Literary agent Richard Curtis was a pioneer in the e-book industry. Having worked in publishing for nearly 50 years, he understands nuances, trends, and the long arc of what makes authors and publishers successful. He adapted his agenting model to accommodate the consolidations of the publishing houses and what those changes meant for agents and writers. He’s written several books on those topics, and authors the popular Substack newsletter, Inside Agenting.

But earlier this year, Richard discovered an A.I. tool that shocked even him.  NotebookLM, a Google product released in 2023, turns difficult topics into engaging conversations. It can summarize PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, or Google Slides, and create realistic podcasts about the topic. We tasked it with introducing Richard on the podcast.  You’ll hear that introduction, produced in less than five minutes, and what Richard thinks of it.

He talks with Marrie about what these A.I. tools mean for writers and publishers, and how writers should be reacting in the moment. He also provides his thoughts on chasing industry trends, how to target the right agent for your work, how technology has always been upending the industry, and what might happen in this next revolutionary round of upheavals.

For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at [email protected]. We love to hear from our listeners!

(Recorded on July 31, 2025)

Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone
Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)