The New York Times today has an article that speaks volumes about the publishing industry, especially to those who don’t realize how hectic it can be.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has stopped accepting manuscripts, in other words, working only with what they already have in the pipeline until they end the freeze. What will the literary agents do? I interned with an agent before landing at Cambridge, and I can understand the sensation this is causing amongst agencies; this only narrows their opportunities to place manuscripts with the most appropriate editors.

Meanwhile:

At the other end of the spectrum was Hachette Book Group, whose Little, Brown and Grand Central Publishing units together represent some of the biggest commercial authors, including David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille and James Patterson, not to mention the category-killing vampire queen, Stephenie Meyer.

As first reported by Publishers Lunch, an industry newsletter, Hachette is giving bonuses equal to one week’s salary to every employee in the company, in addition to the regular bonuses for which staff members are eligible. Just last month Reagan Arthur, a star editor at Little, Brown, signed a deal for a reported $6 million with the actress and writer Tina Fey to write a book of humorous essays.

Some are bracing for tough times, others are doing just fine because of their big hits. It’s the great battle of the long-selling backlist classics vs. the short-term smash hits. The article largely focuses on trade houses. While academic publishing has produced its star authors and big-sellers (always nice), I’m curious to see how it’ll work out on that end. Furthering scholarly discourse produces a lot of backlist, and online sales can keep the books around for a long time.

In our case not testing the waters of popular tastes, we’re looking for and highlighting intellectual trends. That is a nice place to be.

Have a great holiday, American readers! I won’t be around to update the site or moderate discussion until Monday.

Lots of news lately for A Revolution in Taste, but there’s plenty going on. The November 30 issue of The New York Times Book Review featured a full review.

Publishers Weekly, in a recent starred review, called Susan Pinkard’s A Revolution in Taste “a wealth of lore and trivia.” Pinkard’s recipes will be showcased on December 13 by David McCallum at his Tilghman Island Inn at a special dinner. Susan will be there, signing books.

If you’re in the mood for cornish hen bisque, or lamb chops with a bitter orange glaze, there’s a weekend destination just for you. If you can’t make it, don’t fret! A Revolution in Taste is full of recipes, and we’ve been posting them here for good measure.

Bon Appétit!

In an Op-Ed in this morning’s New York Daily News, Justice Denied author Marci Hamilton decries another situation in which sexual abusers are shielded from public scrutiny. It’s a familiar criticism of the Catholic church, but this time, it’s happening in New York’s Orthodox Jewish community.

Most people think our culture offers no sympathy to perpetrators of child sexual abuse and goes to great lengths to protect victims. But in reality, sex criminals still get far too much protection and victims far too little help. The most recent reminder is the case of Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is sitting on files that detail such abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community - including the names of 60 accused sexual predators.

Hikind isn’t revealing the information to the authorities because, he says, his sources - the people who say they were victims - had sworn him to secrecy and are afraid of becoming outcasts in their community. But the case, and Hikind’s excuses, only underline the need for urgent reform.

First, he says that most of the victims are in their late 20s or older, meaning the statutes of limitations have expired and no prosecution or civil lawsuit could be filed. Regrettably, that is true; state law mandates that criminal charges must be filed by the time a victim is 18 and civil claims by 23.

Second, Hikind maintains that the victims spoke to him in confidence. Again, this is correct. If Hikind were a doctor, police officer or one of the other professionals required by state law to report such abuse, he would be prohibited from refusing to inform authorities because of a deal with victims. He is not.

This is infuriating. In the name of protecting victims, a state assemblyman is shielding people accused of committing the most heinous crimes imaginable.

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Future Imperfect author David Friedman spoke at the CATO Institute earlier this month. The edited podcast and Book Forum video are now live.

Listen to the Podcast >>

The full video of the presentation can be found here.