Q&A with Kevin Williams, editor of "The Amish Cook's Anniversary Book "

For those who don't know, what's your book about?
The Amish Cook's Anniversary Book celebrates 20 years of Amish Cook columns. The Amish Cook column is a syndicated feature appearing in over 100 newspapers in the States. For people unfamiliar with the column, this book offers a great primer and a perfect gateway to "catching up" quickly on the past two decades.

What's your favorite recipe in the book?
The pumpkin roll on page 268 is really amazing! Delicious!


What's a perfect Amish breakfast for yourself?
Eggs, fresh bacon, homemade sausage gravy, homemade biscuits, toast, cheese, cookies, and coffee soup.

Which dessert is the most popular amongst the Amish community?
Homemade ice cream, page 231 is probably a favorite.....surprisingly it is often made in winter, it's not a summer treat...Amish have access to plenty of ice in the winter, not so much in the summer (without having electricity, there are no freezers for ice).

Which soup recipe would you recommend most?
The zucchini soup on page 57 is amazingly flavorful and filling, so that is a great choice!

5 Questions with the authors of "Fuhgeddaboudit!"

What inspired this book?
The current Jersey Shore craze inspired the book. The stereotypes we poke fun at in the book have been around forever, but with the popularity of Jersey Shore we realized that it was a time for a book like this on the market.


What are your thoughts on the show Jersey Shore?
It’s outrageous. We understand why some Italians are offended, but you need to just laugh at the show because it is so ridiculous. A lot of their behavior isn’t because they are Italian. Put any group of 20-somethings in a house on the shore and you’ll find the same things going on.

What's the easiest way to spot a Guido?
It’s all in the attitude really. The strong scent of Axe and cigars doesn’t hurt either. Look for big muscles, tight shirts (preferably Ed Hardy), and lots of gel.


What's the best and worst attributes of a Guido?
The best attribute of a Guido is their love of family and friends. I think the best scenes on the Jersey Shore are when they sit down for Sunday dinner. That’s what it’s all about. The worst attributes are the cockiness and willingness to throw a punch at the drop of a dime.


How can you spot a Guida?
We don’t discriminate in the book. There are lots of “guida” or “guidette” entries in there as well. The best way to spot a Guida is the size of her hair and the length of her nails.

5 Questions with Naomi Harris, author of America Swings

How do you come up with the concept for the book?


The concept for America Swings came about while I was living in Miami. I had moved there to photograph the residents of Haddon Hall Hotel,the last hotel in South Beach that allowed senior citizens to live there. When I wasn’t working I used to go to the nude beach. I didn’t know at first that a fair amount of these nudists were also swingers. One Sunday night, shortly before I moved away from Miami in 2002, I was invited by my friend Ron, a fellow beach goer, to be his “date” and go to a swing club (single men are not allowed to attend). He knew I was a photographer and thought I would find the scene interesting. It was in a strip mall in a very commercial part of town. Non-descript, downright seedy from the outside, but inside there was a dance floor and a large buffet complete with a chef in white with a big chef’s hat carving roast beef and serving scalloped potatoes. Everyone stuffed themselves and then 20 minutes later retired to the back room to engage in sex. You were not permitted to enter the back dressed; you had to change into a towel. As a nudist I was fine with that, as a young lady I felt like a piece of sirloin.

We went in the group sex room, which was more or less a row of about six mismatched beds pushed together. This was the first time I had ever seen anyone having sex in person. My friend leaned over to me and said “isn’t that hot?” and I nodded in agreement, but it was all I could do to contain my laughter. I found the whole situation to be hilarious perhaps because everyone else was taking it so seriously. We stayed and watched for a couple of hours but neither of us did anything. That was the understanding; I was his guest but he had no expectations of me whatsoever. When we left I knew I had to start photographing this, because no one would believe me when I told stories of what I’d seen, like the woman at 3:00 in the morning picking food from the breakfast buffet stark naked but for her heels. And I wasn’t aware of anyone who had really photographed this before.

When I returned to New York I began researching a variety of swing parties but it would be another year and a half before I began photographing. I decided on Swingstock, a four day camping and fornication festival that was held in the summer time in Wisconsin partily because I had seen it on the HBO show “Real Sex” so I knew the party organizers would be alright with having someone photographing their event. This party would be the first of about 38 parties shot over the next 48 months.



What's a big misconception about Swingers?

I think a lot of people think swingers are sexual deviants that would hump anything if given the chance but that's just not true. Swingers tend to be Caucasian, in their mid 30s to mid 50s, from the middle to upper-middle class, and are better educated than the average American. While they tend to be liberal it is usually only in their attitude towards sex as many of them are from religious Christian homes. I myself found this odd that you could have people fucking all Saturday night long only to get up the next morning to go to church. But I learned that many did not believe swinging to be a sin as having consensual sex with others with your partner present isn’t considered to be adultery. That was the biggest surprise, how conservative and straight laced many of these people would appear to be to the outside world with the exception of their penchant for extramarital sex with numerous partners.


What did you learn from this experience?

Good question. I guess I can say that I after seeing that much sex I became desensitized, sort of like someone who works in the porn industry. For me being at these parties it was all about the composition and the lighting rather than me actually observing sex. I think that helped me get through it in the end. My libido was certainly affected by this project. But I also learned a lot about human nature and my own limitations as far as sex goes. I always likened myself to be a bit of a wild child but at the end of the day I’m just plain old vanilla.


Were people shy about being photographed?

Swingers are perhaps the most out there, exhibitionistic group I’ve ever met. Everything is turned into a dirty joke that revolves around sex. And while many could not participate in being photographed for fear of losing their jobs or family, I really do think most of the swingers appreciated the fact that I wanted to promote their lifestyle in a positive manner. They allowed me into their community even though I am not a swinger myself because I embraced what they were doing. I dressed the role: if the party was a lingerie themed event I too wore a teddy, if it was a nude pool party, I photographed in the buff as well (except for my tool belt). I really think it’s important to embrace whatever culture you are trying to document and I believe they appreciated the efforts I made. Sure I had people hit on me and try to get me to participate at the parties but I graciously declined and no one seemed to mind, they would simply move onto the next person.


Who were the most interesting swingers you met?

That's really a tough one, like asking a parent who their favourite child is. I certainly hold certain people dear to my heart because they either looked out for me or opened their homes to be to photograph in. I did find that many swingers would try to take care of me and take me under their wing at these parties. Here I was, a young single girl traveling across the country by myself attending sex parties. I guess they felt the need to keep a friendly watch over me. I guess that's what's really amazing about swingers, the fact that society tends to think of them as being lust hungry and out for one thing when really swingers tend to be very sweet and caring people. I went to clubs where I saw people raising money to pay for a fellow swingers hospital bills. Or help rebuild a club members home that burned down in a fire. You don't see that every day in the "vanilla" world.

5 Questions with Leah Wilson, editor, Filled With Glee

Why has this show caught on so well with North Americans?

That’s a hard question to answer, I think, because Glee gives viewers a lot to like—there’s something for almost everybody. It taps into the same love of watching talented people perform that made American Idol so popular. It’s full of sharp, funny one-liners and over-the-top characters—but at the same time it’s very earnest, almost painfully sincere, and manages to keep its characters so relatable that they can bring us to tears. There’s something to love in every single episode, whether it’s a piece of clever choreography, an off-hand observation from Brittany, or a meaningful lesson about inclusiveness.

It’s hard to not like Glee. Even people who criticize the show still seem charmed, almost despite themselves. The show’s energy, and its attitude, is just infectious.

Why should Glee fans check out this book?

Because reading this book will make Glee better—or at least, it will make you appreciate Glee even more. Filled With Glee is like a companion guide on steroids: It includes the usual episode guide, with detailed song lists and trivia and biographies. But it also gives you a dozen very smart, very funny people sharing their thoughts on Glee. Working on this book has changed the way I watch the show, and for the better.

Are glee clubs getting more popular now because of the program?

I don’t know that I’m qualified to answer this question, but my guess is that the answer is yes. One of our contributors, Jamie Chambers, wrote a piece for the book with tips for starting a glee club in your high school or community . . . and ended up forming his own group as a result.

Thanks to Glee, glee clubs have definitely been given a reputation upgrade. The characters in Glee may be at the bottom of the high school hierarchy, but the show itself is at the top of the television heap.

Which episode was the most exciting to watch for you?

It’s hard to pick an episode, actually—but I can certainly pick moments (and unsurprisingly, most of those moments are songs). Artie’s “Safety Dance”; more recently, “The Time Warp” (how amazing was Chris Colfer’s Riff Raff?). “Don’t Stop Believin’” from the pilot still makes my heart clench every time. Actually, if I had to pick, I might just pick the pilot. It was so sharp, and so funny, and so fresh, that it’s hard for anything that followed to really match its impact.

What was your favorite chapter of the book?

Let me dodge this question the same way I tried to do the last question: I can’t pick a favorite essay, but I can give you some of my favorite parts of essays. I love Claudia Gray’s insightful encapsulation of Glee’s storytelling style (“the show often takes a story, pushes it past humor to a place that’s borderline uncomfortable, and then finds its way to a graceful, meaningful conclusion”). I love Jennifer Crusie’s description of Sue as “the salt in Glee’s chocolate soufflé.” I love the way Jonna Rubin takes Will to task (and her horror at his weakness for old-school hip-hop). I love that A.M. Dellamonica calls Finn and Puck frenemies, and I love the way Gregory Stevenson treats glee club as a character in its own right.

I also love every single one of our “Share Your Glee” stories: the winning submissions from Glee fans about how the show has affected them. Because that’s the best thing about Glee, and the thing that I think Filled With Glee shows more than anything else: how the show has touched its viewers’ lives.

5 Questions with John Torinu, author of “The Company That Solved Health Care”

How did this book come about?

The book came to life through the experiences of taming run-away costs of health care at my company, Serigraph Inc. We simply couldn't afford the hyper-inflation any more, not if we wanted to keep offering a full package of benefits to our co-workers. So, I asked them to help me manage health and health costs in innovative ways. They responded and we have tamed the beast. I thought the rest of the country should know about what's possible with grassroots reforms. Hence, the book.



What was the most intriguing chapter to write?

I think the most mind-opening experience was to see what "lean" health care providers can offer. They are taking the errors out of medicine and mountains of wasted time and resources, Most hospitals and clinics are grossly under-managed, almost pandemoniums of redundant and unnecessary activities. `Their intentions are the best, but the inefficiencies are staggering. Lean disciplines, similar to those that have greatly improved quality and lowered cost in manufacturing, tackle those inefficiencies. Theda Care in Appleton, for example, has eliminated millions in dollars in waste and has immensely improved quality. Believe it or not, its people have eliminated infections in its operating rooms. We give incentives to our co-workers to use that "center of value." The chapter on "lean" providers reports that prices there are 30-40% below those we pay elsewhere.



What's the main message you'd like readers to walk away with?

I would like readers to come away with the understanding that good management and innovation can reform healthy care economics. It's not going to happen with top-down mandates. It is going to happen from the bottom up, when every American takes responsibility for his or her health and spending on medical treatments.


What's the future like of health care in America?

The performance of America's health care system on the medical side is often sensational. Many cancers, for instance, have become treatable instead of fatal. My titanium hip with a ceramic coating allows me to cross-country ski in marathon competitions. Amazing. And that progress will continue. But the economic side of U.S. medicine is a disaster. The soaring costs are bankrupting companies, governments at all levels and individuals. But private sector reforms prove that costs can be controlled with proper behaviors. Those reforms will be adopted across the land, because they will have to be. The financial pain is so great that such costs reforms are inevitable.



QWhat projects are you working on next?

Our next goal at Serigraph is to get every one of our diabetics under control, as measured by three blood tests. Diabetes is a nasty disease with ugly consequences, and it very expensive to treat. Our on-site doctors, nurses and dietician are intensively coaching each diabetic and pre-diabetic employee to follow necessary regimens. It's working. We have cut our out-of-control diabetic numbers sharply. We won't be satisfied until they are all in control. We are attacking other chronic diseases in similar fashion. Some 80% of U.S. health care costs stem from the chronic diseases. Of late, we have made huge progress on obesity, which, of course, ties back to diabetes. A group of 60 employees has lost more than 800 pounds of weight over the last year .

5 Questions with Nicola Lees, author of Greenlit

 

If someone has put together a documentary and wants to sell it, what are their next steps to making that happen?
There are two basic approaches.

If you are aiming primarily at the TV market you would research your subject, secure any relevant access to people, places or archive and write a compelling one page proposal, which you would use to sell your idea. It's also increasingly common to make a 2-3 minute pitch tape (or 'sizzle') that showcases your contributors, subject or filming style. You would then approach the relevant executives at various TV channels (or production companies if you have no production experience) with your idea and try to get a meeting. Once you've given a verbal pitch and the buyer has committed to it - and released the budget - you are able to go off and make your documentary.

If you are an independent filmmaker, the more usual route is to film something first, make a fund-raising trailer to show to potential investors, raise enough money from grant foundations, TV channels and other funding sources (such as online crowd funding sites) to complete the filming, then go back to raise more money for post production. You would then enter your finished documentary into festivals around the world in the hope that it might win awards and pick up interest from buyers. In this model you have more control over the content of your documentary, but you also have the added responsibility of sustained fund-raising and of also managing distribution. Independent documentaries can be picked up for TV transmission via this route, as many of the TV buyers attend the big documentary festivals in the hope of finding completed films they can acquire for their channel.

What are common mistakes people make when pitching their ideas?
I interviewed commissioning executives from around the world about the mistakes that people commonly make when pitching, and their complaints were surprisingly similar. The most common are:

1. Not watching the channel to which they are pitching their idea and therefore having no sense of whether their documentary fits that channel's brief

2. Pitching an idea for a show that has already been on air

3. Writing a long and complicated proposal that runs to several pages; if you haven't grabbed their attention in the first paragraph they're not going to read any further
4. Pitching the subject and not the story - the issue might be very important, and you might be passionate about it because it's close to your heart, but no-one wants to spend time and money watching a film to be told that something is important, they want to watch a good story unfold. The old advice to 'show, don't tell' is still good advice.

5. Failing to read the situation and respond appropriately. Three buyers told me that they had each been pitched in the restroom; unsurprisingly all those would-be producers failed to get a commission.


Do you need to have an agent to sell your idea?
Every market works in a slightly different way. Having an agent is crucial if you are selling in LA and not necessary if you are pitching in the UK. An agent acts as a barrier between the overworked channel executives and everyone who thinks they have the next big thing (and that's everyone with an idea). An agent will filter the good proposals and arrange meetings with relevant channel executives, acting as a guarantor that the idea is worth their time. In a smaller market, such as the UK, if you have a great idea but no production track record, you can pitch your idea to a well established production company who will - if they like your idea - make the introductions to channel executives.

What are executives looking for when they hear or read a pitch?
Several things are going through their minds. Firstly, they are trying to visualize what it will look like on screen - what's the genre, the story and the approach? Who are the characters? Next, they are assessing whether it will fit in with their existing schedule in terms of duration, tone and audience demographic. They want to know if it can be made within their budget. And then they are wondering how they can market it - that's why a killer title and celebrity involvement always helps a pitch.

What's a tip you'd give to people looking to get their factual/reality TV ideas to come to fruition?
Work on building your relationships with people in the industry as soon as you can. TV executives buy pitches from people they know, and people they like, and building those relationships and a good reputation take a long time. Go to industry talks, conferences and networking sessions and make the most of introductions. Be interested and interesting when you meet influential people, and NEVER pitch when you meet someone for the first time in a social situation - it makes you look desperate. Ask for their card and follow up with a polite request for a meeting.

But most of all, be realistic, patient and persistent.

5 Questions with Garry Fabian Miller, author of The Colour of Time

1) How did this book come about?
Over tea with Marina Warner, to discuss writing an essay to accompany recent
work. She mentioned a recent visit by the publisher Black Dog and thought
they might be interested in such a project.

2) Why did you decide to produce a book now?
It had been five years since my monograph Illumine, during which time my
work had evolved in many different directions. A series of exhibitions were
forthcoming, and it seemed the right time to review this period.

3) Which image was most special to yourself?
The Year Two picture Cobolt 3, September 2007. This brought the moment in
which I brought two different light generated colours together. In this case
dark blue and orange. As they touched a hovering third colour, pink,
appeared.

4) What was the most interesting part of this project for you?
Establishing relationships with the three writers, Nigel Warburton, Marina
Warner and Adam Nicolson, who contributed essays to the book. I had long
admired their writing and our dialogue helped me to understand my work in
new ways.

5) What's next for yourself?
The new book, The Colour of Time, coincides with exhibitions at the Victoria
and Albert Museum and my London gallery Hackelbury Fine Art, and also shows
in New York at Danziger Projects and the Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh. These
look back across thirty years, and I hope may suggest new ways forward.