Jen Benka
@jenbenka.bsky.social
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Executive Director of the Literary Arts Fund. Views my own.
"Change me, drastically if possible. Transform me. Make me other. Thatâs what I ask of booksâboth when I read them and when I write them." âCristina Rivera Garza
lithub.com/cristina-riv...
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Cristina Rivera Garza on Writing a Genre-Blending Excavation of Family History
I have long admired the work of Cristina Rivera Garza, the much lauded writer of novels, short stories, poetry, essays and criticism, translator, University of Houston Distinguished Professor, founâŚ
https://lithub.com/cristina-rivera-garza-on-writing-a-genre-blending-excavation-of-family-history/
3 days ago
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Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
11 days ago
"We believe that everyone in our country deserves meaningful access to the veracity, beauty, imagination, and continual revelation that the arts and humanities provide." âElizabeth Alexander, President of
@mellon.org
, a co-founder of the Literary Arts Fund
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Opening Up the Arts and Humanities for All Americans
https://www.mellon.org/article/opening-up-the-arts-and-humanities-for-all-americans-elizabeth-alexander
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Writers George Saunders, Roxane Gay, and Jodi Picoult, among others, have joined the Human Artistry Campaign's "Stealing Isn't Innovation" effort to protest tech companies using copyrighted creative work without permission to build AI language models.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
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One of the First Big Anti-AI Campaigns From Hollywood Is Launching Now
Writers, actors and other musicians have come out in support of the Human Artistry Campaignâs âStealing Isnât Innovationâ push for licensing and opt-out mechanisms for human-created works.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/celebrities-back-stealing-isnt-innovation-campaign-ai-1236479303/
21 days ago
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then let us believe the product of our lives is greater than the sum of us âElaine Mintzer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem...
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Poem: âE = mc²â
Science in meter and verse
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-e-mc/
23 days ago
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Jen Benka
The Associated Press
24 days ago
Rachel Eliza Griffiths is releasing her memoir, "The Flower Bearers," after enduring profound personal tragedies.
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The pain, and joy, of Rachel Eliza Griffiths' writing journey
Rachel Eliza Griffiths is releasing her memoir, âThe Flower Bearers,â after enduring profound personal tragedies.
https://bit.ly/3YNbfzK
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âWriting, which is a kind of paying attention, can be an act of love, an illumination...â âLarissa Pham
@literaryhub.bsky.social
lithub.com/writing-towa...
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Writing Toward the Void: Larissa Pham on Facing Your Fears in Fiction
Whatâs the scariest scenario you can imagine? Mine goes something like this: Imagine a woman wrote a bookâno, a revenge fantasyâabout a mentor who abused his power. What if that bookâs subject encoâŚ
https://lithub.com/writing-toward-the-void-larissa-pham-on-facing-your-fears-in-fiction/
24 days ago
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"Words can empower or break a person, a community, a nation. But when we share stories with one another, we are reminded of our shared humanity." âShugri Salh
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
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Somali Author Shugri Salh on the Power of Words
Shugri Salh, author of the memoir âThe Last Nomad,â reflects on her picture book debut, âSuubanâs First Day,â current events, and how words have the capacity both to heal and to harm.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/99458-somali-author-shugri-salh-on-the-power-of-words.html
25 days ago
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"We don't survive if we don't figure out how to hear, respect and see each other. And I think that literature has superpowers to do that." âElizabeth Alexander, poet and President of the
@mellon.org
Foundation on the new
@literaryartsfund.bsky.social
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
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Literary Arts Fund created to rekindle a love for reading
According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. By many measures, reading skills for both students and adults contin...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/literary-arts-fund-created-to-rekindle-a-love-for-reading
26 days ago
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"The benefit of reading more than one book at a time is that no matter how different the two books are, they always end up speaking to each other in ways I couldnât have imagined." âLaura Dave
time.com/7344842/read...
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The Benefits of Reading Two Books at Once
Pairing a book for focus with one for escape makes reading richer.
https://time.com/7344842/reading-two-books-at-once-benefits/
29 days ago
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"Poetry is alive; it celebrates our human experience with language, voice and reflection." âLaura Tohe, newly appointed Poet Laureate of Arizona
news.asu.edu/20260114-uni...
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ASU Professor Emeritus Laura Tohe named poet laureate of Arizona | ASU News
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced on Wednesday the appointment of Arizona State University Professor Emeritus Laura Tohe as poet laureate for the state of Arizona.
https://news.asu.edu/20260114-university-news-asu-professor-emeritus-laura-tohe-named-poet-laureate-arizona
29 days ago
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What indy titles are indy bookstore shoppers reading? Launching today: a new and alternative best-sellers book list from the Independent Publishers Caucus and
@americanbookseller.bsky.social
...
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
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Independent Publishers Caucus Launches Bestseller List with ABA
The Independent Press Top 40 is a new weekly bestseller list that ranks the most popular fiction and nonfiction titles from indie publishers, as sold by American Booksellers Association member stores.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/99435-independent-publishers-caucus-launches-bestseller-list-with-aba.html
30 days ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Poetry Daily
about 1 month ago
Today's Feature: Alyse Knorr and Kate Partridge Remember Mel Nichols Read here:
poems.com/features/wha...
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Alyse Knorr and Kate Partridge Remember Mel Nichols
When she describes, in this poem, the letters âtaking flight down the river of quaking aspens,â and then opens the next stanza by rendering how âthe world is moon milk spilled on dark grass / among th...
https://poems.com/features/what-sparks-poetry/alyse-knorr-and-kate-partridge-remember-mel-nichols/
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âIâm interested in writing my way through, around, above, and below my life, as a way to navigate lifeâs joys, beauties, and sadnesses all at once.â â@victoriachang.bsky.social
www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...
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Community Poetry | Victoria Chang, Velislava Kuzmenko
In her poem âThe Swan, No. 20 (Hilma af Klint)â from the Reviewâs October 23, 2025, issue, Victoria Chang delineates the line of beauty (a word that
https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/01/10/community-poetry-victoria-chang/
about 1 month ago
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"It feels like, to me, creativity is...this sort of vast collective consciousness, and I am, you know, a guy with a radio, turning the dial, tuning into it and trying to tune into it day after day." âBenjamin Wood
lithub.com/benjamin-woo...
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Benjamin Wood on the Creative Life Force
First Draft: A Dialogue of Writing is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with fiction, nonfiction, essay writers, and poets, highlighting the voices of writers as they discuss their work, âŚ
https://lithub.com/benjamin-wood-on-the-creative-life-force/
about 1 month ago
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Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
about 1 month ago
"I hope with every book I write that it heals something in someone." âTayari Jones
@tayari.bsky.social
on her new book, "Kin."
#LiteraryArts
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Tayari Jonesâs Healing Words
Before finishing her latest novel, the bestselling author had to overcome serious illness and self-doubt.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/99357-tayari-jones-s-healing-words.html
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"If youâre still looking for a New Yearâs resolution, 'read more books' could well be good for national morale." âBrittany Allen,
@literaryhub.bsky.social
lithub.com/in-2025-most...
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In 2025, most Americans read fewer than four books.
According to a YouGov poll released at yearâs end, American reading habits stay in the toilet. Four in ten Americans didnât read a single book during our last spin around the sun. And oâŚ
https://lithub.com/in-2025-most-americans-read-fewer-than-four-books/
about 1 month ago
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âA joy that wears down the rock of no." âCornelius Eady
m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjYQ...
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INAUGURATION HIGHLIGHT: Cornelius Eady Delivers Chilling Poem at Zohran Mamdaniâs Inauguration |AC14
YouTube video by DWS News
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjYQdpMxcxo&pp=0gcJCR4Bo7VqN5tD
about 1 month ago
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"âPoets and artists can speak in a language that is different from the language of politicians. They can say things that politicians canât say. They are there to capture an essence.â âElizabeth Alexander
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/n...
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âThis Is Our Timeâ: Acclaimed Poet to Honor Mamdani With Inaugural Poem
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/nyregion/mamdani-poem-cornelius-eady-inauguration.html
about 1 month ago
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"I love the way an audiobook brings me one step closer to a story, removing the middleman of paper or a screen. Iâm not just hovering over the action, Iâm in it. Channeling it. Bonus: No trees are harmed in the recording." âElisabeth Egan
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
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Why I Stopped Reading and Embraced Audiobooks
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/books/review/audiobooks-reading-listening-habits.html
about 2 months ago
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"I hold passionately to the importance of long-form nonfiction in helping us understand the world." âCaroline Sanderson, associate editor, The Bookseller
@thebookseller.com
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
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Are we falling out of love with nonfiction?
In the early 2020s, readers flocked to books to explain political turbulence. But is the world now too grim to read about â and are podcasters taking the place of authors?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/dec/17/are-we-falling-out-of-love-with-nonfiction
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
about 2 months ago
Tomorrow, December 19 at 11:59 p.m. ET, is the deadline for the Literary Arts Fundâs 2026 general operating grants. U.S.-based literary arts nonprofits that directly support creative writers are invited to review the fundâs eligibility requirements and apply:
literaryartsfund.org/grants/
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"Kevin engaged the Bay Area poetry scene like Warhol did his Factory â but unlike Warhol, it wasnât centered around him or his work.â âEvan Kennedy
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
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What rhymes with la la la, la la la la la? Kevin Killian, the poet obsessed with Kylie Minogue
He wrote poems named after Kylie songs and named his collection of erotic fiction after her indie album. He even loved the B-sides. So what did the avant garde writer find so inspiring about the mini ...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/dec/15/what-rhymes-with-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-kevin-killian-the-poet-obsessed-with-kylie-minogue
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
2 months ago
Thereâs one week left to apply for the Literary Arts Fundâs 2026 general operating grants. U.S.-based literary arts nonprofits directly serving creative writers are invited to review the eligibility requirements and apply by December 19 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Learn more:
literaryartsfund.org/grants
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"In American high schools, the age of the book may be fading." âDana Goldstein
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
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Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/us/high-school-english-teachers-assigning-books.html
2 months ago
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"She was a world builder." A beautiful tribute to DĂŠLana R.A. Dameron. May she rest in peace.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/b...
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DĂŠLana R.A. Dameron, Writer of the Black South, Dies at 40
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/books/delana-ra-dameron-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k8.7PCu.2ThVvNtCcCq4&smid=url-share
2 months ago
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"What writing does do for me is allow me to ask the kind of question that matters to me and there is something so joyful and meaningful...in the making of room in your life to sit with what matters to you even if those questions are difficult..." â@meghamaj.bsky.social
lithub.com/megha-majumd...
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Megha Majumdar on the Joy of Asking Questions
First Draft: A Dialogue of Writing is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with fiction, nonfiction, essay writers, and poets, highlighting the voices of writers as they discuss their work, âŚ
https://lithub.com/megha-majumdar-on-the-joy-of-asking-questions/
2 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
The Atlantic
2 months ago
The Atlanticâs editors pick their favorite books of the yearâ10 titles that distinguish themselves as worth reading and remembering. See the full list:
theatln.tc/gaJVrZ7O
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
2 months ago
The Literary Arts Fundâs 2026 general operating grant application window is open though December 19, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Literary arts nonprofits that directly support creative writers and their artistic work are invited to apply. Learn more:
literaryartsfund.org/grants/
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Looking for a book to gift or read this upcoming holiday season? Here's a great list from the well-read folks
@literaryhub.bsky.social
.
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Lit Hub
2 months ago
If you love a small press, check out these 100 notable small press books from 2025!
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100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025
The idea of 100 Notable Small Press Books was born November 2024, after The New York Timesâs annual 100 Notable Books list featured eighty-two books from the Big Five publishing houses (PenguâŚ
https://buff.ly/Xvkyuz6
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reposted by
Jen Benka
The Atlantic
3 months ago
Journalism and fiction are both essential to a thriving democracy, George Packer argues. He explores how his experience writing a political novel revealed similarities between imagined worlds and reality:
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Why Novels Matter
Journalism and fiction are both essential to a thriving democracy.
https://bit.ly/4oDTH3H
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âWhen other generations look back to see how and whether we were sufficient to the demands our times will have made of us, they will look at what we wrote and published and read.â âMarilynne Robinson
lithub.com/the-voice-of...
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âThe Voice of a Free People is Full of Turbulence and Grace.â Marilynne Robinson Accepts the Lewis H. Lapham Award
The Lewis H. Lapham Award for Literary Excellence was awarded earlier this month to Marilynne Robinson at a gala celebrating Harperâs Magazineâs incredible 175-year milestone of continuous publicatâŚ
https://lithub.com/the-voice-of-a-free-people-is-full-of-turbulence-and-grace-marilynne-robinson-accepts-the-lewis-h-lapham-award/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
PEN America
3 months ago
Today, PEN America introduces the Incarcerated Writers Bureau, a digital resource for professionals seeking to work with writers and journalists in US prisons. The website features a database of best practices, a submission hub, and writer profiles. Read more here:
pen.org/press-releas...
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New Digital Resource to Help Publishers, Journalists and Literary Agents Work Directly with Incarcerated Writers
The Prison and Justice Writing Program at PEN America launches Incarcerated Writers Bureau, a digital resource that will help make professional and creative opportunities more accessible to writers in...
https://pen.org/press-release/resource-agents-work-incarcerated-writers/
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Publishers Weekly
3 months ago
Attorneys general for 21 states sued to prevent the federal government from gutting the Institute of Museum and Library Services and other agencies, and on November 21, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. upheld an earlier preliminary injunction.
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Federal Court Delivers Judgment to Prevent Dismantling of IMLS
Attorneys general for 21 states sued to prevent the federal government from gutting the Institute of Museum and Library Services and other agencies, and on November 21, Judge John J. McConnell Jr.âŚ
https://buff.ly/zmr4y0Y
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"James Patterson has been a huge ally of independent bookstores for years, for good reason â he understands how badly we need their enthusiastic work to support reading, authors and community.â âAndy Hunter, founder and CEO,
Bookshop.org
people.com/james-patter...
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James Patterson and Bookshop.org Announce New Literary Prize for Debut Authors
James Patterson and Bookshop.org have launched a new literary prize. The James Patterson and Bookshop.org Prize honors books written by debut authors within the last 12 months, and are selected by ind...
https://people.com/james-patterson-and-bookshop-org-announce-literary-prize-for-debut-authors-11855593
3 months ago
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"Poetry helps us to say, oh, there are things I know that I havenât learned. There are instincts or intuitions that arise for me that prove to be quite practical and useful." âTracy K. Smith
lithub.com/tracy-k-smit...
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Tracy K. Smith on the Spiritual and the Poetic
First Draft: A Dialogue of Writing is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with fiction, nonfiction, essay writers, and poets, highlighting the voices of writers as they discuss their work, âŚ
https://lithub.com/tracy-k-smith-on-the-spiritual-and-the-poetic/
3 months ago
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"However we read â by eye, by ear or both â it all counts. What matters is that the words get in, the brain makes meaning and the identity of being a reader takes hold. We need more readers, however they get there." âBrian Bannon, The New York Public Library
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
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Opinion | Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/opinion/audiobooks-books-print-reading.html
3 months ago
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âThere are numerous benefits to a regular reading practice, experts sayâŚStudies have found that reading fiction specifically can make people more empathetic, strengthen their social-cognitive abilities and increase psychological richness.â
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
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In a reading rut? How to get back into reading for fun
In a world full of distractions, it can be difficult to form a habit that needs attention. Experts advise on getting out of the rut
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/nov/17/how-to-start-reading-fun
3 months ago
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"There is room for all of our voices..." âRoxane Gay
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/b...
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Books That Examine the Past and Present of the Middle East Take National Book Awards
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/books/review/omar-el-akkad-rabih-alameddine-national-book-awards.html
3 months ago
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"Yes, the past is gone, but the past is how we learn. The past is how we got here. Itâs worth a celebration. Even when it all went wrong. Especially when it did not." âJeanette Winterson
lithub.com/an-anniversa...
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An Anniversary That Bears Fruit: Oranges, 40 Years On
Earlier this month was my birthday. Such dates are more than times of celebration. They are memory-markers. Where we were. Who we were with. How did it feel? This year, 2025, I had a different birtâŚ
https://lithub.com/an-anniversary-that-bears-fruit-oranges-40-years-on/
3 months ago
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"Perhaps this is where literature and art can help: by bringing forth perspectives and experiences we might otherwise never encounter, by turning abstract phenomena such as extinction and climate change into experiences and stories we can live through." âIida Turpeinen
lithub.com/iida-turpein...
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Iida Turpeinen on Exploring Our Relationship With the Natural World Through Fiction
Iida Turpenenâs Beasts of the Sea, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston, is a rare first novel, drawing readers into intimate connection with a little-known species, the Stellarâs sea cow.âŚ
https://lithub.com/iida-turpeinen-on-exploring-our-relationship-with-the-natural-world-through-fiction/
3 months ago
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"He was a poet of the particular." âBob Holman
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/n...
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Hal Sirowitz, Poet Who Mined His Motherâs Worry With Wit, Dies at 76
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/nyregion/hal-sirowitz-dead.html
3 months ago
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"Fiction is an alchemical art, a way of knowing not only the worlds that exist today but hypothetical worlds, vanished pasts and imaginary futures. Why read or write fiction at all, if you donât want to go beyond the mind you have?" âKaren Russell
lithub.com/meet-the-202...
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Meet the 2025 National Book Award Finalists
The winners of the 76th National Book Awardsâgiven every year in Young Peopleâs Literature, Translation, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fictionâwill be announced next week in a ceremony hosted by Jeff HilâŚ
https://lithub.com/meet-the-2025-national-book-award-finalists/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
The New York Times
3 months ago
During the government shutdown, booksellers are collecting food for Americans who receive federal aid to buy groceries.
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Bookstore Food Drives Help Food Stamp Recipients
During the government shutdown, booksellers are collecting food for Americans who receive federal aid to buy groceries.
https://nyti.ms/4qVQ8bk
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"Every word matters; the spaces between the words matter. The book is about living, and the strangeness of living and, as we read, as we turn the pages, weâre glad weâre alive and reading..." âRoddy Doyle
@thebookerprizes.com
thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...
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Everything you need to know about Flesh by David Szalay, winner of the Booker Prize 2025 | The Booker Prizes
As Flesh by David Szalay wins this yearâs Booker Prize, hereâs the lowdown on the winning book and its author
https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-flesh-booker-prize-2025-winner
3 months ago
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"Always the same story: two people, one tree, not enough land or light or love." âPhilip Metres
@philipmetres.bsky.social
thelandcle.org/stories/a-li...
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A life characterized by verse: How one Cleveland poet found himself through writing â The Land
When Cleveland poet Philip Metres was a senior in AP English at Wilmette, Illinoisâ Loyola Academy in 1987, he was assigned a poem that would change the course of his life.
https://thelandcle.org/stories/a-life-characterized-by-verse-how-one-cleveland-poet-found-himself-through-writing/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Jen Benka
Literary Arts Fund
3 months ago
The Literary Arts Fundâs 2026 general operating grant application window is now open. U.S.-based literary arts nonprofits whose primary mission is presenting, publishing, and/or otherwise directly supporting creative writers are invited to apply:
literaryartsfund.org/grants/
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"A hunger that feels distinctly of our time: to follow thought as it unfolds, to see the forces that shape it, to watch meaning being made instead of delivered." âLaura Moore
electricliterature.com/nonfiction-i...
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Nonfiction Isnât False, but Who Says Itâs True? - Electric Literature
A new micro-genre turns "truth" into an investigation about how meaning gets made
https://electricliterature.com/nonfiction-isnt-false-but-who-says-its-true/
3 months ago
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"Art canât save us from anything, but we need it as a reminder of something better." âA.O. Scott
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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This Poem About Monetâs âWater Liliesâ Reflects on the Powers and Limits of Art
âMonetâs âWaterlilies,ââ by Robert Hayden, reflects on what art can (and canât) do in tumultuous times. Our critic A.O. Scott shows you why he loves it.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/06/books/robert-hayden-poem-monets-waterlilies.html
3 months ago
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"The AI boom not only normalizes plagiarism, but it also entirely ignores the work it takes to produce great writing." âMaris Kreizman
lithub.com/when-we-deva...
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When We Devalue Art (Books!) We Devalue the Future
When youâve spent your whole adult life working in and around book publishing you get used to hearing that people donât read anymore and that the industry is on its last legs. There is always a criâŚ
https://lithub.com/when-we-devalue-art-books-we-devalue-the-future/
3 months ago
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