Our sponsor, Columbia University, invites you to write new pages, get thoughtful feedback, and sharpen your voice this summer in NYC. buff.ly/uQsCJRq

An excerpt about a woman who finds a dead body, from ATTENTION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR by Aea Varfis-van Warmelo, recommended by Kimberly Campanello. buff.ly/uZ3eXfC

Submissions are open now!

The Commuter—Electric Literature's home for flash, poetry, and graphic narratives—and our personal narrative essay series will both open for submissions on Monday, May 18 and will close at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Sunday, May 24 or when we reach our cap in each genre. buff.ly/Yhj4cdX

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D/annie Liontas interviews Sara Nović about her new book, "Mother Tongue." The books is both a sharp history of deaf ableism in America and the tender examination of family. buff.ly/1IfQbeK

Not everything you writes needs to be the best thing you've written. Read this craft essay about bad writing by Benjamin Shaefer.

"They drift. They double back. They sit in traffic. They ache, they lose their spirit, they try and try and try. Sometimes they succeed at making movies, money, and climbing the ranks of power only to find out how sad it feels."

A personal essay by Faith Palermo about being stalked by a neighbor whose surveillance was treated, legally, like a harmless hobby — like birdwatching. buff.ly/h0qK2SG

"In the seven poetry collections... you’ll find verses that could never be contained by a perfectly curated grid."

Two poems by Russell Brakefield about nature reclaiming our technology and the dreams that come true in Pinedale, Wyoming. buff.ly/be5YZFi

Cherry Lou Sy interviews Sarah Wang about her new novel, "New Skin." The novel follows a mother-daughter story of immigration, assimilation, and reinvention through the intertwined worlds of cosmetic surgery and reality television.

M Lin is interviewed by Rebecca Bihn-Wallace about her debut story collection, "The Memory Museum." They talk about writing from women's perspectives, forging artistic identities , the role of sexual desire, and more! buff.ly/lWL0CQr

A story by Jess Gibson about an aspiring artist who feels threatened by just how creative his new girlfriend can be, recommended by Molly McGhee. buff.ly/A0U5Ydv

Zachary Pace interviews Monica Ferrell about her new book of poetry, "The Future." They talk about writing by hand, Vermont as a setting, hating supermarkets, and more. buff.ly/E6cZKLL

Avigayl Sharp discusses her new novel, "Offseason," in this interview by Lennie Roeber-Tsiongas. They talk about Nabokov, sincerity, and how to write trauma without directly disclosing it. buff.ly/KkGRB3T

These books about women migrant workers explore the intersections of labor, gender, and survival.

8 Books That See Reality TV as More Than a Guilty Pleasure. Read Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais’s recommendations here:

A personal essay by Billy Lezra, “Minor Meats” explores ambivalence, embodiment, and the pressure to narrate transformation in legible ways. buff.ly/R2XqJMN

Two poems about the pleasurable pain of a New Jersey sex dungeon and a very expensive travel souvenir, by Nat Mesnard.

Cherry Lou Sy interviews Eve J. Chung about her new novel, "The Young Will Remember." Centered on the Korean War and its aftermath, the novel follows an American journalist whose plane crashes in North Korea. buff.ly/KMBvyew

"Families, whether given or chosen, are chimeric creatures. They’re difficult to describe in full, laden with temperaments, textures, and histories." Tead Jessika Bouvier's recommendations for novels featuring dysfunctional (but charming) families:

The Commuter—Electric Literature's home for flash, poetry, and graphic narratives—and our personal narrative essay series will both open for submissions on Monday, May 18 and will close at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Sunday, May 24 or when we reach our cap in each genre. buff.ly/Yhj4cdX

"By sharing their personal inheritances, they prevent history from becoming a faded-sepia matter of the past." A list by Tamiko Nimura about books that pull from the family archive:

A story by Adrienne Celt about a restaurant critic and new mother who finds herself ravenous for the tastes of the natural world, recommended by Halimah Marcus. buff.ly/lDCHQtY

The 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is almost here! Bradley Sides narrows the contenders and predicts the winner 📚

Choose your fighter: Surrealism vs. Realism 🥊 🥊 Electric Literature’s (sur)realism denim hats are still available—3 colors to choose from! buff.ly/D99vuVX

Bareerah Ghani interviews Hasan Dudar about his debut collection, "Carryout." The stories in the collection follow a Palestinian-Lebanese family in Toledo, Ohio. buff.ly/kVn9Qgv

Tar pits, scoliosis, and a body never fully one’s own, an essay by Aleina Grace Edwards. buff.ly/QrgdYYt

🚨 Cover Reveal 🚨 “The Volcano Keeper” by Bradley Sides is coming from @regal_house_publishing on October 20, 2026. Read more about the book and how it’s cover came to be: buff.ly/VrkxjYp

Morgan Ome interviews Jiyoung Han about her debut novel, "Honey is the Wound." They talk about folklore, magical realism, and the dark history of comfort women in Korea. buff.ly/lWEH8N0

A tale of lush fairies leads to the sweetest of apologies, in a story by Peter M. Kazon. buff.ly/JKFbIib

An essay by Letizia Mariani on how the show "Stranger Things" betrays its own message of nonconformity.

Manuscript and query letter consultations are now available! Our experienced editors can help you kickstart a revision for short fiction and essays up to 6,000 words! Trying to find an agent or prepare an application? EL now offers consults for query letters! buff.ly/Nhsg5yy

A mother in Derry finds her old wounds feeling fresh when her teenage daughter suddenly takes an interest in the Troubles, in an excerpt from “Prestige Drama” by Séamas O'Reilly, recommended by Caroline O'Donoghue. buff.ly/kriMoY7

The books in this list explore how Indian meals are shaped by caste, gender, religion, and power, revealing the tensions and histories simmering beneath everyday food.

In our latest 23 Questions, Emma Copley Eisenberg dives into her ideal writing day, how to get through writer's block, keeping favorite authors on hand, and more! buff.ly/xuykPPi

Evander James Reyes interviews Patrick Cottrell about his new novel, "The Afternoon Hours of a Hermit." They talk about Milwaukee as noir, metafictional doubling, frustration as the mechanics of plot, and more! buff.ly/1VoMLhX

A mother’s death becomes a lens on life in a contaminated ecotone. Read Sarah Giragosian's personal essay: buff.ly/cirZTrS

From the Himalayas to rural Madhya Pradesh, these stories explore life outside bustling metropoles and in India's smaller towns.

A poem about a hockey brawl between a bug mascot and a fan who is far from home. buff.ly/ft9iklK

"They don’t always succeed in the ways they hope—and, in one case, girl power threatens to destroy all of humanity, not just the prom—but they all turn their minds toward making better futures. " Read Caroline Bick’s 7 recs for books whose literary characters who break the "teen girl" trope here:

Joe Milazzo interviews William Lessard, author of the new hybrid work, "/face." They discuss language in the age of AI, the MAGA plastic-surgery face, predictive algorithms, and more. buff.ly/Sgbs8gy

During a reunion with high school friends, a Seattle artist sees the life she could have had if she’d never left Beijing, in “Yulan” by M Lin, recommended by Jeremy Tiang. (Graywolf Press)

Basmah Sakrani interviews authors Mahreen Sohail and Dur e Aziz Amna about Pakistani literature, the challenges of using real places in fiction, motherhood, and more.

"The following reading list gathers stories of characters who can’t get out of their own way. These characters are both the aggressors and victims of their circumstances." Read Pardeep Toor's recommendations here:

Ashley Leone interviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of “Chain Gang All-Stars,” on writing across disciplines and releasing his debut album, “The Pisces Sciatica.” buff.ly/hQMhAgc

Greg Mania interviews Rachel Khong about her new short story collection, "My Dear You." They explore how absurdity exposes the contradictions and cruelties built into our world. buff.ly/FSAb3eo

Ramona Ausubel provides simple, playful prompts to help you break through creative blocks.

Carole Maso interviews Nora Lange about her new story collection, "Day Care." They discuss motherhood, animal dynamics, death, and more. buff.ly/Wu51BmE