TODAY: In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by King James VI of Scotland. Ben Jonson and Thomas Dekker collaborate on a pageant and Thomas Middleton writes a speech to welcome the new king.
- “Going through those notes was interesting, because they showed me a younger version of myself. That version was less interesting than I had hoped she was.” An interview with Joan Didion (conducted by Emma Roberts because sure, why not). | Belletrist
- A tour of the Merriam-Webster publishing house with lexicographer and author Kory Stamper, “very much part of the vanguard of word-nerd celebrities.” | The New York Times
- “Bluntly written, intellectually obtuse, and morally crass, Making It is a flawed book but also a brilliant one.” On Norman Podhoretz’s memoir, which will be brought back into print in honor of its 50th anniversary. | The New Republic
- God, she doesn’t play: A conversation between poet Ishion Hutchinson and novelist and essayist Teju Cole. | Work in Progress
- Anna Journey on navigating metaphors, writing as a process of discovery, and inhabiting an “Ovidian myth set in a hip, ethically sourced taxidermy studio.” | Electric Literature
- The argument for the novel’s demise has its own kind of ghoulish quality to it by now: On the perpetual perceived death of a genre. | Times Literary Supplement
- “Books and letters would bring a sense of freedom to a place like this, where everything is so rigid and unjust. But they are forbidden.” Six persecuted Turkish writers share their experiences. | The Guardian
BelletristElectric LiteratureLit Hub DailyThe GuardianThe New RepublicThe New York TimesTimes Literary Supplementwork in progress
