Jonathan Franzen, whose breakout novel The Corrections was published 19 years ago today, has since then gotten a reputation for being . . . well, kind of crotchety. He hates the internet (especially Twitter), he hates saying “I love you” Read more >
With all due respect to Jonas from The Giver, my heart belongs to a different Lois Lowry protagonist. Not a character who imagines themselves to be perfectly ordinary only to find out that they are, in fact, very special—so special Read more >
This past weekend was Independent Bookstore Day! I hope you used it as an excuse to buy all the books your beautiful nerd heart desired. (Me? Yes, despite the fact that I had frequented two of my favorite indies the Read more >
Honestly . . . maybe. It was Mary Shelley’s birthday yesterday, and to celebrate her, let’s pause for a moment to unpack one of the most frequently-circulated stories about her: that she had sex for the first time on top Read more >
The first trailer for the upcoming CBS miniseries The Stand—the latest in a seemingly never-ending stream of big-budget, star-studded adaptation of Stephen King novels—dropped last night during the MTV Video Music Awards (which is apparently still a thing) and fans Read more >
Welcome to the Book Marks Questionnaire, where we ask authors questions about the books that have shaped them. This week, we spoke to Emma Cline, author of The Girls and Daddy. * Book Marks: What book do you think your Read more >
If you’ve had a hard time putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys, more likely) during the pandemic, despite all of your supposed extra free time and mental space, well, at least you’re not alone. Even the famously prolific Read more >
We’re happy to reveal the brand new cover for Ethel Rohan’s In the Event of Contact, winner of the 2019 Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize. Said Rohan, of receiving the news from Dzanc’s Michelle Dotter: “The Prize came at a Read more >
My favorite poems during quarantine have come in the form of cocktail recipes. More often than not, in the evenings, poet Natalie Diaz shares on Twitter a telegraphic description of an original cocktail she’s made, along with a name for Read more >
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! As part of its guide to Black-owned bookshops in the US, O, The Oprah Magazine created an illustrated map of some of the highlights, and it’s really delightful. The team also asked writers like Tayari Jones, Kiley Read more >
Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, August 29th, is Independent Bookstore Day. This year, the festivities will be both online and in-person at 600+ local bookstores around the country, starting tonight with a conversation between Mary Norris and Ann Goldstein Read more >
As both a social media editor and a sometimes-writer who is on Twitter, I feel uniquely qualified to say that writers shouldn’t be on Twitter. I know: everyone has to hustle. Twitter can be a “community.” Personally, though, I find Read more >
With very few exceptions, if I’ve even partially enjoyed a book, and someone has bothered to adapt that book into a movie, I will seek out and watch said movie. Often this proves a mistake, and my pleasant memories of Read more >
For the first time in more than a century, Poetry magazine will cease printing for a month, the editors announced this week. The decision comes nearly two months after the poetry community rose up in protest against the magazine and Read more >
With this year’s Independent Bookstore Day occurring at a particularly rough time for booksellers, the iconic Powell’s Books in Portland has decided to make a statement and stop selling through Amazon. In a statement, owner Emily Powell notes that the Read more >
We may not all be able to churn out a book during this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bare-knuckle, nose-to-the-grindstone writing experience. One Tokyo inn has fully embraced the “writer” part of a writer’s retreat with Read more >
If you’re in need of a moment of aural respite, here’s one courtesy of Marsh’s Library, a “perfectly preserved library of the early Enlightenment in central Dublin.” (Also known as “the library that put readers in cages.”) Marsh’s Library, which Read more >
The latest in the ongoing controversy at the National Book Critics Circle: after a “special meeting” on Monday, over 130 members of the NBCC met to vote on whether or not to remove Carlin Romano from its board. Romano, you’ll Read more >
The International Booker Prize is awarded annually to the best book written in any language, translated into English, and published in the UK or Ireland. It comes with a whopping £50,000—shared equally between the author and translator. This year, the Read more >
If you’re looking for new ways to fill these waning days of our pandemic summer, here’s a good one: watch Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, a documentary of the author produced with Le Guin’s participation over the course of a Read more >
