The founders, Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur, don’t describe 831 Stories as a publisher. Rather, it’s “an entertainment company with books at the foundation.” The company plans to publish six books in its first year and 12 in the second year. The founders have been influencers ever since they launched the ecommerce site Of a Kind; they also have a podcast, A Thing or Two. Learn more at Vanity Fair (how appropriate for a not-publisher). The company will be distributed by Simon & Schuster and use Authors Equity for production (first time we’ve heard of Authors Equity being used in this manner, something to keep an eye on).
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
