Reading, Writing & Robots
A former carpenter hangs up his hammer to become publisher of
a small but influential publishing house — among other things.
WRITTEN BY JEFFREY HERMANN
4
There's a lot of enthusiasm at
826michigan. The Ann Arbor nonprofit
tutoring and writing center fosters the
belief that learning can be taken to
new levels with one-on-one attention
and strong writing skills. Above all, the
staffers believe that learning can be fun.
Proof? The center is housed behind the
Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair,
where kids ages 6-18 come for the robot
supplies and stay for the tutoring.
The emphasis on getting excited
about learning and literacy is not sur-
prising because the Ann Arbor
venture is part of 826 National
(826national.org), started in
San Francisco (with 826
Valencia) by writer Dave
Eggers. Eggers is the
author of A Heartbreaking
a pirate among
Work of Staggering Genius,
publishers.
as well as the upcom-
ing The Wild Things (to be
released Oct. 1), a novel loose-
ly based on the Maurice Sendak
children's book Where the Wild Things
Are. He also is co-author (with Spike
Jonze) of the screenplay for the Sendak
book's upcoming film adaptation, in
theaters next month. In addition, Eggers
is the brainchild behind McSweeney's
Quarterly Concern, a literary journal, and
its book publishing and Web offshoots
(McSweeney's Internet Tendency, found
at mcsweeneys.net).
With all those creative offshoots to
keep track of, it is no wonder Eggers
has a right-hand man. And fittingly, Eli
Horowitz did not come by that descrip-
tion on a direct path. The San Francisco
resident and head of McSweeney's pub-
lishing house works mostly behind the
scenes, but his own career has been so
serendipitous that it makes perfect sense
that he be associated with a place where
one can stop in to pick up a Robot
Emotion Upgrade, a Positronic brain or
a Is Your Little Sister a Robot? test kit.
"I was doing apprentice construc-
P l 6 • SEPTEMBER 2009 •
,IN platinum
Since 2005, Left: Kids have been frequenting
Ann Arbor's 826michigan to attend writing
workshops, get assistance from teachers
and volunteers, take field trips and contribute
to 862michigan-sponsored publications.
Eli Horowitz
tion work at the
time 826 Valencia
was getting ready to
open, and they were look-
ing for volunteer carpenters," explains
Horowitz, who studied philosophy at
Yale. "My main qualifications were that
I had a hammer and a tool belt. I had
no real skills."
As do all seven of the national off-
shoots of 826 National (in addition to
San Francisco and Ann Arbor, there
are sites in Boston, Chicago, L.A., New
York and Seattle), the San Francisco
writing center baits children with an
intruiging storefront where you can
pick up pirate supplies (New York offers
superhero items, and time-travel goods
front in L.A). So Horowitz's carpentry
work led to doling out eye patches,
lard and scurvy remedies behind the
store counter to eager young custom-
ers, which then led to involvement in
McSweeney's publishing projects.
"Dave [Eggers] had just moved to
San Francisco, and he was busy with
his book," Horowitz explains. "There
were all of these miscellaneous things
that needed to be done at McSweeney's.
One project after another fell into my
lap." Soon he was editing books and sto-
ries by Joyce Carol Oates, Nick Hornby
and Michael Chabon. An unlikely turn
of events, Horowitz admits. "It was very
flukey," he says. "I had no editing expe-
rience at all. My mom's a librarian, and
both my parents were readers so I was
around books; but I never felt part of a
literary culture."
However, he became invaluable
to Eggers, who told Salon.com that
Horowitz is second only to his wife,
writer Vendela Vida, in the line to read
his work. "Occasionally, there is specific
knowledge one needs to have, but more
often, it's about a willingness to jump in
and give it a try," says Horowitz. "It's a
surprising lesson that's served me well."
Horowitz grew up in Virginia, a
place he says lacked an easily accessible
Jewish culture. His parents, both New
Yorkers, tried to simulate their own
upbringing, which included a stronger
religious bond; but Horowitz admits
that he and his brother were impatient
with those attempts.
Now, however, "It does play a large
role in who I am, how I see the world,"
he says. "It's hard to put my finger on it,
but it turns out to be something deeper
than food and more to do with a gen-
eral self-awareness, or my reactions and
opinions. And I've also realized that I'm
more Jewish any time I hang out with
my grandma in Queens."
Under Horowitz's guidance,
McSweeney's has published more than
35 titles (among them: The Lathe Who
Couldn't Stop Screaming, by Lemony
Snicket). "We try to avoid having a
specific literary- sensibility. What we
do look for is something that excites or
surprises us," says Horowitz. "We have
a very open submission process; all sorts
of stuff will come in."
As proud as he is of the books,
Horowitz is grateful to have a counter-
balance to the sometimes-insular world
of literary publishing.
"Our close relationship with 826
Valencia helps us stay engaged and con-
nected to the larger world. We help lead
workshops there, and we published a
book in January, Thanks and Have Fun
Running the Country — a collection of
letters the kids had written to Obama
— that allowed us to combine what we
at McSweeney's do best with what 826
Valencia does best. The tutoring centers
are a really important part of what we
do."