As many of you know, we recently celebrated an exciting and important milestone–10 years on the New York Times bestseller list for What to Expect When You’re Expecting. And what better way to celebrate than with our dear author, Heidi Murkoff, plus babies (okay, baby pictures), balloons, and ice cream (with all the toppings)!

The poster below represents just a handful of Workman babies that have been born under the wisdom of What to Expect over the last 25 years, more than 200 reprints, and 4 editions of the book! (Oh, after you get over those sweet faces and chubby cheeks, there is of course, the sweet spread of ice cream toppings–I detect a theme.)

The tubs of deliciousness didn’t last long once Workman party-goers started digging in! Strawberry, cookies and cream,  chocolate, coffee, vanilla ….Mmmm.

There were enough champagne flutes for plenty of toasting (I estimate at least one for each reprint of the book!). Below, Workman group publisher Bob Miller clinks glasses with author Heidi Murkoff and her longtime editor Suzanne Rafer. (Fun fact: Heidi delivered the original proposal for the book to Workman the same day she delivered her daughter!)

And the next generation of What to Expect babies are already on the way! There are three pregnant ladies in this photo — all of whom received a lucky belly pat from Heidi — can you spot them? (Trick question — without insider knowledge, it’s likely you’ll only be able to identify one, we think.)

What do you suppose the people below have in common…besides the fact that they’re attractive actors and actresses?

If you guessed, “THEY’RE GOING TO BE IN THE FORTHCOMING MOVIE WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING!!!” …you are exactly right!

Last week Heidi Murkoff herself came into the office for the official celebration—10 years of What to Expect When You’re Expecting on the New York Times best-seller list! That’s 520 weeks (13 gestation periods!) for all you math geniuses. We had ice cream, champagne, and toasted the success (past, present, and future) of the ever popular bible for parents-to-be. Heidi has helped over fourteen million women get through the unknown, sometimes scary, but always exciting, territory of pregnancy. 

While she was here, Heidi regaled us with tales from the set. Much like Love Actually and Valentine’s Day (you saw that, right?), the movie will be a compilation of intersecting stories about… well, you can probably guess. Though Heidi couldn’t reveal who will be pregnant with whose baby, she was excited about the film’s star-studded cast.  We anticipate that the stork will deliver What to Expect just in time for Mother’s Day 2012!

In the Office…Editorial Library, 9th floor.

Maybe it’s because July is sailing by, or simply because of our office’s proximity to the Hudson River, but the Workman editorial crew sure is feeling nautical today.

Hi again! It’s Jennifer, friendly intern and your eyes-and-ears into the Workman office. By now you’ve heard about my time in sales and at Algonquin Books. My next stop was the Workman editorial department.

I’ve had a great time sifting through “slush,” which is a colloquial publishing term for the unsolicited proposals sent in by people without agents. At first, I was armed with just the guideline that Workman does not accept fiction or memoirs (that’s the domain of Algonquin), so my “Maybe” pile soon towered above the “Yes” and “No” piles. However, after sitting down with one of the editors, who patiently pointed out the reasons why proposals would or would not be accepted, I gained a better understanding of what it takes to be published. It isn’t often that a proposal from slush is actually realized as a published title, and there are several reasons for that. For example, calendars, which I saw a lot of, usually do best when they already have a brand or book behind them. My Gift Sales boss has been talking about how popular LEGO: The Calendar is going to be; its success will be based on the timeless appeal of LEGOs.

The proposal also has to be well researched and backed with the proper credentials. Perhaps more importantly, the idea has to be original and innovative, and should not be too similar to titles Workman already publishes or is thinking about producing. There were some picture book proposals in the pile, but generally, the children’s books that Workman publishes are more than just picture books—they are machine-washable and “indestructible,” or interactive, or fun to touch; they are more than just a story. Submitters should take heart in knowing, however, that their proposals are not left to languish in a corner. Every proposal is looked at by a real person (and, no worries, not just an intern—proposals are screened after I look at them, too).

I’ve also done some fact-checking for 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. For 1,000 Places, fact-checking has involved determining hotel rates with more calling (but fewer abrupt farewells, because hotel staff can’t really hang up on someone who might be a customer). Most people seemed unfazed by or indifferent to the fact that the hotels they work at are being featured in a well-regarded travel book, but it was nice when people, such as one woman at a hotel in the South, maybe one of the Carolinas, asked which book I was fact-checking for and expressed pleasant surprise when I told her. (The woman I’m talking about answered, “Who doesn’t know about it?” when I asked if she knew of 1,000 Places.) Fact-checking for The Obits has been more computer-based, but it’s still fascinating to read these posthumous celebrations of people’s life accomplishments. I especially enjoyed reading the obituaries for the distinguished Elizabeth Taylor and for Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run as a Vice Presidential candidate for a major political party, about whom I learned in US History class this past year.

I can’t believe I’m nearly finished with my internship. I could work here forever and may attempt to do something like that, as my experiences so far have really piqued my interest in working in the publishing world. I would love to do this as a career, although I am a little sad that I would have to choose a department and stay there instead of floating around to different ones.

Thanks for reading!

—Jennifer

We’re doing a new feature called Workman Nights and Weekends in which Workman employees reveal their hidden talents, secret hobbies, and other extracurricular pursuits. The first installment features a member of our Art Department, Jose Martin Vegas.

Five mornings a week, Jose Martin Vegas is up with the birds. Actually, he wakes up before the birds—as a professional falconers at one of the city’s major airports, it’s important that he gets to work before the avian population starts its day.  These feathered birds, some of them quite dainty, paradoxically pose a tremendous threat to the enormous steel birds taking off and landing on airport runways. Falcons are sent up in the air to keep the little guys away.

Jose’s love of falconry goes back to his childhood in Lima, Peru, and, fittingly, began with a book. Browsing in the library one day, he found a visual encyclopedia on birds of prey and was immediately hooked. His mother (who must be the soul of patience and fortitude) let Jose get a falcon of his own. He built a mew (an enclosed room for birds) in his backyard and soon, he was training up to five birds.

Falconry remained a hobby until his late teens when, seeing a business opportunity, he and a couple of fellow falconers hired out their services to the local vineyards and other companies needing to keep birds away. A few years after moving to New York in 2004 with his then girlfriend, now wife (and Page-a-Day designer) Cynthia Garcia, the opportunity arose to do the same work for the airport.

It’s remarkable to think that in an age where computers and technology make so many things possible, the best way to protect airplanes from bird strikes is to send up a bird that no other bird wants to mess with.

Thanks for sharing, Jose!

As you’re probably aware, last month New York state passed the Marriage Equality Act, legalizing same-sex marriage for the entire state! The law goes into effect this Sunday July 24, when thousands of New York couples will flock to their local city marriage bureaus and make their unions official. In fact, so many people are expected to turn up at the City Clerk’s Office here in NYC that the city has set the cap at 764 marriages (divided amongst the five boroughs). Couples—gay and straight—who want to get married on this special Sunday had until today at noon to enter their names in a lottery, and the lucky chosen ones will be notified on Friday afternoon. Can you imagine planning a wedding in just 48 hours?! It’ll be stressful but undoubtedly worth it, especially for those people who have waited years to see their dream become a reality.

We here at Workman are so excited about this weekend’s nuptials that we’ve decided to share a little wedding gift with the happy couples. On Sunday and Monday, a team of intrepid assistants and interns (myself included) will take up posts outside the City Clerk’s Office in Manhattan and hand out copies of Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners—not just to the brides and grooms, but to their friends and family, gay and otherwise, who could likely benefit from a little guidance on this special day and at gay weddings in the future.

After all, “traditional” weddings are steeped in old rituals, but how does the game change when there are two brides or two grooms? Who pays for the rings? How do you introduce two men who are married—as partners? as husbands? What happens to the conventional mother-of-the-bride role when there are two brides, each with her own (potentially domineering) mother? It’s a new and exciting world out there, but it also leaves a lot of questions, all of which are answered in Steven Petrow’s definitive guide to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) life.

Will you be goin’ to the chapel/government building this weekend to get your marriage on, or even just to enjoy the festivities? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re in Manhattan, be sure to come say hey—we’ll be the ones snapping pics and jumping for joy (oh, and handing out copies of the book).

Want to know more? Check out this radio interview with Steven Petrow on The Brian Lehrer Show (click the link or just stream the interview below), where Steven not only covers the logistics of this weekend’s historic wedding event, but answers lots of caller questions about other aspects of modern life for LGBT folks and the people who love them.

The lottery to get married this weekend in New York City may be closed, but Sunday’s weddings are just the first of many more to come!

Jennifer here, Workman’s traveling summer intern! Last week I told you about my stints in the Gift Sales and Special Markets departments. Read on to find out about my time at Algonquin Books, the fiction and narrative imprint of Workman Publishing.

I spent a lot of the day filing title-specific material like cover proposals and reviews. I also got to sit in on an editorial meeting in which the editors up here in New York discussed prospective novels with their counterparts in North Carolina—Algonquin is originally based in Chapel Hill and still has an office there. One of the great things about being at a more compact publishing house like this one is that even an intern like me is able to interact with the people in charge. Where else would a high school intern be invited into the publisher’s office to sit in on an editorial meeting—and asked her opinion of the proceedings afterward? (Another plus is that there are fewer people to snatch up books in the “Help Yourself” box, so I’ve been able to get books like the fantastic Algonquin title The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, which I finished just yesterday.)

So now you know what I did in Algonquin’s editorial department. Come back next week to find out more about the differences between fiction and nonfiction publishers, when I take a journey into Workman’s editorial department!

—Jennifer

It’s that time again… the point in summer when you realize that you’d better haul the family out to the beach one last weekend, lest all the pleasant days of flip flops, sundresses, and grills escape you… that moment after the 30 SPF is securely stashed in your tote when you realize… I need a book to read! Where’s my summer reading list?

So, if you’re going on vacation, or if you’re just desperately in need of a spine to crack, we’ve brought you a taste of the tomes we’re taking everywhere this summer. They’re perfect for a spell in the rocking chair on your back porch, a quiet night in a mountain cabin, or a scorching day in the sand and surf (although I suppose you should try to keep the books and/or your e-reading device dry…). Enjoy!

Here are a few words about the pages we’ve been turning:

A recent vacation to Chicago, with its Art Deco skyscrapers and ghosts of Al Capone-era gangsters, put me in the mood for some noir. So I headed to Myopic Books in Wicker Park (a bastion of literary wish-fulfillment) and picked up Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man. It features everything I love about Prohibition—dashing gentlemen; feisty, quick-thinking women; shadowy speakeasies; and nefarious henchmen. And in this case, the magnetic couple at the center of it all is married and rich. The action is thrilling and the romance is retro. –Erin

After forcing my way through The Paris Wife, Paula McLain’s fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage, I’ve picked up The Sun Also Rises to get the other side of the story— this time directly from the man himself. Interestingly, Ernest’s first wife Hadley is completely absent from the novel (a largely autobiographical work written during their marriage). The same can’t be said of his rumored mistress, Lady Duff Twysden, who shows up as the heroine.  –Justin

Good to a Fault, by Marina Endicott. It was recommended by a blogger, who said she couldn’t put a finger on her blue mood, until she realized she was just missing this book’s characters after she’d finished… I immediately bought the book. And she was right. Delicious—and all the more so for being a book no one else I know had even heard about. Just another example of the power of the blogosphere.

I’m now reading Maine, by J. Courtney Sullivan. Complex family drama (but it’s fun, since it’s not my family). Every time I pick up the book it’s a bit like escaping to the coast of Maine in July. –Page

I’m loving the complex and fascinating The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell.  –Margot

I’ve just finished reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I’ve seen the title on the bestseller lists for so long—and I’ve always felt drawn to its title and cover design—but only got to the book this past Saturday. When I did so, I was pulled in from the first sentence into the mind of the refugee girl at the heart of the novel, and read the book in two sittings over the weekend, finishing it very late Sunday night. Like A Thousand Splendid Suns, or (shameless plug) When She Woke, coming from Algonquin this fall, this is a book that moves you not only because of your intense engagement with its characters, but also because of the larger social issues those characters dramatize so well.  –Bob

I’m well into Matterhorn, the novel that took Karl Marlantes 30 years to write about his experience fighting in the Vietnam War. At first, I thought I couldn’t stay with it, too many sad and angry memories came rushing back from tumultuous years in college, from protests against the war.

It’s not a book “I can’t put down,” but nonetheless I savor it each time I pick it up. The vivid jungle scenes with leeches, darkness, rain, hunger, back breaking work, and fear and anticipation are spellbinding. I’m hooked on the open and honest access into the lives of Bravo Company and Lt. Mellas and empathize with these men in that difficult and seemingly futile situation. Matterhorn takes you into the psychological complexities of young men being tested in war. As I slowly read through, I wonder how it will end. Is there an ending? I’m into the life of Bravo Company—one day at a time. –Janet V.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez. The story of the Buendía family is told through beautiful stream-of-thought writing and whimsical magical realism, which make this book feel more like an oral telling than print. There isn’t a character that isn’t interesting, and though it sometimes takes a map to remember who’s who, the lives of the Buendías are so engrossing that the story will keep burning at the back of your mind all day. –Maren

I’d been meaning to watch the movie Wonder Boys, about an errant college writing professor struggling to complete his novel, for a long time. A few weeks ago I finally did, then immediately ran out and picked up a copy of Michael Chabon’s book by the same name. I highly recommend both: The story is hilarious and dark but also somehow tender, and, despite painting a less-than-idealistic picture of academics, makes me miss my New England college writing classes. –Avery

Here’s the unadulterated list:

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

The Sea, John Banville

Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Aimee Bender

Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon

Little Bee, Chris Cleave

The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins

A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

Good to a Fault, Marina Endicott

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez

The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

Silver Sparrow, Tayari Jones

When She Woke, Hilary Jordan

Matterhorn, Karl Marlantes

The Paris Wife, Paula McLain

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell

Skippy Dies, Paul Murray

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Vergese

Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls

City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and ’70s, Edmund White

–Liz, who is that nerd reading Mansfield Park, and who particularly (!) enjoyed the crumb of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Greetings! My name is Jennifer, and I’m interning at Workman for the summer. As of today, I’ve been here exactly four weeks – a whole month! For the most part, I have been with the Gift Sales department, which deals with book-selling stores that aren’t necessarily bookstores, but my supervisor has been kind enough to set up days in which I can dip my toes into the work of other departments. Those departments have included Special Markets, Algonquin’s editorial department, and, of course, the Workman editorial department. This week, I’ll be writing about my experiences in the sales departments.

In Gift Sales, I perform a variety of tasks. In anticipation of a week-long gift show in Florida, much of my time was spent putting together sales capsules (overviews of sales information and suggestions for future orders) for the accounts that would be at the show – not the most mentally stimulating of jobs, but my boss, who helped with a lot of the capsules, realized this and punctuated the long process with other assignments. Because of my work with the capsules, however, I did learn more about the range of books that Workman publishes. For example, I found out that You Gotta Be Kidding! is a huge hit. Some stores that generally order thirty copies of a title at a time order more than a hundred copies of this unassuming little 4″ x 6″ book!

This increased familiarity with Workman’s titles helps me with my other main job, which is sending samples of popular titles to different accounts. I rather enjoy selecting the appropriate books to send and composing the accompanying letters, especially since my boss has given me free rein to embellish those letters; she, like the people in Workman’s editorial department who asked me if I would like to write this blog post, is aware of my penchant for writing. Recently, I’ve been sending out lots of copies of Unlikely Friendships, which is selling so phenomenally that it’s in its fifth reprint not even two weeks after its debut (that line’s adapted from a line in the letters I send out).

I only spent one day in the Special Markets sales department, and I spent it glued to the phone on my (borrowed) desk. Special Markets, if I understand it correctly, deals with stores or other sales outlets that do not traditionally carry books. I was instructed to call the camera stores listed in an online directory to see which are still in business and which are now defunct. The purpose of this task to was to find out which stores are still around to receive a sample copy of How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck. Of course, when I mentioned “free copy,” many people, assuming that there would be a catch, said, “We’re not interested. Goodbye.” I learned ways to adapt my pitch…and got a little taste of what it might it be like to be a telemarketer – definitely not a path I want to pursue further!

That’s it for this installment. Check back next Wednesday for my adventures beyond the sales departments, when I spend some time at Algonquin Books!

—Jennifer

The first time I saw When Parents Text, the hilarious website created by Sophia Fraioli and Lauren Kaelin, I reveled in their genius. I was also comforted; other parents were as hilarious as mine were! If my mother is not texting me to confirm I’ve made it home safe via Jersey Shore references, she’s sending me disjointed commentary on Boston sports teams, or better yet sending my die-hard, NY Yankees-loving husband disjointed commentary on Boston sports teams (but mostly also confirming with him that I’ve made it home safely). Her front-facing keyboard, I also recently found out, doesn’t have any punctuation keys on it. Which… let’s just say… explains a lot.

In anticipation of the launch of Sophia and Lauren’s book and in celebration of the launch of their new When Parents Text blog, we collected some of our own gems from around the office. Here’s a small peek into the incoming texts of Workman employees, who have no trouble at all exploiting our parents for sentimental or comical purposes. All names have been omitted to protect the embarrassed.

EVERYBODY WANTS A BOOK DEAL

MOM: Mr. B says you should write a book about him.

(Sent on Father’s Day)
MOM: I forgot to tell you that on Friday Mr. B left Dad a mouse head and a mouse tail in the garage!

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BIEBER FEVER
MOM: where are you sitting? what color do you have on?
ME: Gray hoodie, light blue sweater. Chris is in brown hoodie.
MOM: so basically i should look for justin bieber look-alikes

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OUT OF THE WILL
ME: Would it be too embarrassing if I submitted some of your texts to be published in a blog post tomorrow? It’s for the launch of the When Parents Text blog….
MOM: o-k, I guess…I can always dis-inherit you later. HAHA

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BLESSED BE THY HYGIENIST
MOM: Are you going home now? Are you going to clean? Cook? Read?
ME: I am home… Must clean. And try to make food for the week. Pls send good cleaning vibes.
MOM: Ok I will. I will also pray to God that you will go online and make a dental appointment!

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SOBER
ME: I love you!
MOM: sorry. sleeping. drunk or you miss me?
ME: I’m not drunk at all!
MOM: oh sorry. but its nice to be appreciated

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NO SUCH THING AS FREE LUNCH
ME: We’re leaving for Chipotle in 6 minutes.
DAD: Rad. On subway
DAD: Meet you when y’all finished with your burritos
DAD: Why aren’t credit services for everyone
DAD: Craft
ME: Craft?
DAD: Movie set. Food looked good. Not free for everyone

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COOLDOM
MOM: A friend is showing me how to send text messages.
ME: Whoa, this is weird…! It’s like hearing from your mom while you’re on a date!
MOM: Are u???
ME: And now you’re even using “u” for “you”? Mom, that’s cooldom!

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ARE YOU SURE HE’S NOT THERE?
MOM: Is chris still away
ME: Yep. Comes back tomorrow around 4.
MOM: Did you look all around apartment

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IS THIS HIPSTER?
MOM: we love you
MOM: Charlie & Luna [family dogs] love u 2. We are driving through Amherst now
MOM: Now we r almost at rte2. Maybe I am a texter. Is that kind of like a hipster?
ME: Ha, not at all
MOM: this is so exciting to get a text! Right now Charlie just stole a chew of luna’s so I had to give her another one!

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PLEASE CONFIRM RECEIPT
DAD: Are you alive
ME: Yes!! Why wouldn’t I be?
DAD: You never answe my text yesterdays

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TESTING 1, 2…
DAD:
ME: ????
DAD:
ME: You’re not sending anything.
DAD:
ME: Hold on, I’ll call you.

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NEVER FALL IN LOVE AT THE SHORE
MOM: are you at the shore yet?
ME: No, why? Do you have a message for J Woww?
MOM: i thought you were going there tonight snookers!
ME: Hahaha, we are, but later.
MOM: ok honey dont smoosh with any of your roommates
(Editor’s note: this conversation took place one month before my second wedding anniversary.)

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GREAT NEWS
MOM: I got a parking spot!

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REBUKED
MOM: Are u coming for dinner tonite? On my way home from garage & will pick up a foodie if so
MOM: Meant to say a Goldie!
MOM: Geez, a GOODIE, this device has a mind of its own & needs to be rebuked

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DAD WENT GOLFING, SO…
MOM: Omg got to stop watching rachel zoe just bought a sleeveless black dress nowhere to wear it      its bananas
ME: Hahahaha, I love you! Best text message ever!
MOM: Thanks honey i only paid 51 down from 109 with coupon!
ME: Amazing! Is this a midlife fashion crisis?
MOM: Yes and dad went golfing

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