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Episode 63: JT Reads the Most Notorious Fanfic of All Time

Blurry photo of person in black hoodie with long black hair, possibly carrying a knife.

JT gives a dramatic reading of My Immortal, the world’s most notorious fanfic. For over 15 years, online smartasses content creators have been doing dramatic readings of a single, infamous fanfic—My Immortal. It features an OC (original character) named Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way, Draco Malfoy, Good Charlotte, Harry Potter (who now goes by the … Read more

Episode 62— Fanfiction Part 1: An Introduction

Person with shoulder length blonde hair sitting in a dark room in a bed, looking at their laptop. Photo by Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash

An introduction to fanfiction lingo and tropes. Friend of the pod Tara Lehmann and YA author and fanfic veteran Mary Elizabeth Summer join Emily to define different fanfic conventions and talk about their experiences writing and reading fic. If you’re worried you won’t be able to remember all these terms, never fear! We have included … Read more

Book Wars—A Full-Scale Investigation of the Effects of Tech on Publishing

Cover Image of "Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing" by John B. Thompson.

Author and researcher John B. Thompson analyzes recent publishing history’s rapid changes. Publishing methods, opportunities, and battle fronts have multiplied more over the last twenty years than ever before. Author and researcher John B. Thompson walks us through the archipelago of these issues in Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing (2021, Polity Press). It … Read more

Episode 61: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Part 2

Historical black book with faded gold trim made out of serial killer William Burke's skin

Emily and Chris continue to navigate the sordid world of books bound in human skin. Content warnings for this episode: In part two of our series on anthropodermic bibliopegy, aka, binding books in human skin, we discuss why anyone would ever think this is a good idea. From the guillotines of the French Revolution, to … Read more

Episode 60: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Part 1

Cover of Des Destinees de L'ame, a proven example of anthropodermic bibliopegy (bound in human skin)

Chris Curran joins Emily to discuss the practice of binding books in human skin: anthropodermic bibliopegy. Get ready for a whole lot of Yikes. The Necronomicon, tomes from the shelves of serial killers and war criminals—these are a few things that come to mind when we talk about books bound in human skin. Anthropodermic bibliopegy, … Read more

Episode 59: From Chaos to Creativity with Jessie Kwak

Headshot of author Jessie Kwak

Learn four guidelines to building a creative productivity system from guest Jessie Kwak. If you’re a person who works in a creative profession, we’re coming in hot with some inspiration and guidance for 2022. In this episode, Emily speaks with writer Jessie Kwak, author of (among other things) From Chaos to Creativity: Building a Productivity … Read more

Episode 58: Ari Mathae and Denise Morales Soto of A Kids Company About

a kids company about logo

Working on collaborative books and podcasts that empower kids to talk about the big stuff. What do you do when you need to talk to a kid in your life about a difficult subject but aren’t sure where to start? Enter A Kid’s Company About, a media company built on the belief that kids are … Read more

Episode 57: Halloween—The Return

Picture from the Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a screenshot of Exposing Satant's Underground documentary, and a photo of a lot of people sitting around a campfire

Back on the publishing path just in time for Halloween! We are overjoyed to return from our extended hiatus just in time for our fourth annual Halloween episode! We revisit some subjects including a murderous writer story from 2018, the Twitter exploits of one Joyce Carol Oates, and spooky dramatic readings of online horror (comedy) … Read more

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