Andrea Bartz: Get It Write

Happy Pride, friends! (May I recommend celebrating by preordering my queer, puzzle-box, tropical-island mystery, THE LAST FERRY OUT?) Welcome back to Ask a Bookseller, a monthly column in which folks from amazing indie bookstores across the nation answer authors’ burning questions. Y’know, stuff that’s obvious to booksellers but shrouded in mystery to us writers, a la… How do you gauge if an in-store event was a “success”? How can authors let bookstores know about their upcoming release?

Quick reminders before today’s excellent guest post! The Last Ferry Out, my queer, puzzle-box mystery set on an island with creepy ruins and stunning beaches and secretive expats, is out in paperback June 16! NPR's Fresh Air praised its "evocative writing and propulsive, intricate mystery," while Publishers Weekly called it a "stylish, serpentine thriller…pairing tender explorations of grief and homophobia with a series of horrifying twists." I’d be honored if you purchased a copy or...

Sarah Vacchiano on landing a deal sans agent, developing thick enough skin to publish autofiction, and her witty "coming-of-adulthood" novel, SOFT LAUNCH Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Sarah’s smart, big-hearted debut, out now. Me: Sarah, hi! Sarah: Good morning!! How are you doing?

Playback speed × Share post Share post at current time Share from 0:00 0:00 / Transcript "We're throwing a party to celebrate books and literature and literacy and free expression of ideas for our community—that's the mindset with which we approach it." An illuminating convo about book festivals with Tucson Festival of Books' Abra McAndrew I loved peppering Abra McAndrew, who runs the excellent Substack The Booktender and is executive director of the storied Tucson Festival of Books, with all...

A few announcements before we get into today’s lovely guest post: On Wednesday, 5/20 at noon ET, I’ll be doing a Substack Live about everything authors need to know about book festivals with the amazing Abra McAndrew, who writes The Booktender and is the executive director of the Tucson Festival of Books. Here’s the link! Watch and participate on the Substack app or desktop (or stream afterward as a video or podcast).

Hello from a hotel room in San Francisco! I’m here for the final approval hearing of my copyright lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic (everyone send good vibes on Thursday at 2pm PT), and I’ve got a few hours to kill.

Hello, friends! A few quick announcements before today’s spectacular bookseller Q&A: I’ll be discussing The Last Ferry Out and all things generative AI with the brilliant Paul Bradley Carr (author of The Confessions) tomorrow, 5/12, inSan Francisco’s wonderful Best Bookstore in Union Square.

I learned so much from my chat with Saul Austerlitz, who wrote HOW TO ASSEMBLE AN ACTIVIST, and AurelioAguirre, software developer and cofounder of The Users Union, about how people with concerns about AI can find the best and most impactful ways to join the fight.

I had the best time chatting with author and academic Laura B. McGrath, whose new nonfiction book, Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction, is on shelves now.

A few announcements before we get into today’s lovely guest post. I have not one but two fantastic Substack Lives coming up next week: On Monday, 5/6 at noon ET, I’ll be chatting with Laura B. McGrath about literary agents and her new book, Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction, with a focus on key takeaways for authors. It’ll stream here.