In most episodes, I interview an author of nonfiction history about their research and writing process, but in today's episode we get to do something a little different. We're taking a closer look at how authors and presses get the word out about new books. And we're going to do that with an insider's perspective. I'm very excited to be joined in this episode by Sonya Bonczek, the director of publicity and communications for University of North Carolina Press.

I have exchanged many emails with Sonya over the past few years whenever I've had podcast guests who publish with UNC Press, and I've been impressed at the great publicity work that Sonya and her team are doing. So when I thought about who might be able to bring us a publicist's perspective, she was first on my list. I was eager to hear from Sonya about how book publicity has changed throughout her career, what works and what doesn't, what she wishes more authors know, and how she's feeling about the state of the book industry today, especially when it comes to nonfiction history.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support Drafting the Past on Patreon
Amanda Ice, Harvard University Press publicist, on Your Words Unleashed
UNC Press on Instagram
UNC Press on TikTok
New York Magazine's 2008 article on whether book publishing would end
The New York Times, "'Luddite' Teens Don't Want Your Likes", December 2022

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Episode 88: Sonya Bonczek Gives Us the Scoop on Book Publicity