Weekend Update

Good news edition

I’m thrilled to be able to AT LAST announce this new development: In partnership with the wonderful Sonya Huber, I’m co-editing an anthology of essays about Sinéad O’Connor, to be published by One Signal (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) in the summer of 2025.

The backstory: Last summer, as the world processed the shock of O’Connor’s untimely death, Sonya mused aloud on Facebook about the powerful response her work and personal history evoked in so many fans. In particular fans like us — Gen X women of a certain age and affinity — but, truly, in fans across a sweeping spectrum of experience. A collection of personal essays tapping into this phenomenon would make a great book, she said, and the internet agreed. Her Facebook thread lit up with excitement, writers telling their personal stories of how one song or another had spoken to them, calling dibs on “Troy,” or “Three Babies,” or “Black Boys on Mopeds.” It was wild!

When, at some point it became clear that this was actually a viable idea, Sonya enlisted me as a co-editor. We fine-tuned the concept, asked writers to send formal pitches, wrote a proposal, sent it to her agent, revised the proposal, enlisted more writers, and eventually, many months and many submissions later we had a nibble — and then, all of a sudden, we had a deal.

Of course it wasn’t as simple as that but, also, it was?

I’ve never written a whole book, but I’ve edited three anthologies of my own (four if you count my cookbook, an anthology of recipes), and in my work with Belt Publishing I’ve shepherded countless others to print. I really love them. I love their messy plurality, their democratic potential. I love taking the individual contributions and arranging them, placing voices in counterpoint, harmony, or strategic dissonance — and I love the way they allow readers to ignore editorial intention and to dip in and out, composing their own arrangement. Anthologies can be a lot, but hey, Sinéad was a lot. These 28 essays, each digging into one writer’s relationship with one song, aim as a set to capture the complex contradictions of her artistry and her legacy.

There’s a lot more to say, but I’ll just leave it there for now. I’m honored to be able to work on this project, which features a breathtaking array of talent. We’ve got a few pieces in hand already and I can say with confidence that it is going to sing.