Hey, Where’d the Doggies of Publishing Go?

By Neal 

Readers have noticed that we haven’t run our usual “dog days of August” posts this year, nor the harvest of cat photos that traditionally appears around the same time. To answer your questions, the feature is, as we say in the trade, being reevaluated—in the meantime, though, those of you who are eager to share pictures of your dog with the rest of the Internet might want to check out a contest being run by Billy Rafferty and Jill Cahr, the co-authors of Happy Dog: Caring For Your Dog’s Body, Mind and Spirit. Every Friday in September (plus the first Friday of October), they’ll pick one photo of a happy dog to feature on their website, with additional prizes including a signed copy of the book and various canine accessories.

For a rough idea of the sorts of pictures they’re looking for, you might want to take a look at the short video Dean Koontz put together for A Big Little Life, his new memoir (and first nonfiction book ever) about the time he spent with a golden retriever after injuries forced it to retire from being a service dog.

And, what the heck, we’ve got time for one more animal video—stay with this post for a short film starring Stacey O’Brien as she talks about Wesley the Owl, a memoir that’s become a bit of a sensation among readers who shop at independent bookstores (especially in Southern California).