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Terry Brooks isn’t a man who needs to worry about his standing in the industry anymore.

The acclaimed, wildly successful fantasy author and creator of the Shannara series — which has been topping sales charts since 1977, with a new book released on something close to an annual basis — has, therefore, gained a well-deserved reputation as someone who speaks his mind with acerbic wit and a fearlessness that we should all learn from… something that was certainly on display during his spotlight panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2025.

Asked how the publishing industry has changed in his nearly 50 years in the industry, he explained, “Publishing used to be run by the editors, you have to understand this. The fact is, in the beginning the editors ran the house. I mean, they ran the house. They made all the important decisions.”

Brooks went on, “When I started out, I watched the higher-ups — including the presidents of the company — come to [legendary sci-fi editor] Lester Del Rey and ask him what was going to happen next. How was this going to develop? What were the plans for doing everything? I thought, that’s the way it should work, right? They’re the editors, they’re making the decisions, they’re calling the shots. They were calling all my shots. Then, as time went on, the editor status started to fall down, and the bean counters started to come up.

“It became more and more about money and profit. This is a very sad story, but it’s the story of America, and if you don’t think so, then you’re kidding yourself.”

Galaphile: The First Druids of Shannara — Brooks’ final solo novel, as he revealed on the panel — is available now.

Just like yourself, the Popverse staff spends a whole lot of time with our respective noses in respective books. It's why we've come up with stuff like:

• The hottest upcoming fiction
• Queer romance to add to your reading list
• A reading guide to Cassandar Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles

...and a whole lot more. Join our metaphorical library, won't you? There are no late fees and you can be as loud as you want, so long as the people you live with are OK with it.