When the news broke yesterday afternoon that Gawker’s new co-editor – and the unmasked author of the site’s anonymous publishing column, Unsolicited – was Emily Gould, reactions ranged from “we know nothing about Miss Gould” to “so much awesome.” Eat the Press provided some of Gould’s background, including freelance writing for The Black Table, Bookslut & New York Magazine, but for those clamoring for more info, GalleyCat’s done some research.
First up is Gould’s tenure as an associate editor for Hyperion, which reportedly ends on Monday (when reached for comment, Gould would only confirm that she wrote “Unsolicited,” stressing that she was “under strict orders not to say anything more.”) According to Publishers Marketplace, Gould is named as editor on four deals dating back to March 2005: a graphic novel version of DANTE’S INFERNO, Tom Reynolds‘ I HATE MYSELF AND WANT TO DIE: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You’ve Ever Heard, Kara Zuaro‘s I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD: An Indie Rock Cookbook and a book of political humor by the radio talk show host Lionel.
But that’s not all: along with fellow Hyperion editor and pal Zareen Jaffery, Gould’s about to make her debut as a writer. Agent Julie Barer sold their project, HEX EDUCATION, to Kristen Pettit at Penguin’s Razorbill imprint. The pitch? “a girl is forced to leave her fabulous life in L.A for the fictional town of Mythic, Massachusetts, only to be taken in by the three coolest girls in town, who also happen to be witches and who help her discover her own hidden powers.” The idea came about, as Gould told mediabistro.com’s Rachel Kramer Bussel, “after Zareen had watched The Craft on TV, and I’d been reading the latest Gossip Girls book.” Jaffery wrote the first chapter and asked Gould if she wanted to be her co-author. The end result will be available in stores as in May 2007.
And for those who haven’t met Gould in the flesh, you can watch her performance from a couple of years back at the WYSIWYG Talent Show.
