Everything Cookbooks

Molly and Kristin speak with Sarah Kwak, a senior editor at Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins, to find out what the editing process is like. Sarah shares how she ended up at her current role, the focus Harvest has for cookbooks and what authors should keep mind regarding their proposal assembly before submission. She discusses her thoughts on comp titles, overcoming past book sales, multifaceted ways to grow a platform and what compels her to spend over two years working on a specific project. Finally, she talks about trends in the food world, the changes in the economy of publishing and her advice along with the books she is excited to release this year. [Originally aired 5/8/2024]

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Sarah Kwak

Harvest an imprint of Harper Collins

Episode 09: Cookbook Editing Tips from Jennifer Sit

Episode 48: Abi Balingit on Learning as You Go

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

Mayumu by Abi Balingit

The Book on Pie by Erin McDowell

Jacques Pépin Art of the Chicken by Jacques Pépin

Hot Sheet by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine

In our last episode of 2023, Kate, Kristin and Molly discuss food trends and how they apply to the cookbook world. Whether it's butter boards, nacho tables, "girl dinner" or baked potato bars these stunt foods can loom large yet die quickly in the public consciousness. They discuss ideas on identifying trends, how to capitalize on them and the importance of keeping a variety of demographics in mind when working on "trendy" topics. Finally, we list some things we're looking forward to in 2024. [Originally aired 12/27/2023]

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Kristin Donnelly's Cookbook Proposal Class

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

Beautiful Boards by Maegan Brown

Everyday Snack Board by Largeman-Roth Rdn Frances

Koreatown by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard

The whole team, Kate, Kristin, Molly and Andrea, recap a few of their favorite episodes from this past season and answer listener questions. They chat about their mixed feelings for copy editors, the discussions they had about a recent Instagram story about recipe writing rigor and call out what they learned from a few recent interviews. The hosts then open up the mail bag and give their answers on recipe adaption and attribution, the idea of 'picking brains', including previously published dishes in a book and share how they add some flourish to their own book signings. Before signing off they shout-out an upcoming virtual event and share a note about what listeners can expect during our summer hiatus. See you in September for Season 10!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

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

174: On Being a Copyeditor with Melissa Haskin

170: Becoming a Food Photographer While Writing a Debut Cookbook with Saeng Douangdara

121: The Burnout Episode

172: Blurbs: Do They Actually Matter?

177: Collective Book Studio with Angela Engel and Amy Treadwell

Ali Slagle Post

Sally Ekus

IACP Talk with Kate Leahy and Abby Cerquitella on August 19, 2026

 

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

The Lost Kitchen by Erin French

Ammazza! by Hillary Sterling

The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo

100 Cookies by Sarah Keiffer

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