Remembering Maxine Clair, a big honor for Crown, Taylor Swift, and more! 🍂
Agate Newsletter for October
Greetings book lovers,
As Fall really kicks in, it’s a time for both celebration and reflection here at Agate. We hope this newsletter finds you enjoying the first changing leaves, the chill in the air, and a good book.
Remembering Agate author Maxine Clair
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Maxine Clair, whose guide to creativity, Imagine This, we published in 2014 here at Agate, where we also reissued her story collection, Rattlebone, and novel, October Suite, in ebook editions.
“It was a privilege to work with Maxine Clair, whose work and career were an inspiration to so many. She could not have been a more gracious partner, and everyone who worked with her here at Agate appreciated her professionalism and consideration,” said Doug Seibold, president of Agate.
Learn more about her books here.
👑 Crown Shines Bright
We’re thrilled to announce that Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut has been named one of Slate’s 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years! Here’s what Slate’s Dan Kois and Rebecca Onion had to say about it:
The growth in publishing about the Black experience has produced any number of picture books, many of them artful and admirable, marking the accomplishments of famous Black role models. Crown is different: a self-assured celebration of everyday Black boyhood, manhood, and community, a testament not to the luminaries but to the prosaic yet formative moment when you leave the barbershop, fresh as anything, neck still stinging, feeling “magnificent. Flawless. Like royalty.”
Read the rest of the list here and buy a copy of Crown here.
🎙️ Anupy Singla in Conversation @ Barbara’s Bookstore in Yorktown
If you’re in the Chicago area, join cookbook author Anupy Singla (Instant Pot Indian, Indian for Everyone, The Indian Slow Cooker, Vegan Indian Cooking) and Doug Seibold on October 11 for a special conversation on how preserving recipes is one of the most meaningful ways to preserve heritage. Whether you dream of writing a cookbook or simply want to start recording your family’s food traditions, this event will give you the inspiration (and practical tips!) to begin.
📅 Saturday, October 11 @ 3 PM
📍 Barbara’s Bookstore, Yorktown Shopping Center (Lombard, IL)
🎟 Free admission
More information here.
🔎 Backlist Spotlight: TAYLOR SWIFT! Now that I have your attention, books!
As The Life of a Showgirl mania hits the nation, we’d like to highlight our books for the Swiftie in your life, whether young or old.
This collection of quotes, curated from Swift’s numerous public statements—interviews, op-eds, social media posts, and more—has been updated to include Swift’s thoughts on all her latest record-breaking achievements: new music, new ventures, and an iconic tour. It’s a comprehensive picture of her meteoric rise to the top, her ever-savvy business sense, and her increasingly vocalized perspective on the music world and beyond. The Young Reader Edition includes educational materials and resources for lesson plans designed to provoke discussion and thought for readers in grades 7–12.
Get Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words here.
Get Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words: Young Reader Edition here.
🔎 Backlist Spotlight: Go Cubs Go!
And with the Cubs in the postseason for the first time since 2020, we’d like to highlight our decade by decade history of the franchise, published in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Cubs takes you through the team’s history, from the franchise’s beginnings in 1876 as the Chicago White Stockings to the triumphant 2016 World Series championship.
Get The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Cubs here.
🪄And that’s not all…
Linda-Marie Barrett, whose book Creating A Salon is out now, writes for LitHub on Why Everyone—Yes, Everyone—Should Join a Book Club.
Preorders continue for fall titles Chicago Homes, Finding Home, and The Hoosier Mama Book of Breakfast Bakes.
Thanks for reading, cooking, cheering, and remembering with us.
Warmly,
The Agate Publishing Team