Re: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 12:32 PM, Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com> wrote:

Works for me.

From: Salisbury, Katie [mailto:katiesal@amazon.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 11:39 AM
To: Barrett Brown; Gregg Housh
Cc: Cheiffetz, Julia; Daniel Conaway

Subject: RE: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

Great. Does 4 pm on Wednesday work for you and Gregg? If so, we can use the following phone bridge.

Dial +1 (800) 481-5122 and enter Conference ID: 79896749

From: Barrett Brown [mailto:barriticus@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 9:52 PM
To: Salisbury, Katie
Cc: Gregg Housh; Cheiffetz, Julia
Subject: Re: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

Hi, Kate-

Gregg's story will indeed be the driving narrative throughout the book; there are plenty of opportunities to work him in to the other chapters, especially since even when he isn't directly involved in some of the central acts, he's still involved in a lot of behind-the-scenes media management (which is a large part of Anonymous, as we plan to show) as well as the intrigue that permeates most everything. As I'll explain more specifically on Wednesday, I've also got a pretty good idea of where he'll be among the central actors as well - chapter one, chapter two, possibly first half of chapter three (depending on whether or not his prison time is tacked on to chapter or not), and chapter four. He also plays a key role in chapter five, and in the following three chapters he'll make appearances and of course his input, point of view on other things that don't involve him directly will continue in those chapters as well; the final chapter, eight, will most likely bring him back to the forefront as well. Even on such occasions when he doesn't figure in, the main subjects, such as Topiary, are friends of ours, and the chief villains of chapter six are motivated largely and initially by personal animosity to him (these are the Backtrace folks, who will make for one of several amusing subplots). In terms of details, I'm not going to be able to get much more definitive until he and I have a chance to get together for a week in Dallas, at which point I'll get everything else I need from him. For now, I've got most of chapter two written and am now going about chapter three and getting it organized (the bulk of it is already written as well, I just need to put everything in a sensible order and polish it into draft form, which should take a little under a week). I've sent that portion to Gregg and Dan for their feedback in the meantime. Altogether, things should go faster now that I've finished some projects I had to do to pay rent and all that.

If you'd like to chat before our formal conference on Wednesday, don't hesitate to call.

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 2:22 PM, Salisbury, Katie <katiesal@amazon.com> wrote:

Hi Greg and Barrett,

Im not sure if weve had the chance to meet yet, so Ill go ahead and introduce myself: Im an Associate Editor here at Amazon publishing and I work closely with Julia. We will be editing your book in tandem and I wanted to share my thoughts on the initial outline you sent last week (my comments in blue).

You do a great job of explaining the major events and laying down the facts. At the end of the day, though, books are about storytelling. What is the larger story you want to tell about Anonymous, about Gregg, about challenging authority? Ultimately, Greggs narrative needs to be the constant thread throughout the book that weaves the various Anonymous raids together.

Are you both free on Wednesday afternoon or late Friday morning for a call to discuss further?

Best,

Katie

___________

Katie Salisbury

Associate Editor

Amazon Publishing

katiesal@amazon.com

646.532.6324

follow me: @ksalisbury

From: barri2009 [mailto:barriticus@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 9:34 PM
To: Cheiffetz, Julia; Gregg Housh

Cc: Daniel Conaway; Salisbury, Katie

Subject: Re: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

I'll take a look at these comments when I get home. If you're referring to the section on the scientology affair, this was done over the course of a dinner I had with gregg in nyc a few weeks ago, and the text it was based on was written with the intention of appearing later in the book, rather than the first chapter, which is where it's now slated to appear, so it doesn't yet have all the background and spelled-out implications that we'll be putting into the final product. Additionally, I hadn't yet gotten all the details from him that would be needed to truly bring it alive. Regarding that, I'll need gregg to go through his e-mails from that era and pick out any text that might be useful for me to draw upon, and now that we're approaching crunch time, I'll need him to also start jotting down notes in the notebook I suggested he get so that things that occur to him/are remembered throughout the day will also be available. As for getting you a chapter, I've been working on the second one this week, which consists of his own personal story from childhood til his arrest, and the two of us are scheduled to talk again this weekend so that I can get further info from him on his warez days, as currently I only have an overview. Altogether, I'll need more info from gregg on some of these topics if we're to have a chapter and a half on them from birth to release from info. One thing that occurs to me: you might write up a short list of questions that strike you as especially interesting about what you know of his life thus far and send them to both of us so he can start thinking about them. In the meantime I've gotten a lot done on the other chapters but still plan on finishing chapter two first if I'm able to get the necessary details from gregg in the next few days.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

From: "Cheiffetz, Julia" <juliac@amazon.com>

Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:37:20 -0800

To: Barrett Brown<barriticus@gmail.com>; Gregg Housh<greggatghc@gmail.com>

Cc: Daniel Conaway<dconaway@WritersHouse.com>; Salisbury, Katie<katiesal@amazon.com>

Subject: FW: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

Hi Barrett, Hi Gregg,

See my comments attached. The book should be colorful narrative that is fun to read. You dive into the weeds too quickly without explaining what is at stake, or how Anonymous is an emerging form of civil disobedience. With each chapter you should ask yourself, why does this matter? What is at stake? Why should the reader care? And what is the central theme of this chapter.

When can you get first chapter to me?

Happy to talk next week.

Best,

Julia

From: Daniel Conaway [mailto:dconaway@WritersHouse.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2011 1:50 PM
To: Cheiffetz, Julia
Cc: 'Barrett Brown'; greggatghc@gmail.com; Stephen Barr
Subject: Housh/Brown ANONYMOUS outline

Julia

Just got off the phone w/ Barrett; heres his revised outline. Barrett continues to draw Gregg out in terms of personal stories, so therell be a LOT more than what you saw in the proposal. But he and Gregg dont feel that theres quite enough material to toggle back-and-forth (a chapter to Gregg, a chapt to Anonymous, and so on)or, to put it another way, getting enough MORE out of Gregg to make it work as a (roughly) 50-50 split would take months longer than weve got. Nonetheless, they understand well that there needs to be a lot more Gregg woven throughout.

Re the outline: Basically Barretts changed it so that the second chapter includes the bulk of Gregg's story from birth to his arrest. The third chapter begins and continues with his incarceration, release, and introduction to the nascent Anonymous culture. Subsequent chapters will expand on events mentioned in chapter two while sometimes including new ones, with such things being integrated in at those points where they may be relevant to the Anonymous narrative.

Meanwhile, FYI, theres a TON of interest in HollywoodGregg speaks with producers and directors two-three times a week; several hes had multiple conversations with; theres interest for feature, theres interest at HBO Two producers flew Gregg out to LA Sunday night for a face-to-face meeting, and last night they made an option offer for feature. Its not yet what were looking for, but I feel confident that well have something to brag about in the months ahead.

Im sorry for holding this material as I didthese growing pains have been fraught, as Im sure youre sick of hearing, but anyway heres the outline, and of course were ready to talk whenever you are.

Best,

Dan

Dan Conaway

Literary Agent

Writers House

(212) 696-3825

--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302