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Now available for preorder:
The San Francisco Panorama.

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A   C O N V E R S A T I O N W I T H   J O N A T H A N   L E T H E M A B O U T   H I S   B O O K . - - - - McSWEENEY'S: MR. LETHEM, DO YOU HAVE A BOOK YOU WANT US TO PUBLISH? JONATHAN LETHEM: I HAVE THIS LONGISH STORY THING I REALLY LOVE. IT COULD BE A BOOK. McSWY'S: HOW LONGISH? JL: IT'S TOO LONG TO BE A STORY IN A MAGAZINE THOUGH NOT AS LONG AS WHAT IS CALLED A NOVELLA. AS A BOOK IT WOULD BE AN UNUSUAL SIZE. A SMALL SIZE. McSWY'S: THAT ISN'T IMPORTANT. WE WILL PUBLISH IT. AS LONG AS IT IS GOOD. IS IT GOOD? JL: IT IS. McSWY'S: LET US SEE IT. JL: HERE. McSWY'S: OH, IT IS GOOD. WE WILL PUBLISH IT IN A HANDSOME WAY. JL: GOOD. CAN WE MAKE IT CHEAP? McSWY'S: NO, WE WILL MAKE IT NICE. JL: I'M GLAD YOU WILL MAKE IT NICE. I'D LIKE TO HELP DESIGN IT. BUT BY CHEAP I MEAN INEXPENSIVE. I WANT IT TO BE PRICED VERY CHEAP. McSWY'S: WHY IS THAT? YOU ARE IN BOOK WRITING TO GET WEALTHY, NO? JL: IN THIS CASE, NO. I CAN'T EXPLAIN, EXACTLY, BUT NO. THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER REASONS, MAINLY FOR FUN. I'M WRITING A VERY LONG BOOK RIGHT NOW AND IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME. THIS IS A VERY FUN WAY TO PUBLISH A STORY I LOVE. McSWY'S: YOU REALLY LIKE TO PUBLISH, DON'T YOU? JL: WHO DOESN'T? McSWY'S: IT'S LIKE A COMPULSION WITH YOU. A HEALTHY COMPULSION. JL: YES. McSWY'S: THIS KEEPS YOUR BOOK-A-YEAR STREAK ALIVE. JL: YES, LIKE DIMAGGIO BUNTING TO SCRATCH OUT A HIT. McSWY'S: A MAN ON BASE IS A MAN ON BASE. IT LOOKS THE SAME IN THE BOX SCORE. JL: THAT MAN COULD EVEN SCORE THE WINNING RUN. McSWY'S: YOU'VE LOST ME. JL: WELL, ANYWAY, NOBODY WOULD BEGRUDGE THE GUY JUST BUNTING TO GET A BASE HIT IF THE BOOK WAS REALLY CHEAPLY PRICED. McSWY'S: WE COULD PRICE IT AT TWELVE DOLLARS. JL: COULD YOU MAKE IT CHEAPER? McSWY'S: PROBABLY. YES. SURE. WHY NOT? JL: BECAUSE ONCE YOU SAY TWELVE IT MAKES ME WANT TO SAY ELEVEN. McSWY'S: THERE'S SOMETHING THRILLING ABOUT THIS. JL: I FEEL IT TOO. I WANT TO SAY TEN NOW. McSWY'S: TEN IS SO CLOSE TO SINGLE DIGITS. JL: I KNOW. WHAT ABOUT NINE? CAN WE DO THAT? McSWY'S: (WITH CALCULATOR) YES, I THINK WE CAN. THAT WILL VIRTUALLY GUARANTEE THAT NO MONEY IS MADE ON THE BOOK BY ANYONE. JL: GOOD! McSWY'S: GOOD!

- - - - MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES Memories of Amanda Davis Red dot denotes content that is new today. Black dot denotes newish content. McSWEENEY'S STORE SUBSCRIBE TO: McSWEENEY'S THE BELIEVER WHOLPHIN FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: FOR BOOKS FOR THE QUARTERLY FOR THE WEBSITE FOR WHOLPHIN McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS CONTACT US - - - - LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S LISTS McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD NEW WHOLPHIN FILM DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS NON-ESSENTIAL MNEMONICS BITCHSLAP: A COLUMN ABOUT WOMEN AND FIGHTING DISPATCHES FROM A GUY TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO SELL A SONG IN NASHVILLE GLOBAL WAR ON BEDBUGS: LETTERS FROM BEDBUG CITY THE CONFLICTED EXISTENCE OF A FEMALE PORN WRITER OH MY GAWD: A COLUMN ABOUT A TEENAGER NAVIGATING RELIGION DISPATCHES FROM MANILA DISPATCHES FROM AN INDIAN CASINO THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST CHRIS WHITE ANSWERS PROFOUND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS REPORTS FROM THE PINBALL SCENE LETTERS FROM THE HELLBOX NOTES FROM AN AMATEUR SPECTATOR AT AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTS B.R. COHEN'S DAYS AT THE MUSEUM CONVERSATIONS AT A WARTIME CAFÉ AND HERE'S THE KICKER: MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS GRANT MUNROE'S CORPORATE FOLKTALES SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL DISPATCHES FROM INDIA THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE ABOUT THE WILD THINGS ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT ABOUT FEVER CHART ABOUT GOD SAYS NO ABOUT ZEITOUN LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM TRAVELING EUROPE IN STYLE WITH AUCKLAND DINGIROO, DARK-AGE TOURIST AND CRITIC OF FOOD AND DRINK JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT - - - - ADDITIONAL MATERIAL