There is a dark secret about which books get attention—and which stories get told.

We've done deep dives on serial killers, cults, alien encounters, and government conspiracies that go all the way to the top. But the scariest stories are the ones that nobody wants to talk about out loud.

Here's what the corporations don't want you to know:

90% of books published will sell fewer than 2,000 copies over their lifetime.

All of the weirdest books, the most brilliant ones, the most ambitious ones, the ones that will scare you to death and blow your mind open might never be read by more than a handful of people. They might never be published at all.

So we started a publishing imprint with Bindery. It's called Last Press on the Left. And we’ve found our first book.

Traditional publishing has no audience. They have gatekeepers. They have a strong bias toward whatever kind of book sold well for them last year, which means they spotlight the same kinds of stories, and the same kinds of voices, over and over again. Covers, titles, and pitches all start to blur together. You’ve probably noticed it: books with titles like The Midwife's Secret, The Missing Girl in the Plane Window, Letters from Grandpa. Copy, paste, repeat. Debut authors get a contract and a prayer. Marginalized voices often get passed over for safer bets. And the books that need a champion the most might never find their readers.

You know we love books. We read everything. And we believe reading is one of the most powerful weapons we have against evil, against fascism, against the slow death of critical thinking. Because knowledge is power, and reading fiction builds empathy. And a society that doesn't read is easier to control.

We've spent years building something that most publishers could never dream of, and it’s our secret weapon: YOU.

Our community. The people who deep dive with us. Who listen to our crazy stories and indulge our theories. Who care about research and storytelling and have genuinely great taste. We started asking ourselves: why don't we use these powers for good?

And before you ask: no, this is not us slapping our name on someone else's work and calling it a day. This is us sifting through the submissions pile, reading unpublished manuscripts, finding the writers who deserve to be heard—and making sure they actually get heard, with the full weight of this whole community behind them.

Every book we publish is a lead title. No author gets lost at the bottom of a list. No voice gets passed over because it doesn't fit a mold. And the people who help us do it (that’s you, reading this, right now) get to be part of it from day one.

When we started looking for our first book, we didn't expect to immediately. strike gold.

Saint's Hotel by M.I. Minaeva is The Shining meets House of Leaves meets Silent Hill and we know you're going to be obsessed with it, because we could not stop thinking about it. It's about a depressed, burnt-out architect named Ernest who has been having recurring dreams about a Gothic French town since he was a child. He doesn't know whether it's real or not. His parents deny it ever existed. And then one day, he just stumbles upon it. But once he's there, the town of Sainte Verlise won't let him go.

Like House of Leaves or Marcus Kliewer's We Used to Live Here, it's told in a collage style: traditional narration is mixed in with found footage, newspaper articles, footnotes, internet archives, artifacts, and static. It is atmospheric and creepy and totally undeniable. Days after M.I. signed with us, we received a massive offer for the audio rights. Hollywood is already circling. This is life-changing stuff for a debut author, and it’s one of the coolest projects we’ve been a part of. It’s basically a dream come true for everyone involved.

We didn't go looking for a safe book. We looked for the best one.

This is where you come in.

Reader (that's everyone following us here, for free) will watch this whole journey unfold in real time—cover reveals, editorial decisions, the entire process of taking a remarkable story from raw manuscript to a real book on bookstore shelves that you can hold in your hands.

Last Reader ($5/month) get early digital copies of every book we publish, plus first access to cover reveals, author Q&As, and other behind-the-scenes publishing content.

Cult Reader ($12/month) get everything above, plus early exclusive physical copies of every book we publish. You'll get to vote on publishing and design decisions, and your name will be printed in the acknowledgments of every book. You're not just reading these books. You helped make them exist. We want the world to know it.

All of our membership earnings go to Reading Is Fundamental, fighting the literacy crisis. And every dollar that flows through Bindery goes right back into the imprint, helping to make phenomenal books that will last forever, creating a legacy of great fiction, and changing authors' lives.

We are building a community that fights brain rot, supports authors, and reads good books. And you helped build it. It doesn't exist without you.

The literacy crisis is real. The death of critical thinking is real. And the best weapon we have against both of them is a weird, fantastic, impossible-to-put-down story.

Saint's Hotel comes out Fall 2027.

Read a book. Prevent the apocalypse.

—LPOTL

MINI POD! Prolific Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia is Renee’s favorite, and she’s counting down her top 10. Which is your favorite? Join the discussion on our Discord!

 Listen on Apple Podcasts // Spotify // Deezer // Pocket Casts

Books Mentioned: 

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Support and follow our host! 

Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph

Become a Feminist Book Club member here.

This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.

Original music by Amarissa

HAPPY NATIONAL LATINA* DAY!!!

*While the title of this celebration today is gendered, I'm referencing all my Latina/e/x friends as well--this is a gender neutral celebration in my eyes.

Better than a federal holiday, this is a day to celebrate us BY us FOR us. In a time where our joy and community IS resistance, today I am celebrating louder than ever.

HAPPY NATIONAL LATINA DAY!!!

But this celebration is simultaneously mired in the grief I feel for my community. They are trying to disappear us. Book banners are trying to erase our stories from shelves. Will ANY publishers even celebrate Latinx Heritage Month? I don't know, but I DO know I'll always be here loudly cheering on and supporting my Latine community.

SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY

Before I tell you how you can support your favorite Latina creator, I want to remind you all that our Latinx community is being targeted by masked ICE thugs at a dangerously high rate--stolen off the street, many violently, put in concentration camps without adequate food and water. This includes Children! Mothers! Fathers! Our brothers and sisters.

We need to take good care of our community, especially our immigrant communities, now more than ever. I keep a list of national organizations to support in my Linktree and I would love if you could amplify one of them today or share in the comments an organization you know and trust for others to see.

SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE LATINA CREATOR

Our work also includes supporting our favorite Latinx creators. Some of my favorite Bindery communities you can support:

@Marines Alvarez

@Gabrielle Womack

On Bookstagram, you can support:

Carla

Ashley

Our very own Angie and Nani

Sharon

Adri

I'll be bosting more accounts as I can in my IG stories today, as well.

Let this be your reminder to boost your favorite Latina today--repost their social content, send them a Venmo, buy them a Ko-fi, subscribe to their newsletter, discover a new account to follow...maybe become a paid member of their Bindery ahead of Latinx Heritage Month??

Uplift your favorite Latina/e today and every single day. Happy National Latina Day to you all!

Con mucho, mucho amor,

Carmen

PS--Today's OOTD is very heavily influenced by celebration today

Hey folks!

here is the link for Sundays chat with Shauna Lawless herself. We will also announce the winner of the giveaway!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81233461994?pwd=t7QSbMpVc9W5gQXweMhvkOUhvwBTtS.1

Make sure you have a few questions ready!

WHO WILL BE JOINING?!

Truth and Courage

Ed and Will