Positioning Statement

Erik Larson meets Russell Shorto in this meticulously researched, character-driven narrative of one of America’s most devastating and forgotten disasters. Brooklyn Ashes is at once a landmark history of the Brooklyn Theatre Fire of 1876—which killed more than 300 people and made headlines around the world—and a sweeping biography of a city in transformation. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Arthur Scinta’s debut book traces how Brooklyn evolved from peaceful Dutch settlements to a teeming urban center riven by political corruption, religious upheaval, and unchecked development, culminating in a catastrophe that changed American building codes and urban safety forever. Scinta draws on a treasure-trove of primary sources and forgotten archives to restore justice to the victims and deliver a stark, urgent warning about the price of putting profit before public safety.

Market

Market Opportunity and Audience

Comparable titles with strong sales records: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (10M+ copies sold); The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto (200,000+ copies sold); Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle (100,000+ copies sold); Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury—all demonstrate sustained commercial appetite for narrative American history rooted in New York City.

Gilded Age resurgence: Scholarly and popular interest in the Gilded Age is at a modern peak, with HBO’s The Gilded Age averaging over 3 million viewers per episode in its first season (2022) and a third season confirmed for 2025, creating a primed audience eager for non-fiction counterparts.

Brooklyn as cultural touchstone: Brooklyn’s population now exceeds 2.6 million, making it larger than 15 U.S. states; it is among the top five most-visited New York City destinations for domestic and international tourists, with a highly literate readership base and passionate local pride in its history.

Disaster history is a proven category: Narrative nonfiction centered on historical American disasters consistently performs: The Great Fire of London, Isaac’s Storm, and Destiny of the Republic all became bestsellers. The Brooklyn Theatre Fire, with 300+ fatalities, remains one of the deadliest theater fires in U.S. history and one of the most under-documented—a wide-open commercial opportunity

NYC building code and urban safety relevance: The fire directly led to sweeping building code reforms in New York City and nationally; with ongoing public conversation about infrastructure, safety, and political accountability in cities, the story has clear contemporary resonance.

Political corruption as evergreen theme: Readers who devoured Boss Tweed histories, Liar’s Poker, and Dark Money will find the book’s investigation of the corrupt Tammany-adjacent political ring that controlled Brooklyn’s media, rigged elections, and was complicit in the fire deeply compelling and disturbingly familiar

Brooklyn Bridge tie-in: The Brooklyn Bridge is arguably the most iconic American engineering project of the 19th century; the book’s direct connection—developer William C. Kingsley was simultaneously building both the theater and the bridge—gives the story immediate name recognition and a built-in marketing hook 

Immigration and American identity: The book’s immigrant characters reflect America’s ongoing conversation about immigration; first-generation Americans and descendants of Dutch settlers both feature prominently, broadening the book’s demographic reach across multiple ethnic communities

History education market: The book’s rich primary-source foundation, footnoted research, and focus on local and urban history make it an ideal text for university courses in American history, urban studies, and New York history—a supplementary academic market beyond trade sales.

150th anniversary: The Brooklyn Theatre Fire occurred on December 5, 1876; the book will publish near or during the 150th–151th anniversary window (2026–2027), a powerful hook for anniversary coverage in media and local institutions

Author Credentials

Town Historian of Pelham, New York: Official designation provides institutional credibility and access to archives, historical societies, and academic networks across the New York metropolitan region.

Former Mayor of Pelham, New York: Political experience and public profile give Scinta credibility with both civic and general audiences; he understands how community and governance intersect, directly relevant to the book’s themes.

Litigator: Scinta’s dual expertise in architecture and law gives him unique authority to analyze the structural failures of the Brooklyn Theatre and the legal and regulatory aftermath of the fire—a perspective no other author brings to this story 

Founder, Hendrick I. Lott House Preservation Association and Pelham Preservation Society, Ltd.: Demonstrates decades of hands-on commitment to preservation, community organizing, and stewarding New York history

Pro bono board member, Historic House Trust of NYC: Provides connections to the NYC preservation and museum community, a natural promotional network

Active speaker: Regularly invited to speak at organizations, churches, and schools on local and New York history; existing speaking platform can be leveraged for a book tour and promotional appearances in the NYC metro area

Primary-source researcher: Scinta’s access to and command of seemingly forgotten archives and local historical collections gives the book unimpeachable scholarly authority while remaining entirely narrative and accessible

Publicity

Print, Broadcast & Major Media

Major trade reviewers: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, and others

National newspapers: The New York Times (Arts section, Sunday Review, Metropolitan section), USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian (U.S. edition)

Literary outlets: The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Air Mail among others (Scinta's research and prose style is especially strong)

New York City & regional press: New York Daily News, New York Post, AM New York, Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Paper, Gothamist, The City, Curbed NY—strong local hook with Brooklyn setting and NYC building code legacy

History & culture: Smithsonian Magazine, American Heritage, American History Magazine, Lapham’s Quarterly, Civil War Times, Humanities (NEH publication)

Architecture & preservation: Architectural Record, Preservation (National Trust for Historic Preservation), Old-House Journal, Metropolis Magazine—Scinta’s architectural background is a strong pitch angle

Legal & policy: The National Law Journal, City Journal, Governing Magazine—building code reform and political corruption angles resonate with legal and policy audiences

General interest: TIME, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The New Yorker (Talk of the Town potential), Harper’s Magazine, Slate, VOX

Fire service & safety trade press: Firehouse Magazine, Fire Engineering, NFPA Journal (National Fire Protection Association)—Brooklyn Theatre Fire directly influenced modern fire codes; strong trade angle for excerpt or feature

NPR: Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, 1A, Throughline (historical context), To the Best of Our Knowledge

Broadcast: PBS NewsHour, C-SPAN Book TV, CBS Sunday Morning, NY1 (NYC’s 24-hour local news channel, strong Brooklyn constituency)

Op-ed strategy: Bylined pieces in The New York Times and The Daily Beast on topics such as: political corruption and urban infrastructure, the forgotten victims of the Brooklyn Theatre Fire, what the Gilded Age can teach us about today’s New York

Podcasts

History & narrative nonfiction: Throughline (NPR), American History Tellers, Revolutions (Mike Duncan), Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell), You’re Wrong About, The Bowery Boys (NYC history—400,000+ downloads/month), New York City History Podcast, Past Present, BackStory

True crime & disaster: Casefile, American Scandal, Gangster Capitalism, Scam Goddess, American History Tellers, Unobscured (Aaron Mahnke)—fire, corruption, and cover-up angles play directly into true crime’s enormous audience (U.S. true crime podcast listeners: 50M+ monthly)

Architecture & cities: 99% Invisible (Roman Mars, 650,000+ weekly listeners), The Urban Planning Podcast, Strong Towns, CityLab Radio—Scinta’s architecture background and building code legacy of the fire make this a strong fit

Political corruption & accountability: American Scandal (Wondery), Drilled, Gangster Capitalism, The Daily (NYT, 3M+ daily listeners)—corrupt ring controlling Brooklyn media and elections resonates strongly

Books & author interviews: Book Club for Masochists, Literary Friction, New Books Network, Longform Podcast, The Readout, KCRW’s Bookworm 

Institutional & Events Outreach

Brooklyn Historical Society: A natural flagship partnership—co-presentation of a book launch event or panel discussion in Brooklyn; the BHS has 2,000+ members and significant social media following

New York Historical Society: Strong programming relationship with narrative nonfiction authors; the society’s exhibition space and lecture series reach an engaged historical readership in NYC

Museum of the City of New York: Programming partner for New York history titles; MCNY’s audience of 200,000+ annual visitors is an ideal readership for this book

Brooklyn Public Library: Community events, author readings, and the library’s borough-wide promotional network; 58 branches across Brooklyn

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission: Given Scinta’s preservation background and the book’s architectural themes, outreach to the LPC for co-branded events or newsletter promotion

Fire Museum of New York: The 278 Spring Street museum is an ideal venue partner for a launch event or signing, with a membership base keenly interested in fire history

Pelham, NY community: As former mayor, Scinta has deep local ties; launch events at Pelham Public Library and historical societies in Westchester County can seed word of mouth

Dutch American community organizations: The Holland Society of New York, founded 1885, with 1,000+ members; the New Netherland Institute—both have direct interest in the book’s Dutch-heritage storylines

Architecture and bar association speaking: AIA New York Chapter (3,000+ members) and NYC Bar Association can host Scinta as a speaker, leveraging his dual credentials as architect and litigator

Anniversary commemoration: Coordinate with Brooklyn civic groups for a December 5, 2026 commemoration of the fire’s 150th anniversary; pitch local and national media on the milestone

Social Media & Digital Marketing

Author Platform & Built-In Demand

Author social media: Arthur Scinta’s existing profile as town historian, former mayor, and preservation advocate provides a credible base; recommend building Instagram and Facebook presence focused on historical photos of Brooklyn, archival images, and Gilded Age New York in the months ahead of publication

Publisher social channels: Leverage publisher’s social media presence across Instagram, Facebook, and X/Twitter for teaser campaigns using archival images of the Brooklyn Theater Fire, period photographs of Brooklyn, and pull quotes from the book

BookTok (TikTok): True crime and narrative nonfiction are among BookTok’s fastest-growing genres; the Brooklyn Theater Fire has strong visual and storytelling potential for short-form video. Target BookTok creators specializing in historical true crime and American history (accounts with 100K–1M+ followers include @historyofthenow, @booktokhistory, and similar)

Bookstagram: Outreach to historical nonfiction Bookstagram accounts with 50,000–500,000 followers; provide ARC copies and period imagery for aesthetically driven coverage

Archival image strategy: The Brooklyn Theatre Fire was extensively photographed and illustrated by newspapers including Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper; these public-domain images can fuel a robust social media campaign that is visually striking and historically compelling

Newsletter outreach: Pitch to history-focused Substack newsletters with large followings, including Historicity, The Atavist, and Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American (1M+ subscribers)—the political corruption and Gilded Age themes align with her editorial focus

Local digital media: Bklyner, Brownstoner, Brooklyn Magazine, and Gothamist all have engaged Brooklyn-focused digital audiences; targeted pitches for features, Q&As, or excerpts.