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Craft and Criticism
Literary Criticism
Craft and Advice
In Conversation
On Translation
Fiction and Poetry
Short Story
From the Novel
Poem
News and Culture
History
Science
Politics
Biography
Memoir
Food
Technology
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Film and TV
Travel
Music
Art and Photography
The Hub
Style
Design
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Lit Hub Radio
The Lit Hub Podcast
The Critic and Her Publics
Awakeners
Fiction/Non/Fiction
I’m a Writer But
Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
Memoir Nation
First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre
Talk Easy
Reading Lists
The Best of the Decade
Book Marks
Best Reviewed Books
CrimeReads
True Crime
The Daily Thrill
Log In
Tara Isabella Burton
Transcending the Mundane: On Fictional Characters in Search of Utopias
Tara Isabella Burton Recommends R.O. Kwon, David Burr Gerrard, William Morris, and More
By
Tara Isabella Burton
| January 16, 2024
How Oscar Wilde Created a Queer, Mysterious Symbol in Green Carnations
Tara Isabella Burton on One of Literature’s Great Trendsetters
By
Tara Isabella Burton
| June 27, 2023
How Campus Novels Reveal the Power—and Danger—of Pure Ideas
Tara Isabella Burton on the Combination of Isolation, Vulnerability, and Hunger for Knowledge
By
Tara Isabella Burton
| March 9, 2022
Searching for Meaning in Times of Despair: A Reading List
Tara Isabella Burton on Spiritualists, Idealists, Cultists, and More
By
Tara Isabella Burton
| June 15, 2020
Best Reviewed
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My First thriller: Megan Abbott
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Exploring the Use of Illustrations and Artwork in Horror Novels
October 9, 2025
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Kristin Loesch
What Fictional Violence Teaches Us About the Real Thing (and Vice Versa)
October 9, 2025
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Jennifer Fawcett
The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
"King captures her guileless sense of awe with just a dusting of parody that never…"