John Warner
American writer and book critic; writes the Biblioracle books column for the Chicago Tribune and contributes to Inside Higher Ed. Author of Why They Can't Write (2018) and More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (2025). Writes a weekly newsletter on reading and writing.
John Warner did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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The use of AI by senior leadership at Big 5 publishers is deliberately courting de-skilling and self-alienation.
These moves by senior leadership at Big 5 publishers are deliberately courting the major downsides of AI use, de-skilling and self-alienation.
biblioracle.substack.comSaid 18 Oct 2026This on korrents
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The nonfiction market may be experiencing a serious contraction or significant down cycle that nothing will reverse.
I think it's likely that the nonfiction market is experiencing a serious contraction or significant down cycle that nothing will reverse
biblioracle.substack.comSaid 13 Sept 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 12 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
The use of AI by senior leadership at Big 5 publishers is deliberately courting de-skilling and self-alienation.
These moves by senior leadership at Big 5 publishers are deliberately courting the major downsides of AI use, de-skilling and self-alienation.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 18 Oct 2026
Over time, humans may lose the capacity to produce certain materials and the capacity for discernment over AI-generated materials.
Over time, humans will lose the capacity to produce these materials for themselves, relying on the AI product more and more, losing even the capacity for discernment over the AI-generated materials.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 18 Oct 2026
Automating the production of publicity and marketing materials is a bad idea, especially for outreach to reviewers.
Automating the production of publicity and marketing materials so they can be completed more efficiently "at scale" is just about the worst idea imaginable. This is particularly true when it comes to publicity outreach to reviewers or other outlets of book coverage.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 18 Oct 2026
Show 9 more
The nonfiction market may be experiencing a serious contraction or significant down cycle that nothing will reverse.
I think it's likely that the nonfiction market is experiencing a serious contraction or significant down cycle that nothing will reverse
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 13 Sept 2026
Podcasts may have replaced some of the demand for books.
Lincoln Michel theorized that perhaps podcasts have replaced some of the demand for books, a theory which makes sense to me.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 13 Sept 2026
The problem of men not reading is a factor in the current state of publishing.
The problem appears to be men and the larger "problem of men" which has led to men not reading.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 13 Sept 2026
The speed at which elite institutions abandon commitments to diversity suggests that slogans and programs are not particularly durable.
The speed with which elite institutions such as Columbia and Brown abandoned their commitment to diversity suggests that slogans and programs are not particularly durable.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 6 Sept 2026
Society may evolve such that those who rely on human perception for writing are left behind in the marketplace.
It's possible that our society will evolve in such a way that those of us who remain slow and unproductive because we must rely on our brains and human perceptions for our writing will be left behind in the marketplace that supports this work.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 6 Sept 2026
The pursuit of excellence in an art can require a radical compression of attention and self.
But the radical compression of his attention and sense of himself have allowed him to become a transcendent practitioner of an art-something few of us get to be.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 30 Aug 2026
One should be heedless in the pursuit of desires while ensuring those desires do not become the direct target of one's efforts.
That you must be both heedless in the pursuit of your desires, but to make sure that these desires do not become the direct target of your efforts?
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 30 Aug 2026
AI text detection through pattern recognition is prone to errors because LLM text may defy patterns or human text may mirror AI patterns.
These detectors work through pattern recognition and given that LLM text is extruded as the byproduct of ingesting a massive corpus of human text, it's not a stretch to believe that some of this text under certain prompting conditions may defy the patterns. At the same time, human-created text may mirror that which the detector decides is AI.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 9 Aug 2026
Harvard's decision to disband its writing center and lay off its director shows that the institution does not truly care about students.
At Inside Higher Ed I explored my disgust at Harvard's choice to disband its writing center and lay off its brilliant director, Jane Rosenzweig. These places truly do not care about students, and whatever lip service they pay about the importance of learning to write is B.S.
The Biblioracle Recommends Said 9 Aug 2026
What is a korrent?
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Where they publish
Newsletter The Biblioracle Recommends Weekly essays on books, reading, writing, teaching and AI, plus book recommendations.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
x.com @biblioracle His X account.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
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