Roof-to-Table Launch Event!

Roof-to-Table Launch Event || photo by Jane Winkel

It is my great privilege to announce that EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture was launched on Thursday amidst family and friends at Good Karma Café (928 Pine Street) in my hometown of Philadelphia.  The event drew in over 100 enthusiastic readers from as far as Toronto, who are now some of the first owners of EAT UP.  The book arrived at the event hot off the press after its publication on April 12, 2013.

Launch Event crowd || photo by Jane Winkel

Busy sales table || photo by Jane Winkel

The Roof-to-Table Launch Event celebrated three necessities of urban living: literature, art, and food.  Literature was highlighted through piles of fresh, EAT UP books topped off with a book signing (which was in high demand!).  The event celebrated Art through a 30-piece photography exhibition of images from the book, which painted a colorful backdrop for the festivities.  The Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition features images of rooftop farms and vegetable gardens taken by nine photographers (including myself) in nine cities throughout North America.  Each photograph is framed with “twice-reclaimed” lumber made from barn siding re-purposed as flooring, re-purposed again as framing stock.  The event also featured the flavors of fresh, local Food!  The Avenue Delicatessen catered the event with a focus on locally-sourced produce, artisan breads and honey, and home-made jams.  Food mileage tags let guests know just how close key ingredients were produced!

My grandmother with her book || photo by Jane Winkel

Young vegetable plants sprouting from metal pales and terracotta pots and two vintage typewriters furthered the event’s ”author’s farmhouse” theme.  Piles of EAT UP postcards and note card sets sprinkled about enhanced the decor, luring people in for a closer look at rooftop agriculture imagery.

The Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition will hang in the launch venue through June 29, 2013, and will then travel to Chicago’s Uncommon Ground where it will hang from August 20 – September 15, 2013.  A Midwest Roof-to-Table Launch Event on August 20 will be open to the public.  The exhibition is available for additional restaurant and gallery spaces from July 1 – August 1, 2013 and after September 23, 2013.

EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture, published by New Society Publishers (a carbon-neutral publishing house), is the first full-length book about rooftop food production.  Its three sections target home rooftop gardening, commercial rooftop farming, and the rooftop agriculture industry, making it the most comprehensive guide to date on the subject matter.  The book is available in print and ebook online and in stores.

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it’s official.

Ladies and gents!  Urban agricultural enthusiasts around the globe.  It is my great pleasure to announce that my book, EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture, will be published today!

The first copies are streaming off the press and will soon be shipped to online and brick and mortar booksellers throughout North America and beyond.  They should arrive within the next few weeks, but you can be one of the first to hold EAT UP in your hands by ordering through New Society Publishers, the book’s carbon-neutral publishing house.  The book is also currently available online at Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Amazon, Amazon UK, and Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.  Buying directly from New Society provides the most support to the publishing house that made this book possible.

Many local bookstores have EAT UP in their ordering system but may not carry the book on their shelves unless you ask them to!  Do your part to support mom and pop book shops by requesting that they carry EAT UP for the pleasure of browsers and localists.  Buying locally keeps money within the neighborhood and reduces shipping costs associated with ordering individual items by mail.

EAT UP is the first full-length book about rooftop agriculture.  It’s case studies, interviews, and checklists will provide the expert information you need to turn your dreams of rooftop farming and vegetable gardening into reality.

Get it while it’s hot!

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making your rooftop farm a reality

As my company, Roofmeadow, delves deeper into the world of rooftop agriculture, keep us in mind for your rooftop farm or garden project!  With engineers, landscape architects, construction specialists, and a rooftop agricultural expert (yours truly) on staff, we approach each project holistically, with the roof’s long-term performance in mind.  The hunger for local food has reached new heights, and we’re here to help you make this vision a reality.

This video clip will be featured at the Green Roofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2013, hosted by greenroofs.com, from February 12th to March 13th.  Visit their website for information on how to access the Summit.

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EAT UP on Amazon!

Ladies and gentlemen; metro-agrarian enthusiasts around the globe.  I am thrilled to announce that EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture is officially for sale on Amazon!  Be one of the first to pre-order the most comprehensive guide to rooftop agriculture ever written.

Screenshot of EAT UP from Amazon.com

The book is available for advanced ordering in paperback, and if you reserve a copy now, it will arrive at your doorstep in mid-April!  You can alternatively pre-order the book through New Society Publishers - the book’s carbon-neutral publishing house – to directly support the company that made EAT UP a reality.  If your hands have grown unaccustomed to the feel of paper, then hang tight for the EAT UP E-book, which will be released shortly after the print edition.

Screenshot of EAT UP from New Society Publishers

But wait, there’s more!  EAT UP is also available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, Amazon UK, and other fine sellers throughout North America and the United Kingdom.  Additional brick and mortar stores and online retailers will begin carrying EAT UP in April.

Is an independent book store, specialty shop, health food store, or garden center near you interested in carrying EAT UP?  If so let’s hear about it, and we’ll try to deliver the books to your neighborhood!

Go ahead and buy one of the very first copies.  Be a trendsetter.

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EAT UP BOOK DEAL!!

I am thrilled to announce that EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture will be published by New Society Publishers!  The book will be released in Canada and the U.S. in spring 2013, with an e-book to follow.

New Society Publishers, a carbon-neutral publishing house in British Columbia, is committed to publishing solution-oriented books that resonate with readers ecologically and socially.  For over 30 years, the company has remained at the forefront of sustainability within the North American book publishing industry, both in titles and in practice.  Through a commitment to printing all books domestically on 100% post-consumer paper with vegetable-based, low VOC inks, New Society Publishers has saved over 20,200 trees and mitigated thousands of pounds of solid waste.

EAT UP book deal with New Society Publishers

Stay tuned for more publication news and details on upcoming Roof to Table launch events as spring 2013 approaches.  Thank you for your interest in the EAT UP blog, and now for your continued interest in the book.

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the pitch.

In America, over an acre of farmland is lost every minute.*  With the increasing appeal of urban living and pop culture’s rediscovery of fresh food, urbanites are planting farms and gardens throughout cities. In the midst of this agricultural renewal, contaminated soils and vanishing garden space compel farmers, activists, and restaurateurs to look toward the skyline for a food solution.  Rooftops provide the space that cities need to grow fresh veggies close to home.

Eat Up| The Inside Scoop on Rooftop Agriculture will be the first book publication dedicated entirely to rooftop agriculture.  This three-part series provides a practitioner’s view of how to turn dreams of rooftop farms and gardens into actual spaces that feed people.  Each volume digs into the nuts and bolts of rooftop agriculture for either home gardeners (volume one), entrepreneurs and restaurateurs (volume two), and policy makers and academics (volume three).  All three volumes operate under the Eat Up brand.

The goal of Eat Up is twofold: to act as the pivotal voice of a movement, and to empower people to bring fresh kale, tomatoes, and beets to tables across America.  With inspirational photographs of rooftop farms, interviews with skyline farmers, and insider strategies, Eat Up provides readers with the practical tools they need to feed their stomachs and their souls.

Rooftop agriculture is not a fad – it is the future of our urban food system.

* U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2009. Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC, and Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

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revamp | Eat Up v3.0

A manuscript often takes on several personalities before finding its most publishable persona.  As it turns out, Eat Up is no different.

I wrote the first draft of Eat Up in 2010 while in graduate school, and consequently chose to target an academic audience.  Writing this first draft was exhilarating and empowering, and I felt as though I was on track to contribute something truly meaningful to academia.  Several months after graduating I re-read the draft, only to find that what I had once perceived as well written was actually dry and, well, academic.

After the panic and disappointment subsided, I decided to hunker down and revamp the manuscript.  I hired someone to help with editing and strategic development, and launched full force into Eat Up v2.0 in 2011.  This new and improved version targeted designers, practitioners, policy makers, food activists, and yes – even academia.  The tone became more readable, and the chapter titles, a bit snarky.  V2.0 was a hop in the right direction, but what I really needed was a leap.

Eat Up v3.0 | cover and page 1

In comes Eat Up v3.0.  This draft re-evaluates both the underlying message and the target audience of v2.0.  The most significant change lies in the manuscript’s restructuring: the book will now be split into three smaller volumes.  Each volume in the boxed set will target a distinct audience, thereby providing the reader with the knowledge that he or she seeks, without all the extraneous information.  The books will, of course, reference each other, so that readers will be exposed to the full breadth of rooftop agriculture one snippet at a time.  Working titles for the volumes and their audiences are as follows:

Eat Up |  nourishing yourself with food from the roof  -  This volume will act as a DIY for individuals and groups who are interested in growing vegetables and herbs on their own roofs.  Whether planting a few tomato plants or starting a rooftop community garden, this book will appeal to small-scale growers around the country.

Eat Up |  from beans to bucks with food from the roof  -  This volume will target entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, and others who are interested in the boutique aspect of rooftop agriculture.  The book will introduce labor, marketing, and distribution strategies while providing useful tips for “making it happen.”

Eat Up |  feeding the people with food from the roof  -  The third volume will focus on large-scale initiatives and rooftop agricultural networks.  The content will target city planners, policy makers, designers, and academics who are interested in learning how rooftop agriculture can feed the masses.

What do you think about this overhaul?  Are these changes a step in the right direction?

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pitch it. pitch it good.

Pitching a manuscript to a publisher is like trying to convince someone that your child is the brightest or your glass of water is the wettest.  It’s nerve racking.  How can you possibly convince a professional, who reviews manuscripts day in and day out, that yours is special – something different?

Well, step one is writing a pitch letter.  For non-fiction manuscripts, this is a lengthy (10-40 page) document that proves that there is a need for your book in the marketplace.  The pitch requires clear articulation of your idea, and quantifiable proof that you book will fetch an audience and make money for the publishing house.  The pitch includes a snappy description of the book’s premise, the author’s qualifications, a market analysis, and excerpts from the manuscript.  The key is to hook the reader with the intro line while effectively capturing the essence of the manuscript.

Step two is mailing the materials and step three is breathing.  Yes, in that order.  At this juncture, the manuscript and pitch letter are mailed, fingers are crossed, and sleep is finally attainable.  Now let’s wait and see how everything unfolds…

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diversified marketing

Writing a book is the easy part.  The challenge seems to come with publication and promotion.

The first draft of “Eat Up” was targeted toward academia, and the tone was dry and, well, academic.  The current version of the book is geared toward a much broader audience, which includes policy makers, practitioners, city planners, designers, community activists, economists, and academics.  The book is very readable and its new content targets these varied audiences, but how do you attract these readers in the first place?  The answer lies in promotion, strategically selecting a publisher, and finding a key person to write the foreward.

Since the book bridges several disciplines, the promotional strategies, publishing house, and foreward author would ideally target different audiences.  If the publishing house is well respected in the design community, for example, then a food author should be approached to write the foreward.  In theory, this method of diversified marketing will lure in a wide variety of readers, and help spread the word and push sales.

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