When blogging and publishing collide

As some of you may know, Boston Brunchers is a group of avid bloggers who get together about once a month to try out different brunching hot spots.  I have been lucky enough to attend quite a few of these brunches and over the past year, it has grown both in number and in reach.  From more traditional brunches like last weekend's excursion to Temple Bar to bottomless brunches like the one we enjoyed at Local 149, the Brunchers have expanded going to see the Boston Ballet, hopping aboard the Odyssey and just last Sunday, a group of us were invited into the headquarters of the Harvard Common Press - a leading publisher of Cookbooks across America.

This was an extra special treat as what goes on within this warehouse on Albany street is not something you can just walk into. For our visit, they had prepared a couple of cocktails, and some great treats from various of their published cookbooks.

Their festive Cranberry Punch from edible Rhody was sweet and delicious...and dangerous:)

A series of baked goods, like their Raspberry-cream cheese coffee cake (A Real American Breakfast) and some delicious spinach and cheese casserole waited for us as well and it was so nice to see the recipes and origins of each item displayed.  

The folks at Harvard Common Press had really done things up for us, they even finished decorating their beautiful workplace with authentic Mexican woven carpets and figures..something which apparently had been a project in the making for a while:)

We all filled our plates and were taken to an adjacent room which actually serves as Bruce's wife's art studio. There was a big group of us, and I got to meet many new blogging faces.

That is another thing I so enjoy about these events, putting faces to blog names and twitter handles...

What was most interesting for me however, was what came next - which was a discussion led by Adam on the future of bloggers in the cookbook, publishing world. There is a huge place for some of these talented and enthusiastic writers and the discussion that followed was on of innovation and inspiration.

As my blog does not focus on recipes (I would never subject anyone to my cooking...), this discussion did not readily apply to me, but it was still interesting to see the inter-connectivity between the publishing world and the work my fellow bloggers put into their sites and creative archives.

After a stimulating morning of yummy treats and intellectual banter, we all went our separate ways. However, I am fairly sure we were all renewed with a sense of community, an appreciation of the family we have found through Boston Brunchers and the potential to really build something special.

I myself am proud to be a part of such a great group and am already looking forward to the great collaborations we are likely to see as the publishing and blogging worlds collide.