Print Run Podcast

Curtis Dawkins, author of The Graybar Hotel, is back in the news this week, as the Michigan penitentiary in which he is currently imprisoned has stated it believes it has a claim to his royalty money from the book. We discuss the implications of this pending case, prison's relationship with art (guess what, it's bad), and why publishing folks should care about this more than they currently do. Also: in light of Florida teens finding their activist voices in the wake of the Parkland shooting, what role does YA literature play in the formation of young people's political imaginations?

This week, after discussing Washington Post’s incorporation of Amazon’s proprietary data into their bestseller lists, we discuss what appears to be the onset of book publishing’s reckoning with sexual harassment and abuse. Similar to other industries, how can the book world do an honest and sufficient job of examining the structures of power that allow these things to take place? What can an industry that by all accounts would like to be a more inclusive and safe place for everyone do to correct its course, and what challenges stand in the way? A bit more serious than usual this week, but a necessary conversation. Thanks, as always, for listening.

This week, we examine the fascinating decision by the National Book Awards to introduce a category for translated literature. What does this mean for our concept of a “national” award, and how might this category be used to extend literary “citizenship” to books and writing that readers in this country may have previously considered “un-American”? We discuss how adding the category changes the award in a fundamental way (for the better), and what it could mean for cultivating the canon moving forward.

Folks, this week it’s a smattering of things: in light of being placed on a “best podcasts for first-time novelists” list, we thought it would be a good idea to, well, provide some advice to those people. We also spend a few minutes on the incomparable Ursula Le Guin, talk about that Alex Jones book proposal, and break down exactly why it’s such a big deal that the University Press of Kentucky might face shutdown from budget cuts (spoiler alert: it’s because we desperately need university presses). Join us!

This week, we take a look at the recent controversy surrounding the Midwest Writers Workshop, and make some suggestions as to how the national and regional writing communities might be able to avoid such things in the future. We tie it a larger misguided impulse by some in the writing/publishing world to make their spaces “apolitical,” an impossible task that often carries an underlying motive itself. To wrap up, a check-in on how last year’s changes to the NYT bestseller list have affected the list and broader book coverage.

Happy new year! We ring in 2018 by discussing the many publishing details of the fervor surrounding Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury. Success for publishers is always good, but a few things about this project have both of us slightly worried. And then, at long last, we finally pay off our bet from the 2017 award season, by reading some excerpts from the 50 Shades of Grey series. It’s . . . well, it’s something.

In our last episode of 2017, we take the time for some observations about the year that was, and make some predictions for what 2018 might hold for the book world. We also touch on the new deal for the author of “Cat Person,” beg to get invited to MN’s new literary festival, and present a new Harebrained Scheme of the Week. Join us, and then we’ll see you in January!

Got a writer or book person in your life this holiday season? Then you’ll need the Print Run Holiday Gift Guide, full of terrific gift suggestions like a journal too fancy and expensive to ever use. We also introduce a new segment called The Hairbrained Scheme of the Week, and then discuss “Cat Person,” the short story in The New Yorker that went viral this week.

This week, we take a look at the truly tremendous contenders for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, clearly the most prestigious fiction prize in all the land. Then, in light of a recent heated discussion in online book circles about the relationship between small presses and agents, we try to answer: why might a small press dislike working with agents, and are those reasons good ones? (Spoiler alert: they almost always aren’t.) Join us!

After a quick recap of the National Book Award winners, this week’s episode features a detailed and passionate interview with one of the co-founders of MSWL and Manuscript Academy, literary agent Jessica Sinsheimer. We talk to Jessica about revenue dynamics in the industry, and how technology holds the capability to increase access to publishing for both writers and industry professionals. Jessica is one of the smartest people working in our field and we really think you’ll like what she has to say. Join us!