF SYLVIA PLATH, focusing on the last four months of the poet's life; drawing on the controversial archive of Harriet Rosenstein, author of an unfinished biography of Plath, to Craig Gill and Katie Keene at University Press of Mississippi, in a nice deal, by Philip Turner Book Productions (NA).
THE LAST DAYS OF SYLVIA PLATH for an audio book to Haila Williams at Blackstone Audio (World).
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Popular Culture
Nate Patrin's BRING THAT BEAT BACK: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop, a close analysis of four creators—pioneering DJ Grandmaster Flash; sampling innovator Prince Paul; superstar mogul Dr. Dre; and left-field curator Madlib—who've helped shape the sounds of what's become one of the world's most popular art forms, one beat at a time; the through-line is the persistence of boundary-breaking hip-hop production as a way to reshape and rebuild a generations-old canon of recorded music, seen as an extended conversation with pop history itself—from James Brown and David Bowie to Wu-Tang Clan and Kanye West, to Erik Anderson at University of Minnesota Press, in a nice deal, for publication in 2020, by Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

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Politics/Military Affairs/
By co-authors of the earlier expose "Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War," Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman's new book is "SHATTERED MINDS: How the Pentagon Fails Our Troops with Faulty Helmets, an expose which reveals that even as traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become the signature wartime injury for US troops, the defense establishment has failed American fighting men and women by issuing them antiquated military helmets that fail to mitigate this tragic harm, even though superior design, materials, and technology are increasingly available, to Tom Swanson at Potomac Books, in a nice deal, by Philip Turner Book Productions (World). tswanson3@unl.edu; philipsturner@gmail.com
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Politics/Current Affairs
Former senior US diplomat in Cuba Ambassador Vicki Huddleston's memoir of managing US-Cuba policy for twenty-five years under three US presidents, featuring many stories of face-to-face encounters with Fidel Castro, and covering such key episodes as the controversy over Elian Gonzalez, the little Cuban boy rescued at sea and brought to Miami, revealing how the struggle over the boy's fate played a key role in the 2000 US presidential election when George W. Bush won Florida due in great part to the outraged Cuban diaspora, to Peter Mayer and Tracy Carns at Overlook, in a nice deal, for publication in 2018 when Raul Castro has announced he will step down from the Cuban presidency, by Philip Turner Book Productions (World). philipsturner@gmail.com
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Politics/Current Affairs
"ORDERS TO KILL—The Putin Regime and Political Murder" by Amy Knight, longtime Russian security services specialist and fluent Russian speaker, a true-crime political thriller examining the role of targeted violence in contemporary Russia, to Thomas Dunne at Thomas Dunne Books, in a nice deal, for publication in 2017, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (World); also published by Biteback Books, UK, January 2018.
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Sports/Journalism
THE DRAW OF SPORTS by Murray Olderman
Sports cartoonist and member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame Murray Olderman's THE DRAW OF SPORTS, gathered from decades drawing and writing about our greatest athletes and sports figures, a full career retrospective with 160 portraits and profiles, with Muhammad Ali, Yogi Berra, Kobe Bryant, Billie Jean King, Vince Lombardi, Jackie Robinson, etc, to Eric Reynolds at Fantagraphics, in a nice deal, for publication in 2017, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (World).
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Fiction Anthologies
Edited by Graeme Davis, THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: FIFTEEN GREAT DETECTIVE STORIES 1841-1914, featuring work by Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, and 11 other masters of early crime fiction, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, for publication in 2019, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).
philipsturner@gmail.com

Graeme Davis's anthology MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE: The First Ladies of Horror will collect the best horror tales by twenty-five female authors—both heralded and lesser-known figures—nearly all of whom published before the 1900s, and presents them to the modern reader with notes on the stories and the writers. Included are works by Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, Louisa May Alcott, Edith Wharton, Mary Austin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edith Nesbit, and Madame Blavatsky alongside discoveries like Mary Cholmondely and Charlotte Riddell whose work merits a modern audience.
to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, for publication on Halloween 2018, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions(World).
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Graeme Davis’s COLONIAL HORRORS: Sleepy Hollow and Beyond, a new anthology that shows the roots of American horror writing stretch all the way back to the era when Arthur Miller set “The Crucible,” with little known writings from the seventeenth century by Cotton Mather, Increase Mather, and Richard Chamberlayne, along with selections by Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry James, and H.P. Lovecraft, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (World). Published Halloween 2017.
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Fiction: General/Other
"THE BIG BOOK OF SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE," collected, edited, and introduced by early Dungeons & Dragons team member, and noted RPG designer, Lawrence Schick, under the nom de plume Lawrence Ellsworth, an anthology of classic adventure fiction, including selections from the work of such bestselling masters of yore as Alexandre Dumas (with Ellsworth's new translation of one of Dumas' lost works); Rafael Sabatini (creator of Captain Blood, basis of the Errol Flynn pirate film); Johnston McCulley (creator of Zorro); Pierce Egan (author of Robin Hood); Baroness Orczy (author of The Scarlet Pimpernel, a story with film versions starring Leslie Howard, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellen); Anthony Hope (author of The Prisoner of Zenda, film version made by David O. Selznick starring Ronald Colman), to Claiborne Hancock of Pegasus, published 2014, sold by Philip Turner Book Productions (World).
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FICTION:
Alexandre Dumas translator and editor of The Big Book of Swashbuckling Adventure Lawrence Ellsworth's BLOOD ROYAL, in which the Musketeers all venture to England on parallel missions to save King Charles I, in this sequel to Dumas's Twenty Years After, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2020, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Lawrence Ellsworth's translation of Alexandre Dumas's TWENTY YEARS AFTER, book three in The Three Musketeers Cycle, continuing his modern translations of Alexandre Dumas, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in December 2019, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (world).

Translator of "THE RED SPHINX: Book II in the Musketeers Cycle" (Pegasus Books, 2016), LAWRENCE ELLSWORTH continues his modern translations of Alexandre Dumas with a sparkling new translation of "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, published February 2018, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (World).
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THE RED SPHINX—Book II in The Three Musketeers Cycle by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Lawrence Ellsworth, continues the heroic tale of Cardinal Richelieu and his implacable enemies, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal, published February 2017, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions (World).
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Paco Munoz Botas's THE PROVOCATEUR'S PAYBACK, a gay-themed thriller set in Spain that shows the long arm of the Russian mafia reaching in to the lives of three intertwined characters, to Don Weise at Riverdale Avenue Books, earlier published in Spanish as Que Trastos, by Philip Turner Book Productions (NA).
philipsturner@gmail.com
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J. Michael Orenduff's formerly self-published eight-book POT THIEF mystery series, set in New Mexico featuring a dealer in Native America pottery, to Tina Pohlman at Open Road, for print and digital rights, by Philip Turner of Philip Turner Book Productions, in association with Silver Bitela Agency.
philipsturner@gmail.com Screenplay: bbmovieagent@gmail.com
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NOTABLE BLOG POSTS:
On Oct 3, 2013, at my blog THE GREAT GRAY BRIDGE I published "Celebrating Valerie Plame's BLOWBACK & Recalling Tumultuous Events of a Decade Ago," http://philipsturner.com/2013/10/03/celebrating-valerie-plame/
At THE GREAT GRAY BRIDGE, Sept 30, 2013, I published "Celebrating Photojournalist & Author Ruth Gruber’s 102nd Birthday With Her," http://philipsturner.com/2013/09/30/celebrating-photojournalist-author-ruth-grubers-102nd-birthday/
At THE GREAT GRAY BRIDGE, Sept 3, 2013 I published "Nick Robinson, RIP–Inspired Publisher and a Good Man," http://philipsturner.com/2013/09/03/nick-robinson-rip-inspired-publisher-good-man/

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In the January 26 2015 issue of Publishers Weekly I was one of three independent editors profiled in a feature article "Publishing, after a Life in Publishing," on post-corporate careers in publishing. You can read it here: http://bit.ly/GGB020115

This item ran on Publishersmarketplace.com July 16, 2015: "Philip Turner has returned to his roots as a bookseller, working at the new Rizzoli Bookstore in New York, which opens on July 27. He continues to operate his editorial service and publishing consultancy Philip Turner Book Productions as well."
http://bit.ly/1M8EAJA

As of December 1, 2014, I am a collaborator on Blurb, the web platform that helps writers connect with editorial professionals to help them hone their work. If you’re an author looking for editorial help, or know a writer who is, you may have a look via this link and get in touch: http://bit.ly/GGB12114
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GENERAL ACTIVITIES AND BACKGROUND:
At my website/blog The Great Gray Bridge (www.TheGreatGrayBridge.com or http://philipsturner.com/) I share my enthusiasms for books, publishing, media, culture, and politics; write personal essays; and present information on Philip Turner Book Productions (http://philipsturner.com/about-ptbp/). For more information on books I've published, including the first paperback edition of Barack Obama's DREAMS FROM MY FATHER (1996), and Ambassador Joseph Wilson's THE POLITICS OF TRUTH: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity, I invite you to visit this page at my website: http://philipsturner.com/about-philip-turner/

I have worked in the book business for 3 ½ decades. I became an acquiring editor seven years into that run, after an opening span when I first owned and ran an independent bookstore chain, Undercover Books of Cleveland, Ohio, bookstores I began with my siblings and our parents. My time as a bookseller was especially fertile for strong reader engagement nationally with bestselling novels by such writers as John Irving, Umberto Eco, Anne Tyler, and landmark nonfiction like "Goedel, Escher, and Bach" and "Playing in the Band." We became known as a go-to store among publishers sales departments and publicists, as a place to break out new books, receiving dozens of ARCs and galleys each season from every company. We read all the new stuff early, ordered tons of copies of the books we loved, talked with reader customers on the sales floor every day, then hand-sold the books in major quantities. We were the sort of store that could sell 200-300 copies of several different new titles every season. This gave me an opportunity to identify the qualities that made for the strongest reader enjoyment of new commercial titles. When I became an editor then, I already had a keen sense of what made prospective titles appealing to bookbuyers, honed a lot since. This has meant that as an in-house acquiring editor, executive editor, and editor-in-chief--jobs I've held at Walker & Company; Macmillan; Prentice-Hall Press at Simon & Schuster; Kodansha America; Times Books and Crown at Random House; Carroll & Graf with Avalon Publishing Group; and Union Square Press at Sterling Publishing--a high proportion of my list has always had second and third printings, generally selling well beyond their first print.

• That longterm success of many of the books I acquired, edited and published as an in-house editor nowadays gives me the perspective to provide one of the several services I offer to authors and agents: Book Proposal Development. For this, I read draft proposals and deliver a report for the client, specifying how I believe an editor at a publishing house would see this project, and how it might be revised to make it as appealing as possible to editors, and most salable to publishing houses. I also do line-editorial work on the proposals, in addition to my written report.
• I also work with authors, agents, publishers, and publicists in the area of public speaking. I am the representative to the book community for Expertfile.com, a Toronto tech company with nimble software and a robust Web platform that connects conference organizers, meeting planners, and media to authors, experts, and thought leaders who do public speaking. It’s a dynamic engine that can drive discovery of authors and their books. It does not compete with speaker bureaus or lecture agents, even for authors and publishers that are already availing themselves of either one. Expertfile, because of its excellent SEO, is ideal for authors who don't yet have either a lecture agent or the assistance of a speakers bureau. It works like a matchmaking service for the conference business on one side of the equation, and on the other side, for authors who want to do more public speaking and for publishers who want their writers to get better bookings.
• In this area, I also do promotional writing for authors who want to hone their presentation of self, whether from a podium, their bio on their website, or their next blog post or email blast. I also write for companies to help them improve their communications and social media presence.
• I consult with the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the voice of independent booksellers against censorship and book banning. I work in fundraising, social networks, and marketing for ABFFE and am helping to increasing the awareness of their mission among booksellers; manufacturers of bookstore sideline merchandise; authors; and social activists. If you as an author have ever had a book that someone wanted to remove from a public or school library, I’m doing work there that will interest you.
• I do full line-edit of manuscripts, mostly nonfiction, some fiction hired by authors, agents, and publishers;
• I represent a select list of author clients as literary agency and endeavor to place their books with publishers, while also co-agenting with other literary representatives on behalf of authors;
• I publish independently under the Philip Turner Books imprint when dynamic opportunities arise;
• I explore emerging models for digital and print-on-demand publishing (POD) on behalf of author clients;
• I know how challenging a climate this is for authors and their books. I work with authors to help them get over these hurdles in the best possible shape.
• I work with businesspeople and academic professionals who want their website copy or résumés, cover letters, and job search materials to have a fresh and dynamic approach.

In all areas of my editorial and publishing services practice, I am an advocate for writers and readers. I edit with the author perched on one shoulder and the reader on the other, fostering a virtual dialogue between the two and creating mutual benefit for each. I am devoted to helping writers navigate a path through the lurching transition that the book industry is experiencing nowadays as we morph from a print world to a new world that combines digital and print modes for avid readers. I welcome queries from new and experienced writers, predominantly in nonfiction, and some fiction, with fees quoted upon receipt and consideration of material.

I am an active participant in numerous literary and cultural organizations. Below is a partial list of memberships, affiliations, interests, along with my educational background:
• Member, PEN America Center, https://www.pen.org/philip-turner
• Chair, Membership Committee, Book Table, publishing industry monthly lunch club.
• Attended Book Camp NYC, an unconference, Dec. 2010, Feb. 2011, April 2011, and February 2013 http://bit.ly/dMwD3k & http://bit.ly/i4tAoD & http://bit.ly/XwTUCt
• Associate member of the National Book Critics Circle;
• Member, the Personal Democracy Forum, community that explores the intersection among politics, technology, and culture;
• Guest Instructor 2008-2013, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism's Winter Academy;
• Member, CBC Radio 3's informal music and blogging community, http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/profile/PhilipST;
• For my published journalism and personal essays please see these: http://bit.ly/jkLZzB; http://bit.ly/uTppPP; http://bit.ly/TVc4zk; http://bit.ly/W66ZbG
• BA in Philosophy of Education and History of Religion, Franconia College, Franconia, NH., product of experimental education in high school and college.

“Philip's broad knowledge of the publishing industry enables him to help authors avoid the pitfalls that keep many worthy projects from ever seeing the light of day. In particular, he shows respect for authors by explaining his suggestions and listening to their "reasons why." The resulting sense of collaboration fosters creativity, and, working with him, I had the sense that my book was improving before my eyes.
In addition to spotting and proposing hundreds of felicitous small changes in The Rowan Tree, Philip never lost sight of voice, character, and story. He sets his sights, and helps authors set theirs, on creating books that "really matters in people's lives," as he puts it. If there's a better reason for writing and publishing, I can't think of it. For authors who want their books to matter, Philip Turner is your editor.”—Robert W. Fuller, author of the novel The Rowan Tree; Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank; and All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity

“We owe a lot to Philip Turner. It was his vision as a veteran book editor that opened the doors of the publishing world to our first book, COVERT: My Years Infiltrating the Mob. Philip's steady hand through the editing process, many valuable insights, and even-keeled approach made him a pleasure to work with on Covert, eventually named a best book of 2008 by USA Today. We had the opportunity to join forces with Philip again in the past year, this time in his expanded capacity as editor and co-agent for our latest project SURVIVING THE SHADOWS: A Journey of Hope Into Post-Traumatic Stress. His versatility and wisdom in the ways of the publishing industry would be a huge asset to anyone looking for a guiding force and strong ally amid the challenge of bringing a book to life.”—Bob Delaney and Dave Scheiber, co-authors of COVERT and SURVIVING THE SHADOWS.

"We recommend Philip Turner with great appreciation and without hesitation. With Philip's vast experience and stellar track record, we were grateful to find him always engaged in the nitty-gritty of improving our book FROZEN, and empathetic to our needs and fears as writers. As our editor, he was the perfect mix of hard-working and professional yet supportive and nurturing. His expertise and talents greatly improved the language, structure and pacing of the book, all the while remaining faithful to the voice and tone we as authors had originally envisioned. His notes on the craft of storytelling were flawless and his suggestions were inspired. Working with Philip was like taking a master class in editing. Our book and our writing are all the better for the experience." Larry Johnson and Scott Baldyga, authors of FROZEN: My Journey into the World of Cryonics, Deception, and Death (Vanguard Press, Perseus Books, 2009)

Peter Evans, Speakerfile.com; Chris Finan, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; Roger Cooper, formerly Vanguard Press, Perseus Books; Calvin Reid, Publishers Weekly; J.P.Leventhal, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Cynthia Manson, Cynthia Manson Literary Agency; Lynn C. Franklin, Lynn C. Franklin Associates, Ltd; Uwe Stender, TriadaUS Literary Agency; Bob Delaney, NBA referee; John Wright, literary agent; The Honorable Cathy Bailey, US Ambassador to Latvia, 2004-2007; Glenn Lewis, Professor of Journalism, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Vincent Romeo, author of MY ITALIAN COUSINS.

THE POT THIEF, a 6-book mystery series by J. Michael Orenduff set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which I've licensed to Open Road Integrated Media for print and ebook editions, to be published in January 2014; THE DEEDS OF MY FATHERS: How My Grandfather and Father Built NY and Created the Tabloid World of Today by Paul David Pope; FROZEN: My Journey into the World of Cryonics, Deception, and Death, Larry Johnson with Scott Baldyga; COVERT: My Years Infiltrating the Mob, Bob Delaney, NBA Referee, with Dave Scheiber, a USA TODAY Best Book; HAVEN and EXODUS 1947, Ruth Gruber; IBM AND THE HOLOCAUST: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation, Edwin Black; BOOKNOTES: Life Stories, Brian Lamb; DEAD RUN: The Shocking Story of Dennis Stockton and Life on Death Row in America, Joe Jackson and William Burke, introduction William Styron; A DIARY OF THE CENTURY: Tales from America's Greatest Diarist by Edward Robb Ellis, Introduction by Pete Hamill and THE EPIC OF NEW YORK CITY, Edward Robb Ellis; BASEBALL LETTERS and EVERY PITCHER TELLS A STORY, Seth Swirsky; THE DEVIL IS LOOSE, Antonine Maillet; NOT FOR AMERICA ALONE, Senator George Mitchell; Kodansha Globe (85 title nonfiction trade paperback series including first paperback edition of Barack Obama's DREAMS FROM MY FATHER; series featured anthropology, cross-cultural studies, narrative travel, and adventure classics.

(nonfiction) DREAMS FROM MY FATHER, Barack Obama (first paperback edition, Kodansha Globe, 1996); THE POLITICS OF TRUTH: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Revealed My Wife's CIA Identity, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, in part the basis of the movie "Fair Game" (Carroll & Graf, 2004); LOVER OF UNREASON: Assia Wevill, Sylvia Plath's Rival and Ted Hughes's Doomed Love, Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev (A Philip Turner Book, Carroll & Graf); ON THE BRINK: An Insider's Account of How the White House Compromised American Intelligence, Tyler Drumheller with Elaine Monaghan (A Philip Turner Book, Carroll & Graf); THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T TALK: Why I Refused to Testify Against the Clintons & What I Learned in Jail, Susan McDougal (C&G); SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire (C&G); WRITING WITH INTENT: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose, 1983-2005, Margaret Atwood; AHMAD'S WAR, AHMAD'S PEACE: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying in the New Iraq, Michael Goldfarb (a NY Times Notable Book, C&G); VIRGINIA WOOLF: The Will to Create as a Woman and AHEAD OF TIME: My Early Years as a Foreign Corrrespondent, Ruth Gruber (both pub'd by C&G), EXODUS 1947: The Ship that Launched a Nation (pub'd by Times Books, 1999, and Union Square Press, 2007), Ruth Gruber; YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hoover, the Red Scare and the Assault on Civil Liberties, BOSS TWEED: The Rise & Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern NY (a NY Times Notable Book), and DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of James A. Garfield, Kenneth D. Ackerman (all three pub'd by C&G); THE GLORIOUS DECEPTION: The Double Life of William Robinson, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer, aka Chung Ling Soo, and HIDING THE ELEPHANT: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear, Jim Steinmeyer (both pub'd by C&G); MR & MRS HOLLYWOOD: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire by Kathleen Sharp (C&G); 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon (pub'd by Union Square Press), 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents; and ROTHSTEIN: The Life, Times & Murder of the Criminal Genius who Fixed the 1919 World Series, David Pietrusza (both pub'd by C&G); THE LAST BATTLE, Ralph Wetterhahn (Carroll & Graf); NAPLES '44 and A TOMB IN SEVILLE, Norman Lewis (both pub'd by Carroll & Graf); THE EPIC OF NEW YORK CITY, Edward Robb Ellis (Kodansha America, 1996, Carroll & Graf, 2004); THE ONLY GRANT-WRITING BOOK YOU'LL EVER NEED: Top Grant Writers and Grant Makers Share Their Secrets, Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox.
(fiction) GEORGE & RUE, George Ellliott Clarke (C&G); HUNGER'S BRIDES and SOR JUANA, OR THE BREATH OF HEAVEN, Paul Anderson (C&G); THE REVENANT, Michael Punke (C&G); THE SANDS OF PRIDE and THE FIRES OF PRIDE, William R. Trotter (C&G); THINNER, BLONDER, WHITER, Elizabeth Maguire (C&G); MEMORY BOOK, A Benny Cooperman Detective Novel, Howard Engel (C&G); IN TIME OF WAR, Allen Appel (C&G).

SURVIVING THE SHADOWS: A Journey into Post-Traumatic Stress, Bob Delaney with Dave Scheiber; ECLISPE OF THE RISING SUN: The Air War over the Pacific, 1941-43, Ralph Wetterhahn, author of the Colby-award winner THE LAST BATTLE: The Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War (Carroll & Graf, 2000);
CHANGING PLANET, CHANGING HEALTH: How Climate Change Threatens Our Health and What We Must Do About It, Paul Epstein, M.D., Associate Director of Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment, and Dan Ferber; AFTER MANY A SUMMER: The Passing of the Giants and Dodgers and a Golden Age in NY Baseball, Robert Murphy; ZERO DAY THREAT: The Shocking Truth of How Banks and Credit Bureaus Help Cyber Crooks Steal Your Money & Identity, Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz; 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies, David Pietrusza; THE LAST LINCOLNS: The Rise & Fall of a Great American Family, Charles Lachman; WAR OF WORDS: A True Tale of Newsprint and Murder, Simon Read; THE BABY THIEF: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption, Barbara Bisantz Raymond; PRINCE OF DARKNESS--RICHARD PERLE: The Kingdom, the Power, and the End of Empire in America, Alan Weisman; REGRET THE ERROR: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech, Craig Silverman, founder of RegretTheError.com; A DIARY OF THE CENTURY, Edward Robb Ellis; THE UNITED STATES v. I. LEWIS LIBBY, edited and with reporting by Murray Waas; RETURN TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM: One Family, Three Revolutionaries, and the Birth of Modern China, Yuan-Tsung Chen; "RFK MUST DIE": The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Shane O'Sullivan; SO WRONG FOR SO LONG: How the Press, the Pundits--and the President Failed in Iraq, Greg Mitchell, Editor of Editor & Publisher; DARK GENIUS: The Influential Career of Legendary Political Operative and FOX News Founder Roger Ailes, Kerwin Swint; MONA LISA'S PAJAMAS: Diverting Dispatches from a Roving Reporter, A. Craig Copetas.

At Carroll & Graf, 2000-2006
AN ALPHABETICAL LIFE: Living It Up In the World of Books, Wendy Werris; THE NUCLEAR SPHINX OF TEHRAN: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran, Yossi Melman and Meir Javedanfar; IBSEN AND HITLER, Steven F. Sage; INVADING MEXICO, Joseph Wheelan; ARTIFICIAL HAPPINESS, Ronald W. Dworkin, M.D.; ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF MAGIC, Milbourne and Maurine Christoper; "WHEN YOU READ THIS THEY WILL HAVE KILLED ME": The Life & Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America; DELIVER THE VOTE: A History of Election Fraud, An American Political Tradition, Tracy Campbell; ODYSSEY OF AN EAVESDROPPER, Martin Kaiser & Robert Stokes; CHURCHILL'S FOLLY, Christopher Catherwood (C&G); I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR: The Interviews of Andy Warhol (C&G); ORDEAL BY SLANDER: The First Great Book of the McCarthy Era, Owen Lattimore (C&G); CELL PHONES: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age, Dr. George Carlo and Martin Schram (C&G); THE SAVVY AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLICITY: A Comprehensive Resource--From Building the Buzz to Pitching the Press, Lissa Warren; THE LAST TIME AROUND CAPE HORN: The Historic 1949 Voyage of the Windjammer Pamir, William F. Stark.
(fiction) MOTORCYCLE MAN, George Elliott Clark; THE THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BEOWULF: Champion of Middle Earth, Brian Thomsen; EAST OF SUEZ, Howard Engel; LUCK, Joan Barfoot.

Curator and writer, personal blog The Great Gray Bridge: Spanning City Life, Books, Publishing, Music, Media, Culture. (www.TheGreatGrayBridge.com or http://philipsturner.com/)
Founder & President, Philip Turner Book Productions LLC and Publisher of Philip Turner Books
Editorial Director, Vice-President, Union Square Press, Sterling Publishing;
Executive Editor, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President: Carroll & Graf, Philip Turner Books, Thunder's Mouth Press/Avalon Publishing Group;
Executive Editor, Times Books and Crown Publishing/Random House;
Senior Editor and Editor-in-Chief, Kodansha America;
Senior Editor, Prentice Hall Press;
Editor, Macmillan;
Editor, Walker and Company.
As retail bookseller: Under Cover Books, Cleveland, Ohio.
• Chair, Membership Committee, Book Table, publishing industry monthly lunch club.
• Charter subscriber to Publishers Lunch, with dozens of deals posted since its inception
• Guest teacher in CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, nonfiction book-writing course, Jan. 2008-2011.
• Member, PEN America; Personal Democracy Forum; CBC Radio 3
• Presented panel at Book Camp NYC, Dec. 2010 http://bit.ly/dMwD3k
• For journalism and interview see: http://bit.ly/jkLZzB; http://bit.ly/g8Es9j; http://bit.ly/lXy00d;
http://bit.ly/kLbF4D.