“Lots of ambitious books announce themselves,” writes Lauren Christensen in The New York Times Book Review of podcast guest Betsy Lerner’s debut novel Shred Sisters. “This one doesn’t need to.”

High praise for a first-time novelist, but that’s not surprising considering Betsy’s long and distinguished career as an editor and literary agent. A born storyteller (and, story-sharer), Betsy has helped to shape our literary landscape, as the guiding hand behind such cultural touchstones as Patti Smith’s Just Kids and Elizabeth Wurtzel’s Prozac Nation. 

She’s also earned her As Told To stripes as the co-author of The New York Times best-selling Visual Thinking, written in collaboration with Temple Grandin, in addition to writing several non-fiction books of her own, including the memoir The Bridge Ladies, and the writing guidebook The Forest for the Trees.  

A recovering poet, Betsy received an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, where she was selected as one of PEN’s Emerging Writers, before trading her pen for a red pencil and embarking on a heralded career as an editor. 

With the publication of her first novel, longlisted prior to publication for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Betsy kick-starts an exciting new chapter in her writing life, offering a rich, bittersweet tale of sisterhood, Mental Health, love and loss, and reminding us that it’s never too late to become the artist you were always meant to be.  

Learn more about Betsy Lerner:

• Website
• TikTok
• Facebook
• Twitter

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Daniel Paisner Daniel Paisner - author, collaborator, podcaster

Daniel Paisner is an author, collaborator and podcaster. He is the author or co-author of over 80 books, including four novels and numerous works of non-fiction, and he is the ghostwriter behind 17 NYT best-sellers, written in collaboration with such celebrated personalities as Whoopi Goldberg, Serena Williams and Denzel Washington. He is the host of the podcast “AS TOLD TO: The Ghostwriting Podcast,” a production of the Writers Bone Podcast Network, which features conversations with his fellow ghostwriters, as well as songwriters, speechwriters, screenwriters and other artists who work in service of someone else’s voice or vision.