It’s the vernal equinox, literature lovers. 20% off subs 25% off books and issues 30% off merch Sale ends April 1, discount applied at checkout. Happy spring. Store.mcsweeneys.net

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The fastest thing in the universe is light; the slowest is forgiving then forgetting. —from "Everything We Can See in the Universe Glows," a poem by Jynne Dilling Martin www.thebeliever.net/everything-w...

"People want to call you something, and saying you’re just a writer is not enough." —Rebecca Solnit, interviewed by Benjamin R. Cohen www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"I prefer [characters who] stumble over what they have yet to learn about themselves. They’re the most compelling because they are human." —from @islemcelroy.bsky.social's National Magazine Award-nominated column Character Studies www.thebeliever.net/character-st...

"The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer." —from "That Crafty Feeling" by Zadie Smith www.thebeliever.net/that-crafty-...

"A student of mine in a creative writing course performed an experiment. The experiment was technology related. I was its subject." —from Lucy Ives's new column on creative writing and LLMs www.thebeliever.net/negative-uto...

"Something that I’m trying to achieve with these books is to create a feeling of here-and-now." —Karl Ove Knausgård, interviewed by Rebecka Bülow www.thebeliever.net/logger/2013-...

"I think dramatizing these philosophical questions is a way of making their relevance clearer to people." —Ted Chiang, interviewed by James Yeh www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

Lucy Ives's new weekly column exploring ChatGPT's effect on creative writing departments launches today. Start with part one here: www.thebeliever.net/negative-uto...

"While realists searched for symmetries and beauties, the are-bure-boke photographers took chaotic shots. They tried random triggering, they shot into the light, they prized mis-shots." —Ratik Asokan on a Japanese photography style from the 1960s www.thebeliever.net/logger/2015-...

"The self may be illusory. We give it a lot of credit by flattering ourselves and suggesting that we’re in charge. But we’re not." —Michael Pollan, interviewed by Prashanth Ramakrishna www.thebeliever.net/logger/an-in...

But it’s hard, isn’t it? Not to perform what they say about our sadness, when we are always so sad. It is real work to not perform a fable. Just ask the turtle. Ask the hare. —from "Like Church," a poem by Natalie Diaz www.thebeliever.net/like-church/

"There is a specific mode of science fiction storytelling in which extrapolation is a key part: taking an idea as far as it will go, trying to imagine what comes next, to the limit of your imagination." —Ted Chiang, interviewed by James Yeh www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

Subscriptions are discounted by 25% until 5 p.m. (PST) today! store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

The new issue of @thebeliever.net is almost here. I asked poet Amanda Gorman about fan fiction and cookies and if you want to read her thoughts on AO3, subscribe here: store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

"If I’m puzzled by something or I’m not understanding a person, then I’ll home in on them." —Mary Gaitskill, interviewed by Sheila Heti www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

Our spring issue is on its way! Featuring @amandagorman.bsky.social, Joy Williams, @laurenmarkham.bsky.social, @rob-brezsny.bsky.social, @paulcollins.bsky.social, and more. Subscriptions are 25% off until Monday—get yours here: store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

"I think attention, or the lack thereof, during one’s career has the potential to make or break one’s journey." —Black Thought, interviewed by John Morrison www.thebeliever.net/interview-bl...

"It’s not good to let other people define your work for you." —Mary Gaitskill, interviewed by Sheila Heti www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"I’m so disconnected from an indie-rock community that I am the hermit people used to guess I was." —John Darnielle, interviewed by Daniel Handler www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"You asked me, What does it mean to be seen? It means everything." —Delroy Lindo, interviewed by Erica Vital-Lazare www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"Heat and envy, and the unrelenting nature of both during a Karachi summer, can make you act in wild, reckless, and unpredictable ways." —from Rafia Zakaria's National Magazine Award-nominated essay "Water Pressure" www.thebeliever.net/water-pressu...

"The fact is, I want to move rooms full of people. I want to move someone sitting alone under a reading lamp. I want to move someone sitting on a beach. I want to make them laugh and cry." —Sherman Alexie, interviewed by Neko Case www.thebeliever.net/a-conversati...

"It made us feel we had to be doing something right to get so many people pissed off." —Mark Mothersbaugh on Devo's early ethos www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"You have to love what you do so much that the fear diminishes." —Min Jin Lee, interviewed by Alexis Cheung www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"Awkwardness is where tension is, and tension is where the story is." —Lorrie Moore, interviewed by Angela Pneuman www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"In one way, psychedelics don’t take you further away from the scientific world view but bring you closer to it." —Robert Pollan, interviewed by Prashanth Ramakrishna www.thebeliever.net/logger/an-in...

Last call to claim a complimentary issue of @pioneerwork.bsky.social Broadcast alongside your annual subscription to The Believer. Deal ends tomorrow! store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

Congratulations to @islemcelroy.bsky.social and Rafia Zakaria on the 2026 National Magazine Award nominations!

Last chance to score a free issue of @pioneerwork.bsky.social Broadcast along with your annual subscription to The Believer. Deal ends this weekend, so sign up today: store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

"The essence of spiritual experience to me is a powerful sense of connection... It’s not supernatural at all; it’s just the fact that we are connected." —Michael Pollan, interviewed by Prashanth Ramakrishna www.thebeliever.net/logger/an-in...

"I don’t believe in ironic appreciation. I think if you like something, the core of it is you like it." —John Darnielle, interviewed by Daniel Handler www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"I trust my gut. But so many people before me have come and gone, and I’m pretty clear on what not to do." —Black Thought, interviewed by John Morrison www.thebeliever.net/interview-bl...

Looking for nothing to do? Check out San Francisco is Dead, a new Bay Area events calendar compiled by the editors of McSweeney's. www.sanfranciscoisdead.com

"The other band members join in and music fills the courtyard. It’s at once raw and polished, a refined jamming, Vieux’s special blend of traditional Malian and American roots music known as the desert blues." —from "The Desert and the River" by Rob Curran www.thebeliever.net/the-desert-a...

"Even back then we were already predicting that the hippies would become the capitalists of the ’80s." —Mark Mothersbaugh, interviewed by Maura Kelly www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

It’s the last week to take advantage of our subscription bundle with @pioneerwork.bsky.social! Visit our site for deal details: store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

“Keeping your fingers crossed makes it difficult to hold a pen, but I must say, it’s worth it.” —Lorrie Moore, interviewed by Angela Pneuman www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"Shame tells you when you’ve gone too far. Then you try if it’s okay to go too far." —Karl Ove Knausgård, interviewed by Rebecka Bülow www.thebeliever.net/logger/2013-...

“Watching this now, I’m struck by how young she appears; the maturity of her skating and the magnitude of her accomplishment have aged her in my mind.” —Belinda Huijuan Tang on Michelle Kwan’s 2002 performance www.thebeliever.net/annotating-m...

We think you’ll love Broadcast—the annual print mag from @pioneerwork.bsky.social—so we’re including a complimentary issue with all Believer subscriptions through the end of the month. See details here: store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

"Today, if you have a strong sense of shame you also have a strong desire to overcome it. And that’s when you can write." —Karl Ove Knausgård, interviewed by Rebecka Bülow www.thebeliever.net/logger/2013-...

"Just doing normal things that everybody else does seems incredibly complicated to me. The simplest thing. Even doing the laundry sometimes seems labyrinthine." —Gabrielle Belle www.thebeliever.net/logger/an-in...

Still nothing better than print… @thebeliever.net

Roses wilt. Great magazines don’t. This February, we’re teaming up with our beloveds at @mcsweeneys.net for a special bundle. Subscribe to @thebeliever.net and get a free issue of Broadcast for one low price. store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

I believe all meaning gets made when the reader makes it. It has nothing to do with me. —Percival Everett, interviewed by James Yeh www.thebeliever.net/interview-pe...

Renew your commitment to independent literary journalism. This month only, sign up for a year of The Believer and get the latest issue of @pioneerwork.bsky.social Broadcast absolutely free. store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...

"95 percent of political commentary, whether spoken or written, is now polluted by the very politics it’s supposed to be about." —David Foster Wallace, interviewed by Dave Eggers (2003) www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

"The advantage of being in Monty Python was that we got away with murder and there was nobody telling us what we could or couldn’t do. We just did it." —Terry Gilliam, interviewed by Salman Rushdie www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...