Lit Hub Daily: August 18, 2021

• “If English is power, as every immigrant knows, what are her responsibilities for legibility and articulation?” Yoon Choi on navigating the complicated path to publication. | Lit Hub

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• Alice McDermott considers the authority of a great first sentence. | Lit Hub Craft

• “I was skeptical that this could even work.” Beowulf Sheehan on learning how to take author photos remotely during the pandemic. | Lit Hub Photography

• Bethanne Patrick recommends delightfully odd books you might have missed in July. | Lit Hub Reading Lists

• How a star-studded Super Bowl ad turned avocados into America’s favorite superfood—and cost countless human lives in Mexico. | Lit Hub Food

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• Ian Stewart on the cipher that revolutionized technology, well before computers were advanced enough to handle it. | Lit Hub Tech

• Alice in Wonderland, National Velvet, The Third Policeman, and more rapid-fire book recs from Kathryn Davis. | Book Marks

• WATCH: Christopher Gray talks to Andrew Keen about altruistic hustling. | Lit Hub Virtual Book Channel

• “A clever thief adopting multiple aliases, targeting victims around the world, and acting with no clear motive.” A search for the mysterious figure who’s been stealing book manuscripts before their release. | Vulture

• A high school teacher in Tennessee was fired after assigning his students a Ta-Nehisi Coates essay. | The Atlantic

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• Ross Gay discusses the connection between writing and rollerskating, chasing the hustle, and past selves. | The Creative Independent

• Jaime Cortez considers his most memorable reading experiences and his creative process. | Poets & Writers

• Billie Jean King on reclaiming her narrative and her new autobiography. | Los Angeles Times

• A children’s book that includes same-sex parents has been published in Russia as a statement against hatred and discrimination. | The Guardian

• Ramunda Young, co-owner and co-founder of Mahogany Books in Washington, D.C., talks about how the business got its start. | The Root

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Also on Lit Hub: Lisa Wells on the water crisis in California’s Central Valley • In defense of the ancient comedian who went after Aristotle • Read from George Stewart’s newly reissued novel, Storm