Molly and Kate speak with the owners of Los Angeles based cookbook store Now Serving, Ken Concepcion and Michelle Mungcal, about the crucial role that niche independent bookstores play in the marketplace. Ken shares how his chef background informed his love of cookbooks and led to opening the store and Michelle talks about curating their space to create a specific atmosphere for their community. They speak about what titles they choose to carry, their thoughts on event formats and release schedules along with the obstacles that arise in the retail space and the ones that come with running a small business. Finally, they discuss their thoughts on self published projects and promote their new cookbook club.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Now Serving Bookstore

Now Serving Bookclub

Plantasia: A Vegetarian Cookbook Through Asia by Pamelia Chia

Tacos CDMX by Guia Domingo

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles by Betty Hallock and Josef Centeno
• Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making by James Peterson
• Flavorama by Arielle Johnson

Kate, Kristin and Molly venture back into the user experience arena as they discuss recipe presentation in cookbooks. They highlight the need for this section to delight not distract and prioritize form over function as well as the need to write with a specific audience in mind. They discuss their thoughts as a consumer and developer on elements like: ingredients, equipment, serving size, prep time, method, sub-recipes, headnotes and bursts. Finally, they share their advice for recipe developers on things to think through and ways to research to bring clarity and individuality to their own work.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Episode 91: The UX of Cookbook Design

Episode 28: All About Headnotes

Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles

Episode 24: Genius Recipes with Kristin Miglore

Episode 59: Lerato Umah-Shaylor on Africana

Episode 33: Becoming the Writer You Want to Be with Andy Baraghani

Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Genius Recipes by Kristin Miglore
• Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts by Brooks Headley

Kate, Kristin and Molly speak with agent Lori Galvin about her long career in the food media space. She shares what spurred her decision to move on from editorial work and how agenting required on the job learning and an entrepreneurial approach. She talks about learning to trust in her own taste, why she enjoys working with both fiction and non-fiction titles and the changes she is seeing in the cookbook sphere. After touching on proposals, comp titles and platform building, Lori gives some advice to authors looking for their own agents and what she in particular looks for in an book.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Lori Galvin at Aevitas Agency

Query Manager

Episode 76: Totally Achievable Zero Waste Cooking with Irene and Mei Li

Sh*t no one tells you about writing article on Query Manager (scroll down)

Kristin Donnelly's mini-course about finding an agent

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir by Kwame Onwuachi
• Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies by Cathy Barrow
• Perfectly Good Food: A Totally Achievable Zero Waste Approach to Home Cooking by Margaret Li and Irene Li

Molly and Kate talk with prolific writer Bee Wilson about her new cookbook, The Secret of Cooking. Bee explains how she uses her past experience as an academic in her food writing to showcase its breadth beyond restaurants and recipes and what inspired her to write this cookbook. She shares why she settled on a thematic structure for the book, the recipe writing and testing process along with her varied influences and resources. She talks about bringing the joy back into cooking and why she believes that the golden age of home cooking is still to come.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Bee Wilson

• Website
• Instagram

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Secret of Cooking by Bee Wilson
• Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson
• First Bite: How We Learn to Eat by Bee Wilson
• The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson
• 50 Ways to Cook a Carrot by Bee Wilson

Kate and Molly speak with Ruth Reichl, an icon and authority in the food media world, about her breadth of writing experience - restaurant reviews, cookbooks, memoirs, articles and even tweets- and her new book, The Paris Novel. Ruth shares why food is a universal framework, her inspirations for this novel and the process of working with a new editor. She talks about being a "writer who hates writing" and how this process differed from others as well as how she accesses memories to include specificities in her scenes. Finally, she shares her advice to push into the unknown and what she is working on next.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Ruth Reichl

• Substack
• Instagram

Food and Country Film

"Why I Disapprove of What I Do" by Ruth Reichl

Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
• Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
• Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
• My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
• Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
• Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
• Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

Kristin, Molly and Kate tackle cookbook design from a usability perspective. They point out design decisions that authors should consider: packaging and cover design, typeface and font legibility, photographs on matte vs gloss paper and much more. They share their own opinions, experiences and preferences on the elements that enhance or detract from a user's experience of the book and, because there's much more to say on the topic, tease a part two.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Debbie Berne Instagram

83: A Niche Cookbook That Sold 350K+ Copies with Shelly Worcel

47: Self-Publishing Cookbooks with Nick Fauchald

66: Becoming Your Own Publisher with Katie Parla

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Design of Books by Debbie Berne

Kristin and Molly speak with cookbook author Phoebe Lapine about finding pleasure in restrictive diets and her new cookbook, Carbivore. Phoebe shares what led her down a food focused career path, how she learned while blogging and how a health diagnosis pulled her down a different path than originally planned. She talks about writing recipes that keep comfort and pleasure in mind, synthesizing data to communicate science to her reader and why her driving force is "healthy hedonism". She also discusses the concept of a "search term book", the importance of sub-titles and how she balanced blogging, social media and marketing while writing the book.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Phoebe Lapine

• Website
• Podcast
• Instagram
  

Carbivore pre-order freebies

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Carbivore by Phoebe Lapine
• Sibo Made Simple by Phoebe Lapine
• The Wellness Project by Phoebe Lapine
• In the Small Kitchen by Phoebe Lapine

Molly and Kristin speak with Sarah Kwak, a senior editor at Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins, to find out what the editing process is like. Sarah shares how she ended up at her current role, the focus Harvest has for cookbooks and what authors should keep mind regarding their proposal assembly before submission. She discusses her thoughts on comp titles, overcoming past book sales, multifaceted ways to grow a platform and what compels her to spend over two years working on a specific project. Finally, she talks about trends in the food world, the changes in the economy of publishing and her advice along with the books she is excited to release this year.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

• Sarah Kwak
• Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins
• Episode 09: Cookbook Editing Tips from Jennifer Sit
• Episode 48: Abi Balingit on Learning as You Go

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Mayumu by Abi Balingit
• The Book on Pie by Erin McDowell
• Jacques Pépin Art of the Chicken by Jacques Pépin
• Hot Sheet by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine