Alison Barrow on Publishing, Book Reviewing & The Bookseller Awards

This week on Quick Book Reviews, Philippa is joined by publishing powerhouse Alison Barrow for a fascinating behind-the-scenes conversation about the world of books, publishing, publicity, BookTok, book reviewing, and what really happens inside a major publishing house.Alison shares the emotional impact of the recent Bookseller Awards, including the extraordinary success of Nobody’s Girl and the moving tributes to legendary romantic fiction authors including Jilly Cooper, Sophie Kinsella and Joanna Trollope.They also discuss:the launch of Transworld’s new horror imprint 3AMthe rise of horror and romantasy publishing trendsAlison’s own experience writing and editing her debut novelhow exhausting structural edits really arethe realities of social media for book reviewerswhether TikTok or Instagram matters more for publishingwhy authenticity matters more than follower countsPlus Alison recommends some brilliant reads, including:London FallingFame SickThe Agatha CureIf you’ve ever wondered how publishing really works, how books become bestsellers, or how to start reviewing books online, this episode is packed with insight, warmth and honesty.Follow Quick Book Reviews for book recommendations, author interviews, and weekly podcast episodes.📧 Email: [email protected]📸 Instagram & Threads:@quick_book_reviews🎵 TikTok: @quickbookreviews🐦 X: @quickbookrevie3🦋 Bluesky: quickbookreviews Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.