| Subject: Re: FW: ANONYMOUS: Tales from Inside the Accidental Cyberwar |
| From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
| Date: 9/14/11, 13:42 |
| To: Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com> |
| CC: "greggatghc@gmail.com" <greggatghc@gmail.com>, Stephen Barr <sbarr@writershouse.com> |
Hey guys
A pass from Doubleday. Gerrys comments here are starting to point to an overarching issue for which having this outline document might be very, very helpful. Enough people have said, now, that theres a concern about perspective / being too close to the material to tell the story in a quasi journalistic way (journalistic only in the sense of have enough distance to lay out a discernible narrative).
Barrett, have you made any progress on that front? If so, I may be able to use it to stave off passes from editors whore on the bubble.
Mind you, we have a number of editors intrigued as is, so Im not waving the white flag.
ALSO: I leave tomorrow for a conference in St. Louis, will be out of town till Sunday afternoonso were going to figuring out our schedule on the fly, with my assistant Stephen Barrs help. PLEASE CC HIM ON EVERYTHING going forward, and please be sure to give us both your cell #s and your contact info for when youre here in New York.
More to come today!
From: Howard, Gerald [mailto:ghoward@randomhouse.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 10:12 AM
To: Daniel Conaway
Cc: Wood, Hannah
Subject: RE: ANONYMOUS: Tales from Inside the Accidental Cyberwar
Dan, I know there is a book in this subject, but I am not at all sure there is a book in this proposal. I had the hardest time finding any narrative through line in here, but I cant really tell if that was because I am of the pre-digital generation and dont think about things in the proper post-digital fashion, or if this is simply not well constructed in the narrative sense. It feels to me as if Gregg Housh is so in the middle of things that he doesnt have the perspective to know what a reader does not know and would need to be told. Add to that layer of uncertainty my ambivalence as to whether Anonymous is actually a force for good in the world or a bunch of folks who basically like to fuck shit up, and I have to conclude that I am not the right editor for this project.
Thanks for the look, though, and good luck in finding an editor who feels differently.
Best,
Gerry
From: Daniel Conaway [mailto:dconaway@WritersHouse.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 1:49 PM
To: Howard, Gerald
Subject: ANONYMOUS: Tales from Inside the Accidental Cyberwar
Importance: High
Dear Gerry,
Here, as discussed, is the proposal for an absolutely fascinating behind-the-curtain glimpse at the notoriousand apparently fearlesshacktivist collective known as Anonymous. The targets for Anonymouss particular brand of outlaw activismall part of their global campaign against injustices and abuses in the realm of freedom of speech and freedom of informationhave included (so far) foreign governments (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia), major corporations (Sony, Visa, MasterCard), sanctimonious religious organizations (the Church of Scientology, the Westboro Baptist Church) and powerful governmental agencies (FBI, CIA, NATO). Nobody, apparently, is off-limits.
As Kevin Mitnicks current New York Times bestseller Ghost in the Wires has demonstrated, there is a real fascination out there with the culture of hacking and the internet. Gregg Housh and Barrett Brown, the authors of ANONYMOUS: Tales from Inside the Accidental Cyberwarand the two most visible public figures known to be associated with Anonymous (both of whom have provided invaluable access & insight regarding the modus operandi of Anonymous to reporters hungry to make sense of it)take Mitnick one step further, showing how that culture can be harnessed as an engine for social change. Even when (as is often the case for Anons) the engine for social change rhetoric is really just a terrific excuse to indulge in some weaponized chaos
And therein lies the magnificent contradiction of this culture. Patriotic vigilantism? Animal House pranksterism? Both? Whatever the true alchemic mix is, its a wild and fascinating ride, laid bare here for the first time.
Call me when youve read this, OK?
Dan
Dan Conaway
Literary Agent
Writers House