Literature

Introduction by Halimah Marcus Adina Talve-Goodman had the kind of exuberant, playful, perfectly weird personality that made you want to be in cahoots, to follow her around town and maybe start a comedy duo or do a low-stakes heist. For me, that mostly manifested as attaching myself to her at literary parties. I remember a

Jean Kyoung Frazier’s debut novel, Pizza Girl, appeared in June 2020, at a time when authors were still learning how best to reach readers in the midst of a pandemic. Despite those difficulties, the novel quickly became a critical success and a fan favorite, and a feature film based on the book is currently being

A Love That Will Bury Me Alive Patricia Engel Patricia Engel is the author of The Veins of the Ocean, Vida, and It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris. Share article The Bones of Cristóbal Colón by Patricia Engel The caretaker calls from the cemetery to tell me Joaquin’s skull and most of his larger and

Literature is a place where we can grapple with the unsavory habits of humanity and think through the causes and effects of how and why people act the way they do. I am interested in—and haunted by—the capacity of people to betray the ones they love. My book, Judas Goat, looks at betrayal from a

On January 22, 2023, a new moon anoints the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Water Rabbit. If you aren’t familiar, the Rabbit is one of twelve animals used in Chinese astrology to chart the universe’s energy, our place within it, and the unique opportunities and challenges we should expect. For writers, the Water Rabbit

I love reading about work, probably because it’s more fun to read about jobs than it is to actually do them. Not that I haven’t experimented with a variety of ways of earning a paycheck. I started my work-life in high school as a cart collector and grocery bagger at the supermarket in my hometown,

When Frank Cotton opens the Lament Configuration in Hellraiser, he is disappointed. He was told that doing so would expose him to pleasures wholly unknown to him. Instead, he finds himself greeted by four grotesque entities—one has jeweled pins stuck at even intervals atop their head and another is later revealed to have a horribly

If you are a debut author or a literary fiction and nonfiction stan, you’ve likely heard of Debutiful. Adam Vitcavage launched the podcast and website dedicated to highlighting the work of debut authors in January 2019. It has since become a beacon in the literary community, helping over 100,000 readers discover debut books. It’s one

His Father’s Memories Are Not His Own Bill Cotter Share article The Good Room by Bill Cotter This story includes references to child sexual abuse. On his first visit to his father at the new nursing home, Douglas Brunig was surprised to find that the elderly man, whom he had not seen in a decade,

From Gothic castles and country manors to idyllic cottages and childhood homes, houses in literature have helped evoke atmosphere, shape characters’ personalities, and change their lives. It’s easy to recall famous literary houses. Pemberley, Gatsby’s mansion, Howard’s End, Green Gables, the little house on the prairie, and other beloved homes are sometimes better remembered than

“I never thought I’d be one of those people,” she said. T Kira Madden and I were sitting in the private room of a fancy strip-mall restaurant in Albany, New York, and I was eating a very expensive salad. Earlier that afternoon, we had given a reading at a local bookstore with T Kira’s then-fiancé

In our monthly series Can Writing Be Taught? we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This time, we’re talking to Christine Ma-Kellams, who’s teaching an online eight-week fiction workshop. From improving narrative structure and pacing to navigating the world of literary agents and publishers, this

Take a break from the news We publish your favorite authors—even the ones you haven’t read yet. Get new fiction, essays, and poetry delivered to your inbox. YOUR INBOX IS LIT Enjoy strange, diverting work from The Commuter on Mondays, absorbing fiction from Recommended Reading on Wednesdays, and a roundup of our best work of

When I first saw Ghost World on cable TV in the Philippines during my senior year of high school, I immediately recognized Thora Birch with her thick-framed glasses and jet-black bob. I remembered her character in American Beauty, and, here again, as Enid, she continued to exude the attitude of someone who had better things

My Autism Has a Mighty Appetite Have you seen my autism? It all started when I was born. Worse yet, it started on the taxpayer dime In the bathwater, in the atmosphere, even in the baby if a baby can get tall enough for college. It’s true, I am autism But only when you ask

Growing up, the library was not just Amanda Oliver’s favorite place but also her “first beloved destination, first embodied center… it was absolutely sacred.” However, soon after Oliver began her career as a librarian at a Title I school and then in the D.C. public library system, she witnessed how systemic racism, income inequality, the

I was in my twenties the first time I read a memoir set in Lahore, my father’s city, where I’d spent time during my childhood. I was living in Syracuse, New York, then, and I read Meatless Days hungrily, soaking in familiar places and people, and when I finished it, I read it again. I

Passing Judgment on the God-Fearing Family Next Door Chaitali Sen Author of The Pathless Sky. (novel, Europa Editions, 2015) www.chaitalisen.com Share article The Catholics by Chaitali Sen Sharmila and Laurie spent the Obama years renovating a blue two-story on Chestnut Street, a tall, narrow house with a covered front porch flanked by two giant pines.