The Ink Sink Kali and Annie

It's National Poetry Month! In honor of Kali's favorite month, we are sharing one of her favorite episodes: Poems Make You Cry

We have an annotated transcript for this one up on our Substack, here: https://open.substack.com/pub/theinksink/p/poetry-words-and-rhythms-to-make

Scroll, shop, and chat with us wherever you'd like: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast




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Spotify’s audiobook service is here! But what does it mean
for independent authors? We dive into the publishing news. Plus, we celebrate two unsung women from history who finally get their due!

Warning: We swear in this episode. Leigh Bardugo’s protagonist has to put up with some bulls***.

You can support us and see our transcripts on our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Our sources for this episode:


A breakdown of high fantasy and low fantasy from
Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/high-fantasy-vs-low-fantasy/


Spotify boosts popular audiobooks: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/94253-spotify-reports-exponential-audiobook-growth.html


As the publishing industry digests Spotify's audiobooks program, independent authors notice the terms have shifted: https://writerbeware.blog/2024/02/19/outrage-over-new-terms-of-use-at-findaway-voices-forces-change/


This sad but necessary story about what librarians have to put up with: https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/School-and-Public-Librarians-describe-on-the-job-harassment-censorship


Very cool new literature prize: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/books/inside-literary-prize.html


A long-overdue congratulations to Hannah Bond, whom you can now read about in depth: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/books/hannah-crafts-biography-gregg-hecimovich.html


Celebrations: Ángela Ruiz Robles invented an early e-reader: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/obituaries/angela-ruiz-robles-overlooked.html

 

Read the books we talked about in this episode: Disclaimer: If you purchase a book through one of our Bookshop links, we receive a commission. But more importantly, Bookshop also supports independent bookstores with every book sold. They’ve raised over $30 million so far!


Harrow the Ninth: a devastating, dizzying book written in second person that Annie will love til her dying day: https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250313218


The Ninth House: dark academia meets gritty urban detective meets magic secret societies, it’s every bit as good as it sounds: https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250751362

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
03:35 Corrections corner
06:37 Spotify boosts audiobooks, what’s it costing independent authors?
15:52 Librarians are still dealing with bulls***
19:29 A new literary prize for incarcerated people debuts
22:22 Celebrating two amazing women who never got their due
28:44 Annie is reading The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
35:28 Kali Koda – No, wait, it’s the outro


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We’re still on Goodreads, and we’re not ashamed. But the Hugo Awards are a P R O B L E M.

Join us for this week’s news as we dive into the latest from the world of books and reading.

This is our podcast for book nerds, fiction fiends, and lit witches! (NOT liches!)

Warning: There is some cursing in this episode. Annie ******* loves the Olympics.

Subscribe, support, and shop on our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Our sources for today’s show:


Okay but just LOOK at T. Kingfisher’s cool book covers: https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=T.+Kingfisher
Kali’s love for LeVar Burton means that we are HYPED: https://bookriot.com/butterfly-in-the-sky-reading-rainbow-documentary-coming-out/
You can check out “LeVar Burton Reads,” the podcast where this man’s incredible voice is on full display: https://www.levarburtonpodcast.com/
Smithsonian Magazine rounds up libraries’ most checked-out books of 2023: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-most-borrowed-books-from-public-libraries-in-2023-180983521/
Some good news: 3 in 4 adults can discern real headlines from fake ones: https://journalistsresource.org/media/post-truth-fake-news-real-news/
Parisian booksellers get to stick around during the Olympics! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/world/europe/paris-olympics-booksellers.html
Congress hears from the publishing industry on how AI will impact its future: https://pressgazette.co.uk/north-america/conde-nast-ceo-roger-lynch-ai-senate/
What’s going on with the Hugo Awards: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/94229-resignations-censures-follow-in-wake-of-hugo-awards-controversy.html
A measured look at the "Goodreads situation": https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/17/god-forbid-that-a-dog-should-die-when-goodreads-reviews-go-bad
Shondaland celebrates women making waves in publishing: https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a45897413/these-women-represent-the-future-book-publishing-industry/
Black women being awarded for unpublished manuscripts: https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/10/cassava-republic-a-30000-nonfiction-prize-for-black-women/

You can browse the books we talked about on our BookShop.Org page. We get a commission if you buy from our lists, but more importantly, BookShop supports independent bookstores with every purchase! They’ve raised over $30 million so far!


Lessons in Chemistry, where a woman takes her science background to the masses through a cooking show (Bonnie Garmus): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780385547345
I’m Glad My Mom Died, an account of a former child star (Jennette McCurdy): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781982185824
Spare, the buzzy memoir from Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex: https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780593593806
Fourth Wing, a book about dragons and the people who love them (Rebecca Yarros): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781649374042
Verity, the romance bestseller that’s been all over your FYP (Colleen Hoover): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781538724736
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, a tale of two friends making a video game (Gabrielle Zevin): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780593321201
Crush, a poetry collection about love and loss in a modern world (Richard Siken): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780300107890



Chapters

00:00 Welcome back!

03:34 Reading Rainbow documentary coming soon!

07:02 Americans’ favorite library books

09:30 Phew: We CAN spot fake news

12:57 Paris + Olympics: Bookselling Drama

15:50 Media is begging Congress to curb AI

21:16 Hugo Awards bowed to China

25:25 What is going on with Goodreads RN?

35:58 Celebrating the future of publishing and unpublished manuscripts from black women!

38:58 Kali is reading “Crush”

41:46 The Kali Coda

42:49 Thanks for listening!


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2023 was WILD (we do a recap today). That’s probably why we loved our cozy fantasy books last year (we tell you our favorites today, too).

Follow/support/see us on our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Warning: We swear a bit in this episode. As we said, 2023 was WILD.

Our sources for this episode:

- The independent romance author who faked her own death and then somehow things got worse? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/14/romance-novelist-faked-death-susan-meachen

- Book bans continued to come in hard in 2023: https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/1200647985/book-bans-libraries-schools

- As of this writing, this is the latest in the Texan book-rating law: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/court-refuses-revive-texas-public-school-book-rating-law-2024-01-17/

- The Spine Collector, the spiritual impetus of this podcast, will be deported to a country that will have him: https://www.vulture.com/2023/03/book-thief-filippo-bernardini-gets-no-jail-time-deported.html

- We’re in a new era of digital content. Separately (?) we’re in a new era of AI. We unpack it here: https://theinksink.substack.com/p/buzzfeed-falls-and-ai-rises

- From WSJ: “Libraries Are the New Front Line in America’s Mental-Health Crisis” (https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/library-services-homeless-mental-health-e1f513b7)

- Dolly Parton, America’s gem, expands her Imagination Library: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/92981-dolly-parton-s-imagination-library-expands-national-reach.html

Want to pick up books from our storefront? You should! Bookshop.Org supports independent bookstores with every book sold. (Disclaimer: we also get a small commission when you buy from one of our links.)

- Camp Damascus, the story of a queer woman reclaiming her mind, her love, and her community (by Chuck Tingle): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250874627

- All We Can Save, essays from women around the world who offer hope and encouragement in the fight against climate change (edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780593237083

- The Song of Achilles, a soulful, beautifully written retelling of the Iliad from the perspective of Patroclus as he fights for his love, Achilles (by Madeline Miller): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780062060624

- Beware of Chicken, cozy journey through a fantasy land with farming, roosters, and mystical quests (by Casualfarmer): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781039448094

- Swordheart, the hijinks of a suburban widow and her mystical guardian as they travel through a wild fantasy world (by T. Kingfisher): https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781039448094

00:00 Welcome back to the Ink Sink!03:22 Romance author says “JK, I’m alive!”06:07 Book bans keep rolling12:54 The Spine Collector Saga16:59 The new world of digital news23:38 Publishing jobs are growing26:10 Librarians are bada**30:42 Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expands32:00 Favorite books: Swordheart34:03 Favorite books: Beware of Chicken37:23 Favorite books: Song of Achilles and All We Can Save41:58 Favorite books: Camp Damascus and Effin Birds45:16 Looking forward to Season 3!50:05 Thanks for listening!


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Enemies? Lovers? Marys? Sues?

It's time for part two of our Ink Sink Tropefest! This is
the second Holiday Replay episode for Season 2 as we prepare for Season 3!

Find out how to keep up with us and support the show here: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Warning: We curse in this episode. We have FEELINGS about internet trolls.

Listen to part one where we covered ⁠The Chosen One and the Three
Witches⁠.

In this episode, we cover Annie's favorite trope: Enemies to
Lovers.

We also cover one of the most maligned tropes in fiction:
The Mary Sue.

Check out our sources here:


Some fan commentary from Reddit: ⁠https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/ue11mp/mary_sue_isnt_real_and_she_cannot_hurt_you/⁠

Some fan commentary from Fansplaining: ⁠https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/mary-sue⁠

An academic study into Mary Sue characters: ⁠http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.xhtml⁠

A history deep dive from Smithsonian Magazine:
⁠https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/these-women-coined-term-mary-sue-180972182/⁠

The TV Tropes wiki: ⁠https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue⁠   

Summary of the Epic of Gilgamesh: ⁠https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-oldest-known-piece-of-literature⁠

A master list of enemies-to-lovers TV couples: ⁠https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/best-tv-enemies-to-lovers-couples⁠


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AI apps are taking my newsfeed by storm. Things like Midjourney and DALL-E (which make images) and ChatGPT (which makes text) are everywhere. Schools, businesses, and freelancers are all grappling with how to handle it.

There are some wins, some losses, and some questions in the publishing business.

Our sources for this episode:

- AI roundup from the Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/ai-is-creating-problems-publishers-human-authors
- CNET pauses AI-generated articles: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/cnet-pauses-publishing-ai-written-stories-after-disclosure-controversy,241859
- ChatGPT making fake citations: https://blogs.library.duke.edu/blog/2023/03/09/chatgpt-and-fake-citations/
- BuzzFeed doubles down: https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/digital-journalism/buzzfeed-chatgpt/
- We covered the end of BuzzFeed investigations last year: https://youtu.be/MNRec-TVk6Y
- Another measured take on AI, from the business side: https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/drama-angst-and-potential-abuse-dark-side-of-ai-for-the-publishing-industry/
- Breathtakingly annoying take on egg prices from WSJ: Just stop eating breakfast: https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/cpi-report-today-january-2023-inflation/card/to-save-money-maybe-you-should-skip-breakfast-fSd6mz0miaAPhUFb2jgy
- BuzzFeed News shuts down: https://www.axios.com/2023/04/21/buzzfeed-news-digital-media
- Vice News Tonight shuts down: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/27/media/vice-news-tonight-canceled/index.html


Follow/Support/Learn from our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

00:00 Welcome Back to the Ink Sink
01:47 The AI Juggernaut
14:08 Farewell BuzzFeed News
15:56 Thanks for listening!


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