For weeks I've been doing research for an article on independent bookstores and coop, but it's been tough to get folks on the record to speak about this. If you're an independent bookstore or traditional publisher willing to talk about coop, I'd love to hear from you: [email protected].

Publishing is a retail. Writing is hard. Sometimes you should give up on a book. A winding journey for your project is normal. @katemckean.bsky.social on FIRST EDITION to talk about her new book, WRITE THROUGH IT: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE

"If I were the Ombudsman for Common Sense in Books, July 1 would be the earliest date you were allowed to publish (Best Books of the Year So Far lists)." 1000 percent agree. Thank you, @jeffoneal.bsky.social!!!! bookriot.com/barnes-noble...

I wrote about why you know what broccoli rabe is.

This is an unbelievably great tip, especially if the agent isn't mention in the acknowledgments. Wish there was an equivalent hack for figuring out the editor. (Maybe there is?)

"Getting the reps in, in the form of bad drafts, sunken soufflés, buggy code, or whatever tossable widget you produce is an unskippable track that you must play. Probably a couple of full albums, honestly.” kindagenius.substack.com/p/there-has-...

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We're doing a live recording of the @bookriotpod.bsky.social on March 13th at 7pm at @powells.bsky.social. Topic? The Most Recommendable Books of the Century.....so far. Come if you can!

The seasonal previews that THE MILLIONS publishes have become an indispensable part of the bookish world. @sophiastewart.bsky.social, who makes them happen, talks about how it's done.

Tried to write something interesting about AI. kindagenius.substack.com/p/the-one-th...

Now here is a just-announced pairing I would not have gotten if you had given me a thousand guesses.

Oh, the dizzying and mystical blend of erudition, eroticism, and good-old fashioned play of Tom Robbins. Vegetable homages, absurdist near-Zen aphorisms, and tequila ribaldries: with him, you could be more playful & holy than you thought possible. Smooth sailing into the great whatever, TR.

Shot in the dark here, but anybody know anybody (or is anybody) who worked with Tom Robbins? Or just really like Tom Robbins? Want to talk to someone about him for a BR podcast, but am unusually light on ideas about who to approach.

This is what happens I guess when I watch TV and have feelings about it. kindagenius.substack.com/p/thank-you-...

Been awhile since I read a book where it genuinely made me feel like I understood something new, but which I had long felt, like LIFE IN THREE DIMENSIONS. And it is super-bookish to boot. The interview I did with Prof. Oishi for First Edition was a real treat: bookriot.com/listen/life-...

Really enjoyed talking with @biblioracle.bsky.social about his new book MORE THAN WORDS. Relate to the suspicion, but find myself more interested in what LLMs reveal about what the use of writing, versus just production of text, are for thinking, creating, and just being a person.

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang cover reveal! It's described as a "dark academia fantasy in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own." Y'all excited? #booksky abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...

If there is one thing you can definitively say about blurbs it is that they have a 0% approval rating among authors. In an author hate-off between blurbs and Goodreads, blurbs win, no?

Laughed (in a laugh or I'll cry way) at @jeffoneal.bsky.social raging about the dystopian book sale bump in today's edition of Today in Books. Have we learned nothing? We have learned nothing. #books bookriot.com/libraries-ar...

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A museum of stuff, the manifold uses of craftivism, a factory for prestige architecture, Humanity’s Last Exam: all make the cut for my most memorable reads of January.

"I struggle with this in most new projects. Which parts shouldn’t move because they are indeed crucial to success? What can go into the “we’ll figure it out later” pile? A creative intransigence can sink something that has potential, just as a lack of clarity can lead to a rudderless muddle."

I shout about this every year, but the number of the most-awarded movies every year that started out as books is under-appreciated. Literary and book culture matter. bookriot.com/the-oscar-no...

2015 was a pretty amazing year for books. This was a tough one. bookriot.com/listen/power...

Like most things that are fun to write, I started out this one intending to write about something completely different.

Wrote about one of my favorite childhood memories and the adaptation addition that I still think about. Also included: Hall & Oates' "Man-Eater," early VHS life, and the real-life chocolate spies that inspired the book.

If you know Jeff, you know this will be absolutely fascinating.

This was a ton of fun to do. Sometimes, the interviewee coming in cold can actually be a better interview. Thanks to @nnedi.bsky.social for being so game. And go check out DEATH OF THE AUTHOR, out now!

Starting a hobby project newsletter called Kinda Genius. It's a celebration of human ingenuity: stories people having smart, creative ideas across all fields and at any scale. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, you can sign up here: kindagenius.substack.com/about

🔔 It's time! We're finally revealing our personal faves of 2024. bookriot.com/listen/our-f...

Don't be scared. We're here to help you find the best gift books of 2024: bookriot.com/listen/best-...

SAY NOTHING is terrific and I am reading everything I can about it.

Always a good sign when you have to keep the company you signed your AI deal with "confidential" www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief...

If you want to join any of the book clubs—or just like knowing what they picked— here's what they're reading this month. (I love that Roxane Gay picked a cookbook!)

Had a chance to write briefly about NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason in Today in Books today: todayinbooks.substack.com/p/new-federa...

Rounded up my favorite....micro-genre? format? Whatever you call it, I cannot get enough.

What 12 books most defined 2023? We hit the First Edition feed to pick the It Books of the year, and Rebecca dropped some 🌶️ hot takes: open.spotify.com/episode/753b...

On First Edition: What Were the "It" Books of the Year: bookriot.com/listen/the-i...

I stand by it.

New episode of FIRST EDITION: a conversation with @courtneythorsson.bsky.social about her new book, THE SISTERHOOD: HOW A GENERATION OF BLACK WOMEN WRITERS CHANGED AMERICAN CULTURE: bookriot.com/listen/the-s...

New episode of First Edition: THE MAKING OF THE MODERN PUBLISHING WORLD with @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social, author of BIG FICTION: link.chtbl.com/5j8ATkoC

ROMAN STORIES is terrific.

For FIRST EDITION, got a behind the scenes look at how the publishing phenomenon of the year was made, with the editorial director and the VP of Operations at RED TOWER. Really fascinating stuff: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

"we are a losing so many websites and magazines!" "also could you screenshot that paywalled thing I really want to see?"

kickstarter to buy her a tiny home there

I can tell this platform i still in its infancy because there haven't been 15 jokes about about how many pauls there are on the booker prize shortlist.

On The Deep Dive, I wrote about why the bestseller list is boring—and whether there's any way to fix it.

Me being on here is either a great sign for bluesky or a terrible one.