ongoing, outstanding

I want to extend my congratulations on your well-deserved new status as ED of art met! I am looking forward to continuing to work together as we bring The Employee to print.

I am writing to follow up on a few remaining loose ends, since things were put on pause as Jonathan transferred the reins to you, and I want to keep things moving forward...

These are what I want to see resolved as we move into the final phase of the project. Lauren, feel free to jump in with anything I have forgotten or overlooked: 

1. I believe that we are looking for a copyright boilerplate to include in our colophon.

2. We still need to finalize a contract. We got stalled figuring out an agreement that comprised co-publication with FCG, co-creator status with Lauren Wetmore, and a distribution plan.

3. Both Lauren and I, being based in the EU, are looking for more robust distribution abroad. In earlier times Jonathan had a working arrangement with Motto, but in the wake of the poor business practices of motto being revealed, another EU alternative would be desirable. I am foggy about the difference between publishers, booksellers, and distributors, since it seems that many orgs do multiple of these, but have done a bit of research into art publishers here that might be open to possible collaboration for distribution. I would be interested in connecting with Perimeter books (based in Australia), and with Spector books (based in Leipzeig) to ensure a broader international circulation of the publication. Let me know if this is feasible, desirable, or worthwhile from your perspective

Again, warm congratulations, and hope that spring is allergy free and sunny in Toronto.

Josh

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Hi Blair,

Thanks so much for this additional information. Lauren and I will get back to you with proposals for the contract, etc. shortly.

In the meantime, as Lauren and I are drafting a Land Acknowledgement to include in the book, it crossed my mind to ask if AM is committed to PACBI?

I checked on the website’s statements, and didn’t see anything official, even though I know AM has acted in solidarity throughout the past months.

This reflection also gave me pause to reflect on my recommendation to reach out to Spector books, since they are based in Germany and Germany is actively striving to be the most avid genocide supporter it can be. While that says nothing about Spector, knowing the convictions of the general German populace (arts institutions included), it would be unexpected if Spector had a differing position than most. That to say, if other distributors come up that aren’t based in Germany, that would be better.

Enjoy London!

x