Everything Cookbooks

Molly and Kate speak with Sarah Becan about her illustrator origin story. She explains her early love for sequential storytelling, the book that inspired her to create her own work and what drew her to food as a topic. She shares her love for the medium, how she got into the cookbook sphere by first partnering with a local restaurant and why she eventually decided to work solo. An avid lover and participant in the comic community, Sarah takes us step by step through her creative process; selecting the right recipes to illustrate and all of the considerations involved, the decision to drawing digitally or by hand along with all of the specs, editing, timeline, tools and workflow that happen behind the scenes. She discusses the pros and cons of writing solo or with a partner, why she developed her own typeface and leaves us with some advice for aspiring illustrators and comic artists.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Sara Becan

Website

I Think You're Saucesome

Instagram

Toronto Comic Art Festival

Studio Ghibli Food

A Brief History of Graphic Cookbooks, by Charlotte Druckman in the Washington Post

 

Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon and Adrienne Lo

Let's Make Ramen! by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan

Let's Make Dumplings! by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan

Let's Make Bread! by Ken Forkish and Sarah Becan

Let's Make Cocktails! by Sarah Becan

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

Dirt Candy by Amanda Cohen

Cook Korean! by Robin Ha

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Molly and Kate go behind the scenes of a partnership publishing house as they speak about the Cookbook Collective with its founder, Angela Engel, and its editorial director, Amy Treadwell. Angela shares a bit of her background and her impetus for creating a more collaborative publishing model before walking us through some industry terms as she banishes stigma and describes the differences in her approach. Amy tells us how she got involved with the collective, what she tackles on the editorial side and how this changes her working relationship with authors. They both speak about the partnership and custom avenues, how they differ from traditional publishing and give us a broad overview of the process of expenses, distribution, submissions, acquisitions, design and drive before leaving us with a thought on the special, unique story that a physical cookbook can communicate.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

The Collective Book Studio

 

Episode 02: Do You Need a Cookbook Agent?

Episode 148: Heartland Masala with Jyoti Mukharji & Auyon Mukharji

Episode 56: Hybrid Publishing with Vasudha Viswanath

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Heartland Masala, by Joyti and Auyon Muhkarji

Vegetarian Reset, by Vasudha Viswanath

52 Shabbats, by Faith Kramer

20 Amici, 40 Ricette, by John Bersani

Modern Hippie, by Lauren Thomas

Nosh, by Micah Siva

Aebleskiver, by Pim Pauline Overgaard

Kate and Molly speak with author Alana Kysar and her editor Kelly Snowden about their professional relationship after working on two cookbooks together. Alana shares why she initially didn't think she had a second book in her and what she hopes this new vegetable focused book adds to the Hawaiian food conversation. Kelly talks about first connecting with Alana's proposal, the elements she brought to the project and the timeline of the process. Both of them discuss the lessons learned from book one and how they helped in the sequel's creation, how they worked together and some best practices for a strong, continuing working relationship. Alana talks about the recipe selection and testing, the design and structural decisions and the approachability of her photography while Kelly explains her thoughts on option clauses, comp titles and what she sees as her mission while working on a book.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Alana Kysar

Website

Instagram

 

Ten Speed Press

4 Color Books

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Aloha Veggies, by Alana Kysar

Aloha Kitchen, by Alana Kysar

Kimi's Kitchen, by Kimi Werner

Whole Food Cooking Every Day, by Amy Chaplin

Kristin and Molly speak with writer Ella Quittner about her new book, Obsessed with the Best, and the work and intent behind it. They get right into the nitty gritty details of the book; its origins, proposal, the research and testing involved and its unorthodox release date and promotional experience. Ella talks about blending personal stories and journalistic research, the vast testing process and how it was organized and a peek at her cookbook collection and its own organization. She takes listeners through the photography and design choices, the editing and formatting decisions and finally leaves us with how the experience of commodifying herself has led her to a more thoughtful, intentional approach to future projects.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Ella Quittner

Website

Instagram

 

Taste podcast interview with Ella Quittner

Cherry Bombe Radio interview with Ella Quittner

Milk Street Radio interview with Ella Quittner

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Obsessed with the Best, by Ella Quittner

More than Cake by Natasha Pickowicz

Molly and Kristin invite our very first copy editor to the show, Melissa Haskin. Melissa talks about getting started in the editing profession, her love of food writing and how her experience working with magazines like Cooking Light informs her work now. The hosts share some of their personal experiences and thoughts about copy editing and Melissa shares her own process and approach— the tiny details she looks for, the red flags she knows to avoid and the programs she uses to work. She discusses what it takes to be a good editor, what she's learned running her own freelance business and the projects she does, and does not, take on. Finally she tells us her favorite parts of the job and what led her to create an entire course on recipe editing.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Melissa Haskin

Website

Recipe Editing 101, 6-week course

 

Reedsy

PerfectIt

Susan McWilliams

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Single Thread, by Kyle and Katina Connaughton

 

Go to our Substack to find two downloads from Melissa: 1) A recipe editing reading list and 2) A self-editing checklist for cookbook authors.

POSTSCRIPT: During our interview, Melissa mispoke and cited a Susan Williams as her mentor at Cooking Light. It was Susan McWilliams. Melissa also misheard Kristin’s question about professional editor groups. She is part of many such groups, but none that specialize in cookbooks. In characteristic copyeditor fashion, Melissa sent us these corrections immediately upon hearing the episode.