“As a commissioning editor at Chronicle Books, my job was to create book concepts that brought delight to our customers. No matter what the topic, Gina could take any concept and bring it to life through carefully crafted text and content. She is a big thinker who minds the details—a terrific collaborator and creative partner for any project.”
—Leslie Jonath, editor
BOOKS WRITTEN BY GINA
The Tanglewood Picnic: Music and Outdoor Feasts in the Berkshires by Gina Hyams
Muddy Puppy Media, 2015
“It’s one of those books that years from now will still be circulating, waiting to be pulled off the shelf in a Berkshire cottage or New York City apartment, sniffed for that good book smell, and opened to remember summer. The book hails not just a picnicking tradition, but the way in which the world stops for music. All that love and beauty makes for a civilized time, and that makes life an art.” –The Berkshire Edge
Pacific Spas: Luxury Getaways on the West Coast by Gina Hyams
Chronicle Books, 2006
“The sumptuous guidebook features 20 of the most luxurious getaways in California and Washington, Mexico’s Baja del Sur and Canada’s British Columbia. Some of the treatments described here give decadence a new name, such as the combination of a tequila massage with a margarita salt scrub topped off with drinking a virgin margarita in the spa lounge. Did I say decadent?” –Chicago Tribune
In a Mexican Garden: Courtyards, Pools, and Open-Air Living Rooms
Chronicle Books, 2005
“With photographs by Levick and text by Hyams, this soft-back book is a visual ticket to tranquility. There are more than 200 photographs of rooftop terraces, open-air living rooms, garden sitting areas, patio bars, beds, hammocks, spas and more. The photos are so enticing, they will make you start humming ‘La Bamba’ while you start making airline reservations.” –Chicago Tribune
Incense: Rituals, Mystery, Lore by Gina Hyams
Chronicle Books, 2004
“As a book, [it’s] almost like a meditation. Sure: it’s filled with information on this ancient aid to aromatherapy, but it’s also a beautiful study in a luxurious aspect of spirituality. ‘Where there is incense smoke, there is the fire of faith and prayers. Incense smoke is holy smoke. Integral to spiritual practices around the globe, its divine fragrance suffuses nearly every sort of place of worship…’ A lovely book that would make a perfect gift for those with an interest in the spiritual.” –January Magazine
Mexicasa: The Enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico by Gina Hyams
Chronicle Books, 2001
“What Gina Hyams and [photographer] Melba Levick have created here is a wonderful compilation of photographs of 21 of Mexico’s most spectacular and beautiful inns and bed & breakfast establishments…All the houses are fully described by author Hyams. But rather than giving us a straightforward ‘House & Gardens’ description of what we can already see she gives us stories and anecdotes about how the various places came about.” –MexConnect
Day of the Dead Box by Gina Hyams
Chronicle Books, 2001
“Day of the Dead provides a colorful tiered altar, skeleton figurine, and gift book describing the historic origins of the holiday as well as how to celebrate it today. In a bright and festive package is everything one needs in order to create one’s own altar at home…Although small, the book is thorough and provides a chapter on traditional recipes. Pan de Muertos is Bread of the Dead, and other recipes include hot fruit punch, pork tamales, hot chocolate, and salsa.” –La Voz Newspaper
“In a Box” Series
“A perfect little gift”
–San Jose Mercury News
Gina is the creator of the “In a Box” series of culinary contest book-kits published by Andrews McMeel Publishing that includes Pie Contest in a Box (2011), Chili Cook-Off in a Box (2012), and Christmas Cookie Contest in a Box (2012). In the blue-ribbon tradition of county fairs, community cook-offs, and competitive cooking TV shows, the series presents a fun and inexpensive way to entertain. Cooking contests inspire good times, good will, and a sense of community.
Each box contains:
Handbook detailing history of the food, step-by-step instructions for hosting a contest, judging tips, contest themes, prize-winning recipes, themed song lists, suggestions for related children’s books, and more.
Judge badges
Numbered ID flags or table tents
Scorecards
Prize ribbons
BOOKS EDITED BY GINA
“Gina’s editing was a key component to the success of my book, Whispers in the Thread. From reining in my roving thoughts to shaping the chapters and stories, she parcelled out the very best of my writing. I'm grateful for her keen eye and diligent work ethic.”
—Lena Bartula, artist
Whispers in the Thread/Susurros en el Hilo by Lena Bartula
La Huipilista Press, 2019
“Whispers in the Thread is a camino, each page a step honoring the women who spin, weave, and stitch their threads of joy and struggle into lives that matter. By embracing the Mesoamerican dress called a huipil as the vessel for her vision and story, Lena Bartula creates a bold and unexpected body of contemporary art and process thinking. Images and text leap borders and sociopolitical abstractions. These modern adaptations of the huipil are woven with threads of social consciousness relevant in our world today. This book is a spirit guide for the rest of us.” –Maia Williams, Co-director, San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival
Country Living Decorating with White edited by Gina Hyams
Hearst, 2013 and Busse Collection (German edition), 2014
“Awash in a seemingly infinite range of warm shades and cool hues of white, this handsomely illustrated how-to includes eight informative chapters thoughtfully edited by Hyams. Pristine, inviting rooms and vignettes are amplified by a breezy, lucid text that extols the virtues of the color most associated with light, tranquility, and spaciousness. As a ‘blank canvas that offers endless possibilities,’ white’s abilities to weather stylistic changes, hide flaws, and highlight details in rooms romantic, traditional, and contemporary are persuasively documented.” –Publishers Weekly
Searching for Mary Poppins: Women Write About the Relationship Between Mothers and Nannies co-edited by Susan Davis and Gina Hyams
Plume/Penguin U.S.A, 2007 (paperback) Hudson Street Press/Penguin U.S.A, 2006 (hardcover)
“Davis and Hyams compile two dozen essays by contemporary women writers exploring the many facets of ‘the nanny-mother tango.’ The relationship between a woman and her child’s caretaker can be ‘a complicated dance.’ This collection includes a diverse group of talents, including Susan Cheever, Marisa de los Santos, Joyce Maynard, Daphne Merkin, Roxanna Robinson and Rebecca Walker, writing about their sometimes wonderful, sometimes horrible (and almost always awkward) relationships with their children’s nannies. The very intimate position of sharing the role of mother (and sometimes a living space as well) with another woman—often one with a vastly different background than the mother—has been an intense experience for the authors of this collection. While each story is different, common emotional themes emerge, among them love, guilt, betrayal, gratitude, insecurity and loss. Sometimes humorous and often touching, this is an honest exploration of the well of feelings inspired by the nanny-mother relationship. Includes a foreword by All Things Considered‘s Melissa Block.” –Kirkus Reviews
The Campfire Collection: Thrilling, Chilling Tales of Alien Encounters edited by Gina Hyams
Chronicle Books, 2005
The thinking outdoorsman’s handbook to the heebie-jeebies, this third volume of the Campfire Collection gathers thirteen terrifying tales of alien abductions, encounters, and freakish forays into the unknown. Perfect to read aloud around a fire or in the comfort and “relative safety” of a cozy armchair, this anthology edited by Gina Hyams offers stories from such masters of fright as Stephen King, Philip K. Dick, Damon Knight, and more. Designed with rounded corners, a durable cover, and large type for easy reading by campfire or flashlight, this rugged companion is more than trail-ready for any excursion.