Pulitzer Prize-winner Saltz’s ‘enlightening’ survey of the art world goes to Ilex Press

Ilex Press, an imprint of Octopus Books, has acquired Art is Life by art critic and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jerry Saltz.

Ellie Corbett, commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Hal Fessenden at Penguin Random House US for publication on 1st November 2022 in hardback.

Described by Sotheby’s as simply “the art critic”, the publisher said Saltz has been an “indispensable cultural voice since the 1990s: witty and provocative, he has attracted contemporary readers to fine art as few critics have”.

Ilex continued: “Now, in Art is Life, Jerry Saltz draws on two decades of work to offer a real-time survey of contemporary art as a barometer of our times. Chronicling a period punctuated by dramatic turning points – from the cultural reset of 9/11 to the rolling social crises of today – Saltz traces how visionary artists have both documented and challenged the culture.”

Saltz has been a senior art critic and columnist for New York Magazine since 2006. He was formerly the senior art critic for the Village Voice and received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2018, after being nominated for the award in 2001 and 2006. 

Corbett said: “It is with huge pride that we will be publishing Art is Life on the Ilex list this autumn. Jerry’s first book with us, How to Be an Artist, was a phenomenal success in the UK and abroad in 2020, despite being published in deepest darkest lockdown. 

“Now, Art is Life offers readers a personal tour through the past 20 years in the art world, led by one of its most perceptive denizens.”