One Great Poem to Read Today: Lucie Brock-Broido’s “Am Moor”
Literary Hub has launched a daily poem series for National Poetry Month, recommending Lucie Brock‑Broido’s “Am Moor” as today’s pick. The poem serves as an homage to Austrian expressionist Georg Trakl, blending baroque language with stark imagery to evoke ecstatic intensity. The recommendation includes free online access, aligning with the initiative’s goal of broadening poetry’s reach. The article also notes the author Emily Temple’s literary credentials.
André Alexis Has Won the 2025 Story Prize.
Canadian author André Alexis has been awarded the 2025 Story Prize for his short‑story collection *Other Worlds*, published by FSG Originals. The collection was selected from a shortlist that also included Lydia Millet’s *Atavists* and Ayşegül Savaş’s *Long Distance* by...
Diagnosing Murder: How Addiction Became a Central Motif in Crime Fiction
In the early 1990s, a wave of crime novels intertwined the War on Drugs with serial‑killer narratives, portraying murderers as medically "sick" rather than purely evil. Authors such as Patricia Cornwell, Walter Mosley, and James Ellroy used this motif to...
Lit Hub Daily: March 31, 2026
Lit Hub’s March 31 daily roundup bundles thirteen literary items ranging from author interviews and translation insights to new‑book announcements and cultural essays. Highlights include Colm Tóibín discussing his latest collection, a deep dive into the history of the pickle as...
A Brief and Essential History of the Most Important Food Ever Invented: The Pickle
Pickling began in Mesopotamia around 2400 BCE as a salt‑brine method to preserve cucumbers, quickly spreading to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Over centuries, trade routes such as the Silk and Spice Roads carried pickling techniques and spices worldwide, embedding the...
Colm Tóibín on Crafting a Collection of Irish Homecoming
Irish author Colm Tóibín discusses his new short‑story collection, The News from Dublin, a ten‑year‑spanning set of unrelated tales linked by his personal experience of home and exile. He explains the organic ordering of stories, the recurring theme of quiet...
19th-Century Blues: When Science Killed God and Made Some Englishmen Sad
Richard Holmes’s *The Boundless Deep* argues that mid‑19th‑century scientific breakthroughs shattered Victorian optimism and the Whig belief in linear progress. Lord Kelvin’s heat‑death theory and Darwin’s evolution introduced cosmic entropy and challenged divine creation, fostering a pervasive cultural pessimism. The...
Langston Hughes: Novelist, Poet, Activist and… Translator?
A new Princeton University Press volume, Troubled Lands, finally gathers Langston Hughes’s translations of Mexican and Cuban short fiction he completed in 1934‑35. The anthology, edited by Ricardo Wilson II, showcases stories by Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, and others,...
Yann Martel on Playing with Form to Tell a Story
Yann Martel explains how he deliberately reshapes narrative form to serve each story’s purpose, using unconventional structures across his works. He details five examples: a historical‑fact framework in "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios," a two‑column emotional layout in "Self,"...
Hitting the Road? Here Are Three Recommendations About Trips that Get Out of Hand.
Satyajit Ray’s newly restored *Days and Nights in the Forest* has returned to theaters, earning praise for its witty dialogue and incisive class commentary. The film follows four privileged Calcutta youths on a weekend road trip that exposes their entitlement...
Lit Hub Daily: March 23, 2026
The Lit Hub Daily roundup opens with a historic note: Virginia and Leonard Woolf bought a hand‑press in 1917, launching the influential Hogarth Press a month later. The newsletter then spotlights a diverse slate of literary content, from translation conversations...
This Week in Literary History: Hugo Grotius Escapes Prison in a Book Chest
Hugo Grotius, the 17th‑century Dutch jurist and prodigy, escaped life imprisonment at Loevestein Castle by hiding in a chest of books his wife regularly sent. The daring escape took place on March 22, 1621 after guards grew lax in inspecting...
Andrea Mara on Building Suspense
Andrea Mara explains the suspense technique behind her new thriller *It Should Have Been You*, which opens with a climactic scene before rewinding to reveal the events leading up to it. She argues that this “future‑prologue” grabs readers instantly, especially...
Rachel Eliza Griffiths on Finding the Poetry in Grief
Rachel Eliza Griffiths, acclaimed poet and novelist, debuted her memoir *The Flower Bearers* on the Memoir Nation podcast. The book intertwines two traumatic events—the death of poet Kamilah Aisha Moon and the stabbing of husband Salman Rushdie—to examine layered grief....
Paperback Vs. Hardcover: Which Is Better For Readers (and For Writers)?
The article compares paperback and hardcover formats, noting readers favor paperbacks for price and portability. It argues hardcovers convey publisher commitment, attract more serious reviews, and offer higher royalty rates. Recent industry shifts—mass‑market paperback retirement, Barnes & Noble’s push for...
Here’s the Shortlist for the 2026 Dylan Thomas Prize.
The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, a £20,000 award for writers 39 or younger, has released its 2026 shortlist. Six works—four novels and two poetry collections—by authors from the UK and the US were selected. The judging panel, chaired by...
The Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers: Nonfiction
The Independent Publishers Caucus released its weekly Top 40 nonfiction bestsellers, compiled from sales data supplied by the American Booksellers Association across hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide. The list spotlights titles such as John U. Bacon’s *The Gales of November*, Robin...
Lit Hub Daily: March 16, 2026
Lit Hub’s Daily roundup for March 16, 2026 aggregates a slate of literary and cultural pieces ranging from classic criticism of Frances Burney to contemporary fiction by Jade Song. The selection spotlights essays on grief as a narrative device, Barbara Pym’s everyday‑life focus, and a...
Beyond “Women’s Fiction…” On the Quiet Brilliance of Barbara Pym
Barbara Pym’s modest post‑war novels about spinsters, church life and quiet village politics fell out of print in the 1960s until a 1977 Times Literary Supplement endorsement sparked a revival and a Booker‑Prize nomination. The resurgence highlighted the literary value...
Crying in the Multiverse: On the Potential of Possibility as a Literary Device
The article explores how the multiverse concept, rooted in philosophy and quantum physics, has become a powerful literary device for processing grief and identity. It highlights works ranging from James Salter’s existential paradox to contemporary novels like *The Midnight Library*...
Janine Kovac on Getting Into Writing Residencies and Book Festivals
The Memoir Nation podcast featured author and residency adjudicator Janine Kovac discussing how writers can secure writing residencies and book festival slots. Kovac, a former ballet dancer and co‑director of Litquake’s Lit Crawl, shares practical advice drawn from her experience reviewing...
Philip Schultz on Unavoidable Mortality
Pulitzer‑winning poet Philip Schultz discusses his new collection "Enormous Morning" on the "First Draft" podcast. The book confronts mortality, weaving childhood memories, philosophical reflections, and present‑day family scenes. Schultz reveals he only recently returned to manuscript work after a five‑year...
Is This the Most Literary Video Game of All Time?
Meredith Gran’s new game *Perfect Tides: Station to Station* lets players inhabit Mara Whitefish, a anxious art‑college freshman, and experience her coming‑of‑age story through a unique reading‑and‑writing mechanic. Over eight hours, players navigate four seasonal chapters, balancing classes, parties, and...
Andrew Martin on How to Manage Exposition
Andrew Martin argues that the widespread aversion to “info dumps” misrepresents the role of exposition in fiction. He explains that the fear originates from poorly executed backstory and the over‑reliance on the “show, don’t tell” mantra, which can lead writers...
On the Power of Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, One of the Most Banned Books of Its Era
Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir *Gender Queer*, first published in 2019, has become a cultural flashpoint, topping the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books from 2021 to 2023 and ranking second in 2024. The memoir chronicles Kobabe’s non‑binary journey,...
On Lio Min’s Beating Heart Baby as “Portable Fortress of Dreams”
Lio Min’s debut novel *Beating Heart Baby* follows Santi, a queer Filipino high‑school senior, as he navigates love with Suwa, a trans‑masculine Korean‑American trumpet star, within a vibrant Los Angeles marching band. The story shifts to Tokyo, where Suwa performs in...
On the Pure Pleasure of Plot in Gretchen Felker-Martin’s Manhunt
Gretchen Felker‑Martin’s horror novel *Manhunt* has emerged as a breakout work that re‑centers plot and visceral storytelling in a literary market dominated by experimental autofiction. The book situates itself within the “gender apocalypse” subgenre, but flips the script by foregrounding...
Thanks to a Group of Booksellers, Amazon Is Pulling Out of the Paris Book Fair.
Amazon has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Paris Book Fair after intense pressure from the Syndicat de la Librairie Française (SLF), France’s independent booksellers’ union. The SLF launched a boycott, accusing Amazon of flooding the market with AI‑generated books and...
Why Jane Austen Adaptations Just Keep Coming—And We Keep Watching
Jane Austen’s novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, continue to inspire a steady stream of film, TV and streaming adaptations, with Netflix announcing a six‑part miniseries for 2026. Scholars argue the enduring appeal lies in Austen’s focus on the financial and...
Lit Hub Daily: March 6, 2026
Lit Hub’s March 6 daily roundup bundles a wide array of literary and cultural content, from criticism and poetry to health and music pieces. Highlights include a story on America’s caregiving crisis, a tribute to librarians for International Women’s Day, and analyses...
Benjamin Hale on How to Expand a Magazine Article Into a Book
Benjamin Hale explains how his Harper's article on a 1978 Ozark murder expanded into the book Cave Mountain because he had far more material than the 15,000‑word limit allowed. He outlines his nine‑box grid method, a nine‑square outline that builds...
8 Badass Librarians We Need to Celebrate This International Women’s Day
The article spotlights eight remarkable librarians—historical and contemporary—celebrated on International Women’s Day. It highlights pioneers like Sor Juana, Dorothy Porter, and modern influencers such as Mychal Threets, Jean Darnell, and Ricci Yuhico who reshape library services, champion diversity, and harness...