Molly and Kate speak with Anna Ansari, a London based Iranian American writer, about her new book Silk Roads and the major career shift that brought it about. A former customs attorney, Anna takes us from her childhood in Michigan to a stint in Beijing where she discovered Uyghur cuisine and how a move to the UK precipitated an interest in cooking and food writing. She shares how she got interested in this particular topic and geographic location, what the research process was like and what went into crafting her writing voice. She explains the thought behind the pitch and proposal, the process of recipe curation and research and why she decided to package the book the way it is before touching on the marketing and promotion strategy and what she is working on next.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Anna Ansari

• Website
• Instagram
• Substack

Bibliography for Silk Roads (scroll to the bottom)

MiGrateful organization

Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing, by Anna Ansari

Home Food, Olia Hercules

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing by Anna Ansari
• Home Food by Olia Hercules

Kristin and Kate get the inside scoop on all things marketing and publicity as they speak to the 'dream team' who worked on Kristin's recent book Turtle Island. Brianne Sperber and Felix Cruz — associate director of marketing for Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press and publicist for the same— discuss their specific roles and approaches to cookbook promotion. They touch on the differences between marketing and publicity, the role events have in promoting a book and share a peek behind the curtain at the decisions, meetings, timeline and teams that go into a project. They share invaluable insights into their thought process, what authors can contribute to a campaign and how they hope to work with them throughout the long game and moment to moment demands of a media blitz. They speak about tailoring messaging to an audience, the cheerleading role they often play and how they approach a collaborative relationship with all the moving parts involved in a book's life span.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Sean Sherman on Daily Show

Episode 36: Celebrating Colombia with Mariana Velásquez

Link in Bio substack

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Turtle Island, by Sean Sherman. Kate Nelson & Kristin Donnelly
• The SalviSoul Cookbook by Karla Tatiana Vasquez
• Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
• Bread of Angels by Patti Smith
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• Revel by Mariana Velásquez

Andrea and Kate speak with Helen Goh about her thirty years of working in the food and hospitality industry and why she chose now to write her first solo book. She speaks about her time working with the Ottolenghi brand, her hesitation at embarking on a solo venture and the pros and cons of working alone or partnered. She's had many evolutions in the personal and professional spheres and talks about finding freedom in her work and her thoughts behind this book; its title, organization and how her psychology background informed its creation. She ends by sharing what baking means to her— its role in rituals and traditions— and ends with her experience juggling both of her careers, the cerebral and the tangible.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Helen Goh

• Guardian Column
• Instagram
  

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Baking and the Meaning of Life with Helen Goh
• Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh