Open Book with David Steinberger
Episodes
Brave on Behalf of Books with Ruth Dickey
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ruth Dickey is the Executive Director of the National Book Foundation—the organization behind the National Book Awards, now in its 77th year. In thi...
And God Created the Literary Agent with Michael Carlisle
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Carlisle is a co-founder of Inkwell Management, one of the most respected literary agencies in the business. Born of publishing parents, he be...
A Book in the Mind of A Consumer with Brendan Curry
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Brendan Curry has spent 24 years at W.W. Norton—the largest and oldest employee-owned publishing company. Norton is renowned for nonfiction and high...
Hold The Door Open with Miwa Messer
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Miwa Messer is the executive producer and host of Barnes & Noble’s beloved podcast “Poured Over,” which has released over 650 episodes in th...
What It’s Like to Be a Kid
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Anderson has been President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s since 2009, after a career in both publishing and bookselling that ...
Brick & Mortar Success in an Online World with Terry Finley
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Terry Finley is the President and CEO of Books-a-Million, a chain of over 200 bookstores in 30 states. In this episode he describes the dramatic chang...
“This is my book. You can’t have it.” with Michael Jacobs
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a 50-year publishing career, Michael Jacobs has been at the center of a number of explosive worldwide publishing phenomena, including Harry Potter ...
Books Change Lives with Dominique Raccah
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dominique Raccah founded Sourcebooks in Chicago in 1987 and has turned it into the fastest growing, and now the largest, independent book publisher in...
Hot Desk with Laura and Colin Dickerman
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 fro...
Something Totally Different with Molly Stern
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Molly Stern is a longtime editor and publisher, formerly at Penguin Random House, where she worked on countless award-winners and bestsellers includin...
The Luckiest Publisher in the World with Arnaud Nourry
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As former Chairman and CEO of Hachette, Arnaud offers a candid look inside a major international publisher. Under his leadership, Hachette grew from a...
The Keystone with Judith Curr
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Where do global bestsellers come from? We hear from Judith Curr on her fascinating worldwide publishing journey. From a one-room schoolhouse in Austra...
Backstories: A Special First Anniversary Episode
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode marks the one-year anniversary of the Open Book Podcast, so we thought we would do something a little different. We often ask our guests ...
"This Could Be the Best Book I’ve Ever Read" with Sally Kim
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sally Kim is the President and Publisher of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group that includes the flagship imprint originally...
"A Book Bought in a Good Bookstore is a Better Book" with James Daunt
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
James Daunt is a busy man, leading three iconic booksellers on two continents. In this episode, he shares his journey from founding a single independe...
How to Sleep at Night with Elizabeth Harris
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Elizabeth Harris reports on books and the publishing industry for The New York Times. She shares her 16-year career journey from clerk to s...
Stealing Crumbs from the Giant with Andy Hunter
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Andy Hunter is one of the most interesting players in the discovery and commerce of books. Andy’s career took him from mainstream cultural behemoth ...
Name as Destiny with Madeline McIntosh
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Madeline McIntosh is a trailblazing publisher whose career spans leading roles at storied companies like Norton, Bantam Doubleday Dell, Amazon, and Pe...
Truly Global with Brian Murray
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
HarperCollins is a storied worldwide publisher with roots that go back more than 200 years, possessing a catalog of 200,000 titles from authors like M...
9,400 Miles with Amandeep Kochar
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From India to America, self-described “accidental” entrepreneur Amandeep Kochar’s fascinating career spans LiveNation, McGraw Hill, and Baker &a...
Placing Bets All the Time with Jon Yaged
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Yaged, the CEO of Macmillan, shares his journey from grandchild of a jazz musician to publishing blockbuster books by Kristen Hannah, Matthew Perr...
Publishing for the Next 100 Years with Christie Henry
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The President of Princeton University Press, Christie Henry, pulls back the curtain on university press publishing. We discuss her extraordinary caree...
Living Above the Shop with David Shelley
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
David Shelley, the CEO of Hachette Book Group UK and US, talks about growing up over a bookshop, differences between publishing in the UK and US, orga...
"The Jar" with Simon Lipskar
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Simon Lipskar is a leading agent for bestselling authors and runs one of the most important literary agencies in the publishing business. He talks abo...
The Mysterious Otto Penzler
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Otto Penzler, founder of The Mysterious Bookshop and Mysterious Press, is widely considered to be the father of crime fiction in the US, bringing crit...
The Price of Children with Maria Laurino
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From journalist for the Village Voice to bestselling author on the Italian-American experience, Maria Laurino has had a fascinating writing career. We...
"I Bet They'll Talk to Me" with Ted Conover
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Called the “master of experience-based nonfiction,” award-winning author Ted Conover has worked as a prison guard at Sing Sing, crossed borders wi...
From Politics to Publishing with Allison Dobson
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Making the leap from working on presidential campaigns for Senator Bill Bradley and Governor John Kerry to executive roles at Random House and Penguin...
Open Book Teaser
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hi, I’m David Steinberger, and I’m inviting you to listen to the Open Book podcast, where we explore the stories behind the bestsellers, and also ...
“I Like the Way You Dance” with John Sargent
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A longtime publishing industry leader, John Sargent is known for his frank straight-talking style, even when engaged in a highly public confrontation ...
Speaking for Books with Lisa Lucas
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the first woman and the first Black person to serve as Executive Director of the National Book Foundation (presenter of the National Book Awards) a...
Adventures of an Independent Publisher with Morgan Entrekin
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From editing Kurt Vonnegut to making Black Hawk Down a #1 Bestseller to taking a chance on The Sympathizer, which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize an...