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This week, we discuss why the publishing industry is pointing fingers at libraries for declining author incomes, but we wonder about the reasons they aren't talking about. Plus, have you heard of Elias Thorne? We talk about AI's repetition problem and why that may be good news for authors. And we revisit the thorny issue of book lists - after we criticised the Guardian's first 'Best 100 books', is their Readers' list any better?

00:00 Intro

01:14 Declining Author Income - Libraries to Blame?

14:13 Thorne in the Machine - AI Running Out of Ideas?

23:38 Guardian Top 100 - Readers vs Critics

30:40 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

38.23 The Final Chapter - Horrifyingly Good

Links:

Authors Guild Looks at Why Author Incomes are in Decline

Chatbots Keep Telling Stories about Lighthouse Keeper 'Elias Thorne'. We Might Know Why

Wikipedia may have built the best AI writing detection guide

The Guardian Readers top 100 novels of all time

Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we're expanding on our discussion from the last episode about the depressing HarperCollins report on children's reading habits. Author and teacher Cailean Steed joins us to break down the underlying data and explain exactly how hyper-fixating on rigid literacy metrics is actively destroying the sheer joy of reading for kids. Plus, we talk about - of course - AI, as we talk about the Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner scandal, and discuss Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk response to the talk of AI involvement in her work. And we find time to talk about the Guardian's "Best books of all time" list - and make Tariq talk about football again.

00:00 Intro

01:08 Literacy vs Joy: Let Kids Enjoy Reading: Cailean Steed Interview

22:15 Snake Oil Award - Prize-winning Pile On

37:50 Tokarczuk Prize - An Ignoble Use of AI?

44:02 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

52.26 The Final Chapter - Who are books lists for?

Links:

Literacy focus ‘actively undermining’ reading for pleasure, HarperCollins finds

‘Obvious markers of AI’: doubts raised over winner of short story prize

Read The Serpent in the Grove and decide for yourself

Olga Tokarczuk has responded to the controversy over her reputed use of AI

The Guardian 100 Best Books of All Time

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

On today's episode of Adventures in Publishing-land, we congratulate Tariq on not one but two new Longlistings, and struggle to understand a story about new research that suggests a heavy focus on literacy skills in schools is actively undermining the motivation to read for fun.

Plus, the TikTok books charts have launched! What effect will they have on the industry? And as copies of Shy Girl sell for more than £100 on ebay, Tariq wonders if he should buy up as many copies as he can to fund his retirement (spoiler: he shouldn't!)

00:00 Intro

05:00 The Reading Paradox - Literacy Skills v Joy

16:52 Top of the Toks - TikTok Book Charts Launch

31:31 From Shy Girl to Prom Queen? Cancelled Book Sales Soar

41:49 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

Links:

Literacy focus 'actively undermining' reading for pleasure, HarperCollins finds

TikTok releases first monthly BookTok Bestseller List

Copies of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl listed online for over £100

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we’re diving into the unmasking of one of the world’s most successful authors. Freida McFadden, the bestselling author behind The Housemaid, has officially revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen. We wonder 'why now', talk about imposter syndrome, and discuss why authors use pseudonyms.

Plus, we of course chat about some AI-related stories: we go over some of your comments about our last episode on the Shy Girl scandal, talk about the allegation that editors are using LLMs to help them decide which books to pick up, and talk about scam emails again - this people pretending to be editors.

00:00 Intro

00:46 Shy Girl Fallout - Audience Comments

14:17 Chat G-P-Cheat? - Are Editors Using LLMs?

25:05 Something Phishy - Fake Editor Emails Spike

33:58 Not Just The Housemaid - McFadden's Secret Revealed

45:10 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

50:57 Final Chapter - Stellar Adaptations

Links:

Some editors 'uploading confidential manuscripts to Chat GPT'

Scam emails impersonating editors on the rise

The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals real identity

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we lead with the scandal that has the industry in a frenzy, with Hachette pulling the release of Mia Ballard’s horror novel Shy Girl after viral claims that the prose was generated by AI. We discuss the YouTube video with 1.2 million views that started the fire, the author’s defense involving an "acquaintance," and what this means for the future of "human" storytelling.

Staying on AI (when don't we talk about AI?), we discuss the UK government's decision to axe plans for a broad AI copyright exception, and ask if this is a victory for authors. Plus, we chat about the announcement that NielsenIQ and TikTok are launching a monthly Top 20 chart in the UK that combines real sales data with social media engagement.

00:00 Intro

01:24 Victory for Authors - UK Scraps AI Exception

10:36 Not Shy of Shortcuts - Hachette Ditches AI Novel

22:46 Tok of the Pops - Official UK Chart launched

30:06 Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

36:42 Final Chapter - Pitt-Perfect Drama

Links:

Axed AI Copyright Exemption Welcomed By Book Trade

Hachette Horror Novel Shy Girl Suspended

Official BookTok Chart Set to Launch in the UK

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Watch as a full video on YouTube

This episode of Adventures in Publishing-land dives deep into the battle for the "human soul" of the industry, featuring a frontline interview on the newest weapons in the author’s arsenal. We sit down with Anna Ganley and Sam Blake from the Society of Authors to discuss their new "Human Authored" scheme which launched at the London Book Fair. We explore the strategy behind the new logo and the message behind "Don't Steal This Book," the empty protest volume signed by thousands of authors including Kazuo Ishiguro and Richard Osman.

Speaking of the London Book Fair, we also tackle the "Six-Figure Fever" that grips the industry every spring. If the headlines about massive advances are making you feel disheartened, we discuss why you need to ignore the hype and focus on your own journey. Plus, we look into the class-action lawsuit facing Grammarly and Superhuman, and discuss the latest legal action by publishers against a pirate books site.

00:00 Intro

00:53 The LBF Hype Cycle - Run Your Own Race

07:24 Human Authored - Our interview with the Society of Authors

36:12 Walk the Plank - Suing Anna's Archive

44:20 Grammarly's Gamble - Not So Superhuman

51:57 Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

Links:

Human Authored - learn more about the scheme and how to sign up

Thirteen US Publishers Bring Suit Against Anna's Archive

Grammarly Superhuman Expert Review Article

And why they are being sued

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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This week on Adventures in Publishing-land, we’re heading to San Francisco to look at Bindery Books. This startup is turning "bookfluencers" into acquiring editors, letting communities choose their own bestsellers. Is this the "Taylor’s Version" of publishing, or a risky bet on "tastemakers"? Plus, we discuss top literary agencies sounding the alarm on "formulaic" and "flattened" AI-generated queries, and also return to the topic of genre snobbery, and why fantasy is making everyone think again about it.

00:00 Intro

01:17 Facile & Formulaic - Agents Ban AI Queries

12:21 The Tastemaker Model - BookTok Becomes The Editor

21.39 Myth-understandings - Fighting Genre Snobbery

34:35 - Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

39:53 Final Chapter - A Wonderful New Take on Superheroes

Links:

Literary agents urge writers to avoid AI as they see ‘change in nature of submissions’

Bindery Books Influencer-led Publishing Model

Myth, monsters and making sense of a disenchanted world: why everyone is reading fantasy

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Watch as a full video on YouTube

This week, we’re unpacking the controversy surrounding Emerald Fennell’s "Wuthering Heights" adaptation. From historically inaccurate corsets to Margot Robbie’s "raunchy" take on Cathy, we debate how far a retelling can stray before it loses the source material entirely.

Plus, we look at how one writer used AI to publish 200 novels in a single year, allegedly earning six figures. But is she a writer? And after a century of dominance, are paperbacks shuffling toward extinction?

00:00 Intro

01:25 200 'Books' A Year - The AI Romance Gold Rush?

12:48 Pulp Fiction No More - The Death of Paperbacks?

23.35 Raunchy Brontë - Straying Too Far From the Source?

37:38 - Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

43:15 Final Chapter - Best RomComs

Links:

Can AI Chatbots Write Romance? NY Times Article

The Death of the Mass Market Paperback?

How Different Is Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” Compared to Emily Brontë’s Book?

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.