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Podcast Episode

Laura McGrath & Alia Hanna Habib on Debut Book Data and the Role of the Book Agent

Read the Acknowledgments·The Black List·19 July 2026·1h 12m

About this episode

Author and Temple University Assistant Professor of English Laura McGrath and Alia Hanna Habib, Vice President and Literary Agent at The Gernert Company join Randy to discuss what debut book sales say about the ever-changing landscape of book publishing, the agent-writer-editor relationship, and query letters. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple, Spotify,  and Substack. Highlights include building an audience beyond social media, the volume of queries agents receive, books to buy right now, and much more.