paper trail

Jul 29, 2011 @ 4:00:00 am

George Plimpton and Mr. Puss, the cat.

Does the term "advertorial" (a collision between "advertising" and "editorial") seem less off-putting when applied to books? The Staff Recommends, a publisher-backed books site spearheaded by members of McSweeneys and the Morning News, hopes so.

A Kickstarter campaign to finance a documentary about Paris Review editor George Plimpton (titled Plimpton!) is gathering momentum. With 28 days left to go, filmmakers have raised more than half of the $25,000 needed to pay for archival footage.

Unbound, the “Kickstarter for books,” works by allowing members to propose a book idea, then letting the internet public fund it (or not). Fast Company reports that the start-up may have raised enough money to finance its first project: a book by Monty Python’s Terry Jones.

Little, Brown is banking on any publicity being good publicity: To the irritation of booksellers, the publishing house has sent out an email blast announcing the last-minute addition of Untitled, by Anonymous, to its fall lineup—a book described only as a “the inside story of life with one of the most controversial figures of our time.” Rumor has it that it's a Madoff tell-all.