Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ryan T. Pozzi

@ryantpozzi.bsky.social

13K followers 4.8K following 2.2K posts

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

From the mailbag:
Q: How are you qualified to write about the publishing industry? You've never worked as an agent or editor and your debut hasn't even released yet.

A: Other than being a bit hostile, this is a good question bc I'm no Brian Murray, after all. What I am is an obsessive researcher. 🧵

2 6

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2h

TIL that on the day of my wedding, eight years ago today, 83 bears on Sakhalin Island, Eastern Russia mobbed and killed two fishermen.

I swear these events are not related.

Also, the bears were starving on the island due to overfishing of nearby waters, so I ain't mad that they got two back.

1 1 8

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 12h

You're right. That's apparently the biggest of the three groups. Can't believe I forgot them.

1 1

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 12h

So this shutdown is the rich people who won't be affected and want to keep the broken private insurance system as-is vs the rich people who won't be affected and want to make the broken private insurance system do less and cost more. Have I got that about right?

2 1 22

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 22h

Damn. I was hoping it wasn't a typo bc you were distantly related.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 12, 2024
Researchers reveal DNA findings that cast Columbus as Spanish, likely from Valencia, with Sephardic Jewish ancestry, not Italian from Genoa as he long claimed. I'm not a fan, and given how fiercely some cling to the Italian-hero myth, the irony writes itself.

1 6

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 12, 1859
Joshua Abraham Norton, a San Francisco businessman turned folk monarch, declared himself Emperor Norton I and issued an edict abolishing the U.S. Congress. Satire, sure, but maybe he was onto something?

Emperor Norton in full dress uniform and military regalia, his hand on the hilt of a ceremonial sabre, c. 1875

2 5

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

✉︎ Postcards from the Mess ✉︎
Goya is not décor. He's a witness you have to meet on his terms. Look. Really look. Stand there until the image stops being art and starts being evidence.

The Third of May 1808, 1814. Oil on canvas, 266 cm × 345 cm (105 in × 136 in). Museo del Prado, Madrid

1 9

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 11, 1987
Two hundred thousand marched in Washington for lesbian and gay civil rights. The AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed on the National Mall for the first time, and the day helped seed National Coming Out Day.

Picture of the AIDS quilt in front of the Washington Monument

13 51

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 11, 1981
Then unknown, Prince opened for the Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and faced a hostile crowd that booed and pelted him. He left the bill soon after.

Humiliation that weekend; “1999” and “Purple Rain” not long after.

Prince performing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

2 1 4

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 11, 1975
NBC premiered Saturday Night Live, created by Lorne Michaels, with George Carlin hosting and Janis Ian and Billy Preston as musical guests. The Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Chase, Belushi, Aykroyd, Radner, Curtin, Morris, and Newman, set the tone.

The original 1975 cast, from left to right: Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase

3 11

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 11, 1967
Yoko Ono opened her Half-a-Wind show, known as Yoko Plus Me, at London’s Lisson Gallery, with Half-A-Room, everyday objects cut in half and painted white. John Lennon quietly backed the show. We are definitely a Yoko house.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 11, 1924
Paris opened the Bureau of Surrealist Research at 15 Rue de Grenelle, with Antonin Artaud as director. A walk-in lab for the irrational, it invited the public to bring dreams and strange encounters, days before Breton’s first Surrealist Manifesto.

The original Bureau of Surrealist Research, photo courtesy of Grace Mvg DM

1 2 7

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

Genius is Complicated: Francisco Goya

Court favorite and witness in the same body. He painted saints and butchers with the same eye, royalty and prisoners under the same light. He served a king he despised. Genius here isn't charm, it's stamina for truth, and that bill always comes due.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, c. 1797, 21.5 cm × 15 cm (8+1⁄2 in × 5+7⁄8 in)

2 14

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 10, 2014
Malala Yousafzai, 17, won the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest laureate in history, sharing it with Kailash Satyarthi for defending the right to education. Shot at 15 for going to school, she challenged every government to treat girls’ learning as vital.

Malala Yousafzai at the 2023 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture

3 13

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 10
Birthdays: 1917 Thelonious Monk, pianist and composer of “Round Midnight”; 1930 Harold Pinter, Nobel-winning playwright of The Homecoming and Betrayal. A wild pairing of syncopation and silence that rewired the century.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 3d

Quote from the Francisco Goya chapter of The Mess That Made Them by Ryan T. Pozzi

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 3d

I didn't assume anybody DIDN'T know that. I could just foresee folks coming for me for promoting this as a sales technique instead of as a chatty conversation I was having with my wife.

I find that sometimes preemptive clarification saves me some angry messages. I too sensitive for angry messages.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 3d

(This followup comment is to acknowledge that this isn't about how it "should be," but rather a discussion of what can increase effectiveness in commercial sales. No one should HAVE TO trade on their looks. Still, the science consistently tells us attractiveness is very powerful.)

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 3d

Me: Attractive authors putting their pretty front and center in their marketing draws eyes. What would I need to benefit from some pretty privilege?
Her: I think you're beautiful
Me: I mean the public. Get in shape, fancy treatments?
Her: Plastic surgery

No danger of getting a big head in my house.

2 6

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 3d

Doctor's waiting room furniture is a lie. Looks comfy, feels hurty.

4 1 22

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

On This Day in History: October 9
Birthdays: 1835 Camille Saint-Saëns, composer; 1935 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; 1940 John Lennon, Beatles cofounder; 1948 Jackson Browne, singer-songwriter; 1964 Guillermo del Toro, filmmaker; 1969 PJ Harvey, singer-songwriter. A stacked day for music and movies.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

7/
Give it a shot. I think it can be a win for both of us. If you sub for a few weeks and disagree, that unsubscribe button isn't hard to find.

In the meantime, I'll either say something that will change your perspective on our business or I'll piss you the hell off. (Did you see Private Parts?)

Text of the "if they hate him, why do they listen?" scene from the movie Private Parts

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

6/
In the same way that you should never take specific financial advice from someone who isn't intimately familiar with your personal situation, you shouldn't take industry or career advice from me.

I try to stay rooted in my lived experience, but I have opinions and you'll hear those, too.

1 2

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

5/
But also, we're all adults here so I think I can level with you and say that I hope you like it enough that, when my debut finally does release in 2026ish, you'll think, "He's not boring and sorta helpful, so I'll give that book a read. Maybe even buy a copy.

I don't give advice.

1 1

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

4/
I'm not special, unless you think being lucky is special. I just know that obsession + experience = some amount of insight and I write this 600-word weekly newsletter to try to share that insight with you.

Why? Partly habit. I spent my career in nonprofit arts working with communities in need.

1 1