Maureen Callahan

Oh, but you can't say it, but you can't like, but when you, I've been in these meetings, I've been with these people.

You can't say that to them.

I mean, they'll throw you out.

They'll be like, what are you talking about?

We're all about, you know, equality and DEI.

What are you talking about?

But it's not just you.

First of all, what are you supposed to do?

Apologize for the accident of your birth?

I actually did have an editor once who I adore.

When I first began working with him, apologized to me for being a straight white male.

And I said, please do not do that.

You can't do that.

I don't want you to do that.

I think it's important that your eyes are on this book.

But that's kind of the rot, the institutional rot.

I'm sure you know this, but even for authors, so much of...

book publishing itself like how books get published who decides what to buy who's buying them what the budgets are how your book gets scheduled for release who you're up against it's all kind of deliberately made a mystery you know

I've been doing this for a very long time and I still learn stuff every day.

I sometimes find myself asking questions and I feel like, oh, I should know this by now, but actually I really shouldn't because by design, it's like the Wizard of Oz.