Well, this is rather lovely
Thanks to Vishwam Gurudas for alerting me to this - it's not often I share a page with Hilary Mantel and Gore Vidal...
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/historical-fiction-recommended-by-historians/
writersofmastodon
"The whole idea of this book I find very fascinating, because it very clearly is the author looking to make a fictionalized version of something that really happened in real life, and also something that's really close to her family."
Hosts Margaret Kelly and Katie Roarty discuss The Expert of Subtle Revisions on Women are Reading: a book club podcast. Check out the discussion here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ofo7ylnE6j8Cvip7IMDho
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon@a.gup.pe @bookstodon
My fiction is in the new issue of The Kleksograph 
You can give my Gothic short story, Two Dreams, a read here (with apologies for PDF accessibility shortcomings!): https://www.kleksograph.be/ #ShortStories #ShortStory #Gothic #WritersOfMastodon
Edited 90d ago
"The steering committee elected to remove eight [of the 20] books from the list, not only narrowing the breadth of titles being discussed by teens across the state, but also narrowing the number of books they will be reading in anticipation of voting for the Georgia Peach Book Awards... All of these books are published for the young adult audience, meaning that the Bowl’s steering committee elected to remove books that are appropriate for the teens involved in this competition.
Seven of the eight banned books are written by female-identifying writers, while at least five are written by writers from demographically marginalized backgrounds."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://bookriot.com/helen-ruffin-reading-bowl-book-ban-2025/
"According to two district sources, AI was used to measure instructional texts against a rubric that took into account “DEI content.” The books must be removed from all classrooms, and cannot be used as instructional resources—either as texts read in class or as choice books in classroom libraries. Though the books have received no formal challenge, they are currently awaiting further review."
"Book banners have told us over and over again that they’re just trying to take books with extreme sexual content out of public schools. Classics are safe, they’ve said. We’re not removing books based on the ideas they contain, they’ve said. We knew none of that was true; Senate Bill 12 proves it."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://franklinstrong.substack.com/p/to-kill-a-mockingbird-pulled-from
"In what intellectual freedom advocates have seen coming for months, a Texas school district has just shut down access to all secondary school libraries for students due to the regulations of the state’s Senate Bill 13... The district also offers no timeline for when students will have access to their own school libraries–facilities that their family tax dollars go to operate. NBISD’s decision to shut down the libraries in order to complete a review of materials based on vague language showcases how quickly and easily public schools are and will continue to cower to far right politics infiltrating communities throughout Texas."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://bookriot.com/new-braunfels-isd-library-closures-sb-13/
Great piece by Ilana Masad on making art and marketing it:
#books #booksky #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://electricliterature.com/artists-shouldnt-need-to-become-content-creators-to-get-fair-pay/
I have three new writing workshops coming up in June and July! Building on the success of Design-A-Ghost, I'd like to invite you to join me to explore some more familiar characters from #SFF and #horror by reading extracts from classic and contemporary authors together, and then using writing prompts and exercises to create your own unique monsters, aliens, and robots! 👹👽🤖
#Writing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #WritingWorkshop
New report from PEN America: The Normalization of Book Banning (published Oct 1, 2025)
"In 2025, book censorship in the United States is rampant and common. Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country. Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide. Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, even threatening public funding to exact compliance. Never before has access to so many stories been stolen from so many children."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
Anthropic Settlement: What Authors Should Know
A free webinar hosted by the Authors Guild
Thursday, October 16, 2025 - 6:00 pm Eastern
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://authorsguild.org/event/anthropic-settlement-what-authors-should-know/
Out now!!
Buy direct from Evernight Publishing and save $1.25!
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/an-artist-s-kiss-by-suzy-shearer/
Isabella Coburn, 50, used to be the most in-demand nude artist’s model, now she’s a successful sculptor.
Artist, Gabriel ‘Archangel’ Milford, 53, needs Isabella to model for him and sparks fly when they meet. Though she refuses him, Gabriel is determined Issie will pose for him. She’s equally determined she won’t.
Amazon: bit.ly/3WjyEY4
Evernight: bit.ly/4nZIN8h
Apple: bit.ly/3KtcwrF
Kobo Plus: bit.ly/4nPJm4q
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/46wLJ6s
#read #readromance #romance #romanceAuthor #romanceNovel #romanceNovels #bookstadon #writersofMastodon #WritersCoffeeClub #ScribesAndMakers #writingCommunity #wordweaver #creativity @bookstadon #romanceBooks #bookstodon #BDSM #oldercouple #maturecouple #contemporary
Edited 64d ago
“It’s devastating for us to know that these kids who put in hundreds of hours of hard work had that torn away from them because of the objections of a single parent,” says Picoult... "I had 20 books banned in one school district in Florida alone because of a single parent’s objection and she admitted she had not read any of the books...She said that they were banned for ‘mature content and sexuality.’ There were books of mine that did not even have a single kiss in them.”
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
More on school book bans from Kelly Jensen for BookRiot:
"There are now 19 books prohibited in any Utah public school. Of them, 16 are written by women, and their average publication date is 2011. This means that most of these books have been on shelves and available for many years and caused no issues until this manufactured crisis."
"There are 42 public school districts in Utah, but two districts account for nearly 80% of the books banned statewide"
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
Looking for a new ebook? My novel THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS is on sale now! Just 1.99, wherever you buy ebooks.
"In this 'appealing intellectual mystery' (Publishers Weekly) spanning continents, Hase knows exactly what to do when her dad goes missing: Go to the library, find a specific book, and follow instructions. 'Brilliant, uplifting… I was swept away' (New York Times bestselling author Janet Skeslien Charles)."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
It's Saturday 1st November here in the UK, which means it's FediBookFair!
This weekend, we invite authors and publishers to write about their books, research, and related topics, with the #FediBookFair hashtag.
If that sounds interesting to you, please follow the hashtag and boost this so that more people can join us.
If it doesn't sound fun, please mute the hashtag - we have no interest in filling your timeline with stuff you're not interested in. You can find out how to do that here: https://fedi.tips/filtering-your-timeline-to-hide-posts-on-mastodon/
"All shall love my daydreams and despair!"
-Galadriel probably... 😂
@writingcommunity @writingbooks @keepwriting
@bookstodon
@humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop
#WritingMemes #Memes
#Humor #Humour
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Jason Koebler for 404 Media: "AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge"
“Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another” - Maggie Tokuda-Hall
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://www.404media.co/ai-is-supercharging-the-war-on-libraries-education-and-human-knowledge/
Tajja Isen for The Walrus: "The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem"
“I don’t know how people are supposed to develop in their careers,” says a novelist who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. She has published multiple books but, owing to editorial shuffles at her publishing houses, has had to take her books out on submission multiple times. “Every single time, the sales track becomes heavier.”
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
I don't remember seeing the word "sorcling" before, so I'm going to claim I came up with it 😁
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#WIPWednesday #Short #Excerpt
#SpecualtiveFiction #FantasyBooks #High #Fantasy #SciFi #Satire #Humor #Humour #Comedy
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Many thanks to Walter Cummins and The California Review of Books for reviewing THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS
"When Hase and her dad were active together, one of their major amusements was creating fictitious identities that enable them to contribute entries to Wikipedia, delete others, and revise the information in still others. This creation and manipulation of supposed reality, while a seeming hobby, is symptomatic of what is happening to the people of the novel, emulating the power of the music box.
Menger-Anderson’s success for readers, beyond her strengths in creating people and realities, depends on winning over their credulity to accept varying identities, the musical essence of human lives, and the doubling patterns of human existence. The richness of her imagination contributes to our acceptance her sometimes wild premises."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
https://calirb.com/the-expert-of-subtle-revisions-by-kristen-menger-anderson/
Are you one of those people who say "I'd rather read your crappy original writing than something generated by AI?" Now's the time to put your money where your mouth is!
I, without any previous experience, wrote 100 different short stories, around 1,000 words each, for a total of over 105,000 words! Find them on my #blog, or don't; it's a free country!
http://maxalmonte.com/blog/i-wrote-fiction-for-100-days-straight-and-heres-what-happened/
#blogging #writing #amWriting #fedifiction #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunity
Edited 20d ago
As a new author, I’m wondering how much biographical information readers really want. Is it a situation where too much is never enough? How do I decide?
#AmWriting #NewAuthor #AuthorBio #WritingCommunity #WritersofMastodon
THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS on NPR's 2025 list of Books We Love! Lot's of great books on this list. Thanks, NPR and Ilana Masad!
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon
My first novel has been sent off for copy edit! Feels amazing to reach this milestone.
Looking forward to a break from the grind, but also dreading what comes next: self-promotion. 🤮
Follow for updates! Website and cover art coming soon!
#AmWriting #Writing #WritersLife #WritersOfMastodon #SelfPromo
Edited 13d ago
RE: https://mas.to/@markarayner/115650263954336262
I honestly hate colon and semi-colon and I don't care who knows it.
If I wanted something for containing poop I'd use the colon in my stomach... 😜😂
@galacticwriters @writers @books @fantasy @bookstodon
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