publishing

10 Essential Books About Writing

An illustration shows a person with brown skin and brown hair with a pencil in their mouth, bookshelves with blue, purple, yellow, and pink book covers behind them, and a laptop in front of them.
by Nylah Burton
April 6, 2022 at 12:07pm
Must-read titles for writers include works by Elena Ferrante, Akwaeke Emezi, Meg Wolitzer, Yoko Ogawa, and more.
photo-illustration of Sherman Alexie holding a #MeToo placard

Where There's Smoke: Sherman Alexie and the Toll of Literary Tokenism

by Amanda Gokee
September 8, 2021 at 1:43pm
Alexie was the singular voice of Native American literature. Maybe he shouldn’t have been. Read more »
a brown woman sits in a chair, feet in sneakers propped up

Our Internet, Ourselves: 7 Extremely Online Books for the Twitter-Weary

by Jenna Mahale
April 28, 2021 at 10:32am
These seven books explain our dysfunctional relationship with the internet. Read more »
a Black man with short, black hair, and a blue shirt sits on a concrete bence reading a book

Personal Connection: #OwnVoices, Outing, and the Ongoing Quest for Authenticity

by s.e. smith
October 14, 2020 at 9:00am
Not all authors feel safe, comfortable, or interested in being out to readers about their identities. Read more »
Simon (left) and Ethan (right) sitting in chairs and talking to each other

Loud and Queer: The Problem with Demanding Queer Visibility

by Marina Watanabe
September 18, 2020 at 12:53pm
We need to find alternative templates for talking about queer representation. Read more »
A mostly closed laptop with rainbow colors glowing from its screen.

Queer Pressure: #OwnVoices and What We Demand of Queer Authors

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 14, 2020 at 11:19am
Reading is about learning and reflecting, not reaching out and making demands. Read more »
A Black woman holds a book. The text overlay reads: They paid you how much?

Very Online: The Literary World May Never Recover from #PublishingPaidMe

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
June 12, 2020 at 12:45pm
For Black writers, Twitter acts as a guiding force. Read more »

Backtalk: Cleaning Up After “American Dirt”

by Amy Lam
February 6, 2020 at 11:37am
This week, Dahlia and Amy get into the controversy over the publishing industry and the book that’s too big to fail. Read more »
a Black woman and a white woman sit together on a TV set

We Were Seeds: 10 Stories to Read to Understand the “American Dirt” Controversy

by Evette Dionne
January 27, 2020 at 6:16pm
Latinx writers (and those who support them) are being incredibly vocal about the harm this book has caused. Read more »
Sarah Jessica Parker, a white woman with blond, curly hair, plays Carrie Bradshaw on Sex & the City

Dirty Minds: The Evolution—and Queering—of Sex-Advice Columns

by Noa Azulai
December 3, 2019 at 5:18pm
Examining the cultural relevance of sex columns challenges us to question the speed at which we consume others’ sex lives, in all their intimacy and vulnerability, online. Read more »
A photo of books with the text, "f*ck that f*cking b*tch."

Very Online: When Authors Behave Badly on Twitter

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 22, 2019 at 3:24pm
Do authors have a responsibility to be more careful with how they wield social media? Read more »

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