Kate and Molly speak with Ruth Reichl, an icon and authority in the food media world, about her breadth of writing experience - restaurant reviews, cookbooks, memoirs, articles and even tweets- and her new book, The Paris Novel. Ruth shares why food is a universal framework, her inspirations for this novel and the process of working with a new editor. She talks about being a "writer who hates writing" and how this process differed from others as well as how she accesses memories to include specificities in her scenes. Finally, she shares her advice to push into the unknown and what she is working on next.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Ruth Reichl

• Substack
• Instagram

Food and Country Film

"Why I Disapprove of What I Do" by Ruth Reichl

Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
• Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
• Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
• My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
• Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
• Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
• Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

Kristin, Molly and Kate tackle cookbook design from a usability perspective. They point out design decisions that authors should consider: packaging and cover design, typeface and font legibility, photographs on matte vs gloss paper and much more. They share their own opinions, experiences and preferences on the elements that enhance or detract from a user's experience of the book and, because there's much more to say on the topic, tease a part two.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Debbie Berne Instagram

83: A Niche Cookbook That Sold 350K+ Copies with Shelly Worcel

47: Self-Publishing Cookbooks with Nick Fauchald

66: Becoming Your Own Publisher with Katie Parla

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Design of Books by Debbie Berne

Kristin and Molly speak with cookbook author Phoebe Lapine about finding pleasure in restrictive diets and her new cookbook, Carbivore. Phoebe shares what led her down a food focused career path, how she learned while blogging and how a health diagnosis pulled her down a different path than originally planned. She talks about writing recipes that keep comfort and pleasure in mind, synthesizing data to communicate science to her reader and why her driving force is "healthy hedonism". She also discusses the concept of a "search term book", the importance of sub-titles and how she balanced blogging, social media and marketing while writing the book.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Phoebe Lapine

• Website
• Podcast
• Instagram
  

Carbivore pre-order freebies

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Carbivore by Phoebe Lapine
• Sibo Made Simple by Phoebe Lapine
• The Wellness Project by Phoebe Lapine
• In the Small Kitchen by Phoebe Lapine

Molly and Kristin speak with Sarah Kwak, a senior editor at Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins, to find out what the editing process is like. Sarah shares how she ended up at her current role, the focus Harvest has for cookbooks and what authors should keep mind regarding their proposal assembly before submission. She discusses her thoughts on comp titles, overcoming past book sales, multifaceted ways to grow a platform and what compels her to spend over two years working on a specific project. Finally, she talks about trends in the food world, the changes in the economy of publishing and her advice along with the books she is excited to release this year.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

• Sarah Kwak
• Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins
• Episode 09: Cookbook Editing Tips from Jennifer Sit
• Episode 48: Abi Balingit on Learning as You Go

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Mayumu by Abi Balingit
• The Book on Pie by Erin McDowell
• Jacques Pépin Art of the Chicken by Jacques Pépin
• Hot Sheet by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine

Kristin and Kate discuss author Michelle Braxton's turbulent publishing journey for her new book, Supper with Love. She shares the story behind the "organic" growth of her food career, how she balances social media creation, blogging and book writing with a separate full time career and how the book idea came about. She talks about committing firmly to the book's concept, why she chose her publisher and the tumultuous publishing process that include her editor leaving and the imprint closing. Finally, she discuses who her audience is, why she creates the sorts of recipes she does and her tips and advice for aspiring authors.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Michelle Braxton

• Website
• Instagram

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Supper with Love by Michelle Braxton

Kate and Kristin speak with Kathleen Schmidt, an industry veteran with years of experience in editing, publishing, marketing and public relations and now author of the newsletter Publishing Confidential. Kathleen shares her extensive career path, what her focus is as a freelancer and the origins of her newsletter along with what keeps her writing. She talks about the differences between marketing and PR, her dedication to an author centric approach and walks listeners through a hypothetical scenario of book promotion. Finally, she discusses what authors should focus on, thoughts on Authors Equity, the idea of a digital surrogate and her current course offerings dedicating to help author demystify their publishing experience. - Please excuse the audio quality in this one!

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kathleen Schmidt

• Public Relations Consulting
• Publishing Confidential Newsletter
• Publishing Confidential University

"Book Publishing is Broken" post

"Why Authors Equity Will Work" post

Episode 31: Catch an Agent's Attention with Sally Ekus

grossypelosi

The Department of Salad Substack

Authors Equity

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Kate and Molly speak with Lelani Lewis, a London born food stylist and culinary activist of Grenadian and Irish heritage now based in Amsterdam. Lelani shares how homesickness spurred her into a culinary career through pop-ups, where the idea for her debut cookbook came from as well as why she chose this title. She speaks about her desire to share the colorful, diverse nature of Caribbean food alongside its dark history and what she hopes readers will get from reading her book. She talks about working with a Dutch publisher, the unique editing and translation process, how she settled on her final recipe list and her ambitious new project.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Lelani Lewis

• Website
• Instagram

Using food as a tool to reconcile history | Lelani Lewis | TEDxAmsterdamSalon

Jessica B Harris

Nijgh Publishing, Amsterdam

Tra Publishing

Episode 25: Inside a Ukrainian Kitchen with Anna Voloshyna

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Code Noir: Afro-Caribbean Stories and Recipes by Lelani Lewis
• You and I Eat the Same
• Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons by Jessica B Harris

Molly and Kristin dive into the territory of kid-lit in this talk with Alliah Agostini and Taffy Elrod, authors of The Juneteenth Cookbook. Alliah and Taffy discuss how they both got involved with the project, how they worked together and the goal they had of bringing the celebration of Juneteenth to life with food, history and family activities. They talk about the family representation in the book, the recipe development process and what went into all the extras inside. Alliah and Taffy both speak about tapping into their inner child while writing, what it was like working with their illustrator and the plans they have for the upcoming book tour.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Alliah L. Agostini

Taffy Elrod

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

Highlights Foundation

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Juneteenth Cookbook by Alliah L. Agostini and Taffy Elrod
• The Juneteenth Story by Alliah L. Agostini