SEND A MESSAGE: Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It!

WATCH THIS VIDEO.

If you know anyone who's thinking that Hillary is just whining about being unfairly treated by the media, maybe this video will change their minds.

The Women's Media Center and Media Matters launched "Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It" to illustrate "the pervasive nature of sexism in the media's coverage."

If you watch the video and think to yourself, This is not okay, then sign the petition.


---Brooke

an update for our readers

This post is to let our readers, authors, supporters, and critics know that we are moving forward with our anti-racism training with StirFry Seminars and Consulting. Thank you, Elusis, for suggesting them. Our training date is on June 26th, and every employee who works on Seal titles will be encouraged to attend, and the four of us dedicated to Seal (Krista and I, along with our publicists, Andie and Eva) are absolutely attending.

In addition to our training, we are taking steps toward hiring consultants to help us review some proposals and possible acquisitions. I've personally reached out to agents and a handful of authors as well. These are our first steps, and we are committed to the constant pushing forward of these larger agendas and goals we've promised to pay attention to.

Thanks for checking in and we'll continue to update you periodically on our progress.

---Brooke

Ode to authors

This week I'd like to thank the amazing The Boss of You duo, Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears.

It's been such a pleasure to work with these two incredibly smart women. We're proud to have their book on our list. Not only did they write a great book, which we've all found to be really helpful and informative, but they're really working the promotion part of their publishing experience effectively---like pros. We appreciate their efforts immensely.

Lauren and Emira's production schedule was smack in the middle of Seal's acquisition by PBG. Their editor was laid off, and they had to go with the flow as we shuffled and reorganized. We did, and they did, and everything turned out A-OK. Thanks you two for being patient and having faith.

Check out their website www.laurenandemira.com---a great example of what a website can be and do.

Thanks you two.

K.

three cheers, California!

Five years ago I was the maid of honor in my childhood friend's wedding. My dad officiated. Family and friends came from miles away to celebrate. The day was perfect. The brides were beautiful. I've always referred to that day as a wedding, but it wasn't. It was a commitment ceremony, which never lessened its validity in my mind or my friend's, but it certainly did in the eyes of the law.

So here we are, almost five years to the date (their anniversary is in June), able to say that we're making progress---though certainly circuitously. Today's California Supreme Court decision (READ IT) apparently still has to go to the voters in a constitutional referendum from what I've read today. Then California will be the second American state (after Massachusetts) with full marriage rights.

I especially appreciated this part of the opinion:

"[A]ffording same-sex couples the opportunity to obtain the designation of marriage will not impinge upon the religious freedom of any religious organization, official, or any other person; no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs."


Yay for separation of church and state, something that's been far too conflated during these long Bush years.


---Brooke

how can you make your sex sexier?

Read Sexier Sex.
This new Q&A with the author and Cory Silverberg was a good reminder for me about everything that's awesome about this book.

The book has eight parts that offer "easy to follow answers to common and not so common sexual interests."

Like what, you wanna know?

* How to Make Erotic Art with Cell Phones
* How to Delete Your Ex
* How to Have Cybersex
* How to Use Technology to Have More Time for Sex

One of my favorites is How to Seduce Someone in 160 Characters or Less and How to Share Your Orgasm for the Sake of Art.

This book is smart and fun and full of all kinds suggestions, ranging from hot to hotter to hottest. What could be better than making sex sexier, right? And using the things you own---like your computer and your cell phone---to make you a better lover? It's good stuff, I promise.

---Brooke

moms, recommend this to everyone you know!

Seal has long championed books for moms. Over the years we've done a ton of mom books, which have tended to cover ground that's hard to talk about: from sex after baby to postpartum depression to the reality check of finding out that being a mom sometimes sucks.

And though we've tackled a wide range of topics, we've never done a book quite like The Maternal Is Political, just hitting bookstores now. The contributor list alone will make you want to flip through this book and see what it's all about: the late Benazir Bhutto, Barbara Kingsolver, Nancy Pelosi, Rebecca Walker, and Cindy Sheehan are among the writers who give voice to issues that matter to mothers (and by extension should matter to all of us).

This is one of those books that we published because it needed to be published. The editor, Shari MacDonald Strong, pieced together an anthology that really ought to be required reading in an election year. It's raw and charged and doesn't paint a particularly rosy picture. It's one of those books that will serve as a wake-up call, though, for moms and all of us who care about moms, too.

---Brooke

You will definitely laugh--and you might cry too

Sounds scary and foreboding, right?
I know.
But reading about other people's mishaps is not nearly as scary as actually traveling with kids--yours or someone else's. Check out one of our newest titles: How to Fit A Car Seat on a Camel: And Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids.

My kids are older now (13 and 11), but when I think of car trips with a toddler and a baby, or a six-year old and a four-year old, I get a little knot in my stomach (at least I think it's a knot and not the "Sicilian" tuna I had for lunch. Only time will tell). You never knew what was going to happen next if you had the kids on an excursion. Whether you're trapped in a car, a plane, a bus, a boat, or a train, you're still trapped, and you're still responsible. I always felt like I was in hyper-attentive mode waiting for an explosion of sorts. What kind of explosion will it be? That is the question. It's not relaxing. That's just funny to think of now. I can remember thinking that getting away from the house would be relaxing. So gullible. Even my youngest son says I'm gullible. ("What's that word mom, for people you can trick easily? Who'll believe anything?")

It doesn't matter if you're traveling to your mom's house for a holiday or to a place with a pool so the kids can swim, or to another country for an adventure, if you're using vacation days, it will not be a vacation. An experience, yes. An adventure, most certainly. But vacation probably isn't the word I would use.

This is a great collection. Lots of different experiences, with kids of different ages, and travel for all kinds of reasons. It made me laugh and cry. And I wanted to run right home and say to my kids, "Remember the time . . . ."

Thanks to editor Sarah Franklin and her contributor extraordinaire Katherine Ozment for putting it all together and working with us.

Until next time.

K.

Today and the Expat Harem

Check it out!

Seal editors Anastasia Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gokmen were featured on The Today Show when Matt Lauer showed up today in Istanbul during his annual feature, Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?

Congratulations to Anastasia and Jennifer, and check out Tales from the Expat Harem. It's an exciting book that covers a broad range of experiences about what it's like to live as a foreigner in modern Turkey.

---Brooke