Even as one of the more germ-avoidant people I know, I recognize that if I truly acknowledge how filthy my phone is and how often I touch it, I'll never feel good again.

I came here to post exactly this. Well played!

Capitalist art is supposed to reflect mass taste but turns out it just reflects the insecurities of the middle aged men who mostly comprise the managerial stratum.

I do find it ironic how we have to have all these delicate conversations about what to do about ICE when Trump and co. have executive fiated USAID, DOE, the Wilson Center, institute of peace, CFPB, and now the Forest service

To whoever in the military is playing Lucy from Peanuts and yanking the nuclear football away at the last second: thanks, please keep it up.

You have more in common with the people of Iran than you do with anyone in this administration, any member of the technocracy, anyone who is profiting from this war, or any billionaire. When you see Iranians forming human chains outside key infrastructure sites, you should feel a sense of kinship.

Teen who went to photograph L.A. 'No Kings' rally shot, blinded by Homeland Security agent, attorney says Tucker Collins, an 18-year-old freshman at USC, attended a 'No Kings' protest in Los Angeles on Mar. 28. He ended up getting shot in the eye with a less-lethal projectile by a Department of Homeland S...

"Tucker Collins, an 18-year-old freshman at USC, attended a 'No Kings' protest in Los Angeles on Mar. 28. He ended up getting shot in the eye with a less-lethal projectile by a Department of Homeland Security agent and is now blind."

Darkhearts: A Novel A Novel

DARKHEARTS is a queer YA romance and coming-of-age story about falling for the boy who stole your chance to be a rock star, set in my hometown of Seattle: bookshop.org/p/books/dark...

There's no great answer to consolidation in the arts, but there are lots of little ones: Shop at local bookstores. Get audiobooks from Libro.fm. Buy music. Subscribe to indie streaming services like Nebula. Use the library. Support artists on Patreon.

We need to create ecosystems, not monocultures.

Yes, Amazon has been a huge boon to self-publishing. But make no mistake: their goal is complete market control. And once they have it (which I would argue they already do), what's to stop them from changing the terms? They can take 99% of your revenue if they want. Where are you gonna go?

I know established creators who've been randomly and permanently banned from selling on Amazon for unspecified reasons, without ever being able to appeal to a human. And there's literally nothing they can do about it.

These companies *do not care* about individuals. We're just numbers to them.

We *must* decentralize the arts.

Right now, a creator's entire career can be shut down instantly because a bot logs a fraudulent copyright claim or uploads an unauthorized AI version of their art, and then a bot at Amazon/Youtube/etc. decides it's more efficient to ban the creator than adjudicate.

It's horrifying that all we can say in the face of an insane supervillain announcing his plans to nuke an entire civilization is "call your reps," but—call your reps. Jesus Christ.

I am once again reminding you that I'm at Norwescon this weekend. Come say hi!

I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake By A Horse Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where they want to go. The main food the humans give me is hay and oats. But I am thinking it would be nice to have a different food. I am thinking I would like to try cake. Yes, yes. Cake. I know all about it. When humans eat cake, it is in glad times. It is the food for a celebration, such as when a woman becomes 47. I have seen cake on the Fourth of July. When humans have a cake, they stand around it and clap hands and smile and say happy birthday at each other. Sometimes there are beautiful markings on a cake, such as balloons or a pink shape. Sometimes the top of a cake is on fire and a boy must blow on the fire with mouth wind. This is the scariest cake. I do not want this kind. But I will eat any other cake. Any cake that is not the fire cake that tries to kill the boy. Please understand: I do not get money for doing work. I do not get to go inside the house. All I am either doing my horse job or standing in my pen or eating food off the floor. I always do these things. But I have never once gotten cake and I would like it very much. I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children. I am more helpful to the farm. Children do not move the heavy things like me or let anyone ride on them. And yet they get cake. Maybe the humans will realize this. Maybe they will say, "You know who deserves cake? That horse. That horse whose back we are always on." Every day I dream about what it will be like if I get to eat cake. Here is what will happen. First, I will walk to the cake and putt my nose at it like hrrfff to make and stomping my hooves to make sure it is not a snake. Then I will trot in a circle to show that I am a horse and I am large. After that, I will nuzzle the cake to …

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me.

It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

James's Norwescon schedule: Friday Romantasy: YA or Nah? 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 13 Camden Rose (M), Kendare Blake, Marta Murvosh, Miranda Levi, James L. Sutter Signing (and selling) Books 12:00pm-1:00pm @ Dealer Hall From Campaigns to Contracts 3:00pm - 4:00pm @ Evergreen 1 & 2 Amanda Cherry (M), Rosemary Jones, James L. Sutter, Monte Lin, Sandra Rosner Freelancing 101 4:00pm - 5:00pm @ Cascade 11 Rue Dickey (M), John Godek, James L. Sutter, Luis Loza, Sean K. Reynolds Saturday Timeless or Nostalgic? 1:00pm - 2:00pm @ Cascade 6 Lish McBride (M), Lily Meade, Sonja Thomas, Gabrielle Harbowy, James L. Sutter Freelancing 201 4:00pm - 5:00pm @ Cascade 9 Jennifer Brozek (M), Luis Loza, John Godek, Erin Roberts, James L. Sutter Sunday Not Instagram Ready: YA Protagonists That Aren't Always Perfect 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 7 & 8 Lily Meade (M), Sonja Thomas, James L. Sutter, Margaret Owen, Gabrielle Harbowy Teen & Tween: Careers in Media 12:00pm - 1:00pm @ Cascade 5 Erica Angeline Solano (M), Bradley Englert / Orbit Books, Oz Norberg, James L. Sutter, Camille Meehan

Who will I see at Norwescon this weekend???

BREAKING: Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

the trump administration is selling this country wholesale to rapacious, extractive industries that will destroy our collective resources for private profit morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/breaking-t...

Penne with garlic powder and soy sauce is definitely a staple for me. Having a bunch of cold pasta just sitting in the fridge for days is such a gift from Past James.

moby-dick, his eyes enormous: from hell's heart you STAB at moby? for hate's sake you spit your last BREATH at moby? oh! oh! the great shroud of the sea for ahab! the great shroud of the sea rolling on as it rolled five thousand years ago!!!!

Perfect. 10/10. No notes. 👏👏👏

James's Norwescon schedule: Friday Romantasy: YA or Nah? 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 13 Camden Rose (M), Kendare Blake, Marta Murvosh, Miranda Levi, James L. Sutter Signing (and selling) Books 12:00pm-1:00pm @ Dealer Hall From Campaigns to Contracts 3:00pm - 4:00pm @ Evergreen 1 & 2 Amanda Cherry (M), Rosemary Jones, James L. Sutter, Monte Lin, Sandra Rosner Freelancing 101 4:00pm - 5:00pm @ Cascade 11 Rue Dickey (M), John Godek, James L. Sutter, Luis Loza, Sean K. Reynolds Saturday Timeless or Nostalgic? 1:00pm - 2:00pm @ Cascade 6 Lish McBride (M), Lily Meade, Sonja Thomas, Gabrielle Harbowy, James L. Sutter Freelancing 201 4:00pm - 5:00pm @ Cascade 9 Jennifer Brozek (M), Luis Loza, John Godek, Erin Roberts, James L. Sutter Sunday Not Instagram Ready: YA Protagonists That Aren't Always Perfect 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 7 & 8 Lily Meade (M), Sonja Thomas, James L. Sutter, Margaret Owen, Gabrielle Harbowy Teen & Tween: Careers in Media 12:00pm - 1:00pm @ Cascade 5 Erica Angeline Solano (M), Bradley Englert / Orbit Books, Oz Norberg, James L. Sutter, Camille Meehan

Who will I see at Norwescon this weekend???

30 years later, the only two things I remember from that movie are the guns that say "sword" and the Garbage song, and both still totally rule.

also nobody in the history of cinema has ever gone as hard as John Leguizamo did as Tybalt

Mariko Aoki phenomenon - Wikipedia

I can't believe I made it this far in my career without learning that a bunch of people experience Bookstore Poops.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_...

Social media for writers is full of strategy about agents and publishers, and I feel like I'm always over here grabbing young writers by the shoulders and yelling "GET ROOMMATES! FIND CHEAP RENT AND WRITE A BUNCH!"

And I know it's tone-deaf to tell starving artists about the wonders of investment, but since our entire society apparently exists to serve the stock market, you might as well get in on it if you can—it's truly wild how much any little bit you can invest (safely) in your 20s can grow over decades.

I don't think I've ever spoken with a professional novelist for whom a degree from a prestigious college gave them a step up in their career.

Meanwhile, I've met a *ton* for whom lingering college debt gets in the way of their writing.

Saving that money can buy you time to actually write.

My best business advice for young writers (other than the perennial but not-so-actionable "have a wealthy parent/spouse") remains:

1. Roommates

2. Pick a cheap college

3. Invest anything you safely can in index funds, as early as possible

Everything else pales in comparison, in my experience.

Raul Rivera yelling outside Mamdani presser.

Mamdani: “I want that man to be able to afford to keep living in NYC, because the day that I don't hear him yelling at me, it means he got priced out of this place.”

“We need to make this a city where it's affordable enough to yell at your politicians.”

Amen to this whole thread. Relatedly, it drives me nuts how much of society seems hellbent on driving unaccompanied teenagers out of public spaces. How are teens going to become independent adults if they're not even allowed to hang out at the mall or the playground?