Kemble Scott
Encyclopedia
Kemble Scott is the pseudonym for fiction used by American journalist Scott James (born 1962), writer of a weekly column about the San Francisco Bay Area that appears in The New York Times and The Bay Citizen. His debut novel
SoMa
became a bestseller (San Francisco Chronicle
) in the spring of 2007. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/25/RVBESTSELLERS.DTL&type=chart http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/RVBESTSELLERS.DTL&type=chart The novel tells the interwoven stories of twentysomethings on the prowl for thrills in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa
) neighborhood following the city’s infamous Dot-com crash. http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=10300 In June 2008 the novel SoMa was honored as a finalist for the national Lambda Literary award for debut fiction.
At the time SoMa was published, James produced a series of videos for YouTube in which he appeared as Kemble Scott to take viewers to the real places that inspired the novel. It’s believed this was the first time an author launched a novel this way. The videos received thousands of views and may have contributed to the book’s bestseller status. The influential tech blog Valleywag noted the videos, but criticized them for being too tame, compared to the sexually explicit content of the novel.
In May 2009 James published his second novel, The Sower
by Kemble Scott. The first edition premiered as a digital book and was the first novel sold by social publisher Scribd.com in a new e-commerce venture called "Scribd Store," according to the Associated Press http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/may/17/bc-us-tec-scribd-storehfr1st-ld-writethru/?news.
The author's decision to release the first edition of The Sower exclusively as an e-book received widespread media coverage. This led to offers to create a printed version. On August 31, 2009 Numina Press published the first hardcover edition, which instantly hit the San Francisco Chronicle's bestsellers list, premiering at #5 for that week.
In October 2010, a second digital edition of was released: The Sower 2.0. Debuting exclusively on Scribd
, the new version was reimagined by the author and updated with topical references for late 2010.
Prior to working in fiction, James was a longtime television news writer, producer and executive. While at WLNE-TV
in Providence, Rhode Island
, he was honored with three Emmy awards. During his tenure there as news director, the station twice won the News Station of the Year Award from the Associated Press
.
James has an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
, and a BA from Adelphi University
. He resides in San Francisco.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
SoMa
SoMa (novel)
SoMa is the bestselling debut novel of American author Kemble Scott. It was first published on February 1, 2007 by Kensington Books as a trade paperback original...
became a bestseller (San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
) in the spring of 2007. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/25/RVBESTSELLERS.DTL&type=chart http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/RVBESTSELLERS.DTL&type=chart The novel tells the interwoven stories of twentysomethings on the prowl for thrills in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
) neighborhood following the city’s infamous Dot-com crash. http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=10300 In June 2008 the novel SoMa was honored as a finalist for the national Lambda Literary award for debut fiction.
At the time SoMa was published, James produced a series of videos for YouTube in which he appeared as Kemble Scott to take viewers to the real places that inspired the novel. It’s believed this was the first time an author launched a novel this way. The videos received thousands of views and may have contributed to the book’s bestseller status. The influential tech blog Valleywag noted the videos, but criticized them for being too tame, compared to the sexually explicit content of the novel.
In May 2009 James published his second novel, The Sower
The Sower (novel)
The Sower is the bestselling second novel by American author Kemble Scott, pen name of Scott James, writer of a weekly column about the San Francisco Bay Area published in both The Bay Citizen and The New York Times....
by Kemble Scott. The first edition premiered as a digital book and was the first novel sold by social publisher Scribd.com in a new e-commerce venture called "Scribd Store," according to the Associated Press http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/may/17/bc-us-tec-scribd-storehfr1st-ld-writethru/?news.
The author's decision to release the first edition of The Sower exclusively as an e-book received widespread media coverage. This led to offers to create a printed version. On August 31, 2009 Numina Press published the first hardcover edition, which instantly hit the San Francisco Chronicle's bestsellers list, premiering at #5 for that week.
In October 2010, a second digital edition of was released: The Sower 2.0. Debuting exclusively on Scribd
Scribd
Scribd is a Web 2.0 based document-sharing website which allows users to post documents of various formats, and embed them into a web page using its iPaper format. Scribd was founded by Trip Adler, Tikhon Bernstam, and Jared Friedman in 2006...
, the new version was reimagined by the author and updated with topical references for late 2010.
Prior to working in fiction, James was a longtime television news writer, producer and executive. While at WLNE-TV
WLNE-TV
WLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, he was honored with three Emmy awards. During his tenure there as news director, the station twice won the News Station of the Year Award from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
.
James has an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
, and a BA from Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
. He resides in San Francisco.
External links
- Author's Homepage
- SoMa Literary Review
- Kemble Scott's YouTube page
- Interviews, reviews and news coverage
- Small Spiral Notebook Literary Journal Q & A with author
- In Newsweekly profiles Kemble Scott