In July, we added a new member to our family, and what better time than spooky season to introduce our little Fenrir, destroyer of worlds!

S&S has launched a romance-forward New Adult imprint, and I am one of the many editors across the S&S Children’s division who is now also acquiring for Scarlett Press! In addition to my kids/teen list, I’m seeking high stakes NA romantasy & thrillers with plenty of spice, yearning, and tension.

Therapy and social-emotional learning is feared by conservatives because it teaches people how to recognize and avoid abusive relationships, and just like any abuser, authoritarian paternalistic regimes love keeping people insecure and afraid—and under control

It’s official—All the Tomorrows After by Joanne Yi is not only an Indies Introduce, it’s also an Indies Next Pick! I am so grateful for all the Indie love for this gorgeous book 🥰

When you’ve edited a manuscript multiple times and you know exactly how the plot is going to go but you still hope every time that the character your author has spent all this time developing isn’t going to die at the end after all and break your heart.

As a former caregiver, I used to be someone who shied away from books that touched upon grief and terminal illness. But Joanne Yi’s prose was so beautiful and compelling, I couldn’t resist. This novel broke my heart and rebuilt it all over again and I’m thrilled it’s a Book of the Month selection 💕

I haven’t watched South Park since I was a an unsupervised latchkey kid, and now I’ve gotta say: the recent episodes are HILARIOUS

People have really weird and idiosyncratic reasons for noping out of a novel. Just goes to show you (as a writer) should pay no attention to any of it and just write the book you want to write

My life was a puzzle that didn’t make sense until I embraced being queer and genderfluid. #mswl more queer books, especially for MG/YA and new adult graphic novels and literary YA/coming-of age like Aristotle & Dante Discover the Sectets of the Universe or Last Night at the Telegraph Club

#Mswl: literary voice-driven middle grade w/a high-concept hook; speculative/fantasy or slice-of-life but I want to see gorgeous, engaging prose or verse; profound coming-of-age themes; and beautifully drawn characters. If it’s a heavier story, there should be love and hope reverberating throughout

You know it’s time for lunch (and a nap) when you type in “hotpot” instead of “hotspot”….mmm hotpot…

hey I am posting this because I didn't know it, and so others might not either: but the BBB has NOT PASSED YET-- it's passed the senate & now it must pass the house. It's time to call reps RIGHT NOW. Johnson is going to push the vote ASAP before backlash can form so the calls need to start NOW.

what a week - I hope everyone is taking care and being extra kind to yourself. A phrase that’s particularly been on my mind these days…

What people generally think I do as an editor all day:

When you pull an all-nighter looking up new recipes for the biscuit factory 🐱

#mswl reminder: I am still on the hunt for standout trans/genderqueer voices, particularly in YA but also MG, from speculative to gorgeously written coming-of-age. My partner is trans/nb, I’m genderfluid, and I will never stop championing genderqueer authors

How is it that every single ABBA song just slaps? They must have had some bell-bottom sorcery going on behind the scenes

To authors I don’t know who somehow have my work email: aside from occasions when I open up my inbox for conferences, I do not accept unagented submissions. Agents are great, and I don’t have the bandwidth to respond to unsolicited emails, so please check submission rules & avoid spamming

I grew up in California never experiencing a real winter, so now, in Colorado, I’m always in awe when the plants in my garden return to life in the spring. Like, this blueberry plant looked dead, was a bunch of dry sticks, and now it’s green and alive again!!! 🤯

Writing “time-sensitive” in an email subject line when the email isn’t actually time-sensitive . . .

It’s been a while now since I finished reading Han Kang’s #TheVegetarian and I still can’t stop thinking about it and the sense of deep compassion underlying its premise

Taco cat wasn’t feeling well the other day, so she had to get an ultrasound from the vet. And now it looks like she has a cool, punk-y undercut

Makes you wonder how from Pope Francis to Jesus Christ, those who actually live out and embody God’s love (particular love for the misfits of society) are always branded as heretics by the conservative zealots of their day

I think everybody should know about the Dunning-Kruger effect, but especially creatives. Basically, it says the incompetent overestimate their abilities whereas the competent tend to underestimate them. Which is why it’s important to believe in yourself AND also to approach one’s craft with humility

Religious freedom is important. All over the world, people experience real persecution and threats to their lives due to their religion. It takes a certain amount of privilege to think religious freedom means the freedom to be a hateful bigot. They don’t fear for their lives. They fear drag queens.

We've been asked this a few times & now have an answer! If you're in publishing, but not author you can join Publishing Professionals Against Book Bans! The group is still in development but you can sign up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Maybe because these times are so horrifying but for YA, I’m really craving an atmospheric, layered horror mystery with the beautiful and lush but creepy vibes of Midsommar or The Honeys, even better if it’s romantic & queer #mswl

This statement about the transphobic Supreme Court ruling by the UK's Crab Museum (yes a museum about crabs) is better than 99% of the statements I've seen on the topic www.crabmuseum.org/visit 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

An in-person event for Colorado writers! And stay tuned for classes I’ll be teaching with COwrite…

Thrilled to introduce COwrite—a Colorado Creative Collective focused on fostering community and connection through writing! COwrite aims to inspire & empower writers through craft classes and workshops. Classes coming soon! Follow for updates on our roster of classes! 🌈-friendly, always. #amwriting

I am sorry to say it, but this is probably one of the most important things you can repost today.

It’s so nice to be a grown-up and swear whenever I want without anybody reprimanding me for it

Behold, the debut of the LONG book trailer for my upcoming #middlegrade #graphicnovel, #themanymisfortunesofeugeniawang youtu.be/cfCTAgUOPX4

One of my new favorite words,“Sonder”: the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness. The awareness that everyone has a story.

Look, if the authors and illustrators I work with knew how much I love and care for them, I think they’d be a little freaked out.

This. This is what I’m looking for in YA dystopian/fantasy—not just the spectacle of the “game”/concept, action, or romance but the philosophical undertones behind the story; questions around capitalism, war, rebellion, and power/oppression

Attn: Writers based in CO! Is there any interest in craft sessions, one-day workshopping groups, &/or pub business talks? I'm working on affordable, in-person sessions with other local pub professionals & want to get a sense of the interest! Location would prob be Lafayette/Boulder area & Denver.

This regime is going to make it really hard to distinguish satire from real-life 🤣

What I love most about working as an editor, aside from helping to shape impactful art and/or words, are the people I get to collaborate with: authors, illustrators, designers, production team, marketing & publicity, sales, other editors. It’s a group effort from a bunch of passionate nerds.

Spray-Painted Penis Only Thing Holding Cybertruck Together

#amwriting for the first time in years, and 5+ years of working as a book editor has apparently morphed me from a pantser into a plotter! Got separate documents going for a first draft, character list, multiple world-building reference sheets, and of course a very chunky outline.

#severance season 2 has not disappointed

Hi agents: a reminder that you are welcome to submit to more than one S&S children’s/YA editor at a time as long as we’re under different publishers, but please help us cut down on emails by mentioning which specific S&S editors you’re submitting to, not just the names of the imprints. Thank you!

Some specific #MSWL cravings I’ve had these days for my YA list: -high-concept post apocalyptic -a romantic gothic/horror mystery -beautiful, voicey trans/genderqueer anything -yearning/longing vibes -enemies/rivals to lovers -twisted romance -dark academia in a non-European setting

Novel Writing Tip: when drafting, feel free to use ambiguous “it”s or commit whatever writing sins you need in order to finish the skeleton of the story. Then once you’ve finished drafting & have fresh eyes, revise! Now is the time to polish & get rid of the ambiguous “it”s & writing tics #writing

Can confirm—Anum Shafquat is a super talented, whip-smart editor to follow, and yay, she’s on Bluesky now! @anum-s.bsky.social

In queer romances, I’m all for friends-to-lovers, cinnamon rolls, etc. In heterosexual, one of the romantic threads I find most compelling involve characters I’d NEVER want my loved ones to actually date. Complicated, slightly toxic romances w/flawed people kissing—or trying to kill—each other.