Yesterday, I ran a letter from USA Today book reviewer Deirdre Donahue saying that “book media has a real responsibility to readers to showcase new talent,” which led one author to ask, “If you look at USA Today‘s book coverage, you see Harry Potter, David Baldacci, Sue Grafton, Richard Matheson, etc. What is USA Today doing to showcase new talent?”
Colleen Lindsay, whose track record as a publicist includes stints at Del Rey, Soho Press, and most recently Doubleday, had this to say about that:
“As a publicist who has primarily specialized in genre, I’ve found that the book editors at USA Today are far more willing to take a chance on a new author, particularly a strong science fiction/fantasy author than most of the other traditional print media. USA Today has consistently helped new authors in this field break new ground, authors like David Anthony Durham (Acacia) and Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon). In fact, I would venture to say that the magnificent USA Today review of Altered Carbon helped launch Morgan’s career in the United States.
“I’ve consistently found that every book editor at USA Today has been open to a well-crafted pitch for a debut novelist; they’re also always open to new ideas and new trends in books and publishing. I wish I could say the same about some of the other major newspapers in this country.”