This Week: How to Navigate the World of Book Publishing
Join us this Thursday for a special live conversation with Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger, who will chat with Lee Gutkind about everything writers need to know in 2026.
Happy Monday, writers! We have a very exciting episode of our Open Book live video series this week, hosted by the always insightful Lee Gutkind.
If you’ve joined us for Lee’s past Open Book chats, you know he has interviewed fascinating guests about everything from writing unforgettable dialogue to the secret life of an obituary writer. This time, he’s zooming out to tackle an even bigger topic: the state of publishing itself.
This Thursday, July 16 at 1 p.m. ET, Lee will sit down with Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild and the Authors Guild Foundation, for a conversation about the forces reshaping the writing world. They'll explore some of the biggest issues facing writers today, including AI, book banning, free speech, and the rapidly changing publishing landscape.
Mary will discuss how the Authors Guild helps writers navigate contracts, legal disputes, copyright questions and other challenges that arise throughout a writing career—and how authors can better protect both their work and themselves.
I think this will be an incredibly useful conversation. The publishing landscape is changing fast, and there are few people better positioned than Mary to help make sense of it. Join us live, this Thursday at 1pm on Zoom.
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