What can you do about book bans? (w/Danny Caine) | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

March 19, 2026

Danny Caine, author of “How to Resist Amazon and Why“, “How to Protect Bookstores and Why“, and the new “How to Defend Books and Why” is a writer, speaker, and former bookstore owner.

This week on the podcast, join Danny, Elly, and Joe as they talk about the interplay of book bans and freedom movements the world over, how you can defend books, and the work and the conversations and interviews that shaped “How to Defend Books.”

Get Danny’s books on the Microcosm website, or your local indie bookstore!

To find out more about book bans and challenges, click here.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How do you take care of your air? w/Melissa Wrolstad | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

March 16, 2026 — by Abby Rice

At this point, most of us are familiar with checking the air quality when we go outside during certain times of the year, or ventilating when using chemicals or it’s the flu season. But how familiar are you with the air in your home on a day to day basis? From radon, ozone, particulate matter, and more, there’s a lot you can do to keep breathing easy, and we’ve got a book to help!

This week on the podcast, “Air Self-Care Handbook” author Melissa Wrolstad joins Joe & Elly to talk about development of the book and how to take care of your air.

Get “The Air Self-Care Handbook” here: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/987

The Perimenopause Journey: Finding Our True Selves Amidst Hormonal Chaos, Depression, and Rage

March 16, 2026

Rediscover the person you were supposed to be.

Perimenopause is a time when our souls long for change.

The mood swings and physical discomfort as our reproductive system winds down can make it feel like our bodies and brains are betraying and victimizing us. Our Sacred Cycle author Mary McDonald, a therapist who works with people with PMS, PMDD, trauma, and other reproductive health issues, reframes that betrayal as an intervention and opportunity. With inclusive language and compassionate, practical understanding, she brings affirmation, insight, and science to help us navigate our out-of-control emotions, let go of what no longer serves us, and step fully into our power and wisdom.

McDonald invites us to examine what the huge moods of midlife are really telling us. She offers an explanation of what is actually going on with our hormones, offering the facts behind our feelings from the internalized patriarchal messages that lead us to mistrust and mistreat our bodies and minds. The map she draws for our journey is one of shadow work and soul retrieval, a hero’s journey in which we stop trying to “fix” ourselves and rediscover the person we were supposed to be. The greatest prize is to finally get to meet the wise, experienced, and unapologetically authentic soul we were always meant to become.

A People’s Guide to Publishing: Building a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business From the Ground Up

March 09, 2026

Learn what it takes to publish books successfully

Drawing on 30 years of experience operating an independent publishing company, Microcosm founder and CEO Joe Biel has written the most accessible and comprehensive guide to running a successful publishing business. You’ll learn all the skills of the trade, including how to:

Develop your individual books to connect with readers on a practical and emotional level
Choose between offset printed, digitally printed, and ebook formats and work effectively with printers
Build an authentic niche so you can reach your audience and sell books directly
Understand if and when you’re ready to work with a distributor or large online retailer
Create a budget and predict the cost and income of each book so your company stays in the black
Decide what work you need to do yourself and what can be done by others
Plan for sustainable growth

Featuring interviews with other upstart independent publishers and funny anecdotes from publishing’s long history as well as detailed charts and visuals, this book is intended both for beginners looking for a realistic overview of the publishing or self-publishing process and for experienced publishers seeking a deeper understanding of accounting principles, ways to bring their books to new audiences, and how to advance their mission in a changing industry. All readers will come away with the confidence to move forward wisely and a strong sense of why publishing matters today more than ever.

Keep going to read an excerpt of Joe Biel’s A People’s Guide to Publishing! Available now through our site, or via your favorite independent Microcosm peddler 🙂

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Save Your Food: The Sustainable Joy of Storing, Canning, Drying, and Fermenting

March 06, 2026

Stretch your food budget farther

Whether you are overwhelmed by the bounty of your home garden or you want to get smarter about using what’s in your fridge, this friendly and informative guide will walk you through the steps to preserving and storing your own (delicious!) food. In her trademark welcoming style with charming illustrations, Raleigh Briggs offers up her knowledge on canning, brining, fermentation, drying, and storing everything from fresh vegetables to fish. With step by step instructions, recipes, and helpful tips, this guide will allow you to embrace a more sustainable, low-waste, and cost-saving relationship to food while empowering you with new skills. Eat healthy and cheap all year round!

Keep going to read an excerpt of Raleigh Briggs’s Save Your Food! Printing came through early, so it’s available NOW through our site, well in advance of the technical October 2026 pub date!

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Do Book Awards Matter? | People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

February 26, 2026

Book awards! There are a lot of them out there. Our books have even won a couple! But are they success indicators? Does a book or author winning an award mean anything for the publisher? How can a publisher use an award in their marketing?

Jane Friedman of The Bottom Line is back to chat with Elly and Joe about awards, cash grabs, and the array of experiences out there.

Want more industry insights? Check out The Bottom Line!

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Lessons Learned: New Edition of People’s Guide to Publishing | People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

February 19, 2026

In 2018, we released “A People’s Guide to Publishing,” detailing everything Joe and the Microcosm team had learned through the years about starting, running, and sustaining an independent publishing company. For Microcosm’s 30th anniversary, we’ve released a second edition of the book, expanded to include even MORE lessons Joe’s learned over the last few years, and how to apply them to your publishing company. This week on the pod, join Joe and Elly as they talk about what’s new in the second edition of “A People’s Guide to Publishing!

Get the book here: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3663

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

The Air Self-Care Handbook: Breathe Easier and Protect Yourself from Pollution

February 16, 2026

Protect your most valuable asset

Want a simple and effective way to improve your health? Hoping to survive the next wildfire smoke event without going through ten inhalers? Breathe easier with the practical support of this air care handbook, where you’ll find expert guidance on air quality and effective steps that you, a non-scientist, can take to preserve—and enhance—your own air health.

Sustainability consultant, engineer, and healthy building design expert Melissa Wrolstad handily distills the technical aspects of healthy air best practices, including strategies that people on any budget can implement with no need for fancy tools or training, and guides you through air exercises you can do in buildings you frequent. You’ll be equipped with the principles of indoor and outdoor air quality, understand common pollutants such as dust, smog, and radon, and learn strategies for how to protect yourself, your pets, and your loved ones from their effects. Written with passion and tons of research, The Air Self-Care Handbook offers insight and expertise at a time when reliable, non-governmental resources are more crucial than ever.

Keep going to read an excerpt of Melissa Wrolstad’s Air Self-Care Handbook, out now and available on our site or through your favorite bookseller!

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Rad Bugs: Brain Worms, Ticks that Cure Cancer, and Other Tiny Marvels

February 13, 2026

Who runs the world? It’s bugs, actually!

Get acquainted with the little creepy crawlies who make our world go ’round in this enthusiastic and informative love letter to the beauty of bugs by Karyn Light-Gibson, the author of Bug Life. This time around, Light-Gibson introduces us to under-appreciated insects like fleas, lice, silverfish, and earwigs. And then she opens up the wide world of non-insect invertebrates, taking us on a rollercoaster ride through the world of scorpions, spiders, ticks, millipedes, and even crayfish and snails.

She offers fascinating, fun, and sometimes gross facts about how each of these bugs has shaped our world, from ancient times to today. She debunks common myths (no, you probably do not actually eat eight spiders per year). And she gives guidance on how humans can co-exist more peaceably with these creatures we often fear or see as pests—but who we also rely on for a viable ecosystem.

Read for the trivia night facts, to help cure your arachnophobia, or if you just want to gain a new appreciation for more of the tiny creatures that we share the planet with but rarely stop to get to know.

Keep going to read an exclusive excerpt of Rad Bugs, available everywhere 3/10/26, shipping now from our site!

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30 Years of Growing Worlds: It’s Microcosm’s Birthday! | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

February 12, 2026

In 1996, Microcosm started in a small closet in a poorly insulated house. It wasn’t intended to be a job or an organization, or even a business. Thirty years later, this has turned out to be one Microcosm’s strengths. We’ve always intended to solve a very real problem, no matter how unrealistic the set of circumstances and challenges.

This week on the podcast, hang out with Joe and Elly as they take you through Microcosm’s origins, how we got here, and what lessons they’ll be taking into the next 30 years.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!