Three nights!! I did wake up at 4 am, but just read my book and then fell back to sleep.

I've slept two nights in a row without any sort of sleep aid. For me, this is unusual. The one big difference? I stored my phone in another room. Can I do it again? We'll see...

Hey, friends! My (very very occasional) newsletter is up, with dates for #hanukkah #bookstore events to celebrate "THE BOOK OF CANDLES: 8 Poems for Hanukkah." Come say hi, do some holiday shopping at a wonderful indie bookshop, & maybe sign up for my newsletter! open.substack.com/pub/laurelsn...

But god forbid a kid should pick out a library book without parental consent!

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jonathan greenblatt knows mamdani condemns violence against jews, it just doesn't serve his organization's fundraising strategy www.jpost.com/diaspora/ant...

The fearmongering we have seen from some Jewish institutions and leaders surrounding Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is harmful, overblown, and risks needlessly deepening divisions in the city and in our community. 🧵

Democrats just ran the table, winning the marquee races -- NJ and VA sweeps, NYC mayor, CA prop, PA Supreme Court -- and lower-profile races in red and purple states across the nation. If the media you're reading or watching paints this as anything but a massive win, stop reading or watching them.

In case folks are wondering about the GA Public Service Commission, & what they do. This was a “kitchen table” race because the PSC sets rates for our power bills (& has hiked them). But kitchen table issues are always connected to other matters, so for instance… thecurrentga.org/2023/12/19/g...

I'll go ahead and say it. Texas book banners got their butts kicked in tonight's school board elections. Again.

Congrats to all those organized for this (and a special shout out to @authorsabb.bsky.social Authors Against Book Bans)

Republicans thought they had a permanent hold over young men. They didn't. Spanberger wins men 18-29 by 14%, Sherrill by 10%, and Mamdani by a stunning 40%.

Democrats have flipped 2 seats in the Mississippi senate, and in so doing they've broken the GOP's supermajority in the chamber.

Is anyone out there watching a hyper local race that won't hit the national news? I'm keeping an eye on ATL's city council president, which got very very ugly.

LET THE HERO BORN OF WOMAN CRUSH THE SERPENT WITH HIS HEEL

Republicans who think your seat is safe: no it's not

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Pennsylvania retains its 5-2 Dem majority on the Supreme Court. Absolute bloodbath tonight for anti-trans Republicans. www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...

This is massive, folks. Blue wins in statewide elections in GA are no small feat. Gives me a #shiverofhope. #election #elections

It always feels so strange to be away from home on #ElectionDay.

Dang. Closing out with Marcantonio and Dorothy Day! @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social has run such an impeccable, unapologetic, optimistic, creative campaign. #election #electionday #gotv #mamdani #zohran #itsnicetofeelhopefulisntit?

Just a little reminder, as you head to the movies to see #JeremyAllenWhite play #Bruce, that it's never too early to teach your little ones about The Boss. #springsteen #kidlit #littlegoldenbooks #delivermefromnowhere www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714118...

Ten bucks says we see @staceyabrams.com out there, feeding people, in about two minutes.

Thinking today about my pediatrician grandfather, who retired to FL, but then spent his final years volunteering at a clinic in Miami. I’m glad he’s not alive to see this. I also wonder how many doctors will just leave the state.

Can't overstate how fucked up it is that unraveling what is arguably the greatest achievement in the history of humanity is now a motivating issue of one of the two dominant parties in the U.S.

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House. Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity. They are not the same.

Imagine being a billionaire happy to bankroll tearing a wing off The White House, but with no interest in helping feed hungry kids about to lose their SNAP benefits.

What’s a college without a gigantic pendulum?

find you precinct and V O T E for Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson! mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/

The world is an absolute hellscape, but I just sent in a book AND I have zero emails in my inbox, so I'm going to celebrate this moment. What are you celebrating today?

Baltimore, I'm home for the holidays! Kick off the season at The Ivy Bookshop, with me & my friends, @dansantat.bsky.social and @ellenoh.bsky.social ! We'll sign books and goof and laugh. Then, a few weeks later, come back and bring the kids for a banorah-making party and Hanukkah storytime!

This Amazon mess is affecting everything, including my online banking, and it makes me really glad I’m the weirdo who still reconciles a paper checkbook. Does anyone else out there still do that?

NEW: Four years after GOP lawmakers in Georgia enacted one of the most aggressive anti-voting laws in the country, new evidence filed in federal court shows that Senate Bill 202 has drastically deepened racial inequalities in voting access in the state. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

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Whoa. Chicago mayor calls for a general strike; now we're talking www.huffpost.com/entry/chicag...

I’m beginning to see more buzz about a general strike, and I wonder if it’s just my bubble. Are you seeing it too? Are you game? (And where do you live?) #generalstrike

“Are you ready to raise your voice?” #warnock #nokings

Happy #nokings from Atlanta, where we do, in fact, recognize one King.

Here's a blast from the past! Many years ago, on her wonderful podcast, The Book of Life, Heidi Rabinowitz asked me about the Jewish nature of my books, and it changed my career. I feel so grateful to have time capsules like this, that bring me back to earlier versions of myself.

I wholeheartedly loved all three of these picture books! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/b...

When you start an email to your editor: "Sooo... have you ever read Wonderboys?" #authorlife #amwriting #butnotfastenough

Hey! You! Please help circulate this petition? Our reading bowl in GA has (very selectively) eliminated titles from the list this year, despite the fact that they were on the state awards list. Including, ironically, @samiraahmed.bsky.social's THIS BOOK WON'T BURN. Sign/repost the petition?

Lost my longhand draft

Guys guys guys!! The entire digital F&G of Shrinking Violet *is* online. But I'm not sure whether you can see it without logging in... <wriggles excitedly> online.flippingbook.com/link/418062/

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

Does anyone know British #kidlit folks who can help me? I’d like to make a map of children’s book creators who lived/worked in London. Milne & Nesbit & Blake & Streatfield & Travers & Burnett & Barrie &&&… But someone must have done this before, right? Pass this on and help me find someone?

More. Of. This.

@slj.com's Day of Dialog is tomorrow, & it's FREE to join! I'm so excited! This is my first chance to talk about my spring book with LeUyen Pham, Shrinking Violet, which is full of gorgeous art (as you might expect). I'm on a panel with a bunch of other wonderful creators at 3:55. Join us?

Hello #BookSky Are you still figuring out what you're doing for #BannedBooksWeek We'll help! Here's a framework for you: 1 Event or 1 Organization or 1 Person Here's what we mean...