See you at AWP in Baltimore! Catch me at a Friday offsite reading or at my panel on debuting from different paths.

See you at AWP in Baltimore! Catch me at a Friday offsite reading or at my panel on debuting from different paths.

Breaking in is hard, but then what? Join Lacey N. Dunham (#TheBelles), Marisa Kashino (#BestOfferWins), Samuel Ashworth (#TheDeathAndLifeOfAugustSweeney), and Hannah Grieco (#FirstKickingThenNot) for a real look at the reality of that first launch year. #WashingtonWritersConference

I hope to see your beautiful face at one of my spring events!

Wow.

I hope to see your beautiful face at one of my spring events!

Writers, help me out: Anyone have access to — or know where I can find — Philip Gerard's essay, “An Architecture of Light: Structuring the Novel & Story Collection”?

Only tiptoeing back onto socials to say that @necessaryfiction.com is still open to subs for our summer flash fiction series! Details, etc. etc. 👇🏼

This is important, re self-awareness about limitations of scope and reach. Even re book reviews. I know if I post about the WaPo review I was supposed to turn in I'll get well-meaning offers but the goal will be to place it somewhere with a similar audience. Working on reach is really important.

We gotta come up with a better system than “everything rests on whether these twelve billionnaires are nice”

granular, practical, well organized info here: www.wired.com/story/how-to...

Submissions to our annual summer flash fiction series are now open!

I’m writing my second book. My brain is a jumble of information and details and I don’t need the distraction of this place. I’m taking a Bluesky break until 2026. See you all in the new year.

What sacrificial offerings do I need to make to the writing gods for second novels?

There never seems to be a good time for anything online lately so I'm just going to throw this out here now: I am looking for more work! I don't mean writing (though that too, sure!), but in the vein of the work I do for the Le Guin Foundation: organizational, practical, assistant-y, bookish work.

A lot of success in writing is getting okay with receiving feedback, knowing which notes you have to take, and figuring out ways to be diplomatic about the ones you don't. Revision is one part writing skill, one part interpersonal shit.

Our editors share some of the books that captured our attention this year. necessaryfiction.com/reviews/reco...

Celebrating 3 months of THE BELLES officially being in the world!! 🎉🎉

Only 4 spots left for this class! I likely won't be able to offer this again until next fall, so jump on this one while you can.

I’m thrilled my southern gothic murder mystery THE BELLES is a Best Books of 2025 at Library Journal!! 🥳📚💖 @libraryjournal.bsky.social

I’m thrilled my southern gothic murder mystery THE BELLES is a Best Books of 2025 at Library Journal!! 🥳📚💖 @libraryjournal.bsky.social

One of my favorite classes to teach, one of my most popular classes with students. I’ll stuff your brain so full of info, you’ll feel like you ate a million brain burritos. writer.org/event/book-p...

Reminder! "Best Of" lists are tied to publicity and marketing budgets, who is able to hire publicists, what books made it to the top of a TBR stack *thousands* of arcs tall, and the shrinking # of outlets still doing book coverage. Talk about your favorite books! They likely weren't read. ❤️📚

I’m gonna start a newspaper and/or magazine just so I can make a “best books of 2025” list and put my own damn book on there

Need a gift for someone who's read everything? Check out LitHub's roundup of 100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025! I'm glad to have contributed a handful of reviews of books I loved this year. Thanks @miriamgershow.bsky.social for putting it together. lithub.com/100-notable-...

The 100 Notable Small Press Books 2025 list is live! In 2026, I’ll be taking over the project from the amazing @miriamgershow.bsky.social Want to be a reviewer? Fill out the form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Tell me your debut novel came out this year without telling me your debut novel came out this year.

When a reader and fellow author loves your book enough to name it in their top 3 reads of 2025 😍😍😍 Thanks @dianejosefowicz.bsky.social!

I’m writing so many early-90s Easter eggs into my next novel (which is set in 1994) and damn, is it fun. Raise your hand if you remember when Dr. Carly Manning was buried alive 🙋🏼‍♀️

Remember to shop your indie bookstore and small businesses today! (And really every day that you possibly can.) I personally popped into my local indie bookstore yesterday and signed copies for a friend, plus a few extra. ☺️🎁

Lol jesus, Liselotte, chill out

I finally bought a home printer and used it for my first print job: a rough draft of my next book.

I met an author recently whose recent book was a #1 NYT and USA Today bestseller, and another author whose NYT bestseller was also a major celebrity book club pick, and BOTH still have full-time day jobs. Even for the megahits, this industry is impossible. Be real with yourself before you dive in.

Miami Book Fair was a ton fun!

Every author who published a book this year rn: 380+ great 2025 reads and they couldn’t pick mine?!?!? 😭😭😭

Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols. Instead, the military service will classify them as “potentially divisive” under its new guidelines, which take effect next month. https://wapo.st/4p2HnKY

You gotta be pretty damn evil not to get an invite to Dick Cheney's funeral

How am I supposed to focus on writing my next book when it gets dark at 4:30pm and all I want to do is sleep?

Author rite of passage: I was tagged in a review of my book that said “There are better books out there!” 🙃🙃🙃

We've just opened submissions on a brief call for short solstice writing. Let's see what happens!

Librarians really are amazing people, y’all.

You know what’s the same about a 5 year old and a 15 year old? THEY’RE BOTH CHILDREN.

Two editors, one amazing bookstore. Awesome to see my fellow @necessaryfiction.com editor and general literary man about town @shimmer.bsky.social at my @portersqbooks.bsky.social event last night! 🤩

I’m in Massachusetts for an event tonight. It’s 4:30 and the sun has already set. I know daylight saving time ended but guys this is ridiculous. My cats haven’t even eaten dinner yet.

BOSTON! CAMBRIDGE! See you tomorrow (Wed) night at @portersqbooks.bsky.social with my friend Laura Venita Green! Discussion will include genre-blending fiction and the terror of creepy dolls. Details at the link: portersquarebooks.com/event/2025-1...

DC is so cold today that I had to wear two layers of thick socks and leg warmers with my slippers and sweatpants in my writing office this morning 🥶

Really enjoyed chatting with Sean O'Connor at @macabredaily.bsky.social from a Marriott in Virginia where one of those pop-up carnivals was going full force in the parking lot outside 🎡 Come for Sean’s sweet horror art; stay for my mediocre hotel room art. Super fun one.

The @portersqbooks.bsky.social events email is always welcome in my inbox, but especially so when my pal @bookbent.bsky.social is included. Hope to see some of you on 11/12!

My therapist recently told me that sometimes you can’t see how normalized a toxic or traumatic situation was until you’ve had space from it. I immediately wanted to say, “you mean like the Yellowjackets girls?” but I didn’t want her to think I’ve been working up to admitting cannibalism.

Virginia, today’s the day to cast your vote for Abigail Spanberger for governor. Let’s do this!