PINE STATE PUBLICITY is a newsletter about book publicity and publishing: how to do it & do it well.

At Pine State, I attempt to merge my many pivots through publishing in order to be as transparent as possible for writers entering an industry that feels often exclusive and closed-off (particularly for those of us not in NYC). When it comes to publishing, I’ve worked in almost every capacity: literary magazine editor, literary magazine accountant, designer (yes, I’ve designed book interiors, covers, and marketing materials), literary agent, book publicist, bookstagrammer (with over 10k following, I could kick myself for deleting that orange-tone page now), book blogger, high school English teacher, and I’ve taught Intro to Book Publishing and Book Building at the college level. I can read and negotiate a book contract, but I prefer not to do that ever again.

You can check out our Bookshop site for books we have worked on, and our current projects are always listed here on our website. If you would like to request a copy of a Pine State book for review or an interview, simply fill out this form.

About Cassie

Image by @tclarky.art on Instagram

I’m Cassie. I’m the founder and director of Pine State Publicity, a full service publicity firm working with independent presses and authors.

Before starting Pine State, I worked as a literary agent, a high school teacher, and earned my MFA in creative nonfiction from UNCW (where I did design work for Ecotone Magazine and Lookout Books). You can read essays about naming my son in Reckon Review, rollerskating, bull riding and Catholicism in Slice Magazine, girlhood in Joyland and Story Quarterly, Wendy, Dolly Parton, and my mother’s girlhood in Passages North, and an essay that earned a Best American Essays notable in The Rumpus. My writing has been nominated for Best of the Net, a Pushcart Prize, and won awards or honors at several magazines. I currently serve as secretary of the board at North Carolina Writers Network.

I’m a busy (sometimes haggard) mom of two. I had a book blog in the early internet aughts called Books and Bowel Movements, and I met my partner, BJ, on Myspace in high school. So, you can say I’ve been here for a while. And now I’m trying to make publishing a book as transparent as I possibly can. Subscribe for more fun.

Why subscribe?

Pine State Publicity is a newsletter specifically to help writers and independent publishers with publicizing and marketing their books, no matter the size of the press or budget.

Even though I made fun of Publisher’s Weekly in newsletter #2, they still shared it—so you know it’s good. :)

You can find me at my link tree & Twitter. And follow Pine State too!

Stay up-to-date

Every two-ish weeks a new version of this newsletter will land in your inbox if you subscribe.

Join the crew

Be part of a community of people who share your interests.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.

Subscribe to Pine State Publicity

Pine State is a newsletter that offers chatter on publishing, DIY publicity advice, and as much fun as the Hokey Pokey for writers & readers by Cassie Mannes Murray of Pine State Publicity

People

Cassie Mannes Murray is a writer, publicist, & former literary agent. She is messy and does not schedule her newsletters well. 💌