The Open Road Blog

In 1996, the Academy of American Poets dubbed April National Poetry Month, creating what it calls “the largest literary celebration in the world, [uniting] publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets in a celebration of poetry and its vital place in American culture.”

In honor of National Poetry Month, Open Road Media asked authors about the significance of poetry in their writings and lives—and received a range of enthusiastic, thoughtful responses.

Some writers, like Alice Walker, are themselves published poets and teachers of poetry (Once, Revolutionary Petunias, Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful), ...

Today’s featured excerpt comes from Fear of Flying by Erica Jong. A literary sensation when first published in 1973, Fear of Flying established Erica Jong as one of her generation’s foremost voices on sex and feminism. Nearly four decades later, the novel has lost none of its insight, verve, or jaw-dropping wit.

Read a sample of Jong’s Fear of Flying here on the blog. You can also grab a longer sample for your readers via Apple, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Mike Shatzkin's November 17 piece, "Publishers adding value on the marketing side" takes a look at "investment marketing" via Macmillan's impressive name-gathering efforts under Fritz Foy, their SVP for Digital Publishing and Strategic Technology, and a peek under the hood right here at the Open Road Media offices.—Laura

I was thrilled to discover a fantastic featured blog on Grantland.com's podcast network called "Men in Blazers." It's a fantastically entertaining and relevant podcast (and regular SiriusXM Satellite Radio program) about the world of soccer/football and its development in the US, delivered by hosts Michael Davies and Roger Bennett. ...

Google supports Veteran's Day with their new Google for Veterans and Families project. Former Army Ranger and now Google staff member Mike Reeves serves as the face of "Vet Connect," sharing his post-Iraq and Afghanistan tour experiences through a series of videos that can be found through Google. The goal is to help veterans feel like they have a support group, and that they can connect more easily with other veterans and their families. Reeves also sees it as a way to speak out about what he and other soldiers have been through, which he finds therapeutic, and hopefully helpful ...

This week’s photo shows Erica Jong, at age eleven. A native of New York City, Jong’s parents were the makers of collectible porcelain dolls. She completed her Master of Arts from Columbia University in 1965. She published her first novel, Fear of Flying, in 1973. Selling more than 20 million copies, the novel was controversial for its treatment of female sexuality. In addition to its notoriety, Fear of Flying has been included as one of the texts that helped along the second-wave feminist movement. The main character, Isadora Wing would continue on in three more novels, How to ...

This week's featured excerpt spotlights one of the nation's most distinctive voices on women and sexuality: award-winning poet, novelist, and memoirist Erica Jong. In 1973, Jong published Fear of Flying, a book about a woman trying to find herself and learn how to fly free of her repressions. Isadora Wing seeks to discover her soul and her sexuality, and in the process, she delves into erotic fantasy and experimentation, shocking many critics—but delighting readers. Partially drawing on Jong’s early life, as well as her wild imagination, the book was hailed by John Updike as the female answer to Portnoy’s Complaint and ...

Iconic Ebooks Are Titles That Are Entrenched in Popular Culture
and Are Now Being Introduced to a New Generation of Readers Digitally

(October 18, 2011) Open Road Integrated Media, a digital publisher and multimedia content company, announced today that it will digitally publish and market Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying, the groundbreaking international bestseller that revolutionized female sexuality, as an ebook throughout the world in the English language. Fear of Flying will be the first title in Open Road's new Iconic Ebooks imprint. The ebook, with a new cover and an illustrated biography featuring never-before-seen photos, goes on sale today....