Meet the Quills
While I was away two posts appeared, Number 28 and Number 29. Very mysterious. If this were a Sandra Bullock movie I would soon be plunged into a sophomoric yet diverting techno thriller, threatened by the very technology that created all the good things taken for granted. The fact that both posts were blank is significant, a prelude to alien abduction. What are they trying to tell us?
It might have to do with the upcoming Quills awards, the attempt at cold fusion in media terms, wherein bookish types will be feted on television. Lots of big hitters form the Quills executive council, Jane Friedman CEO of Harper Collins, Peter Olsen from Random House, Bob Gottlieb of Trident Media from the publishing side along with studio heads, television heads, the chief of McKinsey & Co.’s media practice. Their stated goal is to celebrate excellence in writing and publishing and to promote literacy. That’s nice. On the other hand, the suspicion lingers that book publishers are being seduced into believing that television offers a glamorous alternative to the dull process of promoting their products.
Imagine that the high school cheerleader squad has usurped power, forming a perky junta that judges quality across the spectrum of human endeavor. Knowledge of physics and chemistry might suffer, but we could be consoled by the spectacle of scientists limber enough to perform splits, and, if pressed, a human pyramid. Televising author awards might quickly dissolve into selecting writers who look good in the belief that glam head shots drive sales.
Publishing execs, don’t be afraid of the product you sell. Don’t borrow the busted flush television hides in its fist. Keep your wits about you. Television has less to offer than you think.