Happy Thursday Day!

And Happy Valentines weekend! Hope your weekend is full of love, gifts, and moments that feel like your favorite romance book!

Check out our new conversation with Emmy-Winning Producer and Sportswriter of over 9 books, Howard Bryant, on his new book "Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America."

We discussed the life of these two iconic figures, Jackie Robinson testifying at the 1949 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) against Paul Robeson, baseball integration, and the second Red Scare during the Cold War.

For our sports and history buffs, this is a conversation you will absolutely enjoy!

Now streaming on YouTube and all podcast platforms!

Get your copy of the book “Kings and Pawns” today!

The Tale of the Table:

• 📚 New Feature: Import Books

•  📺 Haley Pham, Destiny Sidwell, and Sara Carrolli go to Book Hotel

• 📖 Relentless by Luis Miranda

This Week On Bookum:

Read “this week” as next week, because on Tuesday we will be back in conversation with our go-to book conversationalist and book club host Tyreke Wesley to read "The Coming" by Dr. Daniel Black.

And we may have a special guest appearance too…

Anywho, join us at 7:30 Tuesday, February 17th, to discuss ‘The Coming’, which Amazon calls "Lyrical, poetic, and hypnotizing, The Coming tells the story of a people's capture and sojourn from their homeland across the Middle Passage, a traumatic trip that exposed the strength and resolve of the African spirit."

Open Book Nook Discussions are perfect for people that want to join engaging conversations and discuss books in our real-time audio rooms. Free and open to all!

This Week in The Book World:

Alright. Before we begin, must say we don't have all the answers here, but still worth looking into.

Have you noticed the increase in Publishing Vets leaving Big Publishers to start their own independent press (As always please just nod and “say of course” 😆)

Meet Molly Stern. From 2000–2018, she moved from executive editor of Viking, to SVP Publisher at Crown, SJP for Hogarth under Penguin Random House, all the way to leaving and starting the well known Zando Projects in 2020.

In just 5 years and 5 months (according to LinkedIn), Zando has published hits such as Instant NY Times Bestselling Author Alaina Urquhart's Dr. Wren Muller series (often called The Butcher and the Wren series) and has started imprints with celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP Lit), John Legend (Get Lifted Books), and even authors like Gillian Flynn and media outlets like The Atlantic.

But wait there's more.

Madeline McIntosh, who began in publishing in 1997, worked all the way to the ranks of CEO of the #1 Publishing House in the world, Penguin Random House, and served from 2018 to 2023.

If that career wasn't enough, after departing PRH, she became the Co-Founder and CEO of her new "Authors Equity" (keep that name in mind) in 2024.

Authors Equity is a "new publishing model, one that puts authors first and offers financial incentives and publishing experience built around each author's unique vision, needs, and ambitions."

So far, they have published the expanded edition of Joseph Nguyen's groundbreaking book "Don't Believe Everything You Think," "This is Strategy" by Seth Godin, and "What If YOU Are the Answer" by Rachel Hollis, to name a few so far!

You get the picture, but even Publishing Veteran Bob Miller is leaving his CEO position at Phaidon Press to launch indie Bookswork Press.

So why…

The first is obvious. We are moving away from the Gatekeepers into the Creator Economy. You have seen this across the board in Media, Sports (NILs), Hollywood (Netflix and streamers), Podcasting, and now we are seeing the Authors (aka the creators of books) being partners with their publishers (here's where Author Equity matters).

In both cases, Zando and Authors Equity, the Authors (creators of stories) are either the main event with built in audiences or, in Zando's case, they are pairing upcoming authors with celebrities and influencers that have a built in platform.

And it makes sense. The authors have the stories and the audience, why not allow them to be a part of the larger wins.

Does this mean the Big 5 are going anywhere… Absolutely not!

It just shows that publishing professionals at the top of the space are seeing where the puck is going and adapting.

What does this mean for Book Content Creators…

Continuing with the theme of the year (Book World Goes Hollywood), you have the built in community and are the closest to the reader. You have the ability to influence the book culture, not just in the popular books that get published, but also sharing about and promoting the indie author no one has heard about. Book Content creators are the tastemakers.

Your platform matters and the publishing world is taking notice.

This Week in Publishing:

If you have watched Netflix's new hit series "His and Hers" with Tessa Thompson & Jon Bernthal, then you are probably aware it is based on a book by Alice Feeney.

This week the bestselling author is back with a new psychological thriller book "My Husband's Wife."

Book Summary:

"Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying."

If psychological thrillers are your lane, this one might be your next weekend read!

Get your copy of "My Husband's Wife."

As always, if you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, please share it with others. Every share helps and keeps us growing!

Definitely share to a book content creator friend that might enjoy our newsletter!

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Happy Reading!

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See you next week!

Footnotes (Aka other articles we are reading and Bookum content):

Penguin Random House has launched a "major new" initiative to support independent bookshops across the UK during the National Year of Reading - https://www.instagram.com/p/DUk6hygF7rL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==