Jeff O'Neal
@jeffoneal.bsky.social
CEO & co-founder, BookRiot.com
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
For weeks I've been doing research for an article on independent bookstores and coop, but it's been tough to get folks on the record to speak about this.
If you're an independent bookstore or traditional publisher willing to talk about coop, I'd love to hear from you: newsletter@janefriedman.com.
If you're an independent bookstore or traditional publisher willing to talk about coop, I'd love to hear from you: newsletter@janefriedman.com.
August 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
For weeks I've been doing research for an article on independent bookstores and coop, but it's been tough to get folks on the record to speak about this.
If you're an independent bookstore or traditional publisher willing to talk about coop, I'd love to hear from you: newsletter@janefriedman.com.
If you're an independent bookstore or traditional publisher willing to talk about coop, I'd love to hear from you: newsletter@janefriedman.com.
Publishing is a retail.
Writing is hard.
Sometimes you should give up on a book.
A winding journey for your project is normal.
@katemckean.bsky.social on FIRST EDITION to talk about her new book, WRITE THROUGH IT: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE
Writing is hard.
Sometimes you should give up on a book.
A winding journey for your project is normal.
@katemckean.bsky.social on FIRST EDITION to talk about her new book, WRITE THROUGH IT: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE
An Agent's View on Publishing and Writing a Book
Podcast Episode · First Edition · 06/10/2025 · 51m
podcasts.apple.com
June 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Publishing is a retail.
Writing is hard.
Sometimes you should give up on a book.
A winding journey for your project is normal.
@katemckean.bsky.social on FIRST EDITION to talk about her new book, WRITE THROUGH IT: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE
Writing is hard.
Sometimes you should give up on a book.
A winding journey for your project is normal.
@katemckean.bsky.social on FIRST EDITION to talk about her new book, WRITE THROUGH IT: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
"If I were the Ombudsman for Common Sense in Books, July 1 would be the earliest date you were allowed to publish (Best Books of the Year So Far lists)."
1000 percent agree. Thank you, @jeffoneal.bsky.social!!!!
bookriot.com/barnes-noble...
1000 percent agree. Thank you, @jeffoneal.bsky.social!!!!
bookriot.com/barnes-noble...
Barnes & Noble is Ready to Name the Best Books of the Year...So Far
B&N's best of the year so far, IMLS gets zeroed out in new budget proposal, Han Kan's latest on super sale, and more in Today in Books.
bookriot.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"If I were the Ombudsman for Common Sense in Books, July 1 would be the earliest date you were allowed to publish (Best Books of the Year So Far lists)."
1000 percent agree. Thank you, @jeffoneal.bsky.social!!!!
bookriot.com/barnes-noble...
1000 percent agree. Thank you, @jeffoneal.bsky.social!!!!
bookriot.com/barnes-noble...
I wrote about why you know what broccoli rabe is.
Broccoli Rabe
The quick-thinking that led to you even knowing what Broccoli Rabe is
kindagenius.substack.com
March 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I wrote about why you know what broccoli rabe is.
This is an unbelievably great tip, especially if the agent isn't mention in the acknowledgments. Wish there was an equivalent hack for figuring out the editor. (Maybe there is?)
If you’re a querying writer using Libby, here’s a secret research tip to find agents to query: go to the pages of comps/books you feel yours will sit well next to on a shelf. After the blurb, Libby links to any trade reviews the book might have. Publisher’s Weekly reviews list the agent!
March 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
This is an unbelievably great tip, especially if the agent isn't mention in the acknowledgments. Wish there was an equivalent hack for figuring out the editor. (Maybe there is?)
"Getting the reps in, in the form of bad drafts, sunken soufflés, buggy code, or whatever tossable widget you produce is an unskippable track that you must play. Probably a couple of full albums, honestly.”
kindagenius.substack.com/p/there-has-...
kindagenius.substack.com/p/there-has-...
March 2, 2025 at 4:51 PM
"Getting the reps in, in the form of bad drafts, sunken soufflés, buggy code, or whatever tossable widget you produce is an unskippable track that you must play. Probably a couple of full albums, honestly.”
kindagenius.substack.com/p/there-has-...
kindagenius.substack.com/p/there-has-...
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
💙📚
We're doing a live recording of the @bookriotpod.bsky.social on March 13th at 7pm at @powells.bsky.social. Topic? The Most Recommendable Books of the Century.....so far. Come if you can!
Book Riot Podcast
Join Book Riot’s Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky as they share the 20 most recommendable books of the 21st century so far in a live edition
www.eventbrite.com
February 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
💙📚
We're doing a live recording of the @bookriotpod.bsky.social on March 13th at 7pm at @powells.bsky.social. Topic? The Most Recommendable Books of the Century.....so far. Come if you can!
Book Riot Podcast
Join Book Riot’s Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky as they share the 20 most recommendable books of the 21st century so far in a live edition
www.eventbrite.com
February 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
We're doing a live recording of the @bookriotpod.bsky.social on March 13th at 7pm at @powells.bsky.social. Topic? The Most Recommendable Books of the Century.....so far. Come if you can!
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
The seasonal previews that THE MILLIONS publishes have become an indispensable part of the bookish world. @sophiastewart.bsky.social, who makes them happen, talks about how it's done.
How THE MILLIONS' Seasonal Previews Get Made with Sophia Stewart
Sophia Stewart of The Millions and Publisher Weekly talk about what goes into previewing a season's worth of book releases.
bookriot.com
February 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The seasonal previews that THE MILLIONS publishes have become an indispensable part of the bookish world. @sophiastewart.bsky.social, who makes them happen, talks about how it's done.
February 18, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Now here is a just-announced pairing I would not have gotten if you had given me a thousand guesses.
February 13, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Now here is a just-announced pairing I would not have gotten if you had given me a thousand guesses.
Oh, the dizzying and mystical blend of erudition, eroticism, and good-old fashioned play of Tom Robbins. Vegetable homages, absurdist near-Zen aphorisms, and tequila ribaldries: with him, you could be more playful & holy than you thought possible. Smooth sailing into the great whatever, TR.
February 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Oh, the dizzying and mystical blend of erudition, eroticism, and good-old fashioned play of Tom Robbins. Vegetable homages, absurdist near-Zen aphorisms, and tequila ribaldries: with him, you could be more playful & holy than you thought possible. Smooth sailing into the great whatever, TR.
Shot in the dark here, but anybody know anybody (or is anybody) who worked with Tom Robbins? Or just really like Tom Robbins? Want to talk to someone about him for a BR podcast, but am unusually light on ideas about who to approach.
February 10, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Shot in the dark here, but anybody know anybody (or is anybody) who worked with Tom Robbins? Or just really like Tom Robbins? Want to talk to someone about him for a BR podcast, but am unusually light on ideas about who to approach.
This is what happens I guess when I watch TV and have feelings about it.
kindagenius.substack.com/p/thank-you-...
kindagenius.substack.com/p/thank-you-...
February 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This is what happens I guess when I watch TV and have feelings about it.
kindagenius.substack.com/p/thank-you-...
kindagenius.substack.com/p/thank-you-...
Been awhile since I read a book where it genuinely made me feel like I understood something new, but which I had long felt, like LIFE IN THREE DIMENSIONS. And it is super-bookish to boot. The interview I did with Prof. Oishi for First Edition was a real treat:
bookriot.com/listen/life-...
bookriot.com/listen/life-...
February 7, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Been awhile since I read a book where it genuinely made me feel like I understood something new, but which I had long felt, like LIFE IN THREE DIMENSIONS. And it is super-bookish to boot. The interview I did with Prof. Oishi for First Edition was a real treat:
bookriot.com/listen/life-...
bookriot.com/listen/life-...
Really enjoyed talking with @biblioracle.bsky.social about his new book MORE THAN WORDS. Relate to the suspicion, but find myself more interested in what LLMs reveal about what the use of writing, versus just production of text, are for thinking, creating, and just being a person.
Human Writing, LLMs, and the Challenges and Opportunities of Living in the Age of AI - BOOK RIOT
John Warner joins Jeff to talk about his new book, More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI. We talk about the teaching of writing,
bookriot.com
February 5, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Really enjoyed talking with @biblioracle.bsky.social about his new book MORE THAN WORDS. Relate to the suspicion, but find myself more interested in what LLMs reveal about what the use of writing, versus just production of text, are for thinking, creating, and just being a person.
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang cover reveal!
It's described as a "dark academia fantasy in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own."
Y'all excited?
#booksky
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...
It's described as a "dark academia fantasy in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own."
Y'all excited?
#booksky
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...
Video Rebecca Kuang unveils 'Katabasis' book cover
"GMA" reveals the cover of the bestselling author's new novel, where two rival students journey to the underworld to save their professor's soul.
abcnews.go.com
February 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang cover reveal!
It's described as a "dark academia fantasy in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own."
Y'all excited?
#booksky
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...
It's described as a "dark academia fantasy in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own."
Y'all excited?
#booksky
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...
If there is one thing you can definitively say about blurbs it is that they have a 0% approval rating among authors. In an author hate-off between blurbs and Goodreads, blurbs win, no?
February 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
If there is one thing you can definitively say about blurbs it is that they have a 0% approval rating among authors. In an author hate-off between blurbs and Goodreads, blurbs win, no?
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
Laughed (in a laugh or I'll cry way) at @jeffoneal.bsky.social raging about the dystopian book sale bump in today's edition of Today in Books.
Have we learned nothing? We have learned nothing.
#books
bookriot.com/libraries-ar...
Have we learned nothing? We have learned nothing.
#books
bookriot.com/libraries-ar...
Libraries are Good in Ways You Might Not Expect
Libraries are good for you in ways you might not have thought of, an overdue translation comes to English, dystopian novels pop (again). All in today's book news.
bookriot.com
February 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Laughed (in a laugh or I'll cry way) at @jeffoneal.bsky.social raging about the dystopian book sale bump in today's edition of Today in Books.
Have we learned nothing? We have learned nothing.
#books
bookriot.com/libraries-ar...
Have we learned nothing? We have learned nothing.
#books
bookriot.com/libraries-ar...
Reposted by Jeff O'Neal
💙📚
A museum of stuff, the manifold uses of craftivism, a factory for prestige architecture, Humanity’s Last Exam: all make the cut for my most memorable reads of January.
7 Kinda Genius Links of January, 2025
Stop scrolling.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 5:33 PM
💙📚
A museum of stuff, the manifold uses of craftivism, a factory for prestige architecture, Humanity’s Last Exam: all make the cut for my most memorable reads of January.
7 Kinda Genius Links of January, 2025
Stop scrolling.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 3:59 PM
A museum of stuff, the manifold uses of craftivism, a factory for prestige architecture, Humanity’s Last Exam: all make the cut for my most memorable reads of January.
"I struggle with this in most new projects. Which parts shouldn’t move because they are indeed crucial to success? What can go into the “we’ll figure it out later” pile? A creative intransigence can sink something that has potential, just as a lack of clarity can lead to a rudderless muddle."
The Sail & The Anchor
Or, When to Be Flexible and When to Take a Stand
kindagenius.substack.com
January 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
"I struggle with this in most new projects. Which parts shouldn’t move because they are indeed crucial to success? What can go into the “we’ll figure it out later” pile? A creative intransigence can sink something that has potential, just as a lack of clarity can lead to a rudderless muddle."
I shout about this every year, but the number of the most-awarded movies every year that started out as books is under-appreciated. Literary and book culture matter.
bookriot.com/the-oscar-no...
bookriot.com/the-oscar-no...
The Oscar Nominations Are Out—7 of 10 of the Best Picture Nominations Are Adaptations
The majority of the movies up for the Best Picture Award are adaptations, but not just of books.
bookriot.com
January 23, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I shout about this every year, but the number of the most-awarded movies every year that started out as books is under-appreciated. Literary and book culture matter.
bookriot.com/the-oscar-no...
bookriot.com/the-oscar-no...
2015 was a pretty amazing year for books. This was a tough one.
bookriot.com/listen/power...
bookriot.com/listen/power...
Power Ranking the Books of 2015 - BOOK RIOT
Jeff and Rebecca look back and power-rank the books of 2015. Ten picks each, minimal cheating.
bookriot.com
January 23, 2025 at 12:20 AM
2015 was a pretty amazing year for books. This was a tough one.
bookriot.com/listen/power...
bookriot.com/listen/power...
Like most things that are fun to write, I started out this one intending to write about something completely different.
Do You Let Yourself Have Good Ideas?
It's harder than it looks.
kindagenius.substack.com
January 20, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Like most things that are fun to write, I started out this one intending to write about something completely different.