This week we talk about the functional death of social media as a promotional tool in the publishing industry. Now that we all agree that these platforms are actively corrosive to not only our body politic but literary culture specifically, where do we go next? What forms of cultural production might actually get people excited about books again, once we detach ourselves from the Slop Machines? We explore that vision and more. Join us!

It’s time for the annual Print Run Summer Check-In, where we list out all the ways we’re both keeping it together and losing our marbles. Summer is strange time in publishing, and it leads us to a conversation on deep work versus shallow, frenetic work, how we manage our interior creative selves in relation to the job, and the chaos that is sure to come this fall. Join us!

On the heels of some recent discourse on the trust between querying writers and agents managing submission piles, we go long on the culture of trust–or lack thereof–that exists between these two parts of the publishing industry, why it occurs, and what could fix it. We talk about the nature of ideas and copyright, the structures of the modern literary agency, publishing culture, and much more. It’s a fun and fiery episode–hope you enjoy!

In light of yet another round of agent chaos over the weekend, we got together to talk about the information climate in publishing at large, the ways in which even well-intentioned agents can contribute to gatekeeping and access issues for writers. In an age when there are more agents, writers, and information about agents and writers than ever before, everyone could stand to examine whether they’re making publishing a less anxious and more transparent place that’s open to all types of people–or the opposite.

This week we get a little bit mad at the Forced Waiting that publishing imposes on all of us, and it builds to a call to arms: you–writers, agents, editors, whoever–don’t just have to wait quietly for progress to happen to you. No matter your situation in publishing, you can get out there and make something happen as a person with agency and the owner of your own career and path. We address the flipside too, of course: agents (including us!) need to adjust our habits so that there’s less silence, waiting, and wondering. The world is burning! Let’s make moves!

In our first episode of 2024, we take a look at the publishing landscape for the year ahead. We believe that there could be several culminating moments of rupture or change in the near future, in everything from AI’s implementation in the industry to how workers in publishing choose to respond to their own working conditions. We get a little rowdy and we have a good time–come join us!

This week’s theme, across multiple topics, is that workers in publishing deserve to be paid and supported in all the ways required for them to live well and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. We start with a chat about the Half Price Books Union’s contract negotiations, and finish with a look at the recent survey data from AALA. Join us!

This week we use two recent stories–the acquisition of Simon & Schuster by the investment firm KKR and the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence usage in various book-related shenanigans–as a way of talking about something big and broad: publishing looking more and more like the tech world each day. Why might the Silicon Valley approach to business not work in publishing, and why do these recent trends alarm us for reasons big and small, aesthetic and substantive? Join us and we’ll talk through it all.

In the wake of what feels like an endless round of layoffs, restructurings, consolidations, and any other corporate terms for “good people losing their jobs,” we talk about how this constant reshuffling affects the industry as a whole and specifically our jobs as agents. Spoiler alert: it’s not great! But we talk through it and let the feelings out, and do our best to express some solidarity along the way. Join us.

We’ve had a lot of Serious Content lately and it’s a summer Friday, so come take a break with us while we chat about what we’ve got going on this summer, in terms of book stuff and otherwise. One of our more vibey episodes rather than a big heavy topic, so come hang out!