Pretty freakin stoked to have this interview with the fantastic @rachellayown.bsky.social out at @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social. We got to talk about @sfwp.bsky.social and all the cool folks I work with there. Dig it!

"Here is my point: Campanioni’s book, whose title nods to direction, shows us the boundlessness inherent in letting go of directionality." @rachellayown.bsky.social reviews @chriscampanioni.bsky.social's NORTH BY NORTH/WEST in our JANUARY ISSUE.✨ Don't miss it! buff.ly/5eyaK7H

This @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social piece -- @rachellayown.bsky.social interview SFWP Acquisitions and Developmental Editor, @adamalsirgany.bsky.social -- is a perfect supplement to Pub Crawl! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/04/i...

This is online and FREE. Come hear CHIRB editors talk about how much we love books and the CHIRB and how important good criticism is.

Looking at small presses for your book & have dreamed of having your work read around the world? Check out Santa Fe Writers Project, managing editor @rachellayown.bsky.social writes. Read her interview with SFWP editor, @adamalsirgany.bsky.social below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/04/i...

To celebrate our ten years, managing editor @rachellayown.bsky.social writes about her beginnings at CHIRB and shares our first ever review, which was for Abby Geni‘s debut novel, The Lightkeepers (@catapultbooks.bsky.social, 2016). chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/01/t...

We're officially 10 years old today! It's been quite a decade. Nearly 3,000 published reviews, interviews, essays, book lists, cover reveals, and more. Millions and millions of views. Ten years of CHIRBy awards, readings, and events bringing our literary community together...

For my first piece for Group Threat I wrote about the grotesque profits being made off of people's lives through ICE contracts. If we're going to survive this, we have to abolish the profit motive that ever made us see swaths of people as expendable for profit. groupthreat.com/p/tracking-i...

“Fame is fickle, and positive reception is often ephemeral. And what remains when the public loses interest?” The Cost of Ambition: @rachellayown.bsky.social reviews @allietagledokus.bsky.social’s Lucky Girl (@tinhouse.bsky.social). ➡️ buff.ly/9lBRnkj

In solidarity with all those standing up for our communities against the brutality of immigrant detention and ICE occupation, we're offering free ebooks of three crucial books about migrant justice and border abolition. We’ve also added a list of additional recommended reading:

This is soooo exciting! Join the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social as it embarks upon a New Chicago Renaissance! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/01/22/i...

"The book’s nonlinear, stream of consciousness, mosaic-like structure feels directionless. (But what is directionless but a resistance to direction?)" @rachellayown.bsky.social reviews @chriscampanioni.bsky.social's NORTH BY NORTH/WEST. Read it all here! buff.ly/vPvEUM8

Reviews are an art form and this one truly sparkles. What a thoughtful, joyful read! ✨

Postcards are making their way into mailboxes! I’d love to send you one if you DM me your address!

things have been dark lately but AAAAAA BABE WAKE UP NEW EPISODE/SEASON OF @splitlipthemag.bsky.social is out today !!!!! I so hope you peep the review by @rachellayown.bsky.social of @chriscampanioni.bsky.social’s book, & takes such a fun, meandering personal turn in this one. well done Rachel! 🫦✨

I had a lot of fun writing about north by north/west. Many thanks to the brilliant @iloveyoudaniel.bsky.social for the fantastic edits that made this review so much better!

Greg Zimmerman has *excellent* taste in books, so to see HOW WE SEE THE GRAY on his most anticipated list is a serious honor. Thank you, Greg!

Honored to find HOW WE SEE THE GRAY on this list. 👀🩶 Huge thanks to @mbwwelch.bsky.social!

No matter your taste or interest as a reader, you’re sure to find a book by a Chicago author this year to delight you, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. But if you're a Chicago writer and we missed your book, please let us know! We’ll be happy to add it. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/01/07/n...

The lovely @rachellayown.bsky.social of @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social nominated THE GREAT WHEREVER for this list and I am so, so thankful. There is something so surreal, but also so touching, about knowing some readers really get (and *like*!) what you're trying to do. Thank you, Rachel!!

And another mention (also in @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social) by the wonderful @rachellayown.bsky.social who has championed this book from the start and who also has a book coming out in 2026! 👀👀

Delighted to find Guardians & Saints included in @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social's Best Short Story Collections of 2025! Thanks, @rachellayown.bsky.social! chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/18/t...

@rachellayown.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @angieraney.bsky.social @jencoffeen.bsky.social

We had such a fabulous time at the CHIRBys last night... And if there’s one thing we agree on, it’s that Chicago has the BEST literary community in the country!!! @tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social

"Margaret is in many ways emblematic of Chicago’s literary community today and what makes it wonderful." Huge thanks to @mbwwelch.bsky.social for this full circle moment a few weeks before the 10-year anniversary of @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/09/e...

I’ve started a practice of sending a postcard each day. It’s been a beautiful and meaningful part of my morning, but I am running out of addresses and don’t want to stop! Can I send you one? You can sign up at the link below. (You can even request a certain topic!) docs.google.com/forms/d/1cwm...

If you weren't already looking forward to the CHIRBys this week, this incredible essay by @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social editor-in-chief @mbwwelch.bsky.social will certainly get you fired up -- not just for the awards, but all things Chicago writing! buff.ly/93L3Slo #hooraychicago!

I’ve started a practice of sending a postcard each day. It’s been a beautiful and meaningful part of my morning, but I am running out of addresses and don’t want to stop! Can I send you one? You can sign up at the link below. (You can even request a certain topic!) docs.google.com/forms/d/1cwm...

"I considered common narratives around girlhood and womanhood, attempting to subvert expectations where I could and embrace more positive storylines." Out now: @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with Diana Xin on "Book of Exemplary Women” (Yes Yes Books). chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/02/t...

I’m continuously amazed and inspired by the writing community’s generosity with both time and resources. Check out this great “book club” and please help @rachellayown.bsky.social raise funds, if you’re able. pubcheerleader.substack.com/p/lets-read-...

I’m hosting a virtual book discussion with author Ursula Villarreal-Moura about her debut novel, LIKE HAPPINESS, to raise money for her friends in Palestine. (We’re asking participants to donate at least $10.) Details in this Substack post: substack.com/@pubcheerlea...

Thanks so much to @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social and @rachellayown.bsky.social for this interview🖤

"Most writers, on some level, are writing to figure things out, to try to make some sense of things." @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with Deborah Shapiro on her new book "Watching the Detective” (@bside-editions.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/18/w...

"I’m not the sort of person who accepts a 'lane' and stays there. My 'lane' is the one I’m clearing at the moment." Contributor @rachellayown.bsky.social published an interview with @dianejosefowicz.bsky.social in @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social! buff.ly/wtoKNDz

What a fantastic interview! If it inspires you to do what Rachel has done for another city, get in touch with us at @beltpublishing.bsky.social

"It was my goal to capture Rockford as it really is: flawed, yes, but full of strengths, too." @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with @rachellayown.bsky.social on editing the "The Rockford Anthology” (@beltpublishing.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/06/t...

Another world is possible, if we fight for it

Amy Levy and Vernon Lee are on shelves now! unnamedpress.com #smithandtaylorclassics

"We’re following our hearts and minds...finding a balance so we don’t inadvertently publish titles that are too similar.” Out now: @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with @allisonwoodnutt.bsky.social of Smith & Taylor Classics at @unnamedpress.bsky.social. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/31/i...

We are always very proud to be a part of the Stories Matter Foundation, but today especially.

"What I can tell you, clearly and unambiguously, is that it is not always an easy matter to settle on what is true." @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with @dianejosefowicz.bsky.social on her new book "Guardians & Saints” (Cornerstone Press) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/24/t...

A book that gets a proclamation from the mayor! A whole official week! How cool is this

"Once [books] are published and out in the world, I am constantly surprised by the extent of their reach and the wonderful ways they touch readers." @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with @milkweededitions.bsky.social editor Daniel Slager is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/09/15/i...

We're excited to tell you we have THREE full scholarships available for Queer Joy and Sensibilities with JP Solheim, a four-session in-person class starting 9/18. Apply here by 9/16: buff.ly/blJ7Kaq

"Resentment, infatuation, dependence, alienation and fear of loneliness work well when they’re being revealed with words and images together." @rachellayown.bsky.social's interview with Lee Lai on her new book “Cannon” @dandq.bsky.social is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/09/10/t...

If you’re in the Chicago area, I’ll be in conversation with David Ambroz tomorrow at Printers Row Lit Fest about his inspiring memoir A PLACE CALLED HOME. We’ll be at the North Stage at 1pm. Hope to see you there!

HUGE congrats to @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social managing director and Novel In A Year alum @rachellayown.bsky.social on being named one of 10 Poets & Writers' 2025 Get the Word Out Fiction Fellows: www.pw.org/about-us/new...

We’re thrilled to announce the @pw.org Fall 2025 Get the Word Out Fiction Cohort. Get the Word Out is a unique publicity incubator designed to help early career authors maximize the exposure of their forthcoming books. debutiful.net/2025/09/03/a...

Woohoo!!! Go @rachellayown.bsky.social!!!! 🥳 🥳 🥳

Very grateful for this lovely review of THE ROCKFORD ANTHOLOGY!