On episode 56 of the podcast, we’re going Behind the Book with Stephanie Lim. Stephanie is the co-founder of Third State Books, a new publishing house that amplifies the voices, stories, and issues of Asian America and the Pacific Islands. They publish fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children.

Stephanie Lim is a publisher and marketing executive who brings an abiding love of literary classics, guilty-pleasure genre fiction, fanfic, and children’s books to her work at Third State Books. She spent over 15 years in digital marketing and operations, first as a strategist for advertising clients at Google, then leading e-commerce teams and managing multi-million-dollar advertising budgets for retail brands such as ModCloth, Bebe, and Serena Williams’s eponymous fashion label. She co-founded Third State Books in 2023.

During this enlightening conversation with Stephanie we discuss:

• Why she left a career in e-commerce and fashion to run a publishing company.
• What are the unique challenges Asian-American authors face in the mainstream publishing industry.
• What new titles Third State Books is putting out next and why.
• Why she wants to see more Asian Americans getting to play the main character in books and in life.
• Why she wants to dispel the myth that Asian Americans only read and write literary fiction.

To Find out more about Third State Books, visit ThirdStateBooks.com

Follow Third State Books on Instagram.

Check out these recent and upcoming titles from Third State Books

Please feel free to show your love and support for this podcast by making a small donation via Buy Me A Coffee.

If you're looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, check out the Reed, Write, & Create website at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Follow Reed, Write, & Create on Instagram at ReedWriteandCre8

Sign up for the Reed, Write, & Create monthly newsletter.

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We’re going Behind the Book with someone who plays a critical role in the literary ecosystem, you!

On episode 55 we’re replaying my short but important pep talk about why writers need a reading habit and not just a reading hobby.

Even if you heard this episode last year when it first aired, I encourage you to listen again to remind yourself why it’s so important for you as a writer, to develop a consistent reading habit in order to up-level your writing skills. And, of course, to contribute to the literary ecosystem. I mean if we writers aren’t consuming good books on a regular basis, then we can hardly expect the industry to survive, much less thrive.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between a reading habit and a reading hobby.
• How to cultivate a reading habit to up-level your writing skills.
• How to read like a writer.
• Why writers should avoid the basic book club.

Let’s get a good reading habit going for the summer!

Please feel free to show your love and support for this podcast by making a small donation via Buy Me A Coffee.

If you're looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, check out the Reed, Write, & Create website at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Follow Reed, Write, & Create on Instagram at ReedWriteandCre8

Sign up for the Reed, Write, & Create monthly newsletter.

Follow Lori on YouTube at LiteraryLori

On episode 54 we’re going Behind the Book with bookseller Jeannine A. Cook, founder of Harriett’s Bookshop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jeannine A. Cook is a self-described word worker. In 2020, she opened Harriett’s Bookshop in the Fishtown section of North Philadelphia with the mission to celebrate women authors, women artists, and women activists. In 2021, she opened Ida’s Bookshop in Collingswood, NJ, and Josephine’s Bookshop (a bookshop installation in Paris).

Jeannine’s work as a literary activist has been recognized by several national and international news outlets including The New York Times, Vogue Magazine, Google, and Forbes, Inc.

Jeannine is also a writer and author who writes about the complex intersections of motherhood, globalism, activism, and the arts. Her delicious debut novel, It’s Me They Follow will be released in September, 2025.

During our conversation, Jeannine shares:

• How magic, synchronicity, and obedience to spirit play a part in her success as a bookseller.
• The history of word working and miracles in her own family that inspire her own literary work.
• Why she doesn’t worship money.
• The challenges she faces as a bookseller who is also a writer.
• What she’s working on next in honor of the late Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathii.

This is a magical and motivating episode.

To learn more about the amazing Jeannine A. Cook and what she’s up to, visit her website.

To Follow all the fun at Harriett’s Bookstore and her sister shop, Ida’s Bookstore, visit their website and/or Follow on Instagram.

You can pre-order Jeanine’s debut novel, It’s Me The Follow at the Reed, Write & Create bookstore.

Please feel free to show your love and support for this podcast by making a small donation via Buy Me A Coffee.

If you're looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, check out the Reed, Write, & Create website at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Follow Reed, Write, & Create on Instagram at ReedWriteandCre8

Sign up for the Reed, Write, & Create monthly newsletter.

Follow Lori on YouTube at LiteraryLori