I've been sitting on this secret for months and I cannot wait for what's coming next. You can listen to my announcement in the Rebel Ever After feed wherever you get your podcasts, or read the transcript below.

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Transcript

Hi folks. This episode is a little different because I have an exciting announcement to share about the future of Rebel Ever After. 

The too long, didn’t listen version is that the publishing company Bindery invited me to join their tastemaker program! While the Rebel Ever After podcast will remain free and distributed wherever you are listening to this episode, the Rebel Ever After community will live on the Bindery social platform for book lovers — and we have the opportunity to start our very own romance imprint with their publishing arm. How does Rebel Ever After, an imprint of Bindery Books, sound to you?

Now for the long version. As a culture critic and a queer author, I believe that the books we write have the power to change minds and help readers envision a better world. Romance in particular has always been a political genre that mirrors and molds societal norms. On a human level, romance novels can show readers what it feels like to thrive with real love, community, and purpose. I can’t think of anything more powerful than who deserves a happily-ever-after, and the many forms that happily-ever-after can take. 

For a brief, shining moment in the late 2010s and early 2020s, traditional publishers invested in the queer, diverse, and groundbreaking books that brought a new generation of readers like me to romance. Authors like Casey McQuiston, Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Rachel Reid showed people that romance has more to offer them than straight, white, monogamous love stories ending with a marriage proposal and an epilogue baby. Many of those new readers were inspired to write their own romance novels, myself included. I can trace a straight line between books like One Last Stop and Beach Read to my debut romance But How Are You, Really. 

So are publishers nurturing this new generation of authors? Or did this industry see diversity as a fad that is no longer in style?

The current progressiveness of publishing is hard to quantify, but the general vibes are bad. When marginalized authors are given book deals, their books are often left dead on arrival without robust marketing investment. Authors who don’t receive the front list treatment are left to fend for themselves, promoting their books on their own with graphics they make on Canva and increasingly desperate email newsletters. They battle social media algorithms that are pay-to-play and hostile to posts that have a whiff of progressive or adult content. Both on the mic and off, I’ve heard from some of my favorite authors that their contracts are not getting renewed.

In the wake of the second election of Donald Trump, as well as the disappointing sales of my first book, I launched this podcast. In my grief and rage, I wanted to talk to other romance authors about what gave them the strength to keep writing as the country and our sphere of the publishing industry lurched backward. Because it is undeniable that we are in the middle of a regressive, conservative swing in culture, and romance is not exempt from that. From book bans at the state and federal level that target underrepresented authors, to corporations and algorithms that prioritize straight, white, and cis voices, it is hard for a progressive author to break through and reach their readers. 

Everyone knows that publishing is a broken system that pushes out underrepresented voices and fresh, bold stories. It does a real disservice to all of those new romance readers who want to read these books but aren’t finding them through the usual discovery channels, if they are published at all. 

Helping authors reach their readers quickly became a central goal of Rebel Ever After. I love talking to authors about the themes they explore on the page, how the regressive swing in the United States has impacted their careers, and what they want to see change within the romance genre. We dig deep into what readers adore about their books, from queer self discovery to the logistics of ghost-fucking.

I started this podcast alone using GarageBand and a microphone I stole from an ex. And it has grown into a wonderful community of romance lovers who share my values and hopes for the genre. I am honored but I’m also not surprised! Authors and readers crave deeper conversations about the books we love and the storytelling trends we swim in. We want respect for the romance genre, and together, we are building a community rooted in that shared goal.

That brings me back to my big two-part announcement:

1) Rebel Ever After is moving to Bindery — a home for book clubs and bookish tastemakers. 

2) If we grow a membership on Bindery, we might be able to start a Rebel Ever After publishing imprint. As a community, we could publish the diverse, queer, progressive romance novels of our dreams.

If you’re not familiar with Bindery, it’s a publishing company founded by industry veterans Matt Kaye and Meghan Harvey in 2023. Essentially, they partner with community leaders, or “tastemakers,” in the book world to create digital book clubs and launch small publishing imprints. Bindery saw the genuine love that influencers have for literature, and the power of our online communities to champion underserved voices. 

To put it simply, Bindery’s model gives creators the opportunity to acquire and publish books with their communities in mind, and Bindery manages the production, distribution, marketing, and publicity of those titles. Bindery is a new name in the industry, but it has already published best-selling novels, GoodReads Choice Awards winners, and Indie Next Picks. They distribute to Barnes & Noble and other big players, as well as indie bookstores and libraries around the world. On a recent trip to Europe, I saw Bindery titles for sale in London and Paris. I think Bindery is here to stay, and I am thrilled that they are pioneering a new publishing model that leans into how book discovery has changed. 

Now if you’ve read my work, you may know I am a big skeptic of startups. I am not inclined to trust industry disrupters or predatory tech bros who parachute into industries they don’t understand to eke out a profit. Romance specifically is vulnerable to outsiders wanting to capitalize on its profitability without investing in its community or quality storytelling. That being said, traditional publishing is in need of an overhaul, and no one company or indie press or zine maker or indie author can fix it alone. 

So I watched Bindery’s development over the years with curiosity and some suspicion. I sniffed around for gossip and looked at how they treat their authors. When my friend Nina Haines started her imprint Sapph-Lit, I had a front-row seat as she acquired and then published Kim Narby’s stunning debut novel Saturn Returning. It’s a propulsive and messy novel about friendship and love among queer women, and I am so happy it is out in the world re-traumatizing millennial readers.

Two years later, I can say that Bindery has won me over. I am impressed by the diversity of their authors, most of whom are debuts, some of whom were unagented; the freshness and transparency of their publishing model; and their commitment to fostering community among readers alongside the rise of micro-influencers. 

Most importantly, the books Bindery has published so far are good. Genuinely very good. Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove was one of my favorite books of 2025, and I couldn’t put down their gorgeous re-release of This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. In May I was the conversation partner for the aforementioned Saturn Returning by Kim Narby. Bindery is publishing wildly talented new and diverse authors who have been overlooked by the Big Five, and we are all better for it.

But you know what their catalogue is lacking so far? A dedicated romance imprint that shares its vision of a more diverse and equitable world of books. That’s why they invited me to become a Bindery tastemaker. If the Rebel Ever After community creates a home on Bindery, that imprint is on the table. 

Up until now I’ve asked folks to support the podcast on Patreon. I basically retrofitted my existing Patreon to include Rebel Ever After content, and frankly it hasn’t worked as a monetization strategy. Because Rebel Ever After is not just a podcast — it’s a community, and this community needs its own space separate from my personal writing. 

What Bindery offers is a platform created for reader communities like ours. With the move to Bindery, listeners can play more of a role in the curation of the show. I also want to host events where members can meet their favorite authors during virtual Q&As and salons. I want to share writing by authors about their creative processes, publishing journeys, historical research, and thoughts on the genre. And I want to springboard diverse, queer, rebellious romance novels into the world — as a podcast, as a community, and hopefully as an imprint.

If you want to see what that looks like, you can go to rebeleverafter.binderybooks.com right now. My hope is that we will build up a big comment culture where we can discuss new episodes and what folks are currently reading. Subscribers will also get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, which is my favorite corner of the internet. 

To celebrate launching on Bindery, I’m throwing a big virtual party on August 26th at 8pm eastern. I will be joined by Erin Baldwin, Laura Piper Lee, and Adib Khorram. There will be games. There will be a rowdy group chat. There might even be sneak peaks at upcoming books by your favorite authors. And this event will be FREE for all Rebel Ever After Bindery members. 

So how do you join? You can create an account on Bindery right now for free. You will receive all the essential updates about Rebel Ever After, like new episodes, event announcements, and book recommendations from me. Or you can subscribe starting at $5 a month and become an official Rebel. Rebels will get exclusive content like virtual readings and discussions with REA authors, essays and opinion pieces, maybe some cover reveals and excerpts from new titles. And more to listen to and watch. 

This is a hard time to budget $5/month, and if a Bindery membership isn’t affordable for you right now, that is totally okay. I hope you will sign up as a free member. The main feed of the podcast will also remain free and accessible wherever you like to listen. 

That being said, I need to show Bindery that Rebel Ever After means business as a community in order for us to get our own imprint. If listeners show up and subscribe, we will be able to bring more swoony, progressive romances into the world, on shelves and ereaders, in libraries and brick and mortar bookstores.

That’s why I’m setting a goal of 100 Rebel subscribers by the end of September.

It’s a big goal, but I know we can hit it. Because romance readers love this genre. We are voracious and organized and determined to champion the love stories that we believe in. 

I’ll be honest: becoming a publisher was never a dream of mine because I could not imagine a world where that was possible. 

But the world is changing, and I want to read romance novels that push the boundaries of what a happily-ever-after looks like. From marrying your best friend for health insurance and then falling in love with him, like in Marisa Kanter’s Friends With Benefits. Or opening a cocktail bar with your polycule and queer friends as investors, like in TJ Alexander’s Triple Sec.  

I want to read beloved romance tropes made fresh and new when starring BIPOC characters, like The King’s Pregnancy Proposition by LaQuette and Love Is a War Song by Danica Nava. 

I want to publish authors who reach for joy and justice, escapism and resistance. And I know you do too. So let’s fuckin’ do it.

I need to thank every person who has listened to an episode of the Rebel Ever After podcast. I need to thank every author who has given me their time and wisdom and art. I need to thank everyone who has left a review or recommended the show to a friend or shared a quote on Instagram. I am so grateful for this community of readers and authors and listeners, and I cannot wait to start this next chapter of Rebel Ever After. I hope I’ll see you on Bindery soon.

Thank you for listening, and stay safe out there.