Maja Thomas on the Future of the Book
From the Write-minded Podcast, Hosted by Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner
Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is currently in its fourth year. We are a weekly podcast for writers craving a unique blend of inspiration and real talk about the ups and downs of the writing life. Hosted by Brooke Warner of She Writes and Grant Faulkner of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), each theme-focused episode of Write-minded features an interview with a writer, author, or publishing industry professional.
Books were just books for hundreds of years, but in the past 20 years, we’ve experienced major shifts in how we read and write. Plus, we’re on the brink of another revolution with AI that will change what we know and think we know about book publishing. This week’s guest, Maja Thomas, is the Chief Innovation Officer at Hachette, and her job, essentially, is to figure out the future of the book. She’s the only Chief Innovation Officer in all of publishing, so it’s a treat to hear what she has to say about trends, disruptions, innovations, and yes, AI. Don’t miss her insights! Also, in the trend we mention this Foreign Policy article from Dave Karpf about the future of AI maybe not being as disruptive as we all think. Worth a read!
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Maja Thomas is a graduate of the University of California in San Diego and of Princeton University. She began her career at Time Warner as an audiobook producer and director, and joined Hachette in 2006 as Vice President of Hachette Digital and Digital Publishing, and was appointed Senior Vice President of Hachette Digital of Hachette Book Group a year later. She continued her professional development with courses at Simmons College in Boston, and Henley and Insead Business schools in England and France. After a three-year stint with advising start-ups and working as a consultant specializing in digital technology and publishing in Silicon Valley, Maja returned to Hachette in 2017 as Director of Hachette’s Innovation Program, and she’s now their Chief Innovation Officer.
