5E Editors

Three Dynamic Authors on Creative Book Promotion: Fri, Nov 7, 11 ET. Building authentic enthusiasm for your novel or memoir has never been more challenging. Join us as we kick around ideas and explore strategies with 3 top-notch writers who've played an integral role in cultivating their audiences.

The Role of Independent Presses in Today's Marketplace: Fri, Oct 24, 11 ET. 3 eminent publishers join 5E to discuss the challenges & advantages of publishing independence, how they navigate a crowded marketplace to build author careers & readerships, and which books & writers they’re excited about.

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Join us for 2 free Zooms:
The Role of Indie Presses in Today's Marketplace with Johnny Temple (Akashic), Masie Cochran (Tin House), Erika Goldman (Bellevue Literary Press), Fri Oct 24.
Three Dynamic Authors on Creative Book Promotion with Mateo Askaripour, Marjan Kamali, Juliet Grames, Fri Nov 7.

On the Future of Small Presses in the Aftermath of the NEA Grant Chaos On Friday, May 2nd, 2025, DOGE and the National Endowment for the Arts terminated $300,000 worth of grants for 51 publishers. The email, a copy and paste job, trickled into inboxes at odd hours. 5:…

“Independent publishers are canny, resilient actors, not fragile victims.” Sharing Elizabeth Kaye Cook’s illuminating update at @literaryhub.bsky.social on the fallout of the NEA grant retractions and how small presses are responding. (Anne)

University presses have published excellent fiction recently. Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (WVU Press) was a 2020 National Book Award finalist & Story Prize winner, and 3 out of 5 finalists for the 2025 PEN/Bingham Prize for debut short story collections were from uni presses.

In @janefriedman.com's The Bottom Line newsletter,
@editorsangeeta.bsky.social interviews 3 university press publishers and 2 literary agents, Barbara Jones and
@jenferrariadler.bsky.social, to explore university presses as a publication path for fiction writers. (Anne)
mailchi.mp/janefriedman...

5E’s Roundtable at the Historical Novel Society — 5E By Leslie Wells and Anne Horowitz Great historical fiction is transportive, making distant times and places feel real and immediate. It invites us to emotionally invest in characters whose lives are...

5E recently joined the @histnovsoc.bsky.social (NY Chapter) for a panel on writing historical fiction. Here's our write-up of Part 1, offering tips for writers working on a book that takes years to complete. Part 2 will cover balancing research & great storytelling, and trends in historical fiction.

I can’t wait to read Carrie Courogen’s MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST (NBCC finalist). Mike Nichols and Elaine May were mind-blowing, brilliant in improv, sketch comedy, and directing. In their Broadway run, after their sketches, they ended each night with spontaneous improv. (Judy)

@dianemehta.bsky.social, congrats on the publication of your essay collection! Can't wait to read it. (Judy)

Letters from My Mother With one thousand dollars in her pocket, my mother went on a European tour in June 1957, when she was twenty-three years old. She took a ferry to England and caroused across several continents.

Anticipating the release of my book Happier Far next week, I wrote this piece about my mother’s letters home, and her reading, when she was in her twenties and on her first European tour. Link at JBC or my website for my book! xo

including books by Morgan Talty, Matthew Specktor, Jeannie Vanasco, Kristen Arnett, Myriam Chancy, Pamela Erens, Courtney Maum, Natalia Theodoridou, & Lena Valencia. I’m wishing Tin House and Zando a happy partnership. (Anne)

Zando Acquires Tin House The respected literary press, founded in 2002, will become an imprint of the expanding independent publisher Zando, which was launched by former Crown publisher Molly Stern in 2020.

A big change for my favorite indie press but I think a positive one, as it will keep @tinhouse.bsky.social's great backlist in print&secure their future, under longtime editorial director Masie Cochran. Having copyedited more than 70 (!) Tin House books since 2011, I have a long list of favorites...

including books by Morgan Talty, Matthew Specktor, Jeannie Vanasco, Kristen Arnett, Myriam Chancy, Pamela Erens, Courtney Maum, Natalia Theodoridou, and Lena Valencia. I’m wishing Tin House and Zando a happy partnership. (Anne)

Historical fiction authors & agents: Join 5E editors Judy Sternlight, Jane Rosenman, & Leslie Wells for a free Zoom with the Historical Novel Society March 25, 4–5:30 pm ET. We’ll discuss common challenges, the research process, & trends in historical fiction. Q&A to follow. Register: www.hnsnyc.org