On a writing retreat to work on co-writing my first screenplay and having the time of my life.

Wish I’d done this sooner. Kids! Don’t wait! Try all your dreams!

On a writing retreat to work on co-writing my first screenplay and having the time of my life.

The smaller the piece of paper the better. Index cards or notepads or tiny notebooks work for me.

JD Vance, taking a break from lecturing the Pope about Catholicism, tries to tell @bcdreyer.social how to use a semicolon.

Thank you so much! I hope you love Fitzgerald.

Don’t know where this came from. It’s been on the kitchen chalkboard since the pandemic. Still endlessly useful.

To be real: I achieved none of these today.

We lose again: Windham-Campbell Prize manqué Was going to post this on Substack, but they don't let you indent blocks of text.     Today’s insanely long installmen...

I’m sad that Helen DeWitt felt so broken by the publicity demands that she declined the Windham-Campbell prizes. If you think reading the whole thing is a little exhausting, imagine being the one with the spinning brain obsessing about it. paperpools.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-l...

Ha!

Or: chocolate. Or: cocktail.

Don’t know where this came from. It’s been on the kitchen chalkboard since the pandemic. Still endlessly useful.

A rare thread from me. The incredible Isabel Coixet is the only filmmaker who has adapted a Penelope Fitzgerald novel for the screen (“The Bookshop,” 2017, starring Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, and Patricia Clarkson) and so I sought her out when she was teaching at NYU last semester.

Go Michigan!

And while I'm Blueskying, here's a hot take:

Penelope Fitzgerald > Beryl Bainbridge

Also? I grew up in Ann Arbor and the last time Michigan won the NCAA championship was the year I graduated from high school. 1989! Go Blue! 💙💛

Also? I grew up in Ann Arbor and the last time Michigan won the NCAA championship was the year I graduated from high school. 1989! Go Blue! 💙💛

I will be reposting this.

And while I'm Blueskying, here's a hot take:

Penelope Fitzgerald > Beryl Bainbridge

All of this to say: Manifest your dreams, fellow writers! You never know what might happen.

She goes on: "If you loved The Bookshop, you will fall unconditionally in love with Fonseca.” !!!

“I adore every single word of this book. The masterful way in which Jessica Francis Kane brings Penelope Fitzgerald vividly back to life, with immense affection and intelligence, in this surprising Mexican adventure is truly something to tip one’s hat to (a Mexican hat!)."

When I explained its origin she hugged me! Later she wrote to me, translated here by Pilar Adon, who also translated the novel into Spanish:

I went to her film festival and stood in a long line of fans, clutching my little glass of wine, until it was my turn to tell her how much I admired her work and could I send her a copy of Fonseca?

A rare thread from me. The incredible Isabel Coixet is the only filmmaker who has adapted a Penelope Fitzgerald novel for the screen (“The Bookshop,” 2017, starring Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, and Patricia Clarkson) and so I sought her out when she was teaching at NYU last semester.

Imagine shitcanning your career with AI use just to avoid writing a book review.

Great. I hope you love it! They are very nice there.

There's a new place on MacDougal called "What the Falafel" and I am here for it. The name is brilliant. I won't hear anything against it. Also, the food is really good. #nyc

Talking Hockey with Ed Park Sometimes you gotta scratch that itch, and in this case it's with a Pulitzer finalist novelist.

Enjoyed talking some hockey with Ed Park. biblioracle.substack.com/p/talking-ho...

This is indeed a wonderful novel. It approaches a real-life chapter in the life of writer Penelope Fitzgerald with a light touch and gentle humor. It succeeds in being poignant rather than displaying earth-shattering pyrotechnics. 🕯️🦋📖🪷

In another words, both an antidote and a pleasure! #booksky