Happy holidays, writers! We love you all. We hope this is a time of peace, rest, magic, joy, beautiful sentences, exactly the right adjectives, metaphors that SLAP, and turns of phrase that do all the heavy lifting. Thank you for being the BEST writing community.

And just like that, I finished editing one of our last @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social reviews of the year! ...which also reminded me: it's been a year since I joined the masthead as a daily editor. What a joy to edit writers you adore and be part of the @storystudiochicago.bsky.social community!

nbd, just a Speculative Nonfiction class with the ONE AND ONLY Carmen Maria Machado. 🤩 This four-session online class starts Feb. 25. More good news: Each session is recorded, so when you register, if you miss a live lecture, you can watch on your own time. Register now: buff.ly/PLEKu35 #writers

“Sarah’s class helped me with goalsetting, experimenting with a wide variety of exercises, and brought new focus and attention to my writing. Wonderful student review of Sarah Terez Rosenblum's Creative Writing Essentials class. The next cohort (ONLINE) starts Jan. 19 buff.ly/8yyL2sa #writers

If you've ever accidentally laughed at a funeral (or your characters have), this class is for you. Kat Tang will lead writers through a generative workshop on turning what's expected on its head. Writing Untamed Emotions, online, Jan. 20: buff.ly/OWMp8Ey #writingcommunity

@meganstielstra.bsky.social's "Urgency and the Personal" essay class begins on 1/8 -- this 4-session online class focuses on how to tell our own stories in ways that make them equally urgent to others. Don't miss this! buff.ly/oNFCsxM #writingcommunity

At the end of the year, we think it's vitally important to celebrate wins! In our latest newsletter, we spelled out our 10 best successes of 2025: buff.ly/2hlmao1 #writingcommunity

“Sarah’s class helped me with goalsetting, experimenting with a wide variety of exercises, and brought new focus and attention to my writing. Wonderful student review of Sarah Terez Rosenblum's Creative Writing Essentials class. The next cohort (ONLINE) starts Jan. 19 buff.ly/8yyL2sa #writers

Now this is what WE want for the holidays 😍

What an amazing list! /Adds every single one to TBR.

It's not too late to get the writer in your life the PERFECT writerly gift. A StoryStudio gift card can be used for any online or in person class, workshop, or program. Grab one now and be a Holiday Hero! buff.ly/Tsb5z29 #writingcommunity

It's not too late to get the writer in your life the PERFECT writerly gift. A StoryStudio gift card can be used for any online or in person class, workshop, or program. Grab one now and be a Holiday Hero! buff.ly/Tsb5z29 #writingcommunity

Mark your calendars, #Chicago. This is going to be incredible.

"...the best part is having written..." YES!

This was unquestionably a challenging year…but we still managed to find as much joy as we possibly could. Thank you all for helping to make this writing community so strong, vibrant, and yes, just a whole lot of fun!!! #writingcommunity

We love being a part of this community 🥰

Wooohoooo! Check out the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social's editors list of the best books they read this year. Perfect for last-minute gift ideas for the reader in your life. buff.ly/D9rhbzs #books #booksky

ICYMI yesterday....we think this is a pretty big deal! 🤩

This was unquestionably a challenging year…but we still managed to find as much joy as we possibly could. Thank you all for helping to make this writing community so strong, vibrant, and yes, just a whole lot of fun!!! #writingcommunity

ICYMI yesterday....we think this is a pretty big deal! 🤩

Today is the last day of Early Bird Registration for Pub Crawl 2026. Get your ticket now for the best month of online publishing and creative writing education -- come learn, pitch, publish with us in February! buff.ly/RB4SuzP #writingcommunity

Just a little over 24 hours left to get in on Pub Crawl Early Bird registration. Regular registration opens Thursday, 12/18. Come learn, pitch, publish with us at our month-long online publishing intensive, February 2026. buff.ly/RB4SuzP #writingcommunity

Today, we're excited to announce a new online open-enrollment class with the brilliant Carmen Maria Machado! Carmen's four-session class "Speculative Nonfiction: Four Lessons on Story, Memory, Speculation, and Invention" begins Feb. 25. Register now! buff.ly/PLEKu35 #writingcommunity

WRITERS! Here is your Follow of the Day for writing motivation, and if you know Juan, this will be as entertaining as it will be inspirational!

Our contribution to the "In your 20s" meme. 😁 #writingcommunity

NEVER STOP WRITING

This is incredible. Congratulations, Becky!

Today, we're excited to announce a new online open-enrollment class with the brilliant Carmen Maria Machado! Carmen's four-session class "Speculative Nonfiction: Four Lessons on Story, Memory, Speculation, and Invention" begins Feb. 25. Register now! buff.ly/PLEKu35 #writingcommunity

"What does it mean to write in this time? To write of this time?" Learn to write with urgency in Megan Stielstra's four-session online class beginning January 8. Register now! buff.ly/oNFCsxM #writingcommunity

Just three more days to get in on that sweet, sweet Pub Crawl Early Bird discount of $50. Register by 12/17 at midnight and get in on the best value in publishing and creative writing education: a whole month of online classes and panels! Register now: buff.ly/RB4SuzP #writingcommunity

Someone told me last night— ‘Cynthia, you’ll look back on tonight and realize this moment, this is your pivot. This is where you belong. This is your community and city.’ I’m writing so many different things & looking forward it all being in the world soon 💗 chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...

Recipients of the so-called “CHIRBy” Awards include Eve L. Ewing, WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona-Maguigad and New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed.

@rachellayown.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @angieraney.bsky.social @jencoffeen.bsky.social

We had such a fabulous time at the CHIRBys last night... And if there’s one thing we agree on, it’s that Chicago has the BEST literary community in the country!!! @tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social

Thanks to @wbez.org for this great piece on the CHIRBys! www.wbez.org/books/2025/1...?

“We read books and we can imagine a world as how it should be.” —Samira Ahmed

This speech was 🔥🔥🔥🔥, I hope the whole thing becomes available!

"We are going to continue to read. And we are going to continue to write. And we are going to win." --Samira Ahmed, accepting tonight's Adam Morgan Literary Leadership Award winner for her work with @authorsabb.bsky.social.

Congratulations to tonight's 2025 Chicago Review of Books Award winners!

This is your ONE WEEK warning. Pub Crawl Early Bird Registration ends next Wednesday 12/17 at midnight. Save $50 for the next week on the ORIGINAL online month-long publishing intensive. Register now, and learn, pitch, publish with us! buff.ly/RB4SuzP #writingcommunity

It’s only when the messy first draft is finished that the real work begins of finding a story or novel’s true potential! Learn about strategies for revising with courage in this two-hour online class happening January 12. Register now: buff.ly/3t0aXIs #writingcommunity

My first book pubs today, and among other things it is a love letter to Chicago — the city and the communities that have been a tenth muse for me. Margaret C. Anderson's story is also, I hope, a reminder that good art requires taking big risks. www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Dang...

Be unpredictable! In this two-hour online generative workshop with Kat Tang, writers will learn to give their characters untamed emotions and act beyond what is expected. January 20 Register now: buff.ly/kdZeA1h #writingcommunity

Happy pub day @adamm0rgan.bsky.social!

"The most difficult thing for ambitious writers is to dismiss thoughts of what other people think... Why do I write these days? I want to be loved. But I don't care whether anybody approves of me." —Elizabeth McCracken

Urgency and the Personal Essay starts one month from today -- Jan. 8! Join @meganstielstra.bsky.social for this online four-session class that examines the personal essay as a contribution to a cultural and political dialogue that centers human beings. Register now! buff.ly/nH8wK0a #writers

Excited to be in the room when Literary Chicago cheers, hoots, and hollers to celebrate award winners...and our writing community. @mbwwelch.bsky.social wrote a beautiful piece on the 10th CHIRBy Awards! A City Where Words Breathe: shorturl.at/hnljZ @storystudiochicago.bsky.social #literarychi

If you weren't already looking forward to the CHIRBys this week, this incredible essay by @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social editor-in-chief @mbwwelch.bsky.social will certainly get you fired up -- not just for the awards, but all things Chicago writing! buff.ly/93L3Slo #hooraychicago!

This is your 10-day warning! The $50 Early Bird discount for Pub Crawl 2026 ends 12/17. Register now for the best value in publishing and creative writing education, and the ORIGINAL month-long publishing intensive! buff.ly/YGidEdz #writers

Whether you write sci-fi or literary fiction, you know that the details you use to build your world are crucial. This class will provide insight on how to create complex and characterized institutions. This online single-session class happens January 20. buff.ly/LJGRaaR #writersofbluesky