The Curious Cat Bookshop Podcast - Détails, épisodes et analyse

To celebrate our 2nd anniversary in September, we hosted bestselling fantasy author Sarah Beth Durst in a local brewery, Little Red Barn Brewers, where we talked about her beautiful cozy fantasy books, The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse. Here is that wonderful conversation!

Buy Sarah's books--including signed books from the event while supplies last!

Find Sarah online

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As Banned Books Week ends, the work continues

Saison 1 · Épisode 19

lundi 13 octobre 2025 • Durée 36:02

The ABA Right to Read Handbook: Fighting Book Bans and Why It Matters

As we wrap up Banned Books Week, we want to encourage you to take the time to really dig into what it means for us to have the freedom to read year-round, and what that means to us in our democracy. The ABA’s Right to Read Handbook (linked below) is a wonderful easy-to-pick-up start to that thought process, and we highly recommend reading it and banned books with your book club, reading groups, and community organizations.

Further reading:

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

Revolution in Our Time by Kekla Magoon: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People

PEN America: “The Normalization of Book Banning: Banned in the USA, 2024-2025”

Unite Against Book Bans Book Resumes

American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement (Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004)

The Register Citizen: “Goshen Library puts 'Gender Queer' back on the shelves amid parent complaints”

Let boredom in: How Michael Buckley writes bestselling books for kids

Saison 1 · Épisode 18

mardi 7 octobre 2025 • Durée 34:44

Buy Michael’s books from us!

It’s been 20 years since the first book in the bestselling The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley debuted, and he’s had quite the career since then! This week, the animated TV series based on the books debuted on Apple TV, and last month, Michael’s latest book, The Weirdies, was published in print. With all that success, you’d think that he’d be on top of the world, but our conversation was much more nuanced than that, and we think you’re going to love to listen.

Follow Michael on Instagram

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Bluesky

How working with an editor changed A.M. Dassu's approach to her writing

Saison 1 · Épisode 17

dimanche 21 septembre 2025 • Durée 45:50

How do you discuss tough subjects like becoming a refugee and starting over again in a new country, bullying, or the possibility of your friend getting deported with your children? How do you help children find their voice and to understand the influence they can be for good? Author A.M. Dassu expertly weaves these subjects into her books for middle grade readers (ages 8-12) by deeply understanding children’s emotions as they deal with big changes in their lives.

Stacy, who edited three of Az’s books, sits down with Az to talk about those books and how Az approaches her writing, how working with Stacy changed the questions she asks of herself as she writes, and how so many kids find themselves in her books, despite their very different circumstances from the characters.

Buy Az’s books: https://curiouscatbookshop.com/books-am-dassu

(If you’re not in the US, try bookshop.org and support an indie bookstore like us: https://bookshop.org/shop/curiouscatbookshop.)

A. M. DASSU is the internationally acclaimed author of Boy, Everywhere, Fight Back and Kicked Out, which have collectively been listed for over fifty five awards, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, The Week Junior Book Award, the Carnegie Medal, the Indie Book Awards, the Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction, the American Library Association Notable Book List and Jane Addams Peace Book Award.

She is a director at Inclusive Minds, which is an organisation for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature; a patron of The Other Side of Hope, a literary magazine edited by immigrants and refugees,
which celebrates the refugee and immigrant communities worldwide, and one of The National Literacy Trust’s Connecting Stories campaign authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people.

A. M. Dassu grew up in the Midlands dreaming of becoming a writer but studied economics instead and worked in marketing and project management before realising her dream. She writes books that challenge stereotypes, humanise the ‘other’ and are full ofempathy, hope and heart. Her book, Boot It! was a bestselling World Book Day novella, published in March 2023. You can also find her on X: @a_reflective or Instagram: @a.m.dassu.

How to know what customers want: Book buying decisionmaking

Saison 1 · Épisode 16

jeudi 11 septembre 2025 • Durée 23:59

How does a bookstore make decisions about which books to bring in? That’s a question that a lot of people were wondering after we talked about where bookstores get their books (NOT from Amazon!). Stacy Whitman dives into a few of the key ways we decide what books we bring in--and you'll get a little glimpse of the bookstore along the way!

Join us in Winsted, CT for a live podcast taping with Sarah Beth Durst! https://curiouscatbookshop.com/event/2025-09-27/sarah-beth-durst-live-podcast-taping-little-red-barn-brewers

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Bluesky
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube (live events stream here)
Threads

And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

From stuntman to bestselling fantasy author: Why Wesley Chu sold his soul to writing

Saison 1 · Épisode 15

mardi 2 septembre 2025 • Durée 51:05

What a fantastic conversation we recently had with bestselling fantasy author Wesley Chu! Wesley Chu didn't always consider himself a writer, and in this conversation we delve into why that was, and how he finally found the path that led to the books we love. Along the way, we get into some fascinating discussion of the current state of fantasy and science fiction, so be sure to stick around for that!

Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Art of Prophecy, Time Salvager, The Rise of Io, and The Walking Dead: Typhoon. He won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and his debut, The Lives of Tao, won the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Alex Award. An accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild, Chu he has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. Wesley Chu lives in Los Angeles with his two boys, Hunter and River.

Buy Wesley's books here

About The Art of Prophecy, book 1 in the War Arts trilogy:

An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic—the story of a spoiled hero, an exacting grandmaster, and an immortal god-king from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao.

It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.

The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle.

But the prophecy was wrong.

Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny.

But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue—and an unexpectedly soft heart—Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend.

No, bookstores don't get their books from Amazon

Saison 1 · Épisode 14

dimanche 17 août 2025 • Durée 25:34

Where do bookstores get their inventory? That’s a big question for anyone thinking of starting a bookstore—the first question Stacy sees from anyone even dreaming about starting one. It’s also a question that many readers don’t know the answer to—sometimes we get customers who walk in, see our prices on the books, and assume that we’ve bought our books from Amazon and then jacked up the prices.

But that’s not how any of this works! In this episode, we dive into where used and new bookstores get their books, how wholesale pricing works, and more.

Links:

For more information on the American Booksellers Association: https://www.bookweb.org

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

What does the book publication process look like?

Saison 1 · Épisode 13

mardi 12 août 2025 • Durée 32:56

Buy books edited by Stacy

How is a book made? What is the full LIFE of a book? Many writers don’t know what the editorial process looks like in a publishing house—or what happens in the design, marketing, and sales departments while the editorial process is happening. Join Stacy in our new podcast series discussing the life cycle of a book, in which we’ll discuss how a book gets acquired, what the editorial process looks like and why, and a whole bunch of other publishing insider information.

Links:

Writer Beware

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

Bluesky

How does a bookstore owner pay herself?

Saison 1 · Épisode 12

dimanche 3 août 2025 • Durée 24:44

How do you make a living when starting a business like a bookstore? Curious Cat Bookshop owner Stacy Whitman discusses the current state of our business, how she makes a living, how she started her first business (Tu Books, which became an imprint of Lee & Low Books), and the goals and considerations she makes as she makes business decisions for the bookstore.

If you'd like to know how many books a month we need to sell to break even, let alone make enough to come to the point of paying Stacy, stick around.

Now, obviously this is just Stacy speaking for herself, one person specifically in the United States, living in a specific state and a specific community, but we hope it might be useful to anyone asking similar questions.

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

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Six things I'd do differently

Saison 1 · Épisode 11

vendredi 18 juillet 2025 • Durée 24:11

What would Stacy Whitman, owner of The Curious Cat Bookshop, do differently today if she were starting her bookstore from scratch? She's got a few ideas, mostly about preparation and community. Are you thinking of starting a bookstore or would like some advice on writing, publishing, or the book business? Let us know in the comments. Also, at least 5 cats make appearances in this video, with varying levels of interruption.

Stacy is the founder, former publisher, and now editor-at-large of Tu Books, the imprint of Lee & Low Books that publishes diverse middle grade and young adult novels and graphic novels. She is also the owner of The Curious Cat Bookshop in Winsted, CT, including the Curious Cat Bookshop Podcast. She holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons University. In 2013, Stacy founded the New Visions Award, which honors a new unpublished writer of color. Authors and illustrators she has worked with include Guadalupe García McCall, Yamile Saied Méndez, David Bowles, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Tony Medina, Kimm Topping, Anshika Khullar, Raúl the Third, A.M. Dassu, Olivia Abtahi, Axie Oh, G. Neri, Aamna Qureshi, Supriya Kelkar, and more.

Prior to launching Tu Books, she was an editor for Mirrorstone, the children’s and young adult fantasy/science fiction imprint of Wizards of the Coast. She has edited elementary school textbooks at Houghton Mifflin, interned at the Horn Book Magazine and Guide, and was a children’s bookseller at Barnes & Noble (not to mention editing phone books and transcribing overland trails journals in college, typesetting college textbooks and the publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in LaTeX at various points in time, freelance editing and copyediting; and writing, editing, and photography for Electrical Apparatus, the trade magazine for the industrial electrical motors aftermarket—as well as a small local paper in Stark County, Illinois). In her eclectic career, she has worked with a wide variety of writers, artists, and publishing professionals who taught her the gamut of the publishing industry, and she applies that every day no matter what part of the book industry she’s focusing on that day.