Booktalking - NaNoWriMo's line in the sand, Robo-narration side hustles, a penguin glow-up(?), and more

Oct 16, 2024

In our second installment in this new series, hosts Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj sat down to go over some of the latest goings-on since summer in the business of books.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Is AI a no-go for NaNoWriMo?
• Audible announces AI narration—as a side hustle for human narrators
• B&N needs more shovels (to deal with AI)
• Bestselling nonfiction author Steven Johnson on employing AI as research assistant on steriods - The Verge
• Odds on an AI writing a bestselling book
• Fewer booksellers at Apple Books
• A leaner, meaner penguin* in the Penguin Random House logo (or, the slimming power of a strong vertical line)?
• Gen Z's eReader moment

Books mentioned:

• By Stephen Johnson: The Ghost Map, Where Good Ideas Come From
• Naked Came the Stranger by Penelope Ashe (aka. Mike McGrady "and two dozen of his colleagues")

*This conversation contains a brief digression into off-label use of Ozempic. Please listen with care.