Cairo Smith won one of Hollywood's biggest screenwriting awards, wrote English adaptations for Netflix, Disney, and Paramount, and had the representation and the meetings most writers spend a decade chasing. Then he read a few self-published novels, realized indie fiction was speaking to his life in a way the front table at Barnes & Noble wasn't, and walked toward the door. In this conversation he tells us why he left the industry track, how he ended up at New Ritual Press, and what it actually takes to build a creative life nobody can cancel.

In This Episode

* From Pokémon Go to the Page: Cairo’s road through Niantic’s experimental GPS games and into fiction, and why the novel is the form he keeps returning to.

* The Award That Opened the Door: Winning the PAGE Award with a screwball script about the disastrous making of the first Star Wars, and what representation actually got him: a mountain of unpaid work and meetings with people who don’t read much.

* What Localization Really Means: Adapting foreign shows for English audiences, the pastry-that-got-called-a-donut problem, and why serving the studio beats serving the fans when getting hired again is the goal.

* Novelize Your Screenplay: His pitch to every contest finalist whose movie will never get made: a screenplay is already novella-length, and Kindle readers love that length even while trad pub pretends nobody does.

* Which Contests Are Real: The screenwriting competitions worth your money (Nicholl, PAGE, Big Break), the ones that are basically scams, and why you never wire cash to anyone or answer a cold email from a “producer.”

* How He Found New Ritual Press: Indie lit runs on relationships even more than Hollywood does, except the people are approachable and the bar for connecting is a warm reply and a thoughtful essay.

* Brand Over Everything: Why a small press wins by going exactly where the majors won’t or can’t, and why copying the mainstream “only different” is a dead end.

* The Anatomy of a Cancellation: The two levers anyone actually has over you, and how distributing your income and keeping your people close leaves the mob with nothing but noise.

* What Rolling Stone Got Right: The “anti-woke lit scene” feature everyone braced for as a hit piece, why it came off warmer than expected, and what a sales bump really looks like.

* New Wave, Alt Lit, and Skating Where the Puck Is Going: Cairo on the labels for this loose movement, why he’s set “new wave” aside for “alt lit,” and the trap of building a personality out of what you’re against.

* Running Futurist Letters: How a personal blog became a literary journal with a status-blind reading policy, and why editing other people’s work makes you a sharper writer of your own.

* A Cancellation: His new novel about a vlogger’s summer-long implosion, why everyone in it is a terrible person, and what streamer culture looks like with none of the old guardrails.

* Writing for Smart Adults: Reading as a hike you take with someone who can keep pace, why looking up words is growth and not embarrassment, and the difference between the narrator and the author.

Guest Links

* Read Scenebux://amzn.to/4d0GSxL

* Website: cairosmith.com

* X: @cairoasmith

Kristin’s Links

* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com

* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com

* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristin

Timestamps

00:00 - Meet Cairo Smith.

01:44 - From Hollywood to Indie.

04:42 - Localization and Adaptation.

06:51 - Why Novelizations Faded.

09:16 - Competitions That Matter.

11:10 - Breaking In and Scams.

11:43 - Dad’s Advice on Film.

13:05 - Getting Representation.

15:15 - Finding New Ritual Press.

17:39 - Indie Press Brand Voice.

18:51 - Ideological Capture in Publishing.

20:29 - Cancel Culture Resilience.

22:30 - Handling Online Mobs.

23:58 - Vibe Shift Politics.

25:21 - Rolling Stone Feature.

27:54 - Beyond Anti Woke.

28:47 - New Wave To Alt Lit.

30:52 - Building Futurist Letters.

32:56 - Writing And Editing Benefits.

33:34 - New Novel A Cancellation.

34:40 - Influencer Spiral Satire.

39:00 - Reading For Smart Adults.

42:21 - Where To Find Cairo.

43:11 - Buying And Distribution.

44:02 - Closing Thoughts.

About This Podcast

Nonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.

New episodes weekly.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com