Ben Schafer's guest appearances

Ben Schafer

Speak Up Talk Radio Network

Mishka Shubaly Podcast

Karen Anderson

James Martin

Steve Snyder

James Ross

Julie Broad

Kenny G

Roger Johns

Josh Malerman

Jake Flores

Chuck Miller

Dave Hickman

Laura McKowen

Dean Delray

Moneeka Sawyer

Josh LaJaunie

OwlTail

Brian Wilson

I met Ben Schafer in the process of working on Mark Lanegan's book with him. I have a lot of resistance to meeting publishing/ music industry/ entertainment industry folks because it always feels so ingenuine, like "I will pretend to be your friend until it no longer serves my business interests, at which point I'll pretend you never existed." From our first meeting, I recognized that Ben was, like me, just an earnest fan of Lanegan's work. We talked about how great Lanegan's voice and writing was, how excited we were for the book, sobriety, then finally just life in general. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, despite my best efforts to the contrary, Ben and I became friends very quickly and have stayed in close touch for the last couple of years. Yes, of course, we talked about the loss of Lanegan, but I tried to ask him some hard questions about publishing and his role as editor.    Ben specializes in music, popular culture, biography, memoir, and popular science, with a particular soft spot for American counterculture. He has acquired several New York Times bestsellers, including Unrequited Infatuations by Stevie Van Zandt, The Portable Atheist edited by Christopher Hitchens, Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr, and I Am Brian Wilson by Brian Wilson. Based in Los Angeles, Ben published the definitive two-volume history of L.A. punk Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World by John Doe (of X) and music publishing veteran Tom DeSavia. He is also the editor of the international bestseller Why Does E=mc2 by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, and an all-time classic memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street by Dave Van Ronk with Elijah Wald, the inspiration for the Coen Brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis. Prior to joining Hachette Books, Ben was Executive Editor at Da Capo Press for 17 years and held editorial positions at William Morrow and HarperCollins.

I met Ben Schafer in the process of working on Mark Lanegan's book with him. I have a lot of resistance to meeting publishing/ music industry/ entertainment industry folks because it always feels so ingenuine, like "I will pretend to be your friend until it no longer serves my business interests, at which point I'll pretend you never existed." From our first meeting, I recognized that Ben was, like me, just an earnest fan of Lanegan's work. We talked about how great Lanegan's voice and writing was, how excited we were for the book, sobriety, then finally just life in general. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, despite my best efforts to the contrary, Ben and I became friends very quickly and have stayed in close touch for the last couple of years. Yes, of course, we talked about the loss of Lanegan, but I tried to ask him some hard questions about publishing and his role as editor.  Ben specializes in music, popular culture, biography, memoir, and popular science, with a particular soft spot for American counterculture. He has acquired several New York Times bestsellers, including Unrequited Infatuations by Stevie Van Zandt, The Portable Atheist edited by Christopher Hitchens, Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr, and I Am Brian Wilson by Brian Wilson. Based in Los Angeles, Ben published the definitive two-volume history of L.A. punk Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World by John Doe (of X) and music publishing veteran Tom DeSavia. He is also the editor of the international bestseller Why Does E=mc2 by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, and an all-time classic memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street by Dave Van Ronk with Elijah Wald, the inspiration for the Coen Brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis. Prior to joining Hachette Books, Ben was Executive Editor at Da Capo Press for 17 years and held editorial positions at William Morrow and HarperCollins.

Mark Lanegan/ Brian Wilson/ ”Trouble Boys” editor Ben Schafer of Hachette Books

Ben Schafer has always had an interest in storytelling. From a young age, he would invent stories and games to entertain his friends and family. After his plans to attend the Air Force Academy were suddenly cut short by an unforeseen medical event, Ben began to take a closer look at writing as a serious...

Ben Schafer Speaks Up About His Book ‘Son of Syria’