I guess the main thing I’m learning this week is that lots of elite media people knew charlie kirk personally and didn’t know any minnesota state legislators

i really resent all the time we have to spend being polite about things because the people in power are pathologically opposed to looking at themselves and being honest about what’s going on

the thing to understand is that for many people the violence of order maintenance is simply not seen as violence in the first place

The white liberal reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death are exhausting. Ppl are more concerned about maintaining a consistent ideology/not being hypocrites/reinforcing ideals that don’t apply to this reality. This is the brain rot of white supremacy: emphasizing politesse over real people.

I’M still listed there

LET'S FUCKIN GO!!! CONGRATS @claymcleod.bsky.social!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 cc: editorial legends @rebeccagyllenhaal.bsky.social @jhanteigh.bsky.social And if you haven't read Ghost Eaters, now's your chance! Highly recommend, it's a perfectly haunting read 👻

someone who’s good at the economy please help me understand why Philly’s Dem mayor and her friends got gigantic raises when our ACTUAL essential city workers—like trash collectors, 911 operators, street pavers—struggle to survive on $46k a year?

Some personal news: As of Monday, I am no longer a kidlit editor at Quirk Books. I was laid off last week along with the other acquiring editor and every full-time union member on the Sales, Marketing, & Publicity team. Here's me on my last day with ~60% of the books I had the privilege to work on:

Thinking of all the editors, designers, publicists, storytellers and everyone else in between who worked at Quirk so unbelievably hard to make good books, exciting books, to get these stories out there in the world, to just work and be a part of this publishing industry, to survive: bit.ly/4ePWiEp

As a writer whose sixth Quirk book comes out this fall, I am so sad to hear this news. Both of the editors I've been working with have been laid off. They're excellent editors and wonderful people, and I have so appreciated all their hard work. Sending good thoughts to all for better days ahead.

also! I want to shout out two forthcoming horror books from Quirk, since the authors have been left dangling in all this:

please preorder THIS IS MY BODY which was written by me (cool) and edited by @jesszimmerman.com (amazing) and has nothing to do with that other guy, I'm not sure he's even heard of it www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/789598...

We're manifesting a hot labor summer for publishing 🌞 If you're on IG, you can follow along @ QuirkBooksUnion ✨

Btw I suppose it won't surprise anyone to hear that the Dorian Gray retelling I've been co-writing with @rachelfeder.bsky.social is no longer forthcoming from Quirk in 2026! We will be looking for a new home for our project (perhaps one that... employs editors?) and I'll keep you posted.

This sucks SO FUCKING MUCH. As an author, I've been very vocal about how much I loved working with Quirk. Most of the people who made it an incredible, supportive experience are now gone. The publisher I love is gone, even if it nominally still exists.

Hi! I’m here to support my former colleagues at Quirk Books, which includes a laid-off woman who is currently on maternity leave, an editor who resigned due to working conditions, and seven members of the recently recognized union. All of this happened within 8 months of my own resignation.

Today was my last day at Quirk—which means I finally have time for freelance editing clients! If you’re developing a book at any stage please get in touch and we can discuss how I can help www.jesszimmerman.com/editing.html

I’ve been wondering this myself!

quirk was the first print publisher that ever bought anything i made. truly, truly disappointing to see them, via some weird coincidence, lay off ~60% of their brand-new union

what the fuck?! this isn't how Philly is supposed to do, y'all.

A publishing house that laid off all its editors seems, uh

I was working on a proposal for them that I was pretty excited about, until last week, when the editor I was working with, Rebecca Gyllenhaal, called to say that she and the rest of the editorial staff had been abruptly fired.

“The fact that all seven of the impacted employees were union members and the timing of the layoffs a month after the election were ‘unfortunate coincidences.’” Yeah, so the thing is, no one in their right mind would ever believe this, but go off I suppose if you insist

“Pointing out that Quirk management had voluntarily recognized the union on June 19, Borgenicht denied that the layoffs were in retaliation.” Sure thing, David.

as a quirk author I am really fucking pissed about this! also one thing this article doesn’t mention is that there are now *no* editors working there! so that’s great! www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

This really sucks to see. Quirk took a chance on me and published three strange books that would absolutely not have a home elsewhere, but they saw a market for (and they were right!). And right after unionizing! www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

ah yes the “unfortunate coincidence” in which all of the people laid off were members of the company’s recently formed union. many such cases. now if you’ll excuse me, I have an urgent appointment with the wallet inspector