Suzanne Spellen, aka Montrose Morris, Is Writing Brownstoner's First Book

Over the past seven years, I’ve written more than a thousand Buildings of the Day and hundreds of Walkabouts and Past and Present columns — all under the screen name Montrose Morris. In the process, I’ve learned a great deal about Brooklyn and its magnificent architecture and history.

I’ve been passionate about chronicling stories about the fascinating people, places and events that have slipped through the cracks of time. It’s important to know the past as we rush headlong into the future.

I’ve long dreamt of writing a book about these passions. And now I will be doing just that. It will be Brownstoner’s first in-print publication, to be released around holiday time of 2016.

As a part of the book-research process, seven years of my work will be catalogued — archived by neighborhood and topic — and revamped on the site with more images and updated information.

All of this will take a lot of work, as you can imagine. So going forward, I will only be penning one regular article a week, freeing me up to work on research, revisions and rewrites for the book. From time to time I’ll be writing special pieces, but for the most part there will be only one story a week.

I’ve also decided that it’s time to do one more thing. I began writing my columns as Montrose Morris, but going forward, I’m signing my pieces with my real name — Suzanne Spellen.

A publication of my writing has been a goal of mine for many years, always encouraged by many of you. I just wasn’t in the position to do this before. I’m excited about it, and I’ll share more information when the time comes.

Do you have a favorite Montrose Morris post? Is there something you think I should write about? Let me know in the comments or in an email to suzanne [at] brownstoner [dot] com.

To receive updates on the project and notifications of invite-only events and readings, add your email address below.