A white hand holds a copy of Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword in somewhat battered paperback above a dark faux-wood floor.
The ending of The Bright Sword by @levgrossman.com brought me to actual tears, it was so beautiful and so perfect.
"I insisted that the god of sleep be shown on the toilet. So if anyone is offended by that, that is completely my fault."
I talked to @publisherswkly.bsky.social about writing a picture book.
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
THE GOD OF SLEEP was inspired by my love of mythology and the nonsense poems of Edward Lear. Picture books are very much a word-of-mouth business, so if you have or know a child who likes rhymes or beautiful drawings or polytheism, consider mentioning THE GOD OF SLEEP to them and/or their parents!
the cover of THE GOD OF SLEEP, a picture book by Lev Grossman
A god of math in a sacred trance, with numbers whirling around her
Today is the official book birthday of THE GOD OF SLEEP!
Written by me with gorgeous illustrations by Huynh Kim Liên -- for example this one of the God of Math, who is obviously doing some serious differential calculus or something in her head.
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lev-g...
I love that show!
(BTW this is typical of the Gump-like existence I led during my tenure at Time -- I was always turning up looking confused in the background of scenes involving famous people)
There are days when you feel like a fraud and wonder what the point of it all is.
And then there's a day when you get a shout-out from Lin-Manuel Miranda on The Hamilcast
… and in walked a tall guy with grey hair and a military bearing and gave Zuckerberg a hearty handshake. It was Robert Mueller. There was something weirdly historic and fated about that moment. Good enough for a lede anyway. Feels even moreso now.
In 2010 I was at Facebook headquarters to write a Person of the Year profile of Mark Zuckerberg for Time. Halfway through my reporting I was badly stuck for a lede, until I was sitting in a staff meeting that Zuckerberg was running ...
The God of Sleep will be out in one week!
In recognition of this, here is a detail from one of the pages. It is a cat riding on a graham cracker.
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lev-g...
I didn't even realize this was up!
The God of Sleep will be out in one week!
In recognition of this, here is a detail from one of the pages. It is a cat riding on a graham cracker.
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lev-g...
For anybody local to Sydney, I'll be on a hell of a panel at the Writers Festival on May 23: myself, Garth Nix and R.F. Kuang. Should be an amazing conversation.
www.swf.org.au/program/fest...
(I'm posting about it here partly b/c I've never published a picture book before and don't really know how to get the word out about it. So if you have a small child who likes rhymes and irritable gods, well, have I got the book for you.)
Semi-regular reminder that THE GOD OF SLEEP is coming out March 24! Booklist just reviewed it:
"Grossman’s first foray into picture books is a beauty. The lovely lilting text features clever rhymes and gentle humor, and the inventive illustrations burst with vibrant hues and darling detail."
It's a small thing but wow, getting a new podcast off the ground -- with no corporate or institutional support -- is a heavy lift. Even tiny things count!
The Secret Life of Books is up for an NYC podcast award! If you like it please vote! Early and often! @slobpodcast.bsky.social
www.silver-nyc.com/nycpodcastaw...
The Halfway Point: A Pep Talk I wrote this for NaNoWriMo back in 2014. Now NaNoWriMo is gone -- and the Hunger Games theme is a little dated -- but writing novels is still hard
New Substack: levgrossman.substack.com/p/the-halfwa...
#DEAL ALERT! One clickers unite because THE BRIGHT SWORD @levgrossman.com is on #sale on #Kindle for today only!
amzn.to/3MWNxyH
#TheBrightSword #KingArthur #ad #amazoncom
I probably shouldn't be too specific about it -- I think I'm still covered by an NDA -- but I was consulted! And I got to hang out with GRRM, which was amazing
I never realized till a kind soul pointed it out that my name is in the credits of KNIGHT OF THE 7 KINGDOMS. Bragging rights, how I love them
This week’s episode is a SLOB “Wuthering Heights” watch-party! Out now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Or listen on
⭐ Apple: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/e...
⭐ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/34Pl...
🪦 We NEED to talk about the mass elimination of characters. Emerald Fennell’s #WutheringHeights merged some characters, vaporised others, not to mention, we’re missing the whole second half (though there's been talk of a sequel). Still, it’s decided, the loss of Lockwood is great. RIP Lockwood.
I love this one! (And blue and gold = King Arthur's colors!)
Regular reminder that I'm teaching a class on writing fantasy and SF in Aspen in June. Applications close Feb 26
register.aspeninstitute.org/event/f6f338...
communications limited for the near future by the cappuccino that my son spilled into my keyboard
Thank you Sarah!
oh good! I don't get to teach very often -- a lot of stars have to align to make it work -- so this is a treat for me (hopefully also for the students)
imagine this right before book two #themagicians
