My gluten allergy has never made me feel more bereft than at this moment. That is magnificent!

Exactly!

Happy Hanukah, Peter!

From INDIVISIBLE by @danaleman.bsky.social

"Why do you say
I’m dying when I am reading, holding the hand

of an author I know like a lover though they died
years before I was born?"
-- @catemarvin.bsky.social, "The Death of the Humanities"

www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

While a golden ballroom goes up at the White House.

Author Barbara Kingsolver has opened a recovery facility with royalties from her novel “Demon Copperhead,” whose plot revolves around Appalachia’s opioid crisis. The home offers a supportive place for people to stay while learning to live without drugs.

reasonstobecheerful.world/appalachia-o...

I see it!

I don’t have an X/Twitter account. Someone there is impersonating me, offering writing advice and inviting DMs. Those posts are complete fiction.

Going back to Baton Rouge for the fabulous Louisiana Book Festival along with a stellar lineup of other authors. Will revisit my twenties in south Louisiana and say hello to the river—my old best friend. 💙

Thanks for reading and posting!

And freedoms keep falling away . . .

Bluesky blocks access in Mississippi, citing free speech and privacy concerns - Mississippi Today Social media app Bluesky is blocked for Mississippians over a state law passed in 2024 requiring users of websites and other digital services to verify their age.

“Mississippi’s law, by contrast [with UKLaw], would block everyone from accessing the site—teens and adults—unless they hand over sensitive information, and once they do, the law in Mississippi requires Bluesky to keep track of which users are children.”
mississippitoday.org/2025/08/25/b...

Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad The president’s latest criticism of museums is a thinly veiled attempt to erase Black history.

The MAGA movement is focused on touting only the exceptional parts of our past “because having to look too closely at the disturbing parts of American history would mean having to look closely at the disturbing parts of themselves,” Clint Smith argues:

Ha! Same mentality as a would-be despot blithely watching a performance of Les Mis without a clue.

The Girls in the Stilt House (The Girls from the Lake House?) is out today in Romania. Am wondering what those readers will think of this Southern Gothic story.

Once again, @hubcitypress.bsky.social is looking for experienced readers for paid manuscript reading this fall—both fiction & nonfiction. You'd be the first eyes on submissions and help us decide what requires a closer look. Email relevant experience to jobs@hubcity.org. DM with questions.

Definitely not the best, but I'm always a sucker for Mr. Skeffington.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but one day you will finally have a bookshelf with a rolling ladder.

In addition to throwing 16 million people off their healthcare, cutting food assistance for 2 million hungry kids, and slashing taxes for billionaires, the Republican budget bill would punish states that adopt AI regulations at any point over the next decade.

There’s so much backstory underlying this poem. One of my favorites, especially for that reason.

From INDIVISIBLE by @danaleman.bsky.social

Colum McCann: "The big lie is writers actually know what they're going to do and they set out to do. They realise that afterwards, after they've struggled and like sat there and shaped and reshaped and tried to put some story together."

Having to ask homeowners for permission to take things out of their houses would kill the theft industry.

My god. I think this is the best thing I’ve ever read on the art of trying to get life down on paper. From Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.

33 Absorbing New Books to Read by the Pool From enthralling thrillers to charming tales of friendship, there’s something here for everyone.

I'd go for a mountain cabin porch on a rainy day rather than poolside, but it's fun to see The River Knows Your Name in some good company here. www.bookbub.com/blog/new-boo...

Harvard learned it has an authentic Magna Carta. In 1946, it paid less than $28 for it A pair of U.K. scholars discovered the mislabled document in Harvard Law School's digital archives. The university bought it for just $27.50 in 1946. It turned out to be an authentic copy dating to 1...

A pair of U.K. scholars discovered the mislabeled document in Harvard Law School's digital archives. The university bought it for just $27.50 in 1946. It turned out to be an authentic copy dating to 1300.

Trump abruptly fires librarian of Congress in latest purge of government Carla Hayden, first woman and first African American to hold post, dismissed in terse email on Thursday night

And on it goes . . .

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Congrats, Pamela!

Seriously, folks, do not feel bad about ferociously hustling your stuff right now. It's needed, it's necessary, it's valuable. There's enough room for everybody, and there's nobody that can do the thing you're doing the way you're doing it. Keep on.