"From Ideas to Shelves" 2024 recap! (This week in books)

This week! Books!

I had the privilege of moderating the “From Ideas to Shelves” panel at Comic-Con yesterday with a fine roster of publishing and film industry professionals yesterday: Holly Root, Kathleen Ortiz, Ava Jamshidi, Matt Sugarman, and Angeline Rodriguez.

It was a bit of a “best of times and worst of times” vibe. While things are pretty difficult/bleak on the film side (“survive to ’25” is the mantra), books are being optioned for film (if not made) pretty frequently. While publishers are still having trouble breaking out new titles, book sales are resilient and BookTok is propelling books to bestsellerdom, though that leaves book culture at the mercy of The Algorithm. And there was a spirited discussion about the state of diversity in the publishing industry, which stressed that while institutional change is needed, particularly in sales, it’s also important for readers to buy the kinds of books they want to see more of.

What can authors do to give themselves a boost in this landscape (besides writing a great script or manuscript)? While a social media presence helps, it will only do so if you enjoy it. Angeline Rodriguez made a stellar point that the most important things writers need to do outside of writing is to read. To know your market, to find your writing community, and to immerse yourself in books.

Thanks so much to the panelists and everyone who attended!

Because of my travel day yesterday I’m a tad behind on work, so I’m going to do straight links to the posts instead of adding commentary:

On the Simple Prophecy of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower – Roz Dineen, LitHub

Inside the two-year fight to bring charges against school librarians in Granbury, Texas – Mike Hixenbaugh, Tyler Kingkade, Scott Friedman and Eva Parks, NBC News

Why Authors Need Platforms – Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential

Has Anything Changed Since 1982? – Kate McKean, Agents and Books

Hugo awards organisers reveal thousands spent on fraudulent votes to help one writer win – Sian Cain, The Guardian

Want to Go Viral? Tell Your Story in 22 Parts. – Madison Malone Kircher, New York Times

We Need Speculative Fiction Now More Than Ever – N.K. Jemisin, Esquire

Not Your Usual Secondhand Book Sale – Alex Vadukul, New York Times

Old books can be loaded with poison. Some collectors love the thrill. – Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post

The Collapse of Romance Writers of America – Robert Ito, New York Times