In memoriam: Porter Anderson

As longtime readers know, I started this newsletter as a partnership with journalist Porter Anderson in 2015. Back then, it was called The Hot Sheet and came out every two weeks. I was sad to learn this morning in Publishing Perspectives that Porter has died.

I first met Porter on Twitter in those early years when it was a delight and a pleasure to interact with your fellow human beings on social media. He would sometimes send me tips for what to include in my weekly Writer’s Digest column, “Best Tweets for Writers,” and we crossed paths at various conferences, where we would live-tweet events side by side. Before long, we started working together when he penned a free column for my site, Writing on the Ether; we also programmed events in partnership with Digital Book World and NINC. Ultimately, he became editor in chief of Publishing Perspectives around the same time that we partnered up on The Hot Sheet. Our partnership lasted through 2019 and at least two major hurricanes that passed through Tampa. More than a few times we corresponded about articles while he was evacuating with his senior dog, who needed frequent potty breaks.

Porter loved Italian food (he was stationed in Rome when he worked for the UN), and his dream sponsor was Campari. One of our last evenings together was spent on the outdoor deck of his condo overlooking Tampa Bay, Aperol Spritzes in hand, sitting under his Campari-branded umbrellas. 

A good part of Porter’s career was spent as a critic, and that personality was always ready to come out with a zinger. As a senior journalist during a time of decline for mainstream media, he was never content to fade into the background. He reinvented himself many times over to remain in the mix and relevant. He was masterful at working a room and building a rapport with the many VIPs and stakeholders in the publishing industry, which made him invaluable to a newsletter like this one. Porter, I envision you reclining in an ethereal airline lounge so premium the Negronis pour forever. You will be missed.

Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.

Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.