How a multi-published, celebrated author, instructor, and literary agent finds her focus.

Follow what genuinely surprises you.

This is one big takeaway for writing (and maybe for life) in this episode of Publishing Disrupted with Audrey Clare Farley.

We also discussed what makes nonfiction stand out today: a strong hook paired with real substance, the rise of “memoir plus,” how the publishing world seems to reward exposes and could do a better job bringing in nuance and deeper discussion.

A thoughtful conversation about curiosity, craft, and writing the book only you can write.

Beyond her role as a Hyponymous Literary agent, Audrey is a celebrated author, editor, and literary scholar with a PhD in English literature. Her two nonfiction books, The Unfit Heiress, and Girls and Their Monsters, are both standout stories of suffering, injustice, and betrayal, the latter of which became a New York Times Editors’ Pick. As an instructor for Mount St. Mary’s University and Narratively Academy, her niche is narrative nonfiction, especially memoir, biography, history, and cultural criticism.

https://audreyclarefarley.substack.com/

https://www.hyponymous.com/team-1

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/audrey-clare-farley/the-unfit-heiress/9781538753361/

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/audrey-clare-farley/girls-and-their-monsters/9781538724484/

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

Following some professional and personal updates, we embrace the energy of the coming summer by digging into a recent Publisher's Weekly Religion article highlighting how "anxious readers" are apparently buying up Bibles. It felt like a suspiciously familiar trope, so we tried to unpack that assumption a bit.

No mention of the widely publicized decreases in church attendance, or religious disaffiliation as a whole, but we an earlier article claimed some publishers, very different ones, are "saying Amen to resistance" with books from the progressive left (and the conservative right too, of course) responding to our overheated political climate.

But even that framing feels shoehorned. We wonder where are the truly fresh takes? Where's the deeper dives beyond the stereotypes? (Again, is "mainstream audience" even a useful term anymore?) If you're tired of the tired tropes and assumptions, we hope you'll tag along for some rousing discussion.

Specific articles mentioned can be found at publishersweekly.com, News > Religion section: "Religion Publishers Say Amen to Resistance," and "Anxious Readers Turn to God."

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

In this episode, David and I talked about the difference between writing books that seem important or interesting, and writing the stories that you didn't choose, but must be told. That's a massive difference, and it's not often talked about enough. So we talked about it.

I shared two quotes: one from Jeff Foster about being less prepared and more vulnerable, and another from Brené Brown on owning your story. Both fit nicely into what we're really trying to do in these conversations: to take time for a more honest response to the big disruptions in our lives, and to consider what we want to do about them. Relating, sharing, writing, and living, all ultimately working toward better integration.

Jeff Foster's book is You Were Never Broken.

Brené Brown's is The Gifts of Imperfection.

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.