Meet the Team: James Webster
Next up in the Meet the Team series is James Webster, our Marketing Director. Read on as he shares his musings on vibes-based workflows, quotes a Wikipedia article, and reminisces on eating a salad with Annie Ernaux.
Where are you based? “The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget,[a] is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, encompassing 11 counties.” (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
What is your role at Deep Vellum? I am the marketing director, which in the simplest terms, means that I am in charge of vibes. I also do all the posts.
What's the best or most interesting part of your job? My first instinct is always to break, bend, or at least step around the rules. So when a rote task like "fill out this 'meet the staff' questionnaire" comes my way, I will do things like supply a photo of myself as a child, or quote from a Wikipedia article. Essentially, I am always looking for ways to do things that are interesting, and memorable. Many thanks to my long-suffering coworkers.
What is your favorite book we've published, and why? Not One Day by Anne Garetta. This was my first Deep Vellum title, recommended to me by some old coworkers of mine—one of whom had taken classes with Garetta in college. She made her students read the book, and then discuss it with her, and apparently the first thing she said upon walking into the lecture hall was "okay, who blushed?" This book is beautiful, funny, weird, sad, and was so powerful to me that I started paying attention to Deep Vellum as a publisher. Watch out for the section on "highway music," or you might just end up working here.
What’s your background? I have a 10th grade education (high school dropout, no college degree of any sort). Spent a lot of time goofing off on the internet, and in real life. Most of my twenties were spent as a directionless Brooklyn dirtbag. Started working in bookstores, and that was that. In 2022, I made the jump from the bookstore side of the industry to the publishing side of the industry, putting in a couple years as the marketing assistant at fellow indie press, Seven Stories. I had a greek salad with Annie Ernaux once!
What’s a forthcoming book from any of our imprints that you're looking forward to? Picture me meditating on the top of a mountain, my head bowed in wise contemplation] I look forward to all of our books equally.
What is your favorite pie flavor? Key Lime, because I like the idea of warm and tropical climates, but in practice, I hate the sun.