I really truly didn't think there was anything in the Epstein files that was new or surprising but like they're straight up refusing to seat a Republican House rep because she'll vote to release it and the House basically hasn't existed since like September Moreover, ICE must be destroyed

A reminder thay if your senators and congressperson are not contacts on your phone ... they could be. And to be honest (maybe this isn't great), calling my reps is easier for me now than it's almost always a voicemail not a person answering the phone.

The latest AI/scam bruhaha is from surprisingly officially named local book clubs (today's is "The San Diego Women's Book Club") offering for their group to read one of my books. PSA: Book clubs do not need permission to read a book. Just sayin'.

heads up to anyone who holds trans kids near: amy harmon from the nyt is searching for and having a hard time finding people to interview to find out exactly what trans kids are doing when their care is limited or cut off, and for purposes of community safety, please shut the fuck up around her.

MRS. Z'S CLASS is growing!! Happy book birthday to @mikejungwroteabook.bsky.social & @marthabee.bsky.social whose new books THEO CHANG IS NOT A CAT and THUNDER NELSON DOES THE IMPOSSUMBLE are out today from @littlebrownyr.bsky.social, both illustrated by the inimitable @katfcomix.bsky.social!

It's my *SIXTH* book birthday!!! CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND releases today in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook (read by me!) I'm really proud of this one for a lot of reasons. It's about annoying little siblings and about having a mom with chronic pain. Chris is independent but also maybe lonely.

Congratulations to @alexgino.bsky.social, the author of the groundbreaking middle grade novel, MELISSA on the release of their latest middle grade title, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND. Happy book birthday and welcome to the world!

A reminder that if you see someone stealing food NO YOU DIDNT

Youtube has a music service!They're still a big company, yeah, but I'm already paying to avoid ads in videos. And wherever you transfer to, there are lots of tools online to help you move your library.

My personal Tripledent Gum (Inside Out) is George Costanza's outgoing voicemail song. I wasn't even that into that show, but I'll belt that one out randomly. Believe it or not, I'm not hooooome. 🎶

The kids are not alright. Longitudinal research shows that rates of mental health distress among LGBTQ+ youth have increased since 2023, that they're less able to access mental health care, and that nearly 1/4 have been threatened with conversion therapy. www.latimes.com/science/stor...

hey! My new MG, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND releases in 2 weeks! This may be the book I'm proudest of yet. I did a *thing* and I'm excited to share it with you! You know the deal - first week sales matter and the best way to remember is to not have to. Pre-order at: highfivebooks.org/products/chr...

EVERY BOOK BANNED FROM THE READING BOWL HAS BEEN RESTORED!!!!! The kids will be able to read and compete over all 20 books. Raising the issue made a difference. Teen advocates made a difference. docs.google.com/document/u/0...

Blueprint

Hey! @slj.com's Day of Dialog is tomorrow, and it's free! I'll be live at 10 AM ET, talking middle grade with @veedabybee.bsky.social, McCall Hoyle, Primo Gallanosa, & Colleen Nelson, mod: Hilda Gonzalez. Excited to chat about my upcoming 6th book, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND. www.slj.com/event/school...

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day? Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

Today’s the first day of Banned Books Week! Take a look at the thread and see if there’s something you can do to protect our freedom to read!

My level of tech-change-burnout: I freaked out bcs the company I pay for web hosting changed & when I logged in to update my site, everything looked different. I asked my programmer friend to sit with me to figure it out. The problem? I logged into the web host, not wordpress, where I edit the site.

OK, here we go! My book CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND releases in 2 months! It's a personal story about loneliness and connection, and I'm really proud of it. 2025 is hell, which just makes art that much more important. Preorder: highfivebooks.org/products/chr...

Stonewall Book Award-winning author @alexgino.bsky.social speaks about why they support Massachusetts' Freedom to Read legislation: because books gave them "language to describe who I was, and knowledge that there were other people like me." #MassFreedomToRead

Just went kayaking. Look who was in steerage the whole time.

I just signed up for an ICE verifier training. It's a great match for me as a white US citizen with a flexible schedule who hates ICE. Verifiers follow up on sightings. Either it's not ICE and people can go about their day or it is ICE and they know they're being watched. Is it a match for you too?

🚨BREAKING: Cal State LA just moved classes online and let faculty work remotely, not for a storm, not for COVID, but because ICE is in the area. Let that sink in, an entire university is treating immigration enforcement like a public health crisis.

Water makes it better.

I've painted the first coat of chalkboard paint onto my wall and wildly vacillating between "I am a genius" and "oh boy this is going to be hell to paint over."

Hey folks! I have a new book Nov 4 and tbqh, I'm rather proud of it. CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND is a story of a bookish kid stuck with an annoying little sister for a summer in rural Mass. Pre-order: highfivebooks.org/products/chr... And listen to me talk about it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw7L...

Whatever doesn't kill you makes your life worse.

Shut up and shut down are synonyms.

Writing is not a science. It's barely an art. It's mostly ineffable hocus pocus and grammar.

Hey! Are you a librarian? Thank you!!!!!!!!! Otherwise, go thank a librarian!!!

Micropoem: It still hurts? You're still doing it.

And if you *are* an author, join AABB classic: www.authorsagainstbookbans.com

Toxicologist here! This will improve the health of zero Americans. Current synthetic food dyes are not causing health problems, and are often times used because they are actually safer than natural food dyes. Reminder that guns are the #1 cause of death of children but we are going to ban food dyes.

Just gutted myself by writing a poem. How's your day going?

Remember when media would hyperbolize the weather - everything was a cyclobombnadopocalypse? I sure wish they'd do that for fascism and emerging dictatorships.

A CO district was sued for removing books from libraries. The district lost, and when the judge denied the hold on the ruling and said the books had to go back by Sunday, they said, "it may take some time...as they threw them out." A law firm will donate the books. www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...

Dental hygienist asked about my job. Me: I'm a writer. DH: Oh! Are you a ghostwriter? People,I just want you to know I didn't get up and hover around going 'scary ghost.' Where's my trophy?

I don't know who this 90s TMBG reference is for - it's certainly not my kid readers - but I just named a pet store in my WIP The Cage And Aquarium and I have rarely been prouder of myself.

A defiant poem in upsetting times for my queerfolk and otherfolk: Distressed Agriculture If enough isn’t enough more won’t be better I heard growing up that I had everything I needed and some of what I wanted as defined by everything the straights needed and some of what they wanted [1/4]

On the lighter side of things, I want a meme of Gandalf facing off against the Bolrog and pointing at a "No Passing Zone" sign, perhaps in a Meter Maid cap and writing a ticket.

AI cheats at chess. (It forces the opponent computer to concede or allows itself to make illegal moves.) Chalk another one up to Worst Timeline Hypothesis. time.com/7259395/ai-c...

If you happen to be connected with a school/library/etc. that has funds for author/illustrator visits, and you're looking for a way to directly support banned artists in this current hellscape, have I got an idea for you! Most of us make a significant portion of our income from these visits [1/4]

Working on a new project and I hate something in this draft. I want to stare at it and fix it but I can't because I don't know what this books needs until I finish drafting it. So I have to just keep scrolling past it like Dread Pirate Roberts saying, "I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

Additional scripts for cis het white men who want to be better allies: “What a weird thing to say” “Do you hear yourself right now?” “You shouldn’t say shit like that to people” “I won’t let you talk to them that way” “That’s a disgusting opinion to have” “Shut the fuck up, dude”

A concentration camp where there already was a concentration camp.

Open Books is a fabulous organization doing important work distributing queer stories for youth!

Great reminder from Sarah. The Highlights campus is a wonderful place to dive into storytelling.

Existence IS Resistance. Remember that this fight is not new. There have ALWAYS been people who don't recognize more than two genders and yet here we are. Your existence is an act of resistance all on its own. 🐝