Everything Cookbooks

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

Molly and Andrea speak with the iconic culinary historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris about her career and newest work, Braided Heritage. After discussing the 'more' than recipes that make a cookbook a cookbook, Dr. Harris also shares why this book is important at this point and what interested her about this topic and format. She speaks about the backbeat that motivated the entire project, how she went about commissioning stories and recipes from other people and why each genre she writes in requires her to wear a different hat. She talks about the long process of the book's creation, how her experience in academia informed it, the advice she has for future generations and her thoughts on being labeled an 'activist'.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 
Mentions
 
Jessica Harris
Instagram
High on the Hog Netflix Show
 
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Braided Heritage by Jessica Harris
High on the Hog by Jessica Harris
A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook by Jessica Harris
Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons by Jessica Harris
more Jessica Harris titles here

Kate and Molly speak with author and photographer Aran Goyoaga about her new, groundbreaking book The Art of Gluten Free Bread. Aran talks about her experience as a pastry chef, where her gluten free journey began and starting her blog Cannelle et Vanille. She discusses the inspiration behind this new book, the research & development process and how her inexperience with bread was actually an advantage. With the wide variance of gluten free flours on the market, Aran talks about the importance of beginning the book with a guide with the hopes that readers will eventually riff on her recipes and why she insisted on metric measurements. She gets into the photography process, how she arranged the photo schedule around rigorous testing and why it could get lonely at times. Finally she shares some hopes she has for the book, where she wants to see it on the shelf and what she plans for the future.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
 
Mentions
Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club
Aran Goyoaga
Website
Instagram
Cannelle et Vanille
 
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
The Art of Gluten Free Bread by Aran Goyoaga
Cannelle et Vanille by Aran Goyoaga
Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple by Aran Goyoaga

Kristin, Molly, Andrea and Kate look back at the cookbook media landscape of 2025 and discuss the Anthropic settlement, their thoughts about AI in the food media sphere and share their inclinations about its usage. Each of the hosts share some wins they had this year with Kristin speaking about working on the Turtle Island book and Andrea joining in to share her thoughts on finding balance in collaboration projects. With a dash of astrology and numerology each host reveals what keeps them following this creative path and what they've let go of over the years along with the role persistence and perseverance plays in this journey. Finally they end the episode by sharing some of the books, people and ideas they are excited to follow into 2026.
 
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 
Mentions

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club
Anthropic Settlement
AI Duped My Cookbook and Made a Mess, by Adam Erace
Kristin Donnelly on Co-Writing One of the Year's Biggest Books from Cookbookery Collective
 
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
Heart Shaped Tin, by Bee Wilson
Feast on Your Life, by Tamar Adler
On Eating, by Alicia Kennedy
The Last Sweet Bite by Michael Shaikh