Talk Files, 1952 - January 1997, undated

This subseries documents Stamberg’s second book, Talk, a collection of edited versions of several of Stamberg’s interviews from 1971 to 1991, published by Turtle Bay press in 1993. This subseries makes up the bulk of the series and is divided by document type chronologically according to the development of the book. The subseries begins with the book proposal and contracts with Jonathan Lazear (Stamberg’s literary agent), Joni Evans (her publisher) and National Public Radio. These are followed by folders for every interview in the book, arranged by their order in the finished version. Each folder contains raw transcripts of the interview as well as their edited versions.

In the final version of Talk, there are snippets of various interviews on the outer edge of each page, called sidebars. The transcripts of these interviews are gathered together as sidebars research materials and are organized according to their order in the finished version. Many interviews were transcribed for use in the book but were discarded for the final version. They are gathered together as unused materials and are organized alphabetically. There are edited manuscripts, galleys, master galleys, and proof sheets, each separated and organized according to the finished version of the book. Finally, there are promotional materials, royalty statements, fan mail, and clippings, representing the stages after Talk was published.