The Future Lab with Lee Schneider Season 3

Author DeAndra Davis (All the Noise at Once; The Lovers, the Liars, and Me) joins the show to talk how screen culture can help authors. She makes the case that screens can bring readers to books rather than pull them away, defends audiobooks without qualification, and explains why her drafts keep getting longer instead of shorter. She drops some hints about her upcoming books. 

Davis points to adaptations — The Hunger Games, The Summer I Turned Pretty, We Were Liars — as proven on-ramps to reading, and argues for investing in book IP across a wider range of genres. The practical work, she says, is recommendation-making: connecting readers to books through the shows, films, and games they already care about. A fan of a show could easily become the fan of a book.

No agent, editor, or publisher has asked her to write shorter or more “scrollable” prose. In fact, All the Noise at Once went in the opposite direction, growing from 66,000 to roughly 92,000 words; The Lovers, the Liars, and Me from about 72,000 to around 100,000. 

As an educator, Davis sees the drop in reading as a layered issue. Long (and heavy!) books can be intimidating. Schools teach test-oriented passages instead of whole books. Hardcover covers are rising. and rising hardcover prices Libraries, she notes, help tremendously, because they make so many different editions of a book available, from hardback to audiobook.

She talks about what she’s reading now, what her workspace is like, and how she fills notebooks with hand-written character profiles complete with astrological charts for them. She rounds out the interview with some hints about what she’ll be publishing next.

Chapters

00:18 Are people reading less?
00:38 Screens as an ally: adaptations, IP, and games
03:23 Has the media landscape changed how she writes?
04:00 Writing on contract and the shift toward romance
06:42 The All the Noise at Once audiobook
07:33 "Audiobooks don't count as reading" — a rebuttal
10:05 Requests to write shorter and snappier
11:04 Word counts, ballooning drafts, and editorial advice
13:08 Smaller books, or a bigger problem?
14:30 Teaching passages instead of whole books
17:00 Hardcover prices and the paperback catch-22
19:00 The case for libraries
20:24 What DeAndra is reading now
21:27 Workspace, notebooks, and a 49-inch monitor
23:11 Digital drafting vs. handwritten character profiles
25:29 What's books are coming next

Books Mentioned

All the Noise at Once · The Lovers, the Liars, and Me · André Santana (narrator) · The Hunger Games · The Summer I Turned Pretty · We Were Liars · The Kite Runner · Holly Black, The Cruel Prince series · Kamilah Cole, Wicked Endeavors and An Arcane Inheritance · Noelle Monét, Bound by Fury

Creators & Guests

Hi, it’s Lee Schneider, host of the future lab podcast.

In Season 3, The Future Lab goes after the big questions that readers, authors, parents, and educators are asking about reading and young audiences. 

Why does reading drop off among nine-year-old kids, and even more when they reach thirteen?  Why has screen-based entertainment grabbed so much attention? 

Even adults are less likely to pick up a book these days. 

In every episode, I’ll seek answers from guests like best-selling authors, librarians , publishers,  YouTube and TikTok reviewers, and audiobook producers. 

Join me for season three of the future lab. Look for the future lab  with Lee Schneider  on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favorite podcast app.  You can also find the show at thefuturelab.redcupagency.com

Join host Lee Schneider for an insightful discussion with poet, author, and library professional Sofía Aguilar as she she shares her journey through both indie and traditional publishing. She offers a candid look at the barriers in publishing and the importance of creating accessible literary communities. Whether you're interested in publishing pathways, library advocacy, or building inclusive literary spaces, this conversation offers valuable insights from someone working at the intersection of writing, community organizing, and information science.

Topics include: indie vs. traditional publishing, library resources, book challenges, literary festivals, the writing process, and the current state of publishing.

Creators & Guests

In this conversation, host Lee Schneider explores the intersection of nature, storytelling, and climate change with Julie Carrick Dalton, author of The Last Beekeeper, and the upcoming novel The Forest Becomes Her.

Our discussion digs into how nature functions as a character in her work, the delicate balance between hope and realism when writing about catastrophic futures, and why she believes storytelling can inspire environmental action. Dalton shares her perspective on the importance of reconnecting with survival skills and food sources, while exploring how communities might adapt to a climate-changed world ten years after a major ecological collapse.

We also examine the role of government misinformation in environmental issues, the power of novels as "laboratories for climate futures," and how each person can find their sphere of influence in addressing climate challenges. Dalton also reflects on the current state of publishing today. Join Julie's mailing list on Substack.

Creators & Guests

In this conversation with Lee Schneider, Pat Walker discusses the importance of bookstores as community hubs and places of cultural culture.

Drawing from his experiences as a bookseller in Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA, Pat believes that the genre of science fiction/fantasy is more popular than it has been in the past. He's also a big fan of the classics.

Patrick has been at Vroman's long enough to witness a remarkable transformation: teenagers who first wandered through the bookstore doors years ago now return as adults, bringing their own children with them. These customers have grown to trust him with their storytelling journeys and literary adventures-a responsibility that holds deep meaning for him.

Bookshops discussed in this episode include Vromans, Book Soup, Diesel, Skylight, and Iliad Books.

Creators & Guests

Richie Billing made a bold leap from a legal career to become an acclaimed fantasy writer and teacher. What makes his story inspiring? His unwavering commitment to empowering fellow writers. Richie is the author of Pariah’s Lament. His latest book is Together We Rise. Lee Schneider and Richie discuss the structure of Together We Rise, why the fight scenes were so realistic, and Richie’s deeper motivations for writing it. Richie gives excellent writing tips for anyone who wants to get started on their fantasy novel.

As the host of The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed podcast and author of A Fantasy Writers’ Handbook, Richie helps writers find their voice and build confidence in their work.  Learn more about Richie, his work, teaching, books, and Patreon, at his website.

Creators & Guests

As a kid, Carrie Firestone worried about poverty, environmental destruction, and war. But rather than letting that anxiety overwhelm her, she transformed it into something powerful action through teaching, storytelling, and civic engagement. Now, as a writer and community leader in Connecticut, she’s channeling that same energy into inspiring the next generation.   

Her novel The First Rule of Climate Club tackles the environmental challenges that young people face. Issues like food waste at school, idling cars in pickup lanes, fast fashion consumption, social exclusion, and leaders who won’t listen to fresh ideas. But Carrie’s story isn’t about the problems-it’s about the solutions that happen when young people step up to lead.   

Because sometimes, as Carrie shows us, the future belongs to those brave enough to demand it.

In this conversation, Todd Medema discusses his debut novel HOW TO SURF A HURRICANE, exploring with host Lee Schneider the techniques of writing a solarpunk thriller and the role technology might have in addressing climate change. Todd emphasizes the importance of hope and human resilience in solarpunk narratives, contrasting this approach with the often dystopian views prevalent in other science fiction genres. The discussion also delves into the current state of science fiction writing and publishing.

Visit Todd's author website and check out the wiki with details about the characters and story. Learn more about his Solarpunk Penpals project. 

Creators & Guests

Step into the vibrant world of independent bookselling with this captivating episode of Future Lab. Host Lee Schneider sits down with Joey Puente, the passionate sci-fi and fantasy specialist at Diesel bookstore in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood. With an impressive 20-year tenure at Diesel, Joey brings unparalleled expertise in connecting readers with their perfect next read.

This conversation explores the evolving landscape of science fiction and fantasy publishing, from the current "romantasy" boom driven by BookTok to the emergence of queer voices reshaping genre fiction. Joey shares insights into trending subgenres like LitRPG, how the shift from dystopian narratives toward hopeful futures is being led by new voices, and how independent bookstores serve as vital cultural hubs in their communities.

Discover Joey's current staff picks, learn about Diesel's author events featuring luminaries like William Gibson and Cory Doctorow, and gain insider perspective on how genre fiction serves as both escapism and social commentary, reflecting our contemporary anxieties while imagining better tomorrows. For a list of the books Joey discusses in this episode, go to this link.

The store Instagram account is here. 

Creators & Guests

In today’s episode, host Lee Schneider sits down with Eiren Caffall, musician and author of the powerful climate fiction novel All the Water in the World.

Set in a flooded future New York City, Caffall’s debut novel tells an intimate family survival story that cuts through the overwhelming scope of climate catastrophe by focusing on how we protect each other when everything falls apart. Rather than relying on apocalyptic set pieces, she crafts what she calls a “bedtime story”—a hopeful narrative about resilience, community, and the human capacity to rebuild.

Caffall brings a unique perspective to climate fiction, drawing from her background as both a musician and the daughter of an EPA hydrogeologist. She discusses how her dual creative practices inform each other, why she chose the Museum of Natural History in New York as a sanctuary in her novel’s drowned world, and how communities of care can emerge from disaster.

This conversation explores the evolving landscape of climate fiction, the power of personal narrative in processing global crisis, and why stories about “what comes after” might be exactly what we need right now. 

Creators & Guests