The BookSmarts Podcast, with Joshua Tallent

For university presses of all sizes, technology adoption is a constant necessity—yet the process can feel daunting, confusing, and even disruptive. Jana Faust (University of Nebraska Press) and Rachel Lee (UCANR) join the podcast to share their insights on technology adoption and change management.  Rachel Lee is Director of Publishing at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources...

Andrea Fleck-Nisbet is Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), where she leads the largest nonprofit trade association serving independent publishers. With more than 20 years of experience in publishing, she has held leadership roles at Harper Horizon, Workman Publishing, and Ingram Content Group. On this week’s episode of the BookSmarts Podcast, Andrea discu...

Joe Biel is an independent publisher who draws origins, inspiration, and methods from punk rock to sell millions of books. He is the founder and CEO of Microcosm Publishing, a  Publishers Weekly 's   fastest-growing publisher from 2022-2024.  Biel has been featured in  Time, Esquire, Forbes, Bulletproof Radio, Spectator  (Japan),  G33K  (Korea),   as well as  NPR  and PBS.   He is the author o...

Jeff Crosby is the president and CEO of ECPA, the trade association of Christian publishers and has worked in bookselling and publishing roles for more than four decades. He is also an author of several books, including World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading (Paraclete Press, 2025), The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts (Broadleaf, 2023) and Days of Grace Through...

Prashant Pathak is the Co-Founder and Director of Publishers Without Borders , a global and non-commercial community supporting publishing professionals through collaboration and knowledge-sharing. With 20 years of experience across publishing, licensing, printing, EdTech, and gaming, Prashant brings a cross-sector perspective to building content, partnerships, and global markets. Prashant joined...

Ken Jones is an experienced book publishing software expert. Before founding Circular Software, he served as the Technical Production Manager, software trainer, and automation developer at Penguin. Circular Software is a UK company that specializes in software, training, and strategic guidance for publishers—including Quarto Group, Bonnier Books, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Pan Macmillan—h...

Marit Vagstad has worked in the book publishing industry for more than 20 years in marketing, sales, and product management roles. She currently is the Director of CoreSource, Ingram Content Group’s digital distribution solution and manages teams responsible for Key Account Management and Product Success. She joined us on the Booksmarts Podcast to discuss the pivotal role CoreSource plays in data...

Brooke Dobson is Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Shimmr AI, a fully automated platform for publishers that creates automated advertising for discovery and sales of books. With expertise in economic forecasting, marketing analytics, and AI technologies, Brooke brings a unique view into AI applications in publishing. She joined us on the Booksmarts Podcast to discuss how advancements in AI a...

Gavin Marcus is the CEO and co-founder of Storywise. He spent 10 years running an indie book publishing and distribution business before launching Storywise. Jeremy Esekow is Storywise's Chief Product Officer and co-founder. He has a Doctorate in Behavioral Psychology and an extensive background in business and finance. They joined us on the Booksmarts Podcast to discuss the creation and impor...

Phil Madans is a seasoned publishing executive with over 42 years of experience in trade publishing, including more than a decade as Executive Director of Digital Publishing Technology at Hachette Book Group. Throughout his career, Phil has championed the use of technology to enhance—not complicate—the publishing process, bringing deep expertise in publishing systems, metadata, workflow optimizati...

Ann Kjellberg is the Founding Editor of the Book Post book review , an innovative newsletter-based book review service which delivers thoughtful, in-depth literary criticism from distinguished writers directly to subscribers' inboxes. With nearly 30 years of experience at the New York Review of Books, Kjellberg brings a wealth of expertise to the evolving world of literary journalism. She join...

Len Edgerly is the host of the Kindle Chronicles podcast, a long-running show dedicated to exploring digital reading technologies and publishing innovations. He joins the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of e-reader technology, sharing insights from his 15 years of covering Kindle and digital reading developments. Len offers a unique perspective on the future of reading, includ...

Kristina Radke is the Senior Vice President of Business Growth and Engagement at NetGalley. She joins the BookSmarts Podcast to launch of Booktrovert, a new consumer marketing platform for publishers and authors. Booktrovert allows for easy creation of marketing campaigns with digital giveaways and interactive tools for readers, designed to complement the existing NetGalley platform. If you're...

Daniel Berkowitz is the Ad Sales Director for Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. He is also the founder of AuthorPop, a one-stop shop for every author's digital needs. He joins the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss the importance of book advertising for both publishers and authors. He has worked with authors at all stages of their...

Bryan Heathman is the CEO of Made for Success Publishing , a book publishing company that specializes in selling audiobooks. . He joins the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss how AI technology is transforming the audiobook industry, specifically regarding AI narration for audiobooks. We discuss the future of audiobooks and the benefits of using AI narration vs. traditional narrators, as well as common...

Margaux Weisman is the former Director of Business Development at DropCap Inc., a tech-enabled rights agency and a global rights marketplace used by rights agents and acquisitions around the world to find great books. She joins the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss the importance & process of foreign rights for independent authors and small publishers. We discuss why foreign rights are a valuable...

Rebecca Burgoyne is the Executive Director of Business Systems Integrations for the United Methodist Publishing House. She joins the BookSmarts Podcast discuss what Lean Six Sigma is and why book publishers should be incorporating this type of knowledge work, along with the importance of understanding workflows, reducing waste, and more! Rebecca discussed Lean Six Sigma for Knowledge Work at the 2...

David Hetherington is the Vice President of Global Business Development at Books International, a leading provider of US and International book manufacturing, print and digital distribution services for the book publishing industry. With over 40 years of experience in the book publishing industry, David has served as a Board Member for the Book Industry Study Group, Book Manufacturers Institute, a...

Jason Brockwell is the President of National Book Network, one of the largest independent book distributors in the United States. With titles in nearly every bookstore category, NBN has helped a broad variety of publishers with their distribution needs since its founding in 1986. Before becoming an executive at the company, Jason was a national account manager calling on several large customers in...

Michael Johnson is the Vice President of Content at Benetech. In this role, he works directly with publishers, conversion houses, technology platforms, retailers, and educational institutions to help them understand and implement processes that allow for fully accessible content to get from authors all the way through to the end reader. He also has a long-time relationship to publishing standards...

Kristina Radke is the Vice President of Business Growth and Engagement at NetGalley, a service that helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies and audiobooks to book advocates and industry professionals, including reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and other book trade professionals. With over 15 years of experience in book marketing, publicity, and c...

Beat Barblan is the General Manager of Bowker, the official ISBN agency for the United States and Australia. As a senior level publishing technology and international standards executive, Beat joins us on the BookSmarts Podcast to discuss Bowker's evolving role in the publishing industry and their efforts to support authors and publishers, as well as the important of metadata in book discovera...