Seven years ago, my hometown was decimated by the Camp Fire. In the wake of the disaster, I wrote my novel, A Catalog of Burnt Objects, and watched my friends rebuild. Now, the PHS Cheer team got invited to Nationals. These girls are the spirit of the town, join me in support gofund.me/17332b646

Friends! I'll be in upstate New York next week! Come say hi!

So happy to be seeing stars. If you read it, you can give it some too. Consider leaving a review on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you!

Sometimes the author is the last to know: A Catalog of Burnt Objects officially earned three starred reviews! www.shelf-awareness.com/sar-issue.ht...

#NoKings Saint Peters, MO

Hey! Do me a favor and drop the name of your favorite author who lived or worked in London?

Today my daughter's preschool is holding a farewell assembly for one of her classmates whose mother has no choice but to self deport. The school is hoping it will be joyful in tone, so we might make this less upsetting for this 3 year old. There's just no words for the uselessness of this cruelty.

Yesterday attended a school event with @jodywrites4kids.bsky.social as a board member of the MSB Literacy Foundation. We gave away copies of PANDAS to all the K and 1st graders & after I was as inspired & joyful as the kiddos! Thanks, Jody!

Inspired by a post I just saw in which someone admitted they hadn’t seen a single episode of Friends nor the film Love Actually… what cultural hole do you have that’s a bit weird for your generation? I’ll go first: I haven’t seen Dirty Dancing.

I went on an @umnenglish.bsky.social MFA book buying spree this week! Can't wait to read @shanayoungdahl.bsky.social's A Catalogue of Burnt Objects, Cheri Johnson's Annika Rose, & Kevin Fenton's brand new Cyan Magenta Yellow Black! #amreading #authorsky #writingcommunity #booksky

Happy #PunctuationDay to all you Oxford comma haters and advocates! Though I learned from @hunderdown.bsky.social & others that the term "Oxford comma" is relatively new Internet coinage, that the proper term is "serial" comma.

New newsletter on character groundwork and being a girl from Paradise (that inspired the new movie The Lost Bus). open.substack.com/pub/theirwil...

Author Visits with ME 😉 Dropping 9/1. All kinds of tips for success, planning, and why this years' selection is Catalog of Burnt Objects by @shanayoungdahl.bsky.social Ep 53 on @schoollibln.bsky.social Listen and start planning. #TLSky #EduSky #Books #Librarians @penguinschoollib.bsky.social

My husband has this cool new podcast, Meta doesn’t allow him to link to it. . . www.fascismonfilm.com @fascismonfilm.bsky.social

The last thing you read that made you happy?

So excited to learn that A Catalog of Burnt Objects is and A-List Editors Choice Award pick at St. Louis Mag! www.stlmag.com/a-list/arts-...

We're interviewing for two roles at Literary Mama: Publisher and Marketing Director. LM staff are volunteers. Click on the link below for details, and please share!

Across the country, thousands of books are being stripped from schools and libraries—many of them LGBTQ-affirming stories that help young people feel seen. Think you know which ones made the banned list? Take our quiz and see how many you can spot. act.glaad.org/page/86470/d...

New newsletter: On community, networks and who to eat pie with . . .https://open.substack.com/pub/theirwillbetypos/p/net-work?r=n8i3l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Just back from a great CA visit where I got to see the newly rebuilt historic Honeyrun covered bridge. #honeyrun #paradise

So happy to be included in this article--I wrote A Catalog because my heart was broken after The Camp Fire, and I found my hope through writing--check out these other books about how to have hope in a world on fire.

Submissions OPEN for the Wisconsin Poetry Series @uwiscpress.bsky.social ! Daniel Borzutzky is this year's judge for the Wisconsin Translation Prize! Airea D. Matthews for the Brittingham and Pollak Prize. Finalists are also chosen for publication! wicw.submittable.com/submit

#filmsky #cabaret #antifascism #cinemasky Bob Fosse’s Cabaret isn’t just a musical set in Weimar Germany—it’s a warning. In this episode, we examine how the film portrays fascism creeping in at the edges, while people drink, dance, and look the other way. Satire, spectacle, song—is it resistance?

New newletter about the importance of showing up--if you spot a typo you win a prize open.substack.com/pub/theirwil...

Check out this new podcast all about how Fascism has been depicted on film. You might find it timely.

here you go: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... subscription starts in late summer/early fall 2025, depending on life conditions. what is Abundant Number? see here:

Come see me in Minneapolis June 26th where I will be talking with the fantastic Selina Li Bi!

The Mortal Storm (Frank Borzage, 1940) A science professor with a heavy heart looks on as his students, now members of the Nazi party, burn the knowledge he hoped to impart. #filmsky #antifascism #cinemasky

I'm thrilled to see A Catalog of Burnt Object featured on YALSA's The Hub as a quick pick for reluctant readers! www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2025/...

MAKE CULTURE WITH OTHER PEOPLE where you are very beautifully over and over at the lowest frequencies out of ordinary things right here

Have Pride in your Shelf.

I love visiting bookclubs! And what a joy to get to talk about As Many Nows As I Can Get, my debut novel, after several months of talking about my new book. If your book club is interested in reading one of my books please feel free to reach out and discuss a visit.

Read this to understand how the recent 5th circuit court decision fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of libraries when the court claims that libraries are government speech and thus can include or exclude whatever they wish. This decision overturns decades of well-established precedent.

This is, shockingly, the day after tomorrow! And then I will never post this particular post again. But until then I plan to continue to be the amateur second-string publicist you've come to love (?). Please be very welcome to the online launch of #patternbook, 28 May at 7pm UK time:

If you love a book, write a nice review. It gives the author encouragement for bad days when they want to take up scorpion petting. - @lianabrooks.bsky.social #WriterSky #BookSky #KidLit

FEMA, bizarrely claiming to act under Kristi Noem's 'leadership,' just axed $870M in WILDFIRE PREVENTION funds from California, calling them 'wasteful' & 'more concerned with climate change.' What's your plan @governor.ca.gov ? Article: archive.ph/mxZgw

New Newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/theirwil...

National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature Respond to the Removal of the Librarian of Congress buff.ly/WfKD1DD

We’ve partnered with Penguin Random House and the Anne Frank Fonds to award ten $1,000 grants to ELA educators teaching memoir, especially texts that uplift youth voices in times of conflict. Learn more: ncte.org/blog/2025/05... #AnneFrankAward #TeachingMemoir #NCTE #MemoirMatters

Sometimes, the world gives us beautiful examples of why copy editors are necessary.

So lovely to appear on this list for the setting/story inspiration in A Catalog of Burnt Objects. Thanks Kirkus! www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-fea...

Three states attempted to close their State Libraries this legislation season and they've been staved off–so far. That, plus this week's roundup of book censorship news. Note that the roundup does not cover all of this week due to travel and it's still very long: bookriot.com/state-librar...

As a former bookseller, I encourage people to also add their reviews to proper bookstore websites of your choice as well. I use @waterstones.bsky.social but I'm sure @barnesandnoble.com and independents would appreciate it more than ever Also The Great Orme is indeed... great! 📚💙 #booksky

The Freedom Read-In morning lineup includes @padmatv.bsky.social @federicoerebia.bsky.social @rajanilarocca.bsky.social @taradairman.bsky.social @debbimichiko.bsky.social @marthafreeman.bsky.social @robinstevenson.bsky.social @maggietokudahall.bsky.social

This is going to be great!

I spy @eireannmor.bsky.social! Patternbook is indeed a poetry book of the month (and next month, and the next) observer.co.uk/culture/book...

The Man I Married (Irving Pichel, 1940) #FilmSky #FascismOnFilm #antifascism

Read this to learn more about how our #freedomtoread is under attack by people who think a picture book about a lost dog is porn. ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/pride...