Craft bartender Kayoko Akabori and sake sommelier Yoko Kumano have selected Clarkson Potter to publish Everyday Sake, their approachable yet sophisticated introduction to the unique Japanese drink. Founders of the Oakland-based Japanese imports store Umami Mart, the pair will use their book to demystify sake for modern drinkers, looking at its history and range of styles while providing guidance on serving, cocktail making, and food pairing. With lighthearted pop-art illustrations and infographics, Everyday Sake will speak to novices and aficionados alike, opening doors for those who want an alternative to wine or beer on any night of the week.
Sean Sherman Honored at Julia Child Gala
Sean Sherman was feted at the 9th Annual Julia Child Award Gala on October 24, a few months after receiving the prestigious accolade in recognition of his impact on the American culinary scene as a staunch advocate of Indigenous foodways. The award comes on the heels of Time magazine naming the Lakota chef to its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023, while his groundbreaking Owamni restaurant in Minneapolis continues to win the praise of critics everywhere. Sherman recently spoke with Forbes magazine about his life and the work that has earned him all this enthusiastic attention.
Hardie Grant Publishes Slow Drinks by Danny Childs
Today marks the release of Slow Drinks: A Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Sodas, Botanical Cocktails, Homemade Wines, and More by ethnobotanist and bartender Danny Childs, who runs the standard-setting beverage program at The Farm and Fisherman Tavern near Philadelphia. Focusing on seasonality and preservation techniques, this innovative book explains how to transform botanical ingredients―whether foraged, grown in the garden, or purchased from the store―into incredibly unique beverages and cocktails. Thoughtfully put together with beautiful photographs and illustrations, Slow Drinks will appeal to bartenders, do-it-yourselfers, foodies, homesteaders, homebrewers, food activists, and anyone with a sense of adventure.
University of California Press Acquires Lindsey Smith's Leaving for Good
Climate journalist Lindsey Smith has reached an agreement with the University of California Press to cover managed retreat in a narrative nonfiction book entitled Leaving for Good: The Heartbreak and Hope of Climate Retreat in California. Pairing rigorous reporting with personal essay, Smith will describe how climate change is battering her home state of California and how managed retreat—the coordinated movement of people and infrastructure away from potential threats—will be required to address this challenge. Featuring wildfire survivors, beachfront homeowners, state senators, low-income renters, urban planners, climate scientists, psychologists, and others grappling with this controversial policy strategy, the book will weave in Smith’s own emotional journey as it explores how the places we love give our lives meaning and shape our identities, and how we will respond when the climate crisis takes those places from us.
Sustainable Seafood Cookbook by Zimmern and Seaver Sold at Auction to HarperCollins
HarperCollins’ Harvest imprint has acquired Blue Food: Hope in the Water: Sustainable Eating from Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers, a seafood cookbook with guidance on responsible sourcing and 170 exciting recipes for fish, shellfish, seaweed, and sea vegetables. Written by Emmy and James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, and activist Andrew Zimmern and sustainability expert and educator Barton Seaver, the cookbook will tell stories from around the world showcasing modern and traditional fishing and aquaculture, demonstrating how both are key to our food and climate future. Featuring a foreword by actress Shailene Woodley and photography by Eric Wolfinger, the book will accompany the forthcoming PBS docuseries “Hope in the Water,” with both being produced in partnership with the nonprofit Fed By Blue.
Pooja Bavishi's Malai Cookbook Sold to Weldon Owen
Weldon Owen has acquired Pooja Bavishi’s Malai: Frozen Desserts with South Asian Flavors, a groundbreaking cookbook featuring 90 unique recipes such as Besan Burfi Ice Cream Pie, Nimbu Pani Frozen Lemonade, Ghughra Sticky Buns, and Chai Molasses Cookies. The cookbook’s title — a north Indian word that loosely translates to “cream of the crop” — is also the name of Bavashi’s Brooklyn-based artisanal ice cream company, which she launched in 2015 to celebrate the culture and traditions that she grew up with. In the same spirit of her now-beloved company, her forthcoming cookbook will showcase the first-generation experience and the richness and versatility of Indian spices, suffused in everything from ice creams, non-dairy treats, frozen desserts, baked goods, and toppings.
Asada Delivers Summer Buzz
Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling (Abrams), the new book from Oaxaca authors Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral, has grabbed the spotlight as one of the most exciting cookbooks heading into summer. Covering the delectable and vibrant tradition of Mexican backyard grilling, the book was featured on “The Today Show” (with a live cooking demo on Rockefeller Plaza) and made a splash as the cover story for Food & Wine magazine’s June issue. Named one of Bon Appétit’s best cookbooks of the spring, Asada has also been covered by the BBC and the San Jose Mercury News, while Lopez and Cabral have been interviewed on “The Dave Chang Show” and NPR affiliate KCRW.
Scribe Publishes English Edition of Tatiana Salem Levy's Latest Novel
Tatiana Salem Levy’s latest novel, Vista Chinesa, has been published in English by Scribe. Translated from Portuguese by Alison Entrekin, the story follows an architect forced to grapple with the trauma of a rape and its aftermath while civil unrest haunts the backdrop of 2014 Rio de Janeiro. The New York Times has called Vista Chinesa “powerful” while Publishers Weekly has praised it as “vital.” Levy’s first novel, A Chave de Casa, won Brazil’s São Paulo Prize for Literature and was later published in English as The House in Smyrna, also by Scribe. A writer, essayist, and researcher at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Levy lives in Lisbon, where she is also a columnist for the newspaper Valor Econômico.
Emily Meggett Passes Away at 90
South Carolina’s Edisto Island community and the larger culinary world lost a beloved keeper of historic African American foodways last week as Gullah Geechee elder Emily Meggett passed away at age 90. Carrying the lineage of Gullah Geechee culture, Meggett’s remarkable cooking contributions supported the preservation of the rich food traditions, language, and music of a recognized National Heritage Area. Meggett documented her amazing legacy last year with the publication of Gullah Geechee Home Cooking (Abrams), a New York Times best seller that was just nominated for a James Beard Award. She is survived by eight children and more than 65 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. She was a truly special woman and will be dearly missed.
Mark Eisner's Tina Modotti biography sold to Yale University Press
Yale University Press has acquired Mark Eisner’s Art as a Weapon: Tina Modotti and Her Years at the Heart of the Mexican Cultural Renaissance, the biography of a fascinating and influential photographer who in the 1920s collaborated with such artists and activists as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Siqueiros to merge art and politics amid the intellectual ferment following the Mexican Revolution. A renegade and self-made revolutionary artist, Modotti immigrated from Italy to the U.S. in her late teens and became at various times a Hollywood silent film actress; the lover, model, and later protegée of famed photographer Edward Weston; and a communist activist and Soviet spy in Franco’s Spain. Author Mark Eisner is a scholar, editor, translator, and biographer whose Neruda: The Poet’s Calling (Ecco, 2018) was named a finalist for the PEN/Bograd Weld Prize for Biography.
