Jewish families around the world filled their homes with light last week during Hanukkah, and the shamash (the helper candle) reminded us of the difference just one candle can make.

“Can’t believe NYC elected a Muslim as mayor.” In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.

Happy new year! We definitely did nothing cool or interesting!!

I don’t mean to sound extreme, but I don’t think we should have torture camps for people with criminal records either.

Two separate people have contacted me on Linkedin, both seniors at my alma mater, using AI-generated messages. Since it's for an editorial role, I asked them to kindly re-do their message to me and then I'd reply. I'm not trying to be an old fart about it, but part of the application is

I'm completely revamping my website (this is not the official launch or even a soft launch) and I have to ask: is this as funny as I think it is, or is it dumb? erinnpascal.my.canva.site (caveat this is veryyyyy under construction & not even migrated to my official domain yet)

What if Calvin and Hobbes doesn't need to be a movie? What if it's perfect the way it is? What if you respected the creator's wishes, which are apparently "leave me alone to do my woodcarving"? WHAT IF THAT. I will protect Calvin and Hobbes with my life, as they have been such a joyful part of it.

this is the most "Get a Job, Stay Away From Her" I've ever felt

Side note: Publishers are trying to scoot around AI clauses for Marketing and Design. I understand if it's unavoidable (i.e. if the book is for sale on Amazon and Amazon uses AI), but your metadata copy and Design can and should be AI-free.

Don't do this, y'all. Always have an agent/lawyer look at your contracts. Many do so as oneoffs without rep! They are there for you!

Okay, I'm gonna give y'all the best book marketing advice I have. Ready? Talk. To. People. This means both, go out into the world and actually *talk* to people about your book instead of waiting for an algorithm to do it for you & also, *find out what people actually like*.

I have responded to all queries from November (and in 2025)! 😊 Still working my way through requested manuscripts… I’ll still have some 2025 requests on my TBR list in 2026. 👩🏻‍💻 Revamping my query process and MSWL in 2026 too… keep an eye out! 👀

Also including Marketing and Design in that.

"Bask in this transcendant holiday book" says @fuse8.bsky.social at @slj.com about SLOW DOWN, SHOSHI! IT'S SHABBAT afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/04/3...

#edusky #skybrarians #kidlit

Editor friends, I know how badly you want to offer multiple, single accounted, six figure book deals (with AI clauses!). And you want to offer them to Eric!!

Publishing friends: There’s an editorial role making the rounds via a private recruiter (not publicly posted). I don’t have all the answers, but may have some thoughts. Happy to chat about all the quirks in DMs :-) & happy Hanukkah!

Spock’s Beard’s new album is amazing! You’ll fall in love with prog all over again.

Looking for an #EditorialAssistant role? PJ Library is hiring! If you or someone you know might be a great fit, here’s the job posting. Although I don’t start full-time until Jan, folx in my network may DM me with any questions. Good luck & happy Thanksgiving :-) www.hgf.org/about-the-fo...

Den Sieg meiner Roten feiere ich heute mit rotem Vinyl: Spock's Beard - The Archaeoptimist. Habt einen schönen Samstagabend! #vinylsamstag #nowspinning

A Sephardic Leaders Fellowship in NY! All info here: bit.ly/jimenasliny2... 🪬

Proud fiancé over here! Nick is the new drummer for Spock's Beard! His first album with them, The Archaeoptimist, is officially out NOW!! Get the album (or listen to it for free 😏) below: spocksbeardmadfish.lnk.to/The_Archaeop... (Do hashtags still work here bc if so: #drummer #prog #progrock)

I will not support a deal that does nothing to make health care more affordable. We are in a health care emergency. A simple one-year extension of these tax credits would cost less than Donald Trump’s $40 billion bailout for Argentina. A vote for this bill is a mistake.

I got a modded 3DS and I cannot recommend it enough for ... news distraction (not distraction exactly, but more like...despair)

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person. The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives. And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

Actually manifested this by the way Very excited to tell y'all that I'll officially be joining @pjlibrary.org full-time in January :-)

Periodic reminder that I’m doing freelance editing right now! I have experience in both fiction and nonfiction and offer a range of services from coaching to line editing to query letters—reach out if you have a project but are feeling at sea! www.jesszimmerman.com/editing.html

😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎

If you and your children are not ready for a particular book, that is okay. It is not okay to limit the access to books, stories, and experiences for other families. Every book is not for everyone, but every book is for someone. bookriot.com/the-day-the-books-disappeared-school-visit-cancelation/

I want to just shout out that libraries are amazing in so many ways. I usually work 3-4 days a week from branches of my local libraries. Free wifi & instant access to comp titles? Love it! Printers? YES. My favorite branch offers study rooms that I reserve to take calls with clients and editors.

If you're a writer/other creator in the United States, consider creating an LLC for your business and then signing up for a local area Chamber of Commerce. Many of them have health insurance plans that pool their members and members of other CoCs to create insurance efficiencies relative to ACA.

As this country crumbles, Indigenous rights and sovereignty are going to come to the forefront, as well as States Rights. Be prepared to advocate for Native tribes and people. We are the front line and we hold the answers to lead a new way.

See you tomorrow!

Edited by the absolute fantastic @cyngharris.bsky.social!

I have to say this flyer from Erin Pascal of AndrewsMcMeel is 🔥. I cannot count the number of panels where I had to search and search for info re: the panelists or their work. Here it is in one easy handout. 👏👏👏 #kidlit #GN #LosAngelesComicCon #LACC #LACC2023 #comicconla #ConLife #AndyReads

Cover reveal! I'm so excited to announce that book two of the Operation series, Operation: Make a Splash, will release 2-24-26! Thanks so much to my agent, Lori Steel, my editor, Erinn Pascal, and the whole team @andrewsmcmeelkids.bsky.social for helping make this book a reality. #graphicnovel

Latina Superheroes (Volume 1): Jalisco & Santa by Kayden Phoenix, Amanda Julina Gonzalez, Hannah Diaz, and Eva Cabrera, published by @andrewsmcmeel.bsky.social #LatinaVoices #ComicSky

Also: AI is going to negatively impact kids' reading skills. AI slop picture books are already here, and chatGPT is fucking with learning and critical thinking. We've got to support kidlit that's accessible, engaging, and original.

Was told this year that children's books weren't profitable enough and should be deprioritized, which is just a load of horsecrap: 1) Kidlit is recession-proof bc parents will always buy books for their kids. 2) With all these book bans happening, it's more important than ever to support kidlit.

Excited to be panel’ing at my very first @lightboxexpo.com #phineasandferb DETAILS: lightboxexpo.com/participant/...

Asking the hivemind: Has anyone taken online business degree courses or certifications? Any tips/recs? I'm thinking about what will be most beneficial for me in January & if there's a possibility of a 10 or 15 hour a week course, I'd like to explore it.

People keep asking me what's next and the idea of returning to do some picture books is really, really nice. So nice I almost cried. You can ask my fiance. It happened!

Librarians, booksellers, & educators— when you talk about banned books, please focus on the thousands of CONTEMPORARY books that are being banned right now. For example…. #BannedBooksWeek

Hi pub friends! Pub industry is obviously really small & news travels fast Yes, I will be looking to begin a new role in publishing (or licensing!) on 1/1 I kindly ask that you read my LinkedIn post if you are curious on my thoughts (or have open roles for me!) www.linkedin.com/posts/erinnp...

if you're going to NYCC, please consider masking!! 😷

So gratifying to see people enjoying my goofy little book

Gaby was an absolute DREAM to work with on THE Z WORD and THIS IS MY BODY. If you're looking for a freelance publicist I can't imagine a better option!

...anyway! I am looking for work (and have been for months actually!!) and also soft-launching that I'm doing freelance marketing and publicity. if you have a book coming out that you think would benefit from a thoughtful publicist/marketer, I'd love to help you get it into the world!

After a rough stretch, Quirk Books has been sold to Andrews McMeel Publishing. lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2025/10/quir...