The NBR playoff mega-preview is out now, starring @seankuhn.bsky.social @highkin.bsky.social @kylietcheung.bsky.social @ichotiner.bsky.social @eamonwhalen.bsky.social @jacobrosenberg.bsky.social @islemcelroy.bsky.social @maitreyiaa.bsky.social @toley.bsky.social. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
Hugh Ryan - My Bad May 26, 2026 I met Hugh a couple years ago at the Provincetown Book Festival, where I heard him read from The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison. I know him mostly as a historian, and I was excited to read My Bad, Ryan’s memoir of queer life in the 90s. I loved being inside this book, and inside Ryan’s early exploration through queerness. He has an eye for historical details, which feel especially relevant in this book, where Ryan deftly draws connections between larger social forces and his personal journey. I normally hate the word journey, but that is what’s happening here. What makes this memoir really stand out is Ryan’s honest assessment of himself. I’m reminded of Melissa Febos, who also lovingly takes a scalpel to her past actions–both Ryan and her write with the rare courage of honesty, highlighting both their accomplishments and the small but significant shames that make up a life. Ryan doesn’t veer away from those moments, and by doing so, he has written a book that feels so smart and embracing. I can’t wait for this to be in the world
The Provincetown Book Festival is where I met so many writers I love and have been blessed to be in community with ever since. Thank you @islemcelroy.bsky.social for this shout out to MY BAD as one of your favorite books of 2026 so far!
In which novelist @islemcelroy.bsky.social asks Where do we even begin? Some thoughts and potential answers here intheworkroom.substack.com/p/where-to-b...
I wrote about Jordy Rosenberg’s excellent new novel, Night Night Fawn, for @theatlantic.com.
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
"I prefer [characters who] stumble over what they have yet to learn about themselves. They’re the most compelling because they are human."
—from @islemcelroy.bsky.social's National Magazine Award-nominated column Character Studies
www.thebeliever.net/character-st...
Ty!!!
Very surprised and excited to see that my Character Studies column for @thebeliever.net is a finalist for the National Magazine Awards!
Pretty stoked about this!
Loved returning home to find handwritten novel edits from on my editor
My 2025 Grift Guide is here. Featuring Fast Casual Art, Pluribus, Smash Burgers, Literary Parties, and more!!
open.substack.com/pub/thescoop...
Thursday, I’m teaching a class on how to write compelling novel openings. You can sign up here! @shipmanagency.bsky.social
www.theshipmanagency.com/classes/craf...
The latest round of @nymag.com's Best Books of 2025 includes SAD TIGER! Thanks to @islemcelroy.bsky.social for their thoughtful writeup.
Aww ty!!
🙏
The Channel is a Publisher’s Weekly Book Deal of the Week!
Thank you!!
Announcement that novelist Isle McElroy has sold their next book, called The Channel.
Very excited to share that @islemcelroy.bsky.social has just sold their next novel and I can NOT wait!!!
Very excited to be publishing my 3rd novel, THE CHANNEL, with Lindsey Schwoeri at Viking!! Coming to you summer 2027.
My way of coping with all of the madness is focusing on what I can do to make my community a little bit stronger. So excuse me for all of the earnestness, but I wrote about ways we can all pitch in to support a thriving literary culture. lithub.com/how-to-be-a-...
Loved writing the afterword for the reissue of Jacqueline Harpman’s ORLANDA, a brilliant leap of a body swap novel. A sexy, smart, and beguiling companion to her hit I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN. Pick up a copy on September 30!
❤️❤️❤️
In which I share my books' sales and kind words of wisdom from @dannymlavery.bsky.social, @rumaan.bsky.social @mysoncool.bsky.social, @mattielubchansky.com, @jayasaxena.com, @islemcelroy.bsky.social, and @lydiakiesling.bsky.social meantforyou.beehiiv.com/p/the-mortif...
Some thoughts on Weapons and a lecture about empathy in fiction I delivered at Tin House
open.substack.com/pub/thescoop...
Thank you!
I wrote about Sorry, Baby and some thoughts on teachers sleeping with students open.substack.com/pub/thescoop...
Isle McElroy is the author of the novels People Collide and The Atmospherians. They wrote the Best Sex I've Ever Read Column for Vulture and taught a class on Desire and Sex Writing at the Sarah Lawrence MFA program.
Isle McElroy is the author of the novels People Collide and The Atmospherians. Their criticism and essays regularly appear in Vulture, The Atlantic, Esquire, and elsewhere. They are a Shearing Fellow at the Black Mountain Institute and currently teach in the MFA Program at Sarah Lawrence College.
At 34, writer Leah Rae Hulgin learned that being single and being widowed are not quite the same thing. She and her husband Evan met in their early 20s. After eight years of marriage, Evan was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer at 30 years old. Seven months after his diagnosis, Evan died.
