In April's Necessary Whimsy column, @lishmcbride.bsky.social spotlights five funny, feel-good novels, including a few big, buzzy books that people seem to constantly recommend...it's always delightful when reality lives up to the hype!

Ah. I love this SO MUCH. BG3 was the first video game I EVER PLAYED AS AN ADULT! Karlach's my favorite, but I do love poor darling Astarion. I've wanted to play again ever since Carlos and I finished our first game (222 hours!), but I still can't get very far in the battles without his help.

I Never Saw a Wild a Thing Sorry for Itself ~ L.E. Bowman

Really good blog on upcoming New York vote on Comptroller, discussing the role of Comptroller, the incumbent, and the challengers! harihareswara.net/posts/2026/2...

Traverse City!

Eeee Mary posted our Devil and Last Midnight performance from Convergence last year!!

Oh, fun! I'm so glad @drmaryccrowell.bsky.social posted this. It's our THE DEVIL & LADY MIDNIGHT performance at @convergencecon.bsky.social last year, here in its entirety for anyone who wants to watch/listen! Look, there's me & Mary & @tinaconnolly.bsky.social! www.patreon.com/posts/presen...

Those cuties in Northern Michigan who've just opened Artemis Books and Goods have Caitlyn Paxson's A WIDOW'S CHARM for sale. Caitlyn signed a BUNCH of copies for them, so chances are high (especially if you ask for it), you can get yourself a SIGNED COPY! artemisbooksandgoods.com/book/9780593...

Oh, fun! I'm so glad @drmaryccrowell.bsky.social posted this. It's our THE DEVIL & LADY MIDNIGHT performance at @convergencecon.bsky.social last year, here in its entirety for anyone who wants to watch/listen! Look, there's me & Mary & @tinaconnolly.bsky.social! www.patreon.com/posts/presen...

Right here! And as of mid-February there were signed copies at the B&N in Union Square, but I don't know if they're around now. Indies always a fave though! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elias...

🎉30K giveaway book bundle! #💙📚 Inc @rhiannonagrist.bsky.social @aptshadow.bsky.social @voidcricket.bsky.social @lavanya.bsky.social @neuvel.net @csecooney.bsky.social @authortrmoore.bsky.social @shoutoutmapes.bsky.social US/CAN/UK/IE only. Like, repost, follow & drop a🌟in the comments! Ends 24/4

LOOK AT MY BRIGHT YELLOW SUNSHINE BOOK IN THAT BIG STACK! Oh, if you get one, give it KISSES for me!

This week's Saturday snippet comes from my gothic fantasy rom-com novella A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience: books2read.com/undeadInconvenience #romancelandia

Dear Chicago! This is tonight at CITYLIT bookstore!!!

HELLO CHICAGO! Come see us TOMORROW at CITYLIT BOOKS! FRIDAY, 6:30 PM! It’s an RSVP event, so go to the event page & sign on up! Caitlyn will give a reading. There will be SWAG! And a Q&A! www.citylitbooks.com/events/46079...

We are thrilled to reveal the cover for Susanna Clarke's illustrated short story The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City! Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, this enchanting new tale arrives October 20, 2026 from @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social

HELLO CHICAGO! Come see us TOMORROW at CITYLIT BOOKS! FRIDAY, 6:30 PM! It’s an RSVP event, so go to the event page & sign on up! Caitlyn will give a reading. There will be SWAG! And a Q&A! www.citylitbooks.com/events/46079...

HELLO CHICAGO! Come see us TOMORORW at CITYLIT BOOKS! FRIDAY, 6:30 PM! It’s an RSVP event, so go to the event page & sign on up! Caitlyn will give a reading. There will be SWAG! And a Q&A! www.citylitbooks.com/events/46079...

I need this to be the start of a fiction series where someone finishes the duet with him when he thought he was alone and it turns out there’s a sewer haunter who’s an insane soprano

"Being neurodiverse means that my writing routines are different from many other writers." 📖♾️💭 New interview with author of PLAGUE BIRDS author @jasonsanford.bsky.social: "The Present," out now on the Apex blog! 💥 Preorder PLAGUE BIRDS: RED DAY EDITION here www.apexbookcompany.com/products/pla...

george saunders, peter beagle, @kijjohnson.bsky.social, china mieville, the glorious @mariadahvana.bsky.social, pynchon, many more i'm definitely forgetting

The Loganberry Books event is this evening! If you're in the Cleveland area, be sure to go support @carterkeane.bsky.social and @reasie.bsky.social!

Coming up this Friday in Chicago! At CITY LIT BOOKS!

@eliaseells.bsky.social May I prevail upon you for some cocktail expertise? For SAINT DEATH’S DOORWAY, I need a cocktail infused with some sort of hot pepper, preferably one you can set on fire. Do you know of a TASTY recipe that has all these elements? Bonus points for citrus. <3 No worries if not!

I'm absolutely thrilled to see Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology make the finalist list for the Locus Awards! An enormous congratulations to all my fellow finalists. It’s amazing to be in such great company! locusmag.com/2026/04/2026... @carinabissett.bsky.social @ethereallad.bsky.social

Dear Chicago! On Friday I’ll be in you with my beloved Caitlyn Paxson! We are doing a BOOK EVENT on Friday at CITY LIT BOOKS, and oh we would love to see you! Tell your Chicago friends! JOIN US! SPREAD THE WORD! www.citylitbooks.com/events/46079...

Dear Chicago! On Friday I’ll be in you with my beloved Caitlyn Paxson! We are doing a BOOK EVENT on Friday at CITY LIT BOOKS, and oh we would love to see you! Tell your Chicago friends! JOIN US! SPREAD THE WORD! www.citylitbooks.com/events/46079...

#FundraiserPerk Talk to Max Gladstone for a 30-minute one-on-one video chat. Warm beverages and friendly chatter encouraged. Comes with the April e-issue of Locus and digital cover art. Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcLrq#FundraiserPerk or through our bio!

#Fundraiserperk Want to read a scene that was cut from Kemi Ashing-Giwa's THIS WORLD IS NOT YOURS? Add this on to any reward supporting Locus or you can grab it as your main perk. Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcK9c#Fundraiserperk or through our bio!

#FundraiserPerk Receive a signed & personalized copy of Tobi Ogundiran's IN THE SHADOW OF THE FALL as a thank you gift for your donation, + the April Locus E-Issue & digital art by designer Francesca Myman. Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcJhS#FundraiserPerk or through our bio

#FundraiserPerk Have your short story or a portion of your novel, up to 7,500 words, critiqued by Gautam Bhatia! Plus the April e-issue of Locus and digital cover art. Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcKwY#FundraiserPerk or through our bio!

Magic, gods, libraries, witchcraft, and West African folklore: you can talk about all this and more in a one-on-one with modern legend and award-winning author Tobi Ogundiran. Not a zoom to be missed! Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcLwu or through our bio!

“Moksha” by Rajiv Moté from Weird Horror, “The Memory Hounds of Bak-Ankham” by @awprihandita.bsky.social from Uncanny Magazine, and more short fic recs from @paulaguran here -

Useless but fun trivia fact. Did you know our paragraph indent dimensions in our books is always .1528”. Now you do.

Today's Classic Cover of the Day is Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown. This Ace Books edition was illustrated by World Fantasy Award winner Kinuko Y. Craft

Live in BCS #454: "How Gods Feed" @mercwolfmoor.bsky.social "Her breast aches and she gasps in surprise, her hands shaking. She was dead—her brother was dead. How can this be? _You are too late._ The words echo like thunder in her head." www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/how-...

if Sonia doesn't have $1177 for rent tomorrow, she's out on the street. Please help with this #UrgentNeed #MutualAid #BlackCrowdFund today paypal.me/MsSoniaD or cashapp $spunkylilminx #ShowUpForWishes #HelpFolksLive2026 💸 💕 💸

🗽 📢 New York City event news 🧜‍♀️ 🧜‍♂️ 🦀 🐟 🪼 Registration opens soon if you wish to march in the 44th Annual Mermaid Parade 20 June 2026 in Coney Island @hdwp.com @csecooney.bsky.social @larafraterauthor.bsky.social @leannareneehieber.bsky.social @alpbeck.com www.coneyisland.com/marchinginfo...

my parents on the moon launch mom: why are they going to the moon dad: same reason we go to your brother in Australia- some people like going very far away to a place where you die if you go outside

Who do I know in Montreal? I am reading there on Thursday - would love to see you, and appreciate any signal boosts! It’ll be an awesome round-up of writers addressing borders and immigration via speculative fiction. www.facebook.com/events/83173...

New pinned post: My debut collection of short stories, The House of Illusionists, is now officially out. vanessafogg.com?page_id=1020

Two SFF writers I admire (@vanessafogg.bsky.social) and @sueburke.bsky.social ) have had advance access to @slhuang.com's THE LANGUAGE OF LIARS, and maaaaan, from what they say, I am totally here for this novella. Comes out April 21 us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Now that I have finished (most) of my deadlines, I can make this book my whole personality 😍 Oh how I’ve missed you, Lanie Stones!

🏵️💀Out now - SAINT DEATH'S HERALD - the sequel to @csecooney.bsky.social 's World Fantasy Award Winner SAINT DEATH'S DAUGHTER! Meet Lanie Stones, the world's nicest necromancer. Buy now👇 Book 1 geni.us/zEYJqx Book 2 geni.us/stdherald

Saint Death's Daughter was one of my top books the year I read it, also. I should read it again

@csecooney.bsky.social keeps writing weird good books that make me cry! aah! (please continue) Today's read was Twice-Drowned Saint 😭💜

Found this mention of my short story "Espie Droger Dreams of War" on the review site Every Book a Doorway: "I want to print it out and hand it to people on the street like a religious pamphlet, that’s how much I think it should be mandatory reading!" @csecooney.bsky.social @lightspeedmagazine.com

I mean, I swear I was doing research, and I just wanted to know the etymological history of "going commando" and this is what I found, thank you. University slang, of course. Though Carlos says it was FRIENDS that popularized it. wordhistories.net/2019/04/21/g...

The new podcast In Your Spare Time: From the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin pairs Le Guin's blog posts with commentary from authors, librarians, critics, and more, including David Mitchell, Emily Wilson, Rick Riordan, Robin Hobb, and Vajra Chandrasekera.