Literature

Nicole Graev Lipson’s debut Mothers and Other Fictional Characters is a collection of twelve tightly crafted essays that blend personal narrative with reflections on history and literature. The book is, of course, an exploration of motherhood, but Lipson is also broadly concerned with the roles women often play—or are expected to play. In “The New

While Trump’s second term has been an overwhelming barrage of shocking events echoed in a staccato tone of news stories, this past Saturday became a flashpoint when Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was snatched by federal agents under vague accusations of supporting terrorism, a claim that stems from Khalil joining millions of students and community

Dear Writer, We regret that your story does not meet our current needs—much as we apparently do not meet Mandy’s current needs. We wish you luck placing this piece elsewhere. We also wish Mandy would give us one more chance. We suppose we don’t always get everything we wish for. Sincerely,The Editors Dear Writer, Thank

“System Change, Not Climate Change,” we chant during environmental marches. We write the slogan on signs and hashtag it on social media. But how do you change systems when your government denies climate change, silences experts, and promises to increase fossil fuel production? When my daughter was born in 2014, it was the warmest year

“Winter Kimchi” by Elizabeth Lee kim·chi/ˈkimˌCHē/nouna Korean dish of spicy pickled cabbage. In a Korean household, you will commonly find two refrigerators. One is your run-of-the-mill refrigerator stocked with everyday groceries and condiments—milk, eggs, fresh produce, ketchup, your favorite brand of hot sauce, maple syrup, leftover couscous. The second one, though it now comes in

If you spend enough time on BookTok or looking at the latest best-seller lists, you may start to wonder—is reading only for the young? Most of the biggest book influencers are in their 20s—and it stands to reason they’re interested in reading about protagonists their own age falling in love, slaying dragons, and solving murders.

True Wellness Is a Goop.com Vibrator Self-Portrait as Rotting Lemons Thick-skins shine jaundiced in the chipped ceramic bowlwhere I arranged them: spotlit and spoiling now in the windowbecause I believed in happiness as a Pinterest board, cleanlinessa badge that meant worthiness, the opposite of poor. I coveteda basic life: loungewear, roomba, a symmetry worth noting, linenduvet

Cosmic Tantrum opens on incantation: “If in place of a mentor you had a hostile mirror” begins the dedication, signaling to a particular audience with open arms. Welcome, dear readers who identify with the dutiful student, the overworked assistant, the eldest daughter. This vulnerable rush is the first crack into the playful, often ironic frame

“Is there a way to end on a positive note?” “This seems unrealistic.” “Have you tried yoga?”  These were some of the comments I received in writing workshops regarding my work about disability, chronic illness, and neurodivergence. Often, I was the only student writing about living with disability, rather than using it as a cliché

I made a list of funny poetry books for you.  Must be a short list.  I get it—you hear “funny poem” and think, “There was an old man from Nantucket….” Or what you like about poetry—the slanting sunlight of the noble stance, perched on a crag; the melancholy swoon for the absent beloved—are the serious

She Got the Money and I Did the Time Maureen O’Leary Share article One Thing About Blue by Maureen O’Leary One thing about Blue, she always had a scheme. The summer after high school I drove a van she got from her cousin who we just called Cousin. Blue got Cousin to take out seats

Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover of These Memories Do Not Belong to Us, the highly-anticipated debut novel by Yiming Ma, which will be published by Mariner Books in the US and McClelland & Stewart in Canada on August 12, 2025. You can pre-order here in US or here in Canada. “When I

Emily St. James’s debut novel Woodworking chronicles the developing friendship between a 16-year-old trans girl and her recently-out-to-herself English teacher in Mitchell, South Dakota in the months leading up to the 2016 election. In a town like Mitchell, secrets are few and far between, making Abigail’s transness and Erica’s recent divorce fodder for gossip and

Writing retreats offer the opportunity for writers to fully immerse themselves in their craft, free from the distractions of daily life. These getaways combine inspiring locations, structured time, and a like-minded community to reignite creativity and boost productivity. Whether you’re seeking solitude to finish a manuscript or a collaborative environment to workshop ideas, a retreat can

In this land of opportunities, being an immigrant can often feel like playing a round of Twister. A certain contortion of mind, language, and will power seems written into the script; a lot of territory remains untouchable.  Shubha Sunder’s debut novel Optional Practical Training is named after the year-long uncertain space of temporary employment in

There’s this little mountain town close to where I live in Colorado called Ward. When you approach the outskirts, you’re greeted with dozens of broken-down vehicles, decades old, scattered along the road, an implicit warning that those who arrive in Ward never leave. Once in the town—a ramshackle array of mountain shacks and churches and

An excerpt from Rehearsals for Dying: Digressions on Love and Cancer by Ariel Gore Does My Breast Look Weird? Deena stepped out of the shower and opened her towel in the steam. “Does my breast look weird?” We are taught to delineate between health and sickness in these moments. As such, this is where our story begins.

When I emigrated from China in my 20s, I was foolishly optimistic, eager to forge my own path in North America. I had no idea what I was stepping into. I didn’t know I’d get tongue-tied in my new language. I didn’t realize how often I’d have to move, chasing opportunities to sustain myself. I didn’t