We champion the weird, the unwieldy, and the unclassifiable.

Praise for Our Man in Iraq, coming in Spring 2013:
  • "This jivey—and I should say x-rated—story stays with us" — Alan Cheuse, "All Things Considered" NPR
  • "Perisic’s smoothly told and unfailingly engaging story takes off swiftly and never falters. Toni’s is a tragic-comic tale enriched by layers of meditation on the broad and lasting effects of war, and the peculiarities of contemporary media . . . How deeply satisfying it is to hear Perisic’s wry voice take a different angle, and tell a different story."— ZYZZYVA
  • "...terrifically witty and original... in addition to being a delightfully acerbic primer on a literarily underrepresented part of Europe, Our Man in Iraq may well prove to be one of those rare cases where something is actually gained in translation."—The Toronto Star
  • "Given the uncountable billions of words they have dedicated to the war in Iraq, it might be easy for Americans to think of it as belonging solely to them. Even its possession by the Iraqis can feel tenuous at times. So it is a refreshing reminder of the new global village to read a novel like Robert Perisic’s “Our Man in Iraq,” which studies the fighting in Baghdad from the distant shores of Croatia." —The Boston Globe
  • "Robert Perisic is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters." — Jonathan Franzen
  • One of The Millions "Most Anticipated Books of 2013"
  • "A must-read... brilliantly captures modern-day Zagreb." —The Guardian
  • "What’s most compelling about Perisic’s novel are the relentlessly insightful one-liners, offering poignant commentary on the unsettled day-to-day of a society trying to find its footing after devastating violence and in the throes of nascent capitalism... this smart, cutting book powerfully illustrates the horrible hangover of war." — Publisher's Weekly
  • "With formidable insight, élan and a noir-ish relish of backstreet manoeuvres, Perišic asks how a nation can move on after conflict, how citizens can overcome the feeling that 'Whoever survived all that Balkan shit, whoever breathed the fumes of that hell, had to feel defeat.'" — Prospect Magazine
  • "It is a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking story, which, while recalling some of the comic greats that have gone before, add its own brave, quirky and refreshing perspective to the tradition. An unexpected delight." — A Year of Reading the World


Praise and Press for Maverick Jetpants in the City of Quality:
  • The New York Times Book Review: "Writing like this hoists “Maverick Jetpants in the City of Quality” above the level of most first novels and confirms — along with the ending’s faint echo of that greatest of coming-of-age narratives, “Huckleberry Finn” — that Bill Peters belongs in the ranks of serious literary artists."
  • The Coffin Factory: "Peters proves himself adept at wordplay through the wildly inventive language of the characters."
  • Literate Man: "It is a novel that speaks to our common experience in coming of age and our common fears of being left behind by those closest to us. ... Maverick Jetpants in the City of Quality announces the arrival of a powerful and innovative young voice in American fiction."
  • Publishers Weekly: "The novel that's going to put Rochester on the map...by turns funny and moving, this debut richly captures life in a decaying American city..."
  • LAReview: "One of the most inventive novels published this year."
  • ForeWord Winter 2013: "Maverick is both funny and poignant, tragic and trite: its somewhat alien language mimics both the bewildering landscape of adulthood and the cultural wasteland of a declining Rochester [...] With all the elements of the best coming-of-age novels, Maverick offers a voice and a story that could connect with someone of just about any age, as long as they have the appreciation for nimble, far out and witty repartee."
  • Bookslut: "Peters has done something just this side of insane with this book; he's created a character that speaks in a voice everyone will recognize, even while half the words he says allude to things none of us were part of."
  • The Springfield Republican: "The core characters of Maverick Jetpants -- the kinds of guys for whom Buffalo Bills team sweatpants constitute formal wear, and whose diets consist mostly of french fries and coffee at chain restaurants -- are a sort of post-industrial everyman."
  • The Unexcused: "Maverick Jetpants ... [is] one of the most innovative books written in years. It’s incredible."

Praise and Press for Louise: Amended, one of Publishers Weekly's top 20 best nonfiction books of 2012 :
  • Huffington Post: "My face may no longer be classically symmetrical, but I still have the feeling of beauty. The feeling of beauty has nothing to do with perfection. It is about self-respect. It is about caring for oneself. I try to be a little less careless now. Being careless never felt right."
  • The Daily Mail: "Louise Krug, who was left with a crossed eye, partially-paralysed face and dragging foot after the incident, has penned the new book Louise: Amended. It is a story that explores how a dramatic change in the Kansas teacher's physical appearance sparked her positive new outlook on life."
  • The Guardian: "I started to realise that even though it often doesn't show on the outside, we all have experiences in our lives that damage us and threaten to hold us back. Mine just happen to be visible."
  • Tin House Blog: “I decided to go with my gut and stick to memoir. I’m very lucky that Deb Olin Unferth ran into my editor Elizabeth Koch at a party and told her about my manuscript. Elizabeth read it, saw something in it, and has worked so generously with me helping shape the book.”
  • Kansas City Star: "Krug, who is 29 now — and married with a new baby — didn’t consult her ex-boyfriend about his feelings at the time. But if the adoption of his voice seems unfair at first, it grows apparent that Krug isn’t taking aim at Claude or anyone else. Louise is the target."
  • Book Pleasures: "The narrative is skillfully written, it hovers disjointedly between the active and passive voices, so we get to live snapshots of moments in time. (...) This form of writing makes the book an easy as well as a compulsive read, the reader’s interest is held till the end."
  • The Wichita Eagle: “The book switches between first-person narration by Krug about the events, and third-person narration about what she imagines others are feeling and doing in relation to her. The shifts are somewhat jarring, but the technique lets readers inside the minds of others dealing with the situation.”
  • Sacramento Bee: “In this memoir, the author recounts the life-threatening brain trauma that severely disabled her at age 22. Her fight for recovery is inspirational. Today, Krug is a wife, mother, teacher and Ph.D. candidate.”
  • Topeka Capital Journal: “It’s funny, too. There’s a lot of humor in there. I think anyone that reads it, it will bring back their college days and all of the trials and stupid mistakes you make. I was relieved that this didn’t set her back long-term.”

Praise for The Recipe Project:
  • The Atlantic: “Utterly charming and a formidable feat of multi-sensory deliciousness, The Recipe Project is the kind of whimsical cross-pollination of disciplines that speaks to [The Atlantic’s] ethos of indiscriminate creative curiosity.”
  • Esquire: “The recipes function as a sort of found poetry, if you will, a jumping-off point for a consideration of how sound relates to flavor.”
  • Wired.com: “The Recipe Project [is] a true feast for cuisine geeks. It’s a project worthy of the new breed of food pornographers, who have transformed cooking programming into an indulgent pleasure.”
  • Epicurious: “Between the covers, you'll find recipes, prose pieces, chef interviews, and yes, music. Pore through the pages and you'll be rewarded with some lovely food writing, delicious food, and toe-tapping tunes. It's a multi-sensory feast.”
  • Food Network Magazine: “Food Network stars Aaron Sanchez and Michael Symon, among others, handed over their favorite recipes to the band One Ring Zero so they could turn them into catchy tunes. “I would wake up in the middle of the night with Mario Batali’s spaghetti song running through my head,” says bandleader Michael Hearst.”
  • Oprah’s Food Newsletter: “John Besh, the New Orleans chef, put it best in the video by Time.com as he sang along to his own recipe for shrimp remoulade, "Why didn't I think of this?"
  • Time: “Thanks to a new book and CD called The Recipe Project the food and music words are not only colliding but collaborating. The creative minds behind this fusion are the members of the band One Ring Zero. (...) And the end goal of all of this? Make recipes and food more accessible and fun.”
  • Bon Appetit: “By stylistically channeling the Beastie Boys and Bach to Bowie and Belly (with the latter's Tanya Donelly lending vocals on a track), the band's catchy recipe adaptations make for an engaging listen.”
  • Associated Press: “Food-loving rockers can get the best of both worlds in "The Recipe Project" (Black Balloon Publishing, 2011), a collection of recipes by top chefs set to music. Rock out with Mario Batali's spaghetti with Sweet 100 Tomatoes or Michael Symon's octopus salad with Black-Eyed Peas. Comes with the CD, of course.”
  • Lucky Magazine Online: “How can I explain? One Ring Zero– one of those quirky Skinny White Guy bands that I say I don’t like and then deeply fixate on– has made songs out of recipes. They have taken cooking instructions from famous chefs and set them to music. Word for word. Measurements. Ingredients. Utensils. Everything.”
  • CNN Money: “Koch and her team created the book with the recipes in print and informative essays from noteworthy food writers. Koch believes that her willingness "to fly against the norm" helps to "break new ground in this type of publishing and to really set ourselves apart." As proof, this holiday season, the company has sold thousands of units to a major book retailer.”
  • Edible Brooklyn: “If the Recipe Project is like no cookbook you’ve ever seen, that’s because it’s primarily intended to be heard. Its recipes do come in printed form, but that’s just the appetizer. The main course is a CD of 12 recipes set to song, and it’s a feast for the ears.”
Praise for The Recipe Project app:
  • Brainpickings.org: “The book also comes with a delightful free iPhone app that lets you enter up to 5 ingredients you have on hand and dishes out a delicious, speedy singable recipe to make with” them.
  • Village Voice Blog: “Having trouble remembering just what goes into Chris Cosentino's recipe for Brains and Eggs? Try setting it to music. That's what the folks behind The Recipe Project did. It's a cookbook that comes with a CD, with recipes from famous chefs set to music. And now, it's also an app that you can download for free from the iTunes store.”
  • The Atlantic: “The beautifully illustrated recipes come from a roster of famous chefs -- including Mario Batali, John Besh, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, and Andrea Reusing -- contextualized amidst chef interviews and essays by acclaimed food writers like Melissa Clark and J. Dixon, pondering such complexities as the culinary connotations of The Beatles' White Album and what moussaka has to do with Metallica.”
  • Toque: “What an odd little app! Click on the Listen button at the bottom of the screen and a record pops up, a needle slides over and the music by One Ring Zero begins to play. Melodic instructions of David Chang’s crab claw recipe begins to pump out of the speakers while the written instructions appear above the spinning record. It’s quirky, and I have to admit a little catchy after listening to it a few times.”
TV and Radio Spots: Praise for The Recipe Project Launch Parties:
  • Scallywag & Vagabond: “If you love food, it’s likely you also love to drink, travel and listen to music too. Well, on Tuesday evening ‘super-music-nerd-foodies’ gathered in the basement of the Woolworth Building, otherwise known as The Wooly for the highly anticipated launch of The Recipe Project, a paperback gem brought to us by Black Balloon Publishing.”
  • Brooklyn Based: The band One Ring Zero has put out the first ever album/book combo of recipes. The band has recruited some of their favorite chefs – Mario Batali, David Chang, Mark Kurlansky, etc. – to write lyrics which double as recipes. The CD of hunger-inducing tracks comes complete with a 116 pg. hardcover book. On November 3rd, catch the release party at Brooklyn Kitchen, where you can taste a number of the recipes and sip on beers provided by Brooklyn Brewery.
  • Serious Eats: “Celebrate the release of the first album/cookbook ever by One Ring Zero. Lyrics include recipes from chefs like Mario Batali and Mark Kurlansky. Sample different recipes from the album, listen to a live performance by One Ring Zero, and receive a signed copy of the album at this event!”