The end of 2015 is upon us. We know that you're busy (and even though many people are on vacation, emails never seem to stop). So we'll keep this issue short and, as always, we thank you for reading!
Also as always, we invite you to keep in touch with us between newsletters by clicking any of the buttons above to "like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and/or discover fresh content on our website. (If you have received this newsletter because someone has forwarded it to you, please be sure to subscribe for updates yourself.) Thanks so much!
—Erika Dreifus, Media Editor
Our Year in Books
We have come a long way in the past 12 months. This time last year, we were definitely the new kid on the publishing block. We hadn't yet published a single title.
But over the course of 2015, we released six books—all novels—in both print and e-book formats: Alan Cheuse's Prayers for the Living(with a foreword by Tova Mirvis), a new edition of Meyer Levin's Compulsion(with a foreword by Marcia Clark and an introduction by Gabriel Levin), Jonathan Papernick's The Book of Stone, Jessamyn Hope's Safekeeping, Ben Nadler's The Sea Beach Line and our re-issue of Edward Lewis Wallant's The Pawnbroker(with a foreword by Dara Horn).
As we prepared these books and launched them, we had the pleasure and privilege of getting to know so many of you: readers, librarians, booksellers, conferencegoers, event organizers, magazine/newspaper/website editors, bloggers, and assorted other bibliophiles. We're immensely grateful for every review, author interview, purchase, and other way in which you've helped our books and authors meet the reading public.
Please stay tuned for news of our 2016 releases—we promise that they'll be worth the wait!
Remembering Alan Cheuse
If you've seen the latest issue of Moment magazine (November-December 2015), you may have caught a letter there penned by our publisher, Fredric D. Price, in response to the magazine's earlier tribute to Alan Cheuse. As we've sadly noted in an earlier newsletter, Alan passed away at the end of July, as a result of complications from an automobile accident.
Alan wore many hats beyond that of Fig Tree author. Most likely, you knew him as a beloved and insightful NPR book commentator. He was also a wonderful fiction editor for Moment, and so it's fitting that Fred's letter appeared in Moment's pages.
Alan's passing this summer was a low point of 2015. We miss him very much, and we continue to send our thoughts and best wishes to his family.
New on Our Blog
Lately on our blog: a spotlight on the prestigious Ribalow Prize (and Amy Sawatzky's discussion of last year's winning title). A celebration of the Association of Jewish Libraries #Readukkah project. Memoir-writing lessons gleaned from Shulem Deen at a recent Jewish Book Council gathering. And of course, a new installment of fascinating online discoveries relating to American Jewish Experience (AJE), broadly defined.
Please come visit—FigTreeBooks.net/blog—and comment! We'll look forward to seeing you there in the new year.
Thanks so much for being a part of FTB's 2015. We look forward to sharing more good times and great reads with you in the next year.
