On Friday, June 12, I'll be talking to the brilliant @catebush.bsky.social about my novel, The Fall-Down Effect, at the Toronto Reference Library, in the Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room. Please save the date! tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/6a...

Ted Chiang on AI: www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2...

“Content” also insidiously shifts significance and validity to the platform, not the substance — content is contained, what defines content is the existence and form of the container

“There is a lot of climate grief in The Fall-Down Effect... And yet, at the same time, each of the characters also tend to and preserve their hope for and connection to the natural world.” -Liz Johnston Read the full interview: www.riverstreetwriting.com/blog/2026/3/... #ecolit #canlit

"I write because I love living in stories." @lizjohnston.bsky.social, author of The Fall-Down Effect, chats about the writing life with Rina Barone for Stories from the Writer's Life. rinabarone.substack.com/p/liz-johnst...

A friend of mine who was TA’ing for an AmLit course found a copy of Moby Dick a student had left behind. It had only one marginal annotation, around page 100, that simply said “whale is important.”

Robot legs are here and they aren’t going anywhere. [booing begins] Whether you like it or not we are going to cut off all of your legs and arms [booing intensifies] and heads and replace them all with robot legs and only robot legs [shouting over boos] well I can see you aren’t ready for the future

"Johnston’s novel is one that asked me to consider how much sacrifice I’d expect someone to endure for their children..." @hollay.bsky.social includes The Fall-Down Effect by @lizjohnston.bsky.social in Revolutionary: The Act of Mothering reading list for @49thshelf.bsky.social tinyurl.com/2vzn2tn3

Time is running out. There has never been a greater need for Canadians to show solidarity with Cuba—to demonstrate respect for the resilience and independence of the Cuban people, and appreciation for decades of Cuban generosity.

College administrators who embrace AI and shill for these corporate vampires are abetting techno-fascism and destroying the real value of an education. Students are booing these speakers because they know these people are the enemies of their future.

Same, and I also don't use generative AI for anything in my daily life (summaries, making lists, outlines, recipes).

I cannot promise my readers that everything I ever write will be amazing, but I CAN promise them that everything I ever write will be something I have actually written and not, for example, a soulless pile of robot puke.

Huge thanks, @hollay.bsky.social, for including The Fall-Down Effect, with “pigheaded and passionate” Lynn, on this list about the radical act of mothering.❤️

the overwhelming message the AI industry has sent to young people is “this will ruin any chance you have at a stable career”, of course college grads are booing it regardless of the reality of the claims, the way this technology has been sold is one of the greatest self-inflicted PR disasters ever

Found this a fascinating read as I’ve been touring The Fall-Down Effect, my novel about deforestation, wildfires, and activism.

"In addition to delusions and mania, the study found an increase in suicidal ideation and self-harm, disordered eating behaviors, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms."

"I love a novel that depicts a character across a longish period time..." Check out Characters Across the Years: A Recommended Reading List by @lizjohnston.bsky.social, author of The Fall-Down Effect, for @49thshelf.bsky.social. 49thshelf.com/Blog/2026/04...

100% this The attack on literacy widespread (hello, book banners and AI authoritarians) and people are deeply unaware of 1) how vital it is to democracy and, really, human existence 2) how in danger it is by people who hate democracy and most humans, apparently

"The Fall-Down Effect came out of a mixture of nostalgia and climate grief." Check out a guest piece by @lizjohnston.bsky.social for The Miramichi Reader about why she wrote The Fall-Down Effect. miramichireader.ca/2026/05/why-...

hating ai is a pro-social activity

Another excellent @writersfest.bc.ca event with @taramcguire chatting with new authors @taragereaux.bsky.social @lizjohnston.bsky.social and @yassmin.bsky.social #booksandideas 📚📚

This is a feel good image for me. These two adorable young Australian superb fairywren staying close to each other.

@lizjohnston.bsky.social debut novel, The Fall-Down Effect, published by @bookhugpress.bsky.social navigates between climate activism and forestry in a town intertwined with both. “I’m putting these different sides out there and inviting other people to think through them in their own way.”

Many, many thanks to Allison for this review!

Times have been worse than they are today in the U.S. Important to remember not because some people aren't living under terrible conditions right now but because it shows that things can in fact change for the better. They change if we change them.

Thanks to The Miramichi Reader for inviting this mini essay on why I wrote The Fall-Down Effect. And check out pieces by Jane Park and Jaclyn Desforges too: miramichireader.ca/2026/05/why-...

"Through tight and relatable dialogue, Johnston captures deeply entrenched family dynamics and profound truths about relationships.” Aviva Rubin reviews The Fall-Down Effect by @lizjohnston.bsky.social for @thenewquarterly.bsky.social's Under Review series. tnq.ca/under-review...

Tonight!

“It leads people to believe that all they can do is sit back and wait to find out whether these technologies turn out to be civilisation-ending demons, or utopia-gifting messiahs."

Zoomer Magazine names The Fall-Down Effect by @lizjohnston.bsky.social an April Must-Read Books. zoomer.com/zed-book-clu...

Delighted to discover that The Fall-Down Effect made ZEDbooks' list of April’s Must-Read Books: zoomer.com/zed-book-clu...

This week at Take Cover Books in Peterborough, ON! Don't miss a triple book launch for @lizjohnston.bsky.social (The Fall-Down Effect), @jenniferlovegrove.bsky.social (The Tinder Sonnets), and @lauriedgraham.bsky.social (Calling It Back to Me). Thursday, April 30, 7pm. takecoverbooks.ca/events

Posted late last night, reposting now. The entire waterfront is at risk.

You LOVE to see it, good work everyone, keep up the relentless dunks on AI, all these bros deserve a wedgie/swirlie combo and they are not allowed to sit at our table ever again.

whatever colour it is when willows are just beginning to green in falling veils is one of the best colours

CIBD is this weekend! To help make your celebration plans run smoothly, we've rounded up a few commonly asked questions! Visit our website at indiebookstores.ca/cibd for full details and to bookmark the contest page so you can quickly refer to it after all of your book shopping is complete! 🥳

Mayor Ford's Ontario www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

There is a direct throughline from this and the rise in global authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is actively hostile toward the arts and intellectualism, and thus imagination. When people say that AI is a “fascist project,” this is explicitly what they’re referring to.

📢 Awards News: Congratulations to renowned writer, filmmaker, and visual artist Shani Mootoo, recipient of the 2026 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Prize! Learn more: bluemetropolis.org/event/the-vi...

We're governed by a corrupt buffoon & his enablers.

Indie booksellers are the best. I'm overjoyed that The Fall-Down Effect's on the Spring 2026 Booksellers' List. Thanks, @49thshelf.bsky.social, for this write-up! 49thshelf.com/Blog/2026/04...

They didn’t just double tap. They hunted her like an animal. First they sent her death threats. They struck her, then followed her to where she tried to take shelter & struck her there. They struck the rescue workers who came for her & only after hours, after she died, did they allow retrieval

"Approaches to narrative are more complicated than a plotter-pantser binary, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll call myself a pantser." @selenamercuri.bsky.social goes on a coffee date with @lizjohnston.bsky.social, author of The Fall-Down Effect. coffeedateswithauthors.substack.com/p/a-coffee-d...

One week till I introduce my new book to Nogo/Ptbo, the place where these poems found their footing. Join @lizjohnston.bsky.social & @jenniferlovegrove.bsky.social and me as we celebrate our books together, the reading and the writing of them, at the beautiful Take Cover Books in East City.

Book giveaway alert! Four of our new spring releases are up for giveaway on @49thshelf.bsky.social, including books by @jenniferlovegrove.bsky.social @lizjohnston.bsky.social, Camilla Gibb, and Emma McKenna. Contest closes May 1. Enter now for your chance to win: 49thshelf.com/Giveaways

FUCK AI. I keep daily drafts and back them up to an external drive in case I ever need to defend myself from accusations of using AI. You can pour through and see every addition, substitution, awkward phrase worked through five thrillion times. I will NEVER outsource my voice or my creativity.

It's interesting, because Canada spent $6.48 billion last year alone on the RCMP: rcmp.ca/en/corporate.... & yet I'm not being inundated with articles about the fact that the service is a financial gaping maw

Happy Book Birthday to The Fall-Down Effect by @lizjohnston.bsky.social! Exploring protest, climate change & fractured family relationships, this stellar debut work of climate fiction asks what we really owe people in our lives when we're fighting for a greater cause. bookhugpress.ca/shop/books/f...

Today's the day! Come on out for the Toronto launch of The Fall-Down Effect, 6:30 at Flying Books on College.

Ottawa pals! Please come out tomorrow—Saturday, 2pm @ Anina’s Cafe—for our triple book launch!