Leah Paulos - Publicist
We help authors and publishers get high-profile media coverage for their books. Named one of the country's top PR firms in 2017 and 2018
Reedsy profile URL https://reedsy.com/leah-paulos
We merge our extensive list of journalist contacts with our expertise in writing effective media pitches to coordinate as many reviews, interviews, and TV & radio spots for your book as possible. We've lined up hundreds of spots for our authors in outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, USA Today, New Yorker, Time, MSNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, NPR, and BBC.
Full media campaigns start at $15,000.
Political Science & Current Affairs
Self-help & Self-improvement
Observer 2018 Top 50 PR Firms
Founder / Lead Publicist
January, 2014 – Present (about 6 years)
Founder and lead publicist. We offer expertise in crafting effective story pitches and a long list of journalist contacts. We know how to navigate the rapidly changing media world in order to line up as many reviews, articles, excerpts, and TV and radio spots for your book as possible.
We've helped clients gain national coverage in The New York Times, TODAY, The Daily Show, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, dozens of NPR, BBC and CBC radio shows, The New Yorker, CNN, MSNBC, and hundreds of other top-tier print, TV, radio, and online media outlets.
We've worked with a wide range of authors and publishers on literary fiction, popular nonfiction, memoirs, and academic and lifestyle titles. Among the books we've promoted: MARCH, the #1 bestselling and National Book Award-winning graphic memoir by Representative John Lewis; #1 NYT bestseller ON TYRANNY: TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Timothy Snyder; the bestselling memoir THANKS, OBAMA by former Obama speechwriter David Litt; and Shulem Deen's memoir ALL WHO GO DO NOT RETURN, which won a Jewish National Book Award.
The Observer included us on its annual PR Power list in 2017 and 2018, writing "Leah knows how to package and pitch" and "[her] tiny firm keeps punching way above its weight."
Leah began her career as a magazine editor at Condé Nast, then worked as a freelance writer for dozens of national magazines and newspapers. She graduated from Cornell University in 1998 with honors and a BA in English.
Book publicist
Leah Paulos
January, 2006 – June, 2013 (over 7 years)
I worked with a range of authors on all aspects of publicity and social media. Among my clients: I worked with Frank Delaney, NYT bestselling author of IRELAND, on 4 books of historical fiction published by Random House and helped create and promote his weekly podcast on James Joyce's ULYSSES.
THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE by Tom Nichols (Oxford University Press)
US Naval War College Professor Tom Nichols hired Press Shop to help his publisher's in-house team line up media attention for THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE. It was clear this book, which is about the degradation of learning, knowledge, and experience and how it threatens our democracy, had a lot of potential in the wake of the 2016 election. Nichols, a Never-Trump conservative, wanted to make sure he could spread the book's message as widely as possible.
We coordinated multiple national spots for Nichols, including MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, and The Tavis Smiley Show. Radio and podcasts we lined up included WNYC's Indivisible radio, Slate's The Gist podcast, KQED Forum, KABC, Think on KERA, and others. Nichol's book sales exceeded expectations and our PR contract was extended by Oxford University Press. The book spent months in the top 1,000 on Amazon, was a Canadian bestseller, and went into multiple printings.
Nichols' work "defending experts in an anti-factual age" was named one of Politico's '50 Ideas Blowing Up US Politics' in 2017.
A few of our favorite media hits:
Nichols appeared multiple times on the show after publication of THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE. He was interviewed both in a one-on-one format and, fittingly, in a panel of experts.
Slate's The Gist podcast
Mike Pesca spoke with Nichols in a segment called 'Up With Eggheads' and asked if experts are taking the fall for decisions made by people in power.
Tavis Smiley Show
Nichols did a 30-minute interview with Smiley on this nationally broadcast PBS show.
EATING NAFTA: TRADE, FOOD POLICIES, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF MEXICO by Alyshia Gálvez (University of California Press)
In the summer of 2018, we worked with Professor Alyshia Galvez and University of California Press to publicize EATING NAFTA: TRADE, FOOD POLICIES, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF MEXICO. The book described a little-discussed side effect of NAFTA: while the world awakens to Mexican cuisine, Mexicans themselves are often unable to afford the food they've eaten for centuries. The national diet is now heavy on inexpensive processed foods and sugary drinks, which has caused an epidemic of diet-related ailments.
We knew there was a chance this book could be pigeonholed as an academic book meant for a niche audience. But it wasn't that. It's a colorfully told story and a new way of thinking about a much-analyzed treaty.
We always look for as many angles as possible with which to pitch a book. This one was generous in that regard--it gave us many distinct media categories to pursue. We pitched food outlets and went to journalists interested in the history and social importance of food. We knew the trendiness of high-end Mexican cuisine would help. We also pitched journalists that cover the ins and outs of food and agricultural policy, especially those that have written about NAFTA, and those that focus on Hispanic issues. Due to Trump's threats to revoke NAFTA, we were also able to line up some more timely pieces pegged to the news cycle.
Among our favorite hits:
Civil Eats feature
This in-depth, front-page piece was a nice balance of hard reporting about agricultural policy and interesting details and insights for lay readers. It was picked up by Eater and MSN News, giving it even more visibility.
Interview with KCRW's Good Food
This popular show hosted by Evan Kleiman is on Los Angeles NPR affiliate KCRW. This is a great interview that will leave you wanting to head to the closest taqueria.
Radio Bilingue (National Latino Public Radio Network)
Galvez is bilingual, so we were able to pitch the book to Spanish-language outlets. This hour-long interview with Samuel Orozco went very well and brought in some other media requests.
Harvest Public Media radio interview
This public radio collaboration between KUCI, KCUR, Iowa Public Radio, and others, spotlights food and farming in the heartland. They conducted a book-focused interview with Galvez that was broadcast widely.
AMERICAN HATE: SURVIVORS SPEAK OUT by Arjun Singh Sethi (The New Press)
In his book AMERICAN HATE, community activist, civil rights lawyer, and law professor, Arjun Singh Sethi sought to bring a personal face to the spike in hate crimes from the time Donald Trump kicked off his Presidential campaign with a slur against Mexican immigrants. The book showcases 14 unfiltered, first-person narratives from people who were targeted because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality. We worked with New Press and Sethi to ensure this book got the widest possible airing in the media and to create a book tour that brought the conversation to community settings around the country.
When it came time to write the pitch, we made sure to tie the book to the most recent bigoted rhetoric out of the White House and to the white supremacist marches that were happening around the same time. We also created a Q&A with Sethi to show producers what a potential interview could look like and to illustrate how well Sethi contextualizes these individuals' stories in the current socio-political moment. While the book is harrowing, it is also hopeful, so we highlighted the survivors' bravery and remarkable optimism even after experiencing the worst of Trump's America.
NPR named AMERICAN HATE one of the best books of 2018. Some other campaign highlights:
NPR/WBUR On Point
This national NPR show had Sethi on to discuss the book and the recent march by white supremacists in Washington. This segment was a full hour, and brought in a lot of other media interest.
WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show
This widely respected public affairs show out of DC spoke with Sethi for an hour about his book, focusing on the story of Taylor Dumpson, an African-American woman who was elected class president at American University in DC, only to find nooses hanging around campus on her first day in office. The show's website also published an excerpt was also posted to the show's website.
An extended Q&A with Chauncey DeVega in Salon
This extended interview touched on all sorts of issues in the book, especially how the rhetoric and policies of Donald Trump personally affects people in marginalized communities.
The AMERICAN HATE book tour featured more than 20 stops around the country, including Politics & Prose, McNally Jackson, the Carter Presidential Library, Powell's, and the Brooklyn Book Festival. At each bookstore event, we made sure there was a local community group or two that co-sponsored. That helped drive attendance and help spread the word through multiple organizations. The tour gave us ample opportunity to line up local radio spots and features highlighting the book.
THANKS, OBAMA: MY HOPEY, CHANGEY WHITE HOUSE YEARS by David Litt (Ecco)
Former Obama speechwriter David Litt came to Press Shop to help augment the excellent work of his in-house publicity team at Ecco. His memoir, THANKS, OBAMA: MY HOPEY-CHANGEY WHITE HOUSE YEARS was Ecco's lead title and their publicity department put together a first-rate media and event campaign. But more publicity muscle always helps.
There were a few specific things Litt wanted us to focus on:
Using the news cycle to pitch him to national news broadcasts. When Trump gave a speech, we pitched him to radio and to MSNBC and CNN to comment on the language, process, etc.
Pitching the book to radio. There are tons of great radio shows on NPR affiliates, Sirius, PRI, BBC, CBC, and local markets. We made sure to book him on as many top-tier shows as possible.
Pitching to niche audiences. Since Litt was 24 when he landed a job in the White House, millennial media was a target. He's also Jewish and he was responsible for writing many of Obama's speeches for Jewish holidays. That was a good hook for Jewish media. And, since the political tables had turned since his manuscript had been accepted pre-November 2016, he wanted to place some stories encouraging young people to get involved in politics despite its many challenges.
Pitching late-night shows. One hole in the campaign was an appearance on a late-night show. We booked Comedy Central's The Opposition with Jordan Klepper.
The book became a New York Times bestseller shortly after publication.
A couple of our favorite media hits we lined up:
MSNBC spots on AM Joy and Ari Melber
We lined up a Sunday morning spot on AM Joy, and two appearances on The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC, one where Litt commented on the headlines out if the White House and one book-focussed segment.
CBC's Q
This popular Canadian arts magazine show did a fantastic interview, which was syndicated on public radio throughout the US.
Unorthodox Podcast
Tablet magazine's popular Jewish podcast hosted a lively conversation with Litt.
Portfolio (16 selected works)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
#1 New York Times BestsellerThe Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Memoir
Shulem Deen
Named one of "forty-two books to read before you die" by the Independent (UK)2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner 2016 Winner of the GLCA New Writers Award in NonfictionOne of Star Magazine's "Fab 5 Can't-Miss Entertainment Picks"A moving and revealing exploration of Hasidic life, and one man's struggles with faith, family, and communityShulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are da... read more
Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny
Edward J. Watts
A new history of the Roman Republic and its collapseIn Mortal Republic, prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged freedom for autocracy. For centuries, even as Rome grew into the Mediterranean's premier military and political power, its governing institutions, parliamentary rules, and political customs succes... read more
American Hate: Survivors Speak Out
"Amid the ugly realities of contemporary America, American Hate affirms our courage and inspiration, opening a roadmap to reconciliation by means of the victims' own words."—NPR Books"The collection offers possible solutions for how people, on their own or working with others, can confront hate."—San Francisco ChronicleAn NPR Best Book of 2018A San Francisco Chronicle Books PickOne of Bitch Me... read more
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters
Thomas M. Nichols
Technology and increasing levels of education have exposed people to more information than ever before. These societal gains, however, have also helped fuel a surge in narcissistic and misguided intellectual egalitarianism that has crippled informed debates on any number of issues. Today, everyone knows everything: with only a quick trip through WebMD or Wikipedia, average citizens believe the... read more
Abandon Me: Memoirs
Melissa Febos
Named One of the Best Books of the year by:Esquire, Refinery29, LitHub, BookRiot, Medium, Electric Literature, The Brooklyn Rail, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Largehearted Boy, The Coil and The Cut.Winner of the Lambda Literary Jeanne Cordova Prize for Lesbian/Queer NonfictionFinalist, Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir/BiographyFinalist, Publishing Triangle's Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction... read more
How to Be Loved: A Memoir of Lifesaving Friendship
Eva Hagberg
A luminous memoir about how friendship saved one woman's life, for anyone who has loved a friend who was sick, grieving, or lost—and for anyone who has struggled to seek or accept help Eva Hagberg Fisher spent her lonely youth looking everywhere for connection: drugs, alcohol, therapists, boyfriends, girlfriends. Sometimes she found it, but always temporarily. Then, at age thirty, an undiscove... read more
How to Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance
L.A. Kauffman
"Explores protesting as an act of faith . . . How to Read a Protest argues that the women's marches of 2017 didn't just help shape and fuel a moment—they actually created one."—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker O, the Oprah Magazine's "14 Best Political Books to Read Before the 2018 Midterm Election""A fascinating and detailed history of American mass demonstrations."—Publishers Weekly When million... read more
Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years
David Litt
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAn Esquire Best Book of 2017Remember when presidents spoke in complete sentences instead of in unhinged tweets? Former Obama speechwriter David Litt does. In his comic, coming-of-age memoir, he takes us back to the Obama years – and charts a path forward in the age of Trump. More than any other presidency, Barack Obama's eight years in the White House were defined by... read more
March: Book Three
John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
By Fall 1963, the Civil Rights Movement is an undeniable keystone of the national conversation, and as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is right in the thick of it. With the stakes continuing to rise, white supremacists intensify their opposition through government obstruction and civilian terrorist attacks, a supportive president is assassinated, and African-... read more
A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow
Joshua S. Goldstein, Staffan A. Qvist
The first book to offer a proven, fast, inexpensive, practical way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change. As climate change quickly approaches a series of turning points that guarantee disastrous outcomes, a solution is hiding in plain sight. Several countries have already replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources, and done so rapidly, in one to two... read more
Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America
Randy Shaw
Generation Priced Out is a call to action on one of the most talked-about issues of our time: how skyrocketing rents and home values are pricing the working and middle classes out of urban America. Randy Shaw tells the powerful stories of tenants, politicians, homeowner groups, developers, and activists in over a dozen cities impacted by the national housing crisis. From San Francisco to New Y... read more
Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy
Alexandrea J. Ravenelle
Choose your hours, choose your work, be your own boss, control your own income. Welcome to the sharing economy, a nebulous collection of online platforms and apps that promise to transcend capitalism. Supporters argue that the gig economy will reverse economic inequality, enhance worker rights, and bring entrepreneurship to the masses. But does it? In Hustle and Gig, Alexandrea J. Ravenelle sh... read more
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them
"A vital read for a nation under Trump."­—The Guardian "By placing Trump in transnational and transhistorical perspective, Stanley sees patterns that others miss. . . . Twenty months into Trump's presidency, the evidence is mounting that he's right."—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)Fascist politics are running rampant in America today—and spreading around the world. A Yale phil... read more
Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting
Danya Ruttenberg
National Jewish Book Award Finalist 2016A deeply affecting, funny, insightful meditation that challenges readers to find the spiritual meaning of parenting. Every day, parents are bombarded by demands. The pressures of work and life are relentless; our children's needs are often impossible to meet; and we rarely, if ever, allow ourselves the time and attention necessary to satisfy our own inne... read more
The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution
A vivid and intimate account of the Ukrainian Revolution, the rare moment when the political became the existential What is worth dying for? While the world watched the uprising on the Maidan as an episode in geopolitics, those in Ukraine during the extraordinary winter of 2013–14 lived the revolution as an existential transformation: the blurring of night and day, the loss of a sense of time,... read more
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Maria Sliwa
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