"#Writing is turning life's worst moments into money." - J.P. Donleavy, born 100 years ago on today's date

"A hotspot." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @amelia-soth.bsky.social & @jstordaily.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe daily.jstor.org/the-golden-a...

"Didn’t give up on life." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @davidbatherwoods.bsky.social & @uchicagopress.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"#Writers: if you're describing skin tone, please step away from the snack aisle. 'Milk chocolate.' 'Caramel.' 'Mocha.'" – Niesha Davis

"Nowhere." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer Ellen Wexler & @smithsonianmag.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...

"Her father disinherited her." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @janedismore.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

#Writing: "Don't write to impress. Write to relay who you are and what you believe." – Paul Kix

"Fake persona." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer Andrew Lawler & @theamscho.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe theamericanscholar.org/who-is-blake...

"Commands unquestioned respect." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @drashleydfarmer.bsky.social & @pantheonbooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"When you’re a #writer, you are supposed to take every opportunity you can get." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Almost everything in this short video about Walter Freeman and his (fictitious) lobotomobile is factually incorrect. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL7W...

#Writing: "A preface is usually an excrescence on a good book, and a vain apology for a worthless one." – Dinah Maria Mulock, born 200 years ago on today's date

"An opportunity." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writers @coreenanne.bsky.social / Alex Aylward & @aeon.co! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe aeon.co/essays/why-d...

"A lawless haven." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author Joe Pappalardo & @stmartinspress.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"Dropped a bombshell." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @lukeepplin.bsky.social! #baseball Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe lepplin.substack.com/p/the-myster...

"The Crown meets The West Wing." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @susanpagedc.bsky.social & @harperbooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"Not merely 'near' the site of Shakespeare’s London house, but actually on the spot." Interesting story from @finebooks.bsky.social. www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...

#Writing: "It is a hell of a lot easier to turn an aquarium into fish soup than the other way around." – Adam Michnik

"Silent Unseen.” Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @claremulley.bsky.social & @pegasus-books.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"Mace on my keychain." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @craigfehrman.bsky.social & @defector.com! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe defector.com/the-hardest-...

"#Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing." – R.F. Kuang

"Looms incredibly large." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @kevinmkruse.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe campaign-trails.ghost.io/rethinking-t...

"One of history’s classic sagas of adventure." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author Peter Stark & @marinerbooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

What do you think of this skepticism about #writing as a profession? thebaffler.com/odds-and-end...

#Writing: "The characteristics of a good story? An interesting character in an interesting situation. The situation has to be solved by interesting action." – František "Frank" Daniel, born 100 years ago on today's date. I don't write screenplays, but Frank's teaching strongly influenced me.

"Warranted promotion." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @wihorne.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe www.journalofthecivilwarera.org/2026/04/i-wa...

"Life and literary legacy." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @rosavcampbell.bsky.social & @melvillehouse.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

#Writing: "I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Incompetent.” Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @annabetts.bsky.social & @us.theguardian.com! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"The lost world of working-class London." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @jacriding.bsky.social & @profilebooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

#Writing: "Social media is like digital fast food, but my heart is in more sustainable, slower forms of storytelling." — Joi Lee

Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @theprofrog.bsky.social & @publicdomainrev.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-gr...

"Manipulated slavery’s place in Washington’s story." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @johngmarks.com & @uncpress.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

""It seems to be dying a slow, agonizing death." thewriteconversation.blogspot.com/2026/04/how-...

#Writing: "There is no vice doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious." – Francis Bacon, who died 400 years ago on today's date

#Writing: "The more emotion attached to an experience, the more likely you are to remember it – whether you want to or not." – Kelly K. James

"Stormy." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @jennifer-cannon.bsky.social & @vanityfair.com! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe www.vanityfair.com/culture/stor...

"Curious tales, madcap musicians." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @foxtosser.bsky.social & @chroniclebooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Catch me on the What Matters Most podcast. A fun interview. www.paulsamueldolman.com/parent/podca...

#Writing: "I am the notebook." – Pablo Picasso

"Not sharing them anymore." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer Laurie Kellman & @apnews.com! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe apnews.com/article/cia-...

"Vision of solidarity." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @mollycrabapple.bsky.social & @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

How to write an #obituary. provokedmagazine.com/your-last-wo...

#Writing: "Divorce is a writer's business. You can paint a wedding but not a divorce." – Anahid Nersessian

"Nowhere." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @lentevermelha.bsky.social & @jstordaily.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe daily.jstor.org/building-bra...

"Remade national belonging." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @marthasjones.bsky.social & @universitypress.cambridge.org! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

#Writing: "No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp." – Hirotada Ototake, born 50 years ago on today's date

"Do not regret." Today's #history article pick from Damn History, a free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @zacharyschrag.bsky.social & @ggwash.org! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe ggwash.org/view/102941/...

"After the Bronze Age collapsed." Today's #history book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @digkabri.bsky.social & @princetonupress.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

After 147 rejections, a short story finds publication. (H/t Erika Dreifus) litmagnews.substack.com/p/somebody-h...