On Margins

W. David Marx and I talk about his book Ametora, Japanese culture, and books in translation. Full transcript is available online: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/s02e03/ Noted: Ametora: How Japan Saved American FashionAMETORA(アメトラ) 日本がアメリカンスタイルを救った物語Néojaponisme@wdavidmarx on Twitter A Bathing Ape Takes a Final BathBrift H shoe shine masterDavid’s recent writing about obscurity in the Internet Age Scarcity Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - early nytimes piece on BAPE, David quoted American Truck Simulator

Sam Anderson is back, 10 months later, discussing his 2020 pandemic writing life. We cover his Weird Al essay, his NBA bubble excursion, how closely observing something makes for a wonderful writing exercise, and! we reveal our extremely obvious One Wild Trick to getting everything done in life. Show notes: Sam Anderson on TwitterBoom TownDescript “The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic”“What I Learned Inside the N.B.A. Bubble” The Last Two Northern White Rhinos On Earth “Watch This Snowball Fight From 1897 for a Jolt of Pure Joy” “I Recommend Eating Chips”Ursula K. Le GuinA Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin illustrated by t-shirt Audrey Lorde, “Anger is loaded with information and energy." As always, a full transcript is available at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/s02e02/

Sam Anderson is a New York Times Magazine staff writer and the author of Boom Town, a book about the "great minor city of America" — Oklahoma City. This is part one of a two part interview. We recorded this conversation in March, 2020, just as the first lockdown of the pandemic had gone into effect. Sam Anderson on TwitterBoom TownNew SentencesAnnie DillardThe Writing LifeThe AbundanceJohn McPhee “The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami” Full transcript online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/s02e01/

An extended interview with Jon Gray, aka Gray318, the award winning, London based, book designer. Gray318 has designed covers for William Gibson, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, David Foster Wallace, Robin Sloan, and perhaps most famously, for Jonathan Safran Foer. Show links: Gray318Gray318 Instagram Corrie Baldauf's Gravity's Rainbow ProjectGravity's RainbowSally Mann documentaryJonathan Safran Foer Tree of CodesThe Yellow WorldZadie Smith Karl LagerfeldRodrigo CorralMCD BooksInfinite Jest A DeathAmerica is Not the HeartHouse of LeavesOnly RevolutionsArt Space Tokyo Full transcript online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/010

An interview with novelist, essayist, and cultural critic, Lynne Tillman. Craig Mod sits down with Lynne Tillman at her apartment in Manhattan and they go through the covers of her novels, essay collections, and non-fiction books. Show Links: Lynne on TwitterLynne's BooksLynne's WikipediaBabara KrugerNan GoldinPeter DrererSadie BenningBarbara EssCharles OrrSoft Skull PressRichard NashWhat Would Lynne Tillman Do, the website 3am Magazine interview with Lynne“On Lynne Tillman” by Colm Toibin for The New YorkerAn Interview With Lynne Tillman, Believer Mag

In this episode we're talking with designer and letterer, Jessica Hische, author of the New York Times best-selling children's book: Tomorrow I'll Be Brave. You've almost certainly seen Jessica's work. She refreshed logos for MailChimp, Southern Living, Eventbrite. She did a logo for the incredible "California Sunday Magazine." She did titles for Wes Anderson's "Moonlight Kingdom." She designed covers for books like Dave Eggers' "The Circle" and "Hologram for the King," and for Elizabeth Gilbert's, "Committed" among many, many more books. We discuss her unique production and marketing strategy for the book, how she chose her publisher, and how to respect the heck out of contacts you've built up over the years.

An interview with Lisa Brennan-Jobs, author of the best selling memoir, Small Fry. Lisa and Craig Mod discuss the design, production, and writing of this fascinating book about family, identity, and growing up in Palo Alto as the daughter of Steve Jobs. Lisa on TwitterSmall FryHera BigAlison Forner The Subtle Genius of Elena Ferrante’s Bad Book Covers Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/007/

Craig Mod has been walking the historical mountains and paths of Japan for the last five years. In April of 2018 he went on a solo Kumano Kodo walk and made this recording discussing the economics and production of his 2016 book, Koya Bound: Eight days on the Kumano Kodo. The book was made in collaboration with Dan Rubin and was sponsored by Leica Cameras. Koya Boundwalkkumano.com — data and maps of the walkcraigmod.comThe Kumano Kodo pilgrimage walk's main website Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/006/

Kottke.org is a website. It is not an app. It is not a product. It is simply a static website, updated daily, running some rickety old blogging software. As of March of 2018 it's been consistently updated for twenty years. It is largely the product of a single mind: Jason Kottke. Kottke.org has shaped the way many of us have thought about news, blogging, and linking. On Margins talks with Jason about his two decades of blogging, influences in his life that shaped how he works today, and what kottke.org would look like were it a book. Show Links: kottke.orgkottke.org — 10 years old kottke.org — 20 years of gratitude and acknowledgementskottke.org — twenty Nieman Labs: How Jason Kottke is thinking about kottke.org at 20Noticing — the kottke.org newsletter written by Tim Carmondykottke.org memberships Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/005/

An extended interview with Goodnight Stories for Rebel girls co-creator, Elena Favilli. Co-founder of Timbuktu Labs, Elena Favilli, delves into how the company went from an award winning but ultimately unprofitable children's magazine app company, to an international bestselling publisher of physical books around the world. We dig into why the iPad is perhaps not the best platform for publishers. How everything seemed so rosy back in 2011 for digital publishing. And how, ultimately, to build a strong and engaged community, they had to print a physical book. Show links: Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls homepage Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls podcast Original Rebel Girls Kickstarter (2016) Rebel Girls Indiegogo page Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 2 Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/004/

Technologist, futurist, author, and photographer Kevin Kelly discusses traveling during the golden age of global exploration. We cover how photography has changed over the years, his decades investigating Asia in the 1970s and 80s, and how he self-produced (eventually getting it published by Taschen!) his Asia Grace book in the 90s. Show Links: Kevin's extensive online home, kk.orgAsia Grace detailed production notesAsia Grace homepage1,000 true fansNikkormat CamerasKodachrome FilmZone SystemPrimitive Technology youtube channelCool Tools Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/003/

Designer and author Frank Chimero discusses the process behind his book, "The Shape of Design." We also dig into the normalization of paying creative people to make things via crowdfunding or patronage platforms, and why there's never been a better time to make books. Show Links: frankchimero.comShape of Design online Shape of Design KickstarterKevin Kelly's 1,000 true fans Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, Kickstarter Robin Sloan Writes a Book, Kickstarter The Field Study Handbook KickstarterArt Space TokyoKickstartup: Successful fundraising with Kickstarter and remaking Art Space Tokyo Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/002/

Episode 001 of On Margins — a podcast discussing the margins of making books — with Craig Mod and Jan Chipchase. Researcher, ethnographer, and author Jan Chipchase has a new book — "The Field Study Handbook." We discuss how he came to produce this 500+ page magnum opus — a distillation of his life's work — and why he is self publishing.