Dominique Raccah founded Sourcebooks in Chicago in 1987 and has turned it into the fastest growing, and now the largest, independent book publisher in the United States. This episode covers how she built an innovative company and a culture that seems to uniquely balance supporting authors, understanding readers, and using data to make decisions.

A writer and an editor join us to discuss a new book set in the world of publishing. Hot Desk — the debut novel from Laura Dickerman (with input from her editor brother Colin) — is a genre-spanning story. It is part rom-com, part publishing satire and part upscale book club fiction. The book spans a shared post-covid desk and two distinct eras in the book business from the heyday of the 80’s to the current industry as two sparring colleagues chase the same coveted assignment. Both the book and our episode give a peek behind the curtain of publishing.

Molly Stern is a longtime editor and publisher, formerly at Penguin Random House, where she worked on countless award-winners and bestsellers including Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, and Becoming by Michelle Obama. Molly is now the founder and CEO of Zando, an innovative startup that partners with well-known figures like Sarah Jessica Parker and John Legend to launch new imprints, publish books, and connect them to audiences of readers.

(For full transparency: Open Book host David Steinberger is a board member of Zando.)