california is gonna have so many mail in ballots that don’t get counted because people don’t know the new USPS rules that are impacting mail in voting. tl;dr don’t put your ballot in the mail today, find a ballot drop box. www.kqed.org/news/1208537...

I will not allow AI to take my love of em dashes away from me.

Lovely to see @gracelp.bsky.social's THE TRANSLATOR'S DAUGHTER on this list! @anitafelicelli.bsky.social www.altaonline.com/books/g71220...

View the entire list here: www.altaonline.com/books/g71220...

Grateful and humbled to be included on @altajournal.bsky.social’s list of 20 recommended books for AAPI Heritage Month alongside so many friends and literary luminaries!! Thank you @anitafelicelli.bsky.social for this wonderful curated list. 🙌🏽

Tonight!!

A new ZYZZYVA is here and you know what that means. We’re celebrating! Join us with our friends @citylightsbooks.bsky.social for pizza, drink, and readings from 132 contributors @anitafelicelli.bsky.social + @sarahkmatsui.bsky.social + Carolyn Burke. Cinco de Mayo, 7pm Free to attend

You can order your copy of I32 here: www.zyzzyva.org/product/zyzz... It might be the most experimental issue we've done in years, but also one in which the "voice" of the journal is announcing itself more clearly. So if you want to know what ZYZZYVA is now all about, you could start here.

I had a lot of fun talking to Jane Smiley about horses and reading some of her books that I hadn't yet gotten to for @altajournal.bsky.social. www.altaonline.com/books/fictio...

great piece by Kristen Roupenian on Marie NDiaye's latest, The Witch. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

NEW: In the middle of the night, the House tried to pass a bill that would have given President Trump and Stephen Miller the power to spy on Americans without a warrant for years to come. It failed due to pressure from the public — but they plan to vote again in just 2 weeks.

In other news, I am really excited to share some new initiatives we're launching at The Rumpus including increased pay, writing and editorial fellowships, and microgrants. therumpus.net/2026/03/31/e...

new short fiction “Glass Houses” in the latest @altajournal.bsky.social 🙌🏽 featuring the artwork of Victor Juhasz altaonline.com/culture/fiction-and-poetry/a61159424/jose-vadi-glass-houses-fiction order the print issue via the link below 📰

good story “words of praise from someone whose opinion you respect can give you a rush of courage — let you take on a piece of work that is risky” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/b...

Instagram, YouTube found liable in lawsuit alleging they were designed to addict kids

“Only an advocate who deeply believes in the public good could speak so earnestly, with the conviction of a fighter who has both won and lost in her mission,” @gshans.bsky.social writes of Cindy Cohn’s “Privacy’s Defender” in @altajournal.bsky.social. www.altaonline.com/books/nonfi...

I reviewed Cindy Cohn’s smart, inspiring new memoir “Privacy’s Defender” for Alta. She’s wrapping up her tenure leading the Electronic Frontier Foundation (@eff.org), so it’s a great time to read about her journey and their work on tech, law, and the digital world. www.altaonline.com/books/nonfic...

"The speed with which US democracy is being dismantled is unprecedented in modern history." www.theguardian.com/world/commen... I never thought I would live through that. But here I am.

Obligatory plug that today is the last day to get 15% off your first year of Scratch using the link below. We made the intentional choice NOT to use Substack for our literary project, which means we’re particularly dependent on word of mouth and subscriptions to maintain it. Thanks, all.

Considering the genius of Frances Burney, Jane Austen’s most important literary predecessor.

Reupping this one more time, because, truly, I do not want any interested parties to miss it. 👇🏻

California could be attacked by drones because of Iran war, memo warns. Officials downplay threat

This happened. The print interview was edited in ways that feel very jumpy, but I got to say some things. Like: Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war. Too many people still expect it to look like war. [and then there's a crazy jump-cut w/out transition.]

great essay on AI by Charles Yu "Getting lost is not the rough part. It’s the whole thing." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

When you support indie presses, you keep art and writing made by people alive. You make it possible for voices to exist outside the mainstream. You support real people who are going to work everyday and creating when they can (usually by sleeping less).

For Alta Magazine, I wrote about Hannah Lillith Assadi's novel PARADISO 17 which imagines the life of a Palestinian man from birth to death and beyond, living as a refugee in search of home. Well worth sharing with those who claim the news is too much for to bear. www.altaonline.com/books/a70521...

We're still holding onto the Valentine's Day blush, but we’re interested in all kinds of love—messy, quiet, obsessive, unexpected. How We Know Our Time Travels by Anita Felicelli encompasses them all. 💖🧡 What kind of love do you like to read about? Comment down below! ⬇️

Here it is: the cover of my debut novel, ANY KIND OF KNOWN TOMORROW, coming from @bettybooks.bsky.social on 9/15. Head here to learn more about the book and about Betty: www.wtawpress.org/betty. For media and review inquiries, contact Lauren Cerand Public Relations (@laurencerand.com)

This is a mental war that we have to win. It's not about being a luddite, it's about destroying or retaining the ability to think. It's about how insidious this becomes in a situation where generative AI is adopted and then subverted intentionally. www.thealgorithmicbridge.com/p/a-new-whar...

"The notion of making a living with A.I.-generated books appears to be based on the belief algorithms will be serving up book slop the same way we are force-fed other kinds of slop" I'm still not over losing my job as a book reviewer. Here's why we need book critics: buttondown.com/charliejane/...

Ted Chiang Kim Samek Jamel Brinkley Laura van den Berg Marguerite Sheffer

beautiful remembrance of Michael Silverblatt, and also of a different era of publishing and media www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

Meta thinks now is a great time to launch facial recognition surveillance tech in their creepy glasses because EFF will be too distracted by fascism to notice. We noticed. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

“The global publishing platform Substack is generating revenue from newsletters that promote virulent Nazi ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism, a Guardian investigation has found…” www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post. substack.com/home/post/p-...

A healthy book ecosystem relies on professional book reviewers, not just authors reviewing their peers, although this is good and interesting too. We need both. But the professional reviewer is a keystone species in the ecosystem. We can't lose them.

You’d think a guy who owns a company that is the largest seller of books would support the newspaper’s (that he owns) book section.

Former NBCC board member Anita Felicelli profiled Annalee Newitz for Alta:

I’m so grateful to @bulbculture.bsky.social for giving this story a beautiful new home.

Don't forget to write reviews of the WTAW Press books you've read. They make a big difference! #WTAWPress #supportsmallpresses #postyourbookreviews

I loved this book. Hard hitting and emotional powerful but also darkly funny.

For @altajournal.bsky.social, I reviewed @ninamcconigley.bsky.social's excellent new book, "How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder": www.altaonline.com/books/fiction/a70001359/nina-mcconigley-how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder-book-review/

Delighted to be co-chairing the Leonard Prize with @ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social! This list comes from both our general membership & the Board, and the members will vote on the winner. (It’s not too late to join @bookcritics.bsky.social.) Cheers to all of these debut authors!

NBCC member Paul Wilner contributed a book roundup on the first months of the new year for Alta:

Art lives in the process, in the struggle to grow and figure out the specific needs of the work, and in the arrival at a better understanding of the artist’s limitations. The product is just the end result of the art.

a pleasure to talk to Annalee Newitz about their cozy science fiction novella, Automatic Noodle; robots; and world building for @altajournal.bsky.social. www.altaonline.com/books/fictio...

I don't know which challenge this is - but I agree with @themountaingoats - one of the cruddiest things that's happened to reading in the past 20 years or so is the algorithms that narrow bookshelf recs into books like those you've already bought, rather than wild books that might blow your mind.

October might be our busiest season, but Litquake presents a variety of literary programs year-round. From hosting Ocean Vuong and Ed Yong to a slate of local, up-and-coming authors, this year was a treat. 💗Interested in supporting Litquake? Consider donating at buff.ly/aNo4QW5