Merry Christmas Eve! Art by Gaby Zermeño

Tonight, a crowd of carolers knocked on my front door; the kids and I gathered to listen to them sing by Christmas tree light, then we passed out gingerbread cookies we’d made earlier this week. There’s still some goodness in the world.✨

It really is just TOTALLY INSANE how hard it is to make a truly excellent book. Nearly everyone underestimates what’s required. I think that’s why I LOVE hanging out with people who understand.

Winter Solstice is on December 21, 2025.❄️ I brought together 10 books to celebrate and learn more about this special day. You can click on each book cover in the interactive choice board to find the book in @follettcontent.bsky.social Titlewave. buff.ly/T0UiTLL #winter #TLSky #EduSky #tlchat

40 of the Best Picture Books of 2025! From Sophie Blackall's playful pup story to Stephen King & Maurice Sendak's Hansel and Gretel, plus new and familiar voices. Peter Brown, Loren Long, Amanda Gorman & so many more ✨ Discover them all: www.thechildrensbookreview.com/40-of-the-be...

Looking for books that will get your young reader excited about independent reading? Our latest list features 16 outstanding early readers & chapter books of 2025—poetry-writing badgers, detective hedgehogs, saxophone-playing birds & more! 📚✨ www.thechildrensbookreview.com/16-of-the-be... #kidlit

❄️ A winter story as warm as the firewood it carries. THE OLD SLEIGH by the Pumphrey brothers celebrates community care & the beautiful way traditions evolve. Sparse text, stunning vintage illustrations—a contemplative alternative to holiday bustle: www.thechildrensbookreview.com/the-old-slei...

6 Ways Libraries Made Our Lives Better in 2025| www.libbylife.com/blog/6-ways-...

Please send snow ❄️

New Through Lines post: Re-vision throughlines.substack.com/p/re-vision

Happy Krampusnacht to all who celebrate!

The December full moon is called the Cold Moon, & it's no wonder how it got this name - everything about this chilly season is telling us to find warmth within, look for light wherever it may be found, & reflect on what we will take into the new year & what we'd like to leave to darker days.

New Through Lines post! Beyond the ordinary: crafting stories that stand out throughlines.substack.com/p/beyond-the...

Today's November full moon is a beacon in our final preparations for winter, our shift into the darker season ahead—now is the time to slow down & go inward, focusing on what groundedness & security look like during these coming cold months, & beyond. 🌕

Can't believe this article needed to be written, but here we are: slate.com/life/2025/10...

Happy Halloween, ghosties and ghoulies!!! Art by Brittany Fetcho

I read the semaphore wrong and summoned a skeleton while the veil was thin.

The answer was: Become an English major @litquake.org

Spooky new picture books for Halloween! Happy Reading - may your Halloweekend be filled with gentle hauntings! 👻 open.substack.com/pub/throughl...

Amidst today’s photos, videos, and rhetoric of destruction — — this mural on a storefront in Denver made me smile.

Happy Book Release to The Chemistry Between Art and Science, an author-illustrated picture book debut by Jen White! Out now, from Holiday House!

How the Hardy Boys Book Series Cracked the Case of Getting Kids Hooked on Reading | Smithsonian buff.ly/IlTzLwr

Pls consider ordering a book from your local indie bookshop *NOW* before holiday season to give store time to order title if they don't have it? This helps: (1) support indie bkshops, (2) support human creators, (3) gets you ahead re: busy shopping time. Psst: maybe one of my books? 🙏🏽💛 #KidLit

The lines that got me most, song by song. #TaylorSwift #LifeOfAShowgirl

New Through Lines post: The Gothic veil of October throughlines.substack.com/p/the-gothic...

Evermore a Tortured Poet Lover, but trying out my Showgirl era.

Cozy socks, fall leaves, and a horror novel.

Nightmares comes true in Brooklyn 🖤 Welcome, The Twisted Spine: NYC’s first horror bookstore/cafe!!

🐈‍⬛ Agent post: it appears there are queries in the CAT submission inbox from last year that somehow didn't get sorted properly. If you submitted to me using the website guidelines & you didn't receive a reply last year, my apologies! I do my best to respond to every query in the submissions inbox.

Tonight is September's full Corn Moon & lunar eclipse; like the harvest it’s named for, this moon reminds us to gather what has matured, let go of what we’re ready to release, & step gently into the autumn season ahead - a new chapter that the moon will guide us in. 🌕

Every Body Move! by Jenna Elyse Johnson & Ananya Rao-Middleton www.barnesandnoble.com/w/every-body...

Bandage Buddies by Kathryn Rammell www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bandage-bu...

Where They Gather by Teresa Rodrigues & Jamiel Law www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-they...

So excited to share some upcoming picture books to check out during the B&N preorder sale! Where They Gather by Teresa Rodrigues & Jamiel Law Bandage Buddies by Kathryn Rammell Every Body Move! by Jenna Elyse Johnson & Ananya Rao-Middleton www.barnesandnoble.com

Anatomy of a Proper Book Fair Haul. Read the field guide here on the newest Through Lines post: throughlines.substack.com/p/anatomy-of...

Happy Birthday to our girl, Mary Shelley 🖤

Looking forward to cool autumn evenings at the library and local bookstore

Wrote something for Horror Tree: bit.ly/3HKQekm

ICYMI yesterday, the first essay at my newsletter is all about the most frightening scene I've ever watched in any film. Go check it out and maybe sign up? (Yes it's about NOSFERATU, good eye.)

Plot twist: love is real

Recommendations for Fall/Halloween romcoms? Books or movies!

Sharing Noted Ops Studio for business owners, freelances, creatives, and families looking for remote administrative or operational assistance. Right now they're offering back-to-school setup for parents, amongst the usual support: www.notedopsstudio.com

Books Are Magic Brooklyn

Tonight's full moon invites us to sob on the F train, apparently.

Forever and ever

It's Katie Holmes summer.

Book events with kids are magic. Thanks to Paul Tremblay & Adam Gidwitz for the bestest conversation about stories for kids, which my young readers were super glued to.

This is how creativity works. We think we're heading toward one destination, and we end up somewhere completely different, somewhere we didn't even know we needed to go, while believing that the story wants to be told.

Tonight is July's Buck Full Moon, also known at the Thunder Moon. This lunation is one of determination, responsibility, and steady growth - it reminds us to focus on long-term goals while working to lay the groundwork of practical steps needed to achieve our ambitions. 🌕