Have you ever wondered what a book editor does? How they make the decisions about whether or not to buy and publish the books they do? What they actually think of your book proposal? Why — especially if you're a writer — the publishing industry seems so inherently f*cked?

My guest this week is the powerhouse editor Kate Napolitano. Kate is the editorial director of nonfiction books at Atria Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) where she's edited nearly a dozen New York Times bestsellers. She also happens to be the best editor I've ever worked with, a person who is not only amazing at her job, but also smart and insightful about the business at large. We're talking the business of publishing, diversity in books, rookie mistakes in book proposals, how we can help save an industry in trouble and a whole lot more.

Kate's book recs:

No Sense In Wishing: Essays — Lawrence Burney
Finding My Way: A Memoir — Malala Yousafzai
Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) — Eleanor Johnson
The People's Project: Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward
The Dream Songs
The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop

To support the production of the show, listen to ad-free episodes and read more of my writing, you can subscribe to jennromolini.substack.com.

The Extended Scenes theme song is by the band Maiden Names.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inflation Cools, Metals Dip and the Christmas Countdown is on 10/24/25

The Exchange

Ad break

The AI-powered Podcast Player