WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Some facts from a National Endowment for the Arts study called Artists in the Workforce: 1990-2005:
Percentage of authors who work at writing full time: 51.9 percent.
Median income for full-time authors, 2005: $50,800.
Median income for all authors: $38,800.
Median income for entire civilian labor force, 2005: $38,700.
Percentage of authors with a bachelor's degree: 83.1 percent.
Percentage increase in number of authors between 1990 and 2005: 39 percent.
No. 1 city in America in terms of per capita authors: Santa Fe, N.M.
Something to look forward to ...
Meanwhile, the Miami Book Fair, all set to celebrate its 25th anniversary - for those who mark calendars, the dates are Nov. 9-16 - will put a new emphasis on graphic novels. Art Spiegelman will design the poster for this year's fair, and Nov. 9 will be graphic novel education day, aimed mostly at librarians, publishers and retailers. There will be several author events on the main weekend focusing on comics and graphic novels.
And finally, let me call your attention to Vintage's new edition of Herbert Asbury's "The Gangs of New York," which last made an appearance around the time of Martin Scorsese's disappointing film of the same name. Vintage has reset the book and added an introduction to Asbury's entertaining, encyclopedic history of 19th-century New York.
In the Pipeline ...
Da Capo will publish David Wild's "He is ... I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond." It's a love letter to the singer/songwriter, written with Diamond's cooperation.
Mike Browning's Word of the Week ...
Malversation: corruption in a position of trust.
Scott Eyman writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: seyman AT pbpost.com