Attack of the Book People IV is on the way. Readers this time: Cynthia Weiner, @erikaswyler.bsky.social, @ambersparks.bsky.social, Bill Lessard, @tobiascarroll.bsky.social, Alex Behr, and Farooq Ahmed! @lelandcheuk.bsky.social (aka Cheukles) and I (aka KGB) will emcee. March 5, 2026. Deets on att'd.

“Humanity’s reliance on absolutism seems to be a degenerate response to a natural, legitimate—perhaps even say hardwired—desire for ‘answers.’” Leland Cheuk talks absolutism and Norse gods with Kurt Baumeister. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/theyre-not-simply-phantoms/

Picked my best books of the year for @NPR and this was one of them!

really excited to launch the newest residency at Upstart & Crow, which is specifically for parent-writers and includes a childcare stipend in addition to a residency grant and space to work. the residency I have dreamed of! applications open this weekend: upstartandcrow.com/programs/par...

Cover design for THE MORGUE KEEPER (7.13 Press, October 15, 2025). @lelandcheuk.bsky.social

Today is pub day for THE MORGUE KEEPER by Ruyan Meng, 7.13 Books #35. Asian Review of Books calls it “devastating.” Karissa Chen, bestselling author of HOMESEEKING, calls it “chilling” and “Kafkaesque.” It’s a cautionary tale for authoritarian times bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

It's been tough going for small publishers for a while, but they continue to publish a lot of the most exciting new work, and are the main supporters of the short story as a form. Support indie publishing when you can! www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...

Reminder that my debut collection was reissued almost two years ago with three new stories, kinda like how Dischord would package LPs and 7"s onto CD editions in the 90s. bookshop.org/p/books/tran...

ICYMI, there's new fiction by me at Heavy Feather Review this week! heavyfeatherreview.org/2025/07/03/c...

We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.

I wrote this! 👇🏾

I was so happy to edit this review of ZEAL, by @mjerkins.bsky.social, which our critic @lelandcheuk.bsky.social says is a page-turner that readers will also learn from. A compelling historical romance centering Black love. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/16/a...

Fun to meet @lelandcheuk.bsky.social whose @713press publishes AAPI fiction at the Women's National Book Association. Buoyed by the publishers and agents who heard my pitch and said, “Keep on going!” So grateful to be repped by a great agent.

Cover design for the reissue of TRANSITORY by Tobias Carroll @tobiascarroll.bsky.social (7.13 Press, December 2023) @lelandcheuk.bsky.social

Congrats to @samanthaschoech.bsky.social on the pub day of her debut collection MY MOTHER'S BOYFRIENDS! The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "beautifully alive." Vendela Vida calls it "Witty and utterly enchanting." Order it now! tinyurl.com/ff62pkhr

Feeling a lot of trepidation and fear and also gathering strength for the years of fighting ahead. One way I'm doing that is by celebrating good things when I can. So please celebrate the beautiful cover of my novel, BEINGS, which is now up everywhere. (pre-order links in bio 💜🙏)

I am so ridiculously pleased to share, finally, that I have a new novel coming out in about nine months called BEINGS and it's about aliens and loneliness and queerness and archives. Eee!

Wipe the sleep from your eyes: it's a NEW YEAR, and we're now OPEN for your short fiction collections! Our new SS/FF editor (will be revealed tomorrow) + our incredible reading team can't wait to see what incredible books y'all have been working on--send 'em!!! splitlippress.submittable.com/submit

low-key driven nuts by the attention/monetary power of prestige writer substacks and how they just promote other prestige writer substacks (i don't even have skin in the game on this as i am terrible at maintaining my newsletter, but it's just annoying)

Fellow freelancers, we're stronger together!!!

Eight years ago, a budding scientist gave a commercial airline pilot a gift that would link the two for life. Since then, they'd met in person and linked up on social media. But when she boarded a flight a week ago, she didn't expect to see him. Then an announcement came over the PA system.

I'm so thrilled to be part of this anthology, Smashing the Tablets, edited by @saralippmann.bsky.social and @snrogoff.bsky.social. Queering/fucking with sacred texts is a truly Jewish practice and I'm so proud of the short story of mine that's in this book. Pre-order! bookshop.org/p/books/smas...

Is this the bardo? Am I in the fucking bardo?

My husband has been in the hospital for a low white blood cell count, zero neutrophils, and plenty of opportunistic infections with no end in sight. I’m raising money to help pay for my lodging, which I’m doing to be closer to the hospital. NO PRESSURE at all, but if you’d like: gofund.me/23f3543a

Applications now open for the Community of Writers Summer Workshop in Olympic Valley, way up in the Sierras of California. Runs July 7-July 14. Check out the staff roster and see if the workshop is right for you. communityofwriters.org/workshops/wr...

We don't often recommend journalistic pieces. But we think you all should read this powerful, important work by Patrick Fealey in @esquire about his life as a homeless writer. Please make time this holiday weekend for "The Invisible Man."

Calling all translators! We're building a Bluesky starter pack for emerging and established translators—so that we can follow each other and be in community together on the World Wide Web. If you want to be included, add yourself to this thread, and share this post far and wide with your networks :)

Books We Love returns with 350+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 12 years of recommendations all in one place — that's nearly 4,000 great reads.

For the Books We Love series @npr I try to include off-the-beaten-path books from non-corporate houses. Here are some books I loved from @charcopress.com @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social and The Feminist Press of CUNY. Check out the rest of the list at apps.npr.org/best-books/#...

Excellent interview with my debut author, @geminiwahhaj.bsky.social! Thanks to the @therumpus.bsky.social and @mannahattamamma.bsky.social for asking such insightful questions. @lelandcheuk.bsky.social 7.13 Books therumpus.net/2024/01/15/g...

7.13 Books+Friends will be lighting it up on Friday of AWP KC (February 9th) from 6-10 PM at the Kill Devil Club (drinks 6-7, reading 7-10). Readers: Matt Bell, Kirstin Chen, Jimin Han, James Reich, Ben Tanzer, Gemini Wahhaj, and Kurt Baumeister. @lelandcheuk.bsky.social and I will team up to emcee.

Today is the official release date for the second edition of TRANSITORY, featuring three additional stories, new art, and a few other small tweaks here and there. Big thanks to @lelandcheuk.bsky.social and all at 7.13 Books for bringing it back into print! bookshop.org/p/books/tran...

7.13 Books’s first of 3 fall titles, and our 26th book! Praised by Publishers Weekly, Crimereads, Tor, and elsewhere.

A belated roundup of my writing in the first half of 2023 in places like WaPo, SF Chronicle, NPR, and Boston Globe - tinyurl.com/mvw4duuk

@publisherswkly.bsky.social asked me about our fall 2023 releases, so I compared THE MOTH FOR THE STAR to CLOUD ATLAS. Check it out. @lelandcheuk.bsky.social www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Indictment charges, a starred 🌟 review, and my book birthday? Alright now... FORGIVE ME NOT is officially out in the world, and we're celebrating a few things today as it so happens. Rain ⛈️ be damned! https://linktr.ee/jbakernyc

7.13 Books (Please Be Advised by Christine Sneed and Border Less by Namrata Poddar) at Chevalier Books in LA’s Larchmont Village.

Congrats, @jiminhanwriter.bsky.social, on the launch of The Apology! ✨ Great conversation with @iamlisako.bsky.social. Loved learning that y’all kept up weekly writing sessions & wrote your second books together.

Starting over with social is kinda fun. Feature ask: For every post here, can we automatically delete a year of posts on every other platform?

Best logo and app button icon of the bunch, methinks.