Chronicle Books Blog

When life gives you hands, make handmade.*

Last weekend, four Chronicle designers went to Compostmodern, a conference about sustainability and design.

On Day 1, people spoke on a range of topics, from modern storytelling to the business of sharing. One of my favorites was Kate Daughdrill.

She organizes Detroit SOUP, a monthly dinner that started with a small group of friends and now has a large following. During the meal (soup, salad, pie) people present ideas for local creative projects. At the end of the night everyone votes on the projects and the winner takes home the money from the meal. It’s microfinancing with a human element, and great a way to fund the local arts scene.

SOUP in action. Photo by Vanessa Miller.

Voting booth. Photo by Vanessa Miller.

Another favorite was Dan Phillips, the founder of a building initiative in Texas called Phoenix Commotion.

They build houses for low-income families using recycled and salvaged materials. The houses are works of art, each one guided by the unique materials at hand. Phillips talked about how the desire for uniformity creates an amazing amount of waste at construction sites. By working with unstandard forms and organic patterns, Phillips takes other people’s garbage and makes artful homes.

One of Phoenix Commotion’s houses. Windows are made from relish plates. Photo by vyzl.

All in all, it was an inspiring day, and one that sparked a lot of ideas for Day 2, the Unconference. To be continued next week…

Allison Weiner
Designer

*That was the refrain for the day, taken from TheBigSea’s entry to Core77′s sustainable design poster contest.

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When I was a wide-eyed student at UC Berkeley in the late 90s, moving ever closer to obtaining a BA in English, I certainly thought so. It helps when you take a class taught by (now) professor emeritus Stephen Booth, who contextualized Shakespeare’s unique genius and made his words leap off the page.

Soon after graduation, however, I became convinced that Shakespeare would never again be a central part of my life—at least my working life. I wasn’t on the path to becoming a teacher (sorry, President Obama) or a literary historian. You can imagine my delight, then, when I discovered that a Shakespeare book was on our Spring 2012 list! No, we haven’t unearthed an unpublished manuscript. Instead, we’re applying the Chronicle touch to some of the bard’s most famous and touching love sonnets.

There are plenty of books that collect Shakespeare’s love sonnets, but they’re either text-only, illustrated with traditional 16th Century etchings and woodcuts, or filled with really saccharine images. We set out to create something different, something youthful and modern but still pretty. Our brilliant design director immediately thought of Caitlin Keegan, who lives and works in Brooklyn and contributed to our own Exquisite Book.

Caitlin was thrilled to work on the book—maybe, like me, she harkened back to those idyllic school days?—and came to us with early illustration work that was simply stunning. She took our broad art direction and really ran with it, creating imagery that is as delightful as it is colorful. In some cases she cues from metaphors in a sonnet (lions from time’s sharp claws) while in others she weaves bold patterns that obliquely reference the text. The total effect is mesmerizing.

We’re excited about how the book has evolved, and I’m tickled that I was finally able to find a way to slip some Shakespeare into my work. A project like this makes editorial work feel so rewarding!

Matt Robinson
Art + Design

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It goes without saying that the new Petit Collage Garlands, available for pre-order now, are utterly adorable—perfect for whatever pink-hued nursery or flowery baby shower, or cucumber-sandwiched tea party you happen to place them into. Lorena Siminovich, the mastermind behind Petit Collage, excels at creating modern, colorful art objects whose form and function are always perfectly pitched.

But I got to thinking—with eighty alphabet and animal tiles, and five yards of ribbon to hang your garlands, you don’t have to be limited to such niceties as “Happy Birthday” or “Welcome Baby.” Maybe you want to spice it up a little bit, or maybe the kind of events you’re throwing don’t quite fall into the run-of-the-mill soirees.

Like what about this for a very special going away party?

Or maybe you want something for an Arrested Development viewing party.

Or perhaps you need a sign to make it clear to your customers how you feel about health codes.

What about hanging “I hate Mondays” at your workstation? Or “These are not the droids you’re looking for” for a Star Wars-themed party. Or “don’t forget the Tabasco sauce” for a build-your-own Bloody Mary party?

I could do this all day.

Jason Sacher
Associate Editor

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(From left to right) Cal Extern Kathleen Miller, Children’s Editorial Assistant Ariel Richardson (’06), Children’s Associate Editor Naomi Kirsten (’00), and Cal Extern Alisha Azevedo.

A few months ago, I was contacted by the career center at the University of California, Berkeley, asking if I might be interested in hosting an undergraduate student for an externship at Chronicle. I remembered how much I craved mentorship while a student at Cal, and opportunities to learn more about publishing and children’s literature. Naomi Kirsten, an Associate Editor in the Children’s Division and a fellow Cal alumni, felt the same way, so January 14 was officially dubbed “Cal Day” here at Chronicle, at least by those of us who went there.

Our Cal Externs were two English majors, Kathleen Miller, a sophomore, and Alisha Azevedo, a freshman.

Naomi made a fabulous sign to welcome our guests!

It was only appropriate that I picked up some delicious pastries at La Farine on College Avenue near UC Berkeley to welcome our guests.

Naomi and I wore Cal T-shirts for the day, and we invited other Cal alumni at Chronicle to partake of the pastries and meet our externs in our sunny fourth floor café space. We each told our stories of how we made it from Cal to publishing, and then ultimately to Chronicle Books. Most of us had taken a rather circuitous route to Chronicle, though at least one of us was hired at Chronicle just several months after graduation. I hadn’t heard many of their stories, and it was a wonderful way to get to know our fellow Chronicle Cal alumni better. The externs told us that, according to Cal, 6% of our employees went to Cal. Later in the day, we stopped by the desk of Senior Editor Steve Mockus (’93) and he shared, not just great advice for getting a publishing job, but advice that Naomi and I took to heart about overall editing strategies. We are always learning how to be better editors.

Children’s Editorial Assistant Ariel Richardson (’06), Contracts and Permissions Assistant Anna Leifeste (’09), Custom Managing Editor Leigh Saffold (’94), Editor Matt Robinson (’01), Cal Externs Kathleen and Alisha, and Children’s Editor Melissa Manlove (’99) (in attendance, but not pictured)

After brunch, the externs learned about the stages of a book, from starting with an illustrator or author’s idea, to finding an agent and a publisher, through the various departments in a publishing company, and eventually to booksellers, librarians, reviewers and customers! We talked about the recent ALA awards and the importance of awards in the book cycle. Naomi gave them an introduction to the various novelty formats we publish, as well as a tour of the office.

And then it was time to make a book (yes, a book)! Naomi and I came up with an idea for a project, and we wanted the externs to help get us started. In just a few hours, Alisha and Kathleen helped us decide on the book’s sections, and they worked on fleshing out the structure of the manuscript, complete with notes on art direction. They both said they were thrilled to have a real hand in the book-making process!

 
Kathleen and Alisha use the intern computers to write the manuscript for our book idea.

It wouldn’t be a day at a publishing house without “slush”—otherwise known as the unsolicited manuscripts we receive. We currently have 19 USPS bins of manuscripts to evaluate! Both externs seemed to find this task especially rewarding, in part because they saw how tough it really is to write a good book and to convince editors to publish it.

It was such a joy for Naomi and me to host the externs for the day, and Cal Day actually extended into the week after when we received this e-mail from Kathleen: “I was very touched by your thoughtful poster and brimming gift-bag, and the literary geek inside of me danced for joy at the sight of books, books, everywhere books—a constant cornucopia of text, image and color made more impressive still as the day wore on…Thanks to this externship, an incredible opportunity that would not have been possible without your unbounded kindness and energy, I am now seriously considering pursuing a career in your field…and I am infinitely grateful for all of the resources, advice, and encouragement that you have supplied me with.” In addition to thank you e-mails, they both sent us the sweetest thank you cards.

From our first contact with Alisha and Kathleen via e-mail we were impressed with their professionalism and eagerness to learn. We found them smart, gracious, and warm—we know they will go far! Talking to them helped us to look at our work with new eyes, and their insightful questions made us think about what we do here at Chronicle in new ways. Spending the day with them was a nice way to feel connected to Cal and to feel some of that Cal pride, even though we now spend most of our days on the other side of the bay.

And we are also so grateful for the work they did on our book idea. The externs learned that editors spend only a portion of their time editing—there is so much to do everyday!—but there is nothing an editor likes more than to make a book. Without the externs’ help, getting that project off the ground may have taken us a while. Thanks to them, we are now hoping to bring it for acquisition in a few weeks!

Go Bears!

Ariel Richardson ’06
Editorial Assistant, Children’s

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My Chronicle work colleagues and I were very lucky right before our holiday break. Boston’s Flour Bakery graciously agreed to send us an amazing assortment of treats via overnight mail for our annual white elephant party. The majority of us who have yet to visit the bakery in Boston were finally able to understand why so many people are obsessed with Joanne Chang’s ridiculously fabulous baked goods. We had an exclusive “pop-up” Flour Bakery here at Chronicle headquarters in San Francisco, just for us.

The first of the treats to vanish were the Homemade Oreos (Oreos are a registered trademark of Nabisco Inc., as you surely know!). I haven’t had time after the holidays to try this recipe out yet, but this weekend I’m going for it. Below is the recipe that will hopefully inspire you to make them too. Since I’ve had the real thing, direct from Boston, I can attest that they are wicked good (do they still say that in New England?).

Leave me a comment about this recipe, Flour Bakery, Joanne’s appearance on the TODAY Show this morning, or what you’ve heard about the book if you haven’t managed to get a copy yet (the first print run sold out very quickly, and it’s now back in stock), and you may be the lucky random winner of a copy of Flour that I’m giving away.

I always appreciate your comments, and I wish you happy baking.

Homemade Oreos
Makes 16 to 18 sandwich cookies

Oreos used to be a mystery to me. The debates about splitting them and eating the filling first, eating them whole, or dunking them—none of it made any sense. My mom never bought commercial sweets, and she certainly never bought the almost-black cookies that looked burnt to her. For the same reason, they never appealed to me either—until one day when I finally bit into one at a friend’s house. Wow. I tried to convince my mom that they were fantastic and that we really, really needed to buy them for after-school snacking. She refused, only saying that they looked too black to be good. Years later, I created my own version of an Oreo, made with real chocolate and bittersweet cocoa and filled with a creamy mixture of sugar, butter, and a little vanilla. It’s a decidedly grown-up version of the treat I fleetingly remember. And it’s delicious. Flour customers go crazy for them. At first, they expect a very sweet, vaguely chocolaty treat. Instead, they get an intense, rich chocolate cookie with a buttery vanilla cream filling—an Oreo like no other. Even Mom approves. When she visits, she always requests them for the care package I send home with her.

1 cup (2 sticks/228 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (90 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Vanilla Cream Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick/114 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups (230 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Pinch of kosher salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and granulated sugar until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla and chocolate. Add the egg and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.

In another medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda until well mixed. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The dough will start to seem too floury, and you will find it easiest to switch to mixing it with your hands until it comes together. It will have the consistency of Play-Doh. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour to firm up.

Transfer the dough to a 15-inch square sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Using your hands, shape the dough into a rough log about 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the log at the edge of the sheet of parchment paper, and roll the parchment around the log. With the log fully encased in parchment, roll it into a smoother log, keeping it at 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm. The log may settle and sink a bit in the fridge, so reroll it every 15 minutes or so to maintain a nice round log, if you like. If not, your cookies will be more oblong than round, which is not a bad thing taste-wise, though they won’t look like the famous packaged cookie. (At this point, the dough log can be well wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If the dough is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding.)

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter it.

Cut the dough log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the slices about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Check them frequently after 16 or 17 minutes, poking them in the middle. As soon as they feel firm to the touch, remove them from the oven. You can’t judge by color because they start out black. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack to warm or room temperature. They don’t have to cool completely before you fill them, but you can’t fill them while they are hot.

To make the filling: While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat the butter on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until completely smooth and soft. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Add the milk and salt and again beat until smooth. It will look like white spackle and feel about the same—like putty. You can also mix this frosting by hand. Make sure the butter is very soft, and use your hands to mix and knead the confectioners’ sugar into the butter. You should have about 1 cup. (The filling can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Scoop about 1 rounded tablespoon of the filling onto the bottom of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, then press the cookies together to spread the filling toward the edges. Repeat until all of the cookies are filled.

Purchase Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe.

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