Lit Hub Daily: April 20, 2022

• “Doesn’t it scan as odd that the collective book industry reply to “your working conditions are so racist they’re a form of psychological horror” was an ecstatic yes, drag me?” Tajja Isen on The Other Black Girl and lip service in publishing. | Lit Hub Criticism

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• Middle-earth in watercolor: Alan Lee on the (dreamy) process of illustrating The Lord of the Rings. | Lit Hub Art

• “My need was amorphous, inarticulate.” Jesymn Ward recalls discovering the work of Ntozake Shange at just the right time. | Lit Hub Criticism

• Jendella Benson’s advice for capturing not just the act of gentrification but the “specific fingerprint of a community that is being erased.” | Lit Hub Craft

• Steve Almond and Melissa Chadburn talk about writing ambitious novels and outlasting doubt in the process. | Lit Hub In Conversation

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• Vanessa Hua considers power and consent inside the surprising history of Chairman Mao’s love for dance. | Lit Hub History

• How has the pandemic changed our perceptions of loneliness? Four Writers from The Lonely Stories weigh in. | Lit Hub Roundtable

• When airline stewardesses were forced to retire at 32—and how they fought back. | Lit Hub History

• Contributors to the new Mystery Writers of America anthology Crime Hits Home reflect on its theme. | CrimeReads

• Sam Lipsyte explores the brave new world of “digisexuality.” | Harper’s 

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• “You have to have categorical and systemic partitioning, even hard generic distinctions, in order to see curious crossings.” Nan Z. Da and Jessica Swodoba discuss literary criticism’s layers. | The Point

• Summer Brennan debunks some myths about nonfiction trade publishing, from advance sizes to book tours. | A Writer’s Notebook

• “I think the feminist standpoint is to let each person have their experience.” Chloe Caldwell on writing a book about her PMDD. | The Cut

• Gal Beckerman recommends eight books that show how social change actually works. | The Atlantic

• Nick Haramis delves into the world of book styling—and the people who fashion books into accessories, decor, and more. | The New York Times

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• Alsace Walentine of Tombolo Books talks about bookselling during the COVID-19 pandemic. | The Tampa Bay Times

Also on Lit Hub: How dictation software helped Kim Beil navigate pandemic pain • Reckoning with the history of medical racism • Read from Noor Naga’s latest novel, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English