Book Riot – The Podcast

Episode: The Lambda Literary Awards, Messy Internet Discourse, the Latest A.I. Panic, and More

Hosts: Vanessa Diaz (filling in for Jeff and Rebecca) with Erica (Associate Editor)
Release date: March 30, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a jam-packed tour through recent news, controversies, and milestones in the book world. Vanessa and Erica dive into topics like the surprising origins of a classic hockey romance, celebrate the Lambda Literary Awards finalists, unpack the latest censorship battles, break down internet drama swirling around Lindy West’s memoir, and close with a meaty discussion on A.I.’s infiltration into publishing. The hosts, true to their meme-loving and bookish nature, offer plenty of personality, critical insights, and candid opinions.

1. Hidden Hockey Romance: Don DeLillo as Cleo Birdwell

[06:00–15:21]

Key Points:

• Alexandra Alter’s NYT piece reveals that literary heavyweight Don DeLillo secretly published a raunchy hockey romance, Amazons, in the 1980s under the pseudonym Cleo Birdwell.
• DeLillo, known for philosophical, postmodern works like White Noise and Libra, wrote Amazons as a satirical faux-memoir about a female pro hockey player.
• The book—long out of print and disavowed by DeLillo—is being reissued, likely due to the current hockey romance boom (spurred by Heated Rivalry and similar queer romances).
• Hosts express mixed feelings, especially regarding a male author writing from the perspective of a woman in a ‘raunchy’ context, noting concerns about authenticity and dated sexism.

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa:

  “If you had given me $50 to be like, hey, guess what author has like a secret hockey romance of a raunchy nature written under a pseudonym... I would never have guessed Don DeLillo.” [06:36]

• Erica:

  “Because of the time that he's writing from, and he's like, you know, a dude... If he's good at portraying, you know, female and femme interiority, then okay, it could be good. But a lot of, you know, people are not good at stepping outside of their perspective.” [11:03]

• Vanessa:

  “It's described as this wild comedy sex romp. And, like, maybe that makes me scared.” [12:31]

2. Celebrating Queer Lit: 38th Lambda Literary Award Finalists

[15:21–20:57]

Key Points:

• The finalists’ list shows broad representation—dozens of categories, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, YA, and children’s books.
• Highlights include The Autobiography of H. Lan Tao Lam by Laina Lin, Hunger Stone by Kat Dunn, Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline, Bed and Breakfast by Susie Dumond, and Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez.
• Vanessa and Erica share that the list is both dauntingly excellent and a crucial countermeasure to rising censorship.

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa:

  “More important now than ever to, yeah, shout those books out... whether that means leaving a review for the book, obviously purchasing, checking out from libraries, all the things that we, we talk about all the time on this podcast.” [19:08]

• Erica:

  “How lovely it is that there have been so many... it’s been a great year for queer lit and that there are so many options to choose from when it comes to these awards.” [19:16]

3. Censorship in Action: Librarian Under Threat in Rutherford County

[22:12–29:02]

Key Points:

• Librarian Luann James faces possible firing for refusing to remove books as ordered by the local board, bypassing standard challenge processes.
• The board demanded the removal of dozens of titles, requested personal data of library patrons—major privacy violation—and banned participation in Banned Books Week.
• Hosts emphasize the constant, tireless work of advocates like Kelly Jensen (Book Riot’s censorship tracker) and encourage listener activism.

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa:

  “Luann James... says, like, ‘I will not comply.’ In fact, it’s the name of the headline that we gave to this piece... my job as a library director is to protect access to these specific materials.” [25:35]

• Erica:

  “Get involved with your local library, see how you can support them. Because Kelly has written many times before about how a lot of these book bans are coming from a. Actually, a small group of people. Believe it or not, there it's a small group of people.” [27:01]

• Erica:

  “I think people are too quick to capitulate to these, like, bullies, you know?” [28:08]

4. Messy Internet Discourse: Lindy West’s Memoir & Reviewer Fallout

[30:19–43:14]

Key Points:

• Lindy West’s new memoir, Adult Braces, explores her marriage’s transition into polyamory following a public YouTube announcement. The memoir reveals that the arrangement began under difficult, and possibly unethical, circumstances.
• Sachi Cole wrote a nuanced review/interview in Slate, discussing the book’s content and ethical complexities.
• Lindy West’s husband emailed Cole and Slate, claiming bias and perceived personal attack. Roya, the new partner, also publicly criticized the coverage.
• This escalated into open, meme-fueled social commentary (notably Roxane Gay’s viral quip), with the internet largely siding with Cole—highlighting expectations for public authorship, fairness in critique, and the persistent perils of author/critic engagement online.

Notable Quotes:

• Roxane Gay (via Erica reading on air):

  “Whoo. I don't listen to podcasts much, but I just voluntarily... listened to one for the first time ever, the episode of ICYMI about Lindy West's new book... Husbands just be out here doing embarrassing and unacceptable things sometimes.” [35:42]

• Vanessa:

  “If you’re going to put a book out in the world, and I feel this way about anything... there’s going to be a response. There’s very little you can do about that response.” [36:09]

5. Book Adaptation Buzz: Bridgerton’s Sapphic Season Announced

[43:15–44:44]

Key Points:

• Bridgerton Season 5 announcement: Focuses on Francesca with a sapphic storyline (with a Black female love interest, changing the character’s gender from Quinn’s original novels).
• The internet is divided (“people are all in just a tizzy”), but showrunner Shonda Rhimes has always intended the adaptation to be inclusive and subversive.
• Both hosts express strong support for these creative, inclusive updates.

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa:

  “If you love you some Bridgerton and are excited, go watch the announcement trailer and get ready for Season 5.” [44:26]

• Erica:

  “I would also be on board if Shonda Rhimes came up to me and said she wanted to adapt. Be like, yeah, girl, what you need to change, whatever you want.” [44:34]

6. The Latest AI Panic: “Shy Girl” and Industry Unpreparedness

[44:47–59:20]

Key Points:

• NYT’s Alexandra Alter covers the case of Shy Girl, a horror novel, initially self-published (cover: crying Borzoi), composed ~78% with A.I.
• The author, Mia Ballard, claims an acquaintance edited the manuscript using A.I.—Hachette and Orbit cancel U.S. release amidst controversy.
• Huge boom in self-publishing (2025 saw 3.5M self-pub books, compared to 642K trad-pub), much of it potential A.I. “slop.”
• Current A.I. detection is imperfect, and publishers lack consistent policy or means to screen for A.I.-written books. Ethical, aesthetic, and logistical questions abound: Can/should publishers fact-check fiction for A.I.? Is “honor system” enough? Will this deluge undermine book quality?
• Debate over whether readers can or care to distinguish A.I. prose (“gaps in logic,” “melodramatic adjectives,” repetitive phrasing), with the reality that some readers may not mind or notice A.I. work—raising fears about the future of human authorship.

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa:

  “This is a really big conversation, right? People feeling really duped by the idea that the thing that they're reading is not something that like an actual human wrote... How do you get in front of this?” [48:26]

• Erica:

  “Would I be able to detect AI writing?... There are plenty of real people's writing who I know I don't care for.” [59:20]

• Vanessa:

  “All I know is that this problem is sticky and yeah, somebody needs—lots of people are going to have to continue to contend with this problem, I think, in the months, days, years, etc.” [58:19]

7. Rapid-Fire Book Recommendations: Frontlist Foyer

[61:07–65:37]

Books Vanessa Loves:

• The Beheading Game — “What if Anne Boleyn survived her beheading... and maybe made a friend of a female variety in the way that might be more than a friend? Legit opens with her waking up in a coffin... It just did.” [62:20]
• Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to 90s Sitcoms by Jeff Bennett — “Any book getting into Martin, Fresh Prince, Living Single... I rewatch Living Single like every year!” [64:03]

Erica’s Picks:

• Psychopomp and Circumstance — “Southern Gothic fantasy set during Reconstruction era; follows young Black woman Fee... it’s short but full of secrets.” [62:39]
• Aisha by Soraya Buazawi — “Moroccan resistance against the Portuguese; magical girl with rage and something living beneath her skin... I think it’s going to be a bloodbath in the end, but like, you know the type that's cathartic.” [64:39]

Memorable and Funny Moments

• Mean Girls Reference:
  Vanessa: “‘She doesn’t even go here’...Thank you for teeing up what I was trying really hard... Do I say it?” [29:13]

• On Shonda Rhimes’ License:
  Erica: “My firstborn. No, I’m just kidding, but Shonda Rhimes, how do you...” [44:44]

• AI Writes Like Erica:
  Erica: “The writing was like, ‘Oh, honey, let me tell you.’ Yes... I was like, I've never said that.” [60:04]

Key Takeaways and Themes

• Publishing is at a Crossroads: The proliferation of AI-generated writing is causing industry whiplash, forcing urgent questions about detection, disclosure, and what “authorship” means.
• Queer Lit and Censorship: The Lambda Awards highlight the strength and diversity of queer literature, yet the battle for access and fair representation in libraries is fiercer than ever.
• Bookish Internet is Still Messy: From literary scandals old and new (Amazons, Lindy West) to fandoms “in a tizzy” about inclusive adaptations, the internet remains ablaze with conversation—and not always in the most productive way.
• Support Libraries & Diverse Books: Book bans are real, ongoing, and fueled by small-but-vocal groups. Readers must advocate at local levels.
• Even the Biggest Names Have Secrets: Don DeLillo’s “secret” past as a racy romance author is a juicy reminder of literary multitudes and the unexpected intersections between “serious” and “genre” fiction.

Useful Timestamps

• [06:00] — Don DeLillo’s “Amazons” and the origins of the hockey romance genre
• [15:21] — Lambda Literary Award Finalists discussion
• [22:12] — Censorship and the Luann James/Rutherford County saga
• [30:19] — The mess with Lindy West’s memoir and internet fallout
• [43:15] — Bridgerton’s sapphic next season
• [44:47] — The “Shy Girl” AI publishing panic
• [61:07] — Frontlist Foyer: rapid-fire book recommendations

Final Words

This episode is a dense, playful, passionate exploration of the bookish zeitgeist—balancing industry rumors, literary prizes, the gritty realities of censorship, and the weirdness of our AI-soaked present. Vanessa and Erica bring their candid, meme-literate sensibilities throughout, making the podcast engaging and essential for anyone who loves books, drama, and the wild world that surrounds them.

Full list of mentioned titles and links to referenced articles are available at [Thrift Books] and in the show notes.

“Go get in love with your libraries. Go read this piece. It is really important stuff. And like, definitely show support to your local librarians and educators because it is hard out here in these streets.”
— Vanessa Diaz [29:29]