Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 31m

I've preordered yours! (But wouldn't say no to an ARC ;)) And yes, let's chat about ways that we can be in conversation, as I think there's probably a lot of overlap.

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 40m

Pub date pals!

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

Mike Ingram @mikeingram.bsky.social · 48m

My editing & publishing class at Temple will be opening soon for submissions for a special online issue of Barrelhouse, with the theme "The Dirty Issue." Fiction & nonfiction up to 2,500 words, and up to 5 poems. Usual @barrelhouse.bsky.social contract & payment.

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 1d

Teaching this banger, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to remind you that @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social and I always welcome pitches for the Culture Industries section of Public Books! Bring us your wonkiest, your galaxy-brainest, your in-the-weeds-iest!
www.publicbooks.org/how-the-new-...

How the “New York Times” Covers Black Writers - Public Books

There has long been a fear that media only makes room for one Black writer at a time. But that’s always been difficult to prove—until now.

www.publicbooks.org

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you! (And what illustrious company!)

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

Alexander Manshel @manshel.bsky.social · 6d

Could not be more excited for this book to come out! If you’re interested in the history of American literature, or why the current literary scene looks the way it does, or how publishing actually works, MIDDLEMEN should be top of your list for next year!

Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 6d

Baby’s got a pub date! And some juicy catalog copy. MIDDLEMEN coming your way on April 26!

(Cover reveal soon!)

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 6d

Baby’s got a pub date! And some juicy catalog copy. MIDDLEMEN coming your way on April 26!

(Cover reveal soon!)

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 6d

Would love to hear about your experience. And I’m so excited for you, Roopsi!! Congrats!!!

(Will add the caveat that nonfiction is super different from the fiction world I cover here.)

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 6d

Baby’s got a pub date! And some juicy catalog copy. MIDDLEMEN coming your way on April 26!

(Cover reveal soon!)

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

When I tell you that this song plays on repeat in my head almost every day…

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Sure thing! Will send when it’s done. Would love to hear what you’re up to, love it when you start scheming…

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

I agree! I’m teaching a YA class this spring and we’ll be skipping HP (for all the reasons).

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Also play them this song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqN8...

Faeries F*cking

YouTube video by Griefcat - Topic

www.youtube.com

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Me!!! Not in my bestseller class, but in a YA class I'm launching this spring. Direct line from YA to Romantasy (so I'm arguing, to get students to re-enroll): www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/s...

Why Magic, Dragons and Explicit Sex Are in Bookstores Everywhere

www.nytimes.com

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

Lolsob

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 12d

Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye sold just 2,000 copies in its first year. Today, it’s a number many authors can’t recover from. Writer @tajjaisen.bsky.social examines how the publishing industry’s sales track can make or break careers before they even begin: thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-i...

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 11d

“Publishers, as McGrath says, have always been risk averse. But with higher pressure to find a sure thing, more writers who may have been able to sell a book five or ten years ago, whether to a corporate or an independent press, are being left out in the cold.” @tajjaisen.bsky.social @thewalrus.ca

The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus

Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it

thewalrus.ca

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

Always!!

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

I’m always game to follow the data in publishing, and so grateful when the smartest folks (like @tajjaisen.bsky.social) want to hop in the weeds with me. A brilliant piece of reporting.

Tajja Isen @tajjaisen.bsky.social · 11d

I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...

The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus

Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it

thewalrus.ca

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

If my book were about, say, literary agents and the making of NONfiction, Barnett would be the main character. Will be fascinating to watch this vacuum fill, to see how the field rearranges to fill it.

Anna Sproul-Latimer @annasplat.bsky.social · 12d

This is one of those "incoming frenzy" moments of transition in the literary agent profession. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

Robert Barnett, a consummate Washington dealmaker, dies at 79

The Williams & Connolly lawyer, a Democrat who worked both sides of the aisle, became a go-to fixer for Washington book deals.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

Wowowowow

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 13d

Hivemind: there is a new nonfiction book, either just or about to be released, about libraries. I can picture the cover in my mind, but the title has entirely escaped me. Googling failed. Anyone have any leads?

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

Anna Lanfranchi @anna-lanfranchi.bsky.social · 18d

Still buzzing after the fantastic workshop on Transnational Perspectives on Literary Agents and Agencies organised by @cecilecottenet.bsky.social, @corinnanorue.bsky.social and Anna Ferrando at @univ-amu.fr. So many ideas and brilliant scholars, and just the perfect location. Thank you everyone!

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Reposted by Laura McGrath

cecilecottenet.bsky.social @cecilecottenet.bsky.social · Sep 8

18-19 September. Very much looking forward to hosting a workshop on Literary agents and circulation of texts: research perspectives, organized with @corinnanorue.bsky.social and Anna Ferrando (U. of Pavia) in Aix-en-Provence.
@lerma.bsky.social @univ-amu.fr
#BookHistory
@sharpnews.bsky.social

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Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 28

It says a lot about who I am, as a person, that yesterday I asked a clerk at Sephora if she could point me to the Philip Roth eye patches.

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