Lit Hub Daily: January 15, 2026
THE BEST OF THE LITERARY INTERNET
TODAY: In 1831, Victor Hugo finishes The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- “Those who liberated Damascus write the Syrian success story the way American success stories are written.” Golan Haji on art and letters in the new Syria, translated and introduced by Fady Joudah. | Lit Hub Criticism
- Is art the last refuge of our humanity? Nick Ripatrazone on the importance of the creative ego (and the problem of generative AI). | Lit Hub Technology
- “‘If only I could touch him,’ she gasped. Two thousand years earlier, a woman said of Jesus: ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’” How David Bowie both reinvented and killed the concept of a rock god. | Lit Hub Music
- Am I the asshole for crushing on my editor? Kristen Arnett answers this and more of your pleas for literary advice. | Lit Hub Advice
- Daniyal Mueenuddin’s TBR features books by James Joyce, Susan Orlean, Lauren Groff, and more. | Lit Hub Criticism
- “A novel is a minor conspiracy unto itself, a frenzied assembly of story and figures and motivations.” 5 book reviews you need to read this week. | Book Marks
- Eve MacDonald on the ancient Mediterranean realities, myths and conquests of the Phoenicians. | Lit Hub History
- “Alright, let’s have a chat. Sit. You have to be strong, because you’re all grown up now, right?” Read from Brenda Navarro’s novel Eating Ashes, translated by Megan McDowell. | Lit Hub Fiction
- Nitisha Pahwa considers the cautionary tale of Scott Adams. | Slate
- “Write a detailed description of the process of drinking a glass of water, eating an apple, or the act of ingesting some other small meal,” and other writing prompts, from Lucy Ives. | The Paris Review
- Historian Anouche Kunth discusses the research required to write a book about Armenia, exile, and genocide. | Public Books
- How one person crowdsourced over 500 dashcams to help citizens document ICE. | 404 Media
- Becky Pepper-Jackson, the teen at the center of a Supreme Court case concerning the rights of trans athletes, reflects on this week’s arguments and her journey so far. | The Cut
- “Elaine Kraf is particularly attuned to the ways men exercise social control over women, and how a self can fragment and fracture under such conditions.” Meghan Racklin on Find Him! | The Baffler
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