Over the past two decades, Kimberly Yorio has, in her best estimation, worked on roughly 1,200 cookbooks. As an in-house cookbook publicist for William Morrow, she created campaigns for authors such as Emeril Lagasse and Julia Child, and later launched communications agency YC Media, with best-selling author and chef Jamie Oliver as her first client.
In May, Yorio put her years of experience into The Joy of Writing a Great Cookbook, released by Page Street Publishing. To promote the book, which includes a foreword from Oliver, the author and publisher are channeling the spirit of the how-to title with the launch of a contest featuring a cookbook contract with Page Street as the main prize.
The campaign was the brain-child of Page Street’s publisher and editor-in-chief Will Kiester. “I am an optimist,” said Kiester. “I believe that hidden in great kitchens across the nation are people whose cooking is so good that it should be collected, curated, and presented.”
In terms of the format, Page Street specializes in oversized paperback originals, said Kiester, “packed with information and color.” The contract will also include digital publication.
To enter, contestants will be asked to submit all the hallmarks of a book proposal—a description of the proposed cookbook, how the book is different from others on the market, a bio, a table of contents, a list of 15 different recipes, and what marketing power the author brings to the table through platforms such as social-media followings.
The campaign runs through October 1, and Yorio, who will be part of a team that judges the submissions, is, above all, looking for entries with an original voice. “A unique voice is the hardest thing to create,” she said. “We want to find an author who offers the readers a great idea, a great recipe, and unique way to tell their story. We’re hoping that our contestants will read the book and learn how to write a great recipe, craft a great marketing plan, and tell us a story.”