The New York Observer spoiled the hopes of hundreds of aspiring writers today, reporting on the grim, momentous changes occurring at major publishers.

“Only the most established agents will be able to convince publishers to take a chance on an unknown novelist or a historian whose chosen topic does not have the backing of a news peg,” predicted Leon Neyfakh, his story backed-up by a number of industry insiders. “Authors without ‘platforms’ will have a more difficult time finding agents willing to represent them.”

As we adjust to this new literary landscape, it looks like the big publishers will hibernate during the rough patches. In the meantime, young writers might turn to small, scrappy houses like Two Dollar Radio.

In this exclusive video interview last month, the founders of that fledgling press argued that mom and pop publishers will thrive despite the crisis–what do you think?