some of you are looksmaxxing when you need to be booksmaxxing

you can order it from your favorite indie, or request it from your local library! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Cover of WASP’S NEST by Kat Stoddard surrounded by tropes with arrows pointing to it. Tropes are: rich people behaving badly, queer romance, fish out of water, sibling drama, fake dating, second chances, intimacy via humor, the mortifying ordeal of being known.

btw i wrote a queer novel inspired by the philadelphia story and it comes out june 30! if you enjoy messy protagonists, unconventional love triangles, and settings that are equal parts idyllic and chaotic, you should preorder my book!

my hobbies include taking pictures of my cat and then looking at pictures of my cat

very much need to clarify that this was about Frankenstein and not WH

Baltimore skyline with the AWP logo in the bottom left corner. White text at the top reads “See you at AWP!”

Kat holding an advance reader copy of her debut novel, WASP’S NEST.

AWP is in my hometown this year, and it looks like an amazing lineup. Are there any must-see panels or offsite events I should add to my list?

If you’ll be around and would like an ARC of WASP'S NEST let me know and I'll hand deliver it.

See you in Baltimore!

#AWP26

Wasp's Nest A modern retelling of The Philadelphia Story, Wasp’s Nest is a witty, gripping love triangle unfolding over the course of seven chaotic days at a Cape Cod ...

us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Box of advance reader copies of WASP'S NEST, with a mackerel tabby kitten in the background looking up at the camera.

ARCs are here!! This is Emerald's "please preorder" face.

finally a use for jacob elordi.

"A hugely engaging comedy of manners." Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hat at the Wedding. "An exquisitely layered masterpiece." Emily J. Smith, author of Nothing Serious.

My Octo-Novem-ber newsletter is up! I share some early blurbs (I have BLURBS!), recommend a few books, and catch you up on my Campus WIP progress.

Love seeing good news for Baltimore authors! Happy to share, and boost the signal for the scene.

Thank you so much, Lauren!

WASP'S NEST A Novel by Kat Stoddard. Yellow text over a painting of dark green shrubbery and a poolside chaise.

My debut novel has a cover! Available June 30, 2026. us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

I wrote it anyway 💜 Sometimes it just takes a little encouragement from a kind stranger.

I hope you enjoy this post on the Lavender Scare, the invention of queer pulp fiction, & what it means to be a writer under an increasingly authoritarian gov't
jennifersavrankelly.substack.com/p/banned-boo...

A gold frame on a pale pink background. Photo of two tabby cats, one darker and closer to the camera, one lighter and farther away sitting in a basket.

In this month's newsletter I reintroduce myself and share how my perspective on outlining has changed over time. Plus there's kitten pictures, that's probably the most important part. katstoddard.beehiiv.com/p/onward-and...

How to Be a Good Literary Citizen (in Seven Easy Steps) Last Sunday I spent hours at the Brooklyn Book Festival, a too rare occasion for me to pull myself away from the internet for an entire afternoon. As I looked around at the crowd on their way to pa…

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-...

Watching You’ve Got Mail and reminded that the real movie I want is about the Parker Posey and Greg Kinnear characters.

What a cover!! 😍

WASP’S NEST title page.

It’s a beautiful day to finish first pass edits.

5 stars for SEDUCTION THEORY. Loved it.

Kat holds Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian in front of a bookshelf.

“All I could think, when I looked at Ethan stationed at the head of the table, his rust-colored hair thinning at the temples, was that the man had nothing to teach me. Zero, zilch. Ethan wanted nothing from me. And I did not, in that season of my life, believe a person could give without wanting.”

Huge congrats to the workers at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore for winning their first union contract in 142 years!

Three cherries with stems resting against each other on a white background. Text reads: Midwestern Jam-Making Throuples. Achieving self-knowledge through statistics and copyedits.

I didn’t expect to feel giddy reviewing the style sheet for my debut novel but boy, do I.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

100%! I feel parent-writers are the absolute best people to tackle the amount of work and creative thinking it would take to make it happen, but the whole problem is that we don't have the time and bandwidth. 😭

Must read post for parent-writers and the people who love them.

This is a dream of mine too! Really love your piece, I identify with so many of the considerations you mention. I hope the wider residency conversation can one day include this perspective (despite being brushed off as irrelevant by people who have completely different experiences).

On Tyranny free resources To use and to share, now or any time

"On Tyranny" free resources to use and to share, now or any time
snyder.substack.com/p/on-tyranny...

A black and white image of a man riding an arabber’s horse during a funeral procession for Bilal “BJ” Abdullah.

Issue 64 of Baltimore Beat is live. Our cover photo was shot by Devin Allen.

On Showing Up What a consistent writing practice means to me.

open.substack.com/pub/katstodd...