In Episode 178, Al Woodworth, Senior Editor and Manager at Amazon Books Editorial, goes behind the scenes of Amazon’s editorial division, including the start-to-finish process of building the “Best Books” lists, what “best” might mean, and what helps a book make the list. Plus, Al shares some of her book recommendations!
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights
- How Al fits reading into her busy weekly schedule
- The start to finish process of building the Amazon “Best of” lists
- How Amazon balances genre diversity in their “Best of” lists
- What “best” means to Amazon’s editorial team
- Publication date criteria for the Best Books of the Month and Year lists
- How the team discusses, votes, and makes decisions for the lists
- Whether sales numbers influence the year-end list
- How Amazon’s editorial team handles publisher influence
- What 2024 looks like so far for Al and the editorial team
Al’s Book Recommendations [38:26]
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Horse by Geraldine Brooks | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:39]
- Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:20]
- Other Books Mentioned
- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe [41:32]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- James by Percival Everett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:05]
- There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [44:18]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:21]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (Nov 19) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:54]
- Other Books Mentioned:
Last 5-Star Book Al Read
- There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Amazon
- Other Books Mentioned:
- John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg (Oct 8) [52:26]
Books From Our Discussion
- All the Worst Humans by Phil Elwood [9:25]
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach [14:54]
- Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie [18:05]
- All the Broken Places by John Boyne [18:11]
- All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker [19:38]
- James by Percival Everett [21:40]
- Educated by Tara Westover [22:07]
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver [24:09]
- Spare by Prince Harry [25:25]
- The Testaments by Margaret Atwood [31:13]
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood [31:25]
- The 9/11 Commission Report by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks [31:34]
About Al Woodworth
More about Amazon Book Review
Website | Instagram | X | Facebook
Al Woodworth is a Senior Editor on the Amazon Books Editorial team and has spent more than ten years in the book industry, championing authors and their work. She’s never without a book or four in her bag and is happiest reading memoirs and literary fiction, especially sprawling stories that cross generations and countries. She lives in Brooklyn.
Next Episode
In two weeks (Oct 2), Gayle Weiswasser, co-founder of Wonderland Books, will be joining me to go behind the scenes of opening an indie bookstore.
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