Hello hello. Here’s the first look at the cover of The Believer. The design, by the great John Gall, is related to The Optimist and based on a photo I took of my friend JP casting in British Colombia. Did he catch a steelhead on this cast? Only JP can tell you.
This is a bound galley that goes out to people who probably receive way too many of them. That’s to say: writers and media types and, ahem, potential blurbers. The actual book will be hardcover and comes out on April 9th.
Nothing about a Word Document quite prepares you for seeing work between two covers. Now it feels real. And when the book is out that will be even more real (sometimes too real!). There will be events and signings and all that. Stay tuned for those details. In the meantime you can, naturally, pre-order, which is very helpful.
I hope you like it. And of course I hope you like what’s inside it.
Some other things in the news:
-I went on the Making Media podcast. We talked about the writing process and growing up in a creative household. It was a really fun conversation with Matt. You can listen here.
-Here’s a column I wrote for Artful Living about what to wear to a football game. Though the way the Vikings are playing I might consider wearing all black.
-On the subject of books, Catch of a Lifetime comes out on Tuesday. It’s a collection of fly fishing stories edited by the great Peter Kaminsky and includes many beloved writers, including John McPhee, Nick Lyons and Joan Wulff. I shared a story too, about bass fishing in Wisconsin. Definitely worth checking out.
-I’m heading to Japan in a few days to work on a few stories. It’s my first time since 2019, before the pandemic (and before this newsletter!). I’m really excited to be back in a country that so many of us love. I’ll report back when I return.
Keep in touch,
David
Beautiful cover.
I'm a horrendous fly fisherman but I enjoy your writing on the subject as it reminds me very much of my passion for bird hunting.
The Making Media interview was excellent. I took a page of notes in the hopes of cultivating taste and creativity in my kids as they grow.