Michael Welch

The edge of the world - Chicago Reader Belt Publishing’s anthology On an Inland Sea collects 33 stories on the Great Lakes, with a focus on what the lakes mean to people now.

Getting my name in the @chicagoreader.com is a pretty major Chicago bucket list item for me: review of On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes

chicagoreader.com/books/book-r...

@beltpublishing.bsky.social
@mbwwelch.bsky.social

Let’s all hang out at the @beltpublishing.bsky.social AWP Happy Hour!

12 Must-Read Books of March 2026 - Chicago Review of Books Here are the 12 books you need to read in March 2026.

This month, we’re welcoming a wide range of exciting new releases that bend their genre conventions and chart a new path forward of possibility in literature, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. Check out the rest of his picks for March's best books below!
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/03/02/1...

TONIGHT! Join us for our free panel with @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social celebrating the publication's 10 years. Panelists will discuss what makes a good review, the importance of book coverage these days, and how you can improve your chances to get your work reviewed.

Register: buff.ly/aBC7HDS

Celebrating, Defending, Mourning, and Loving Bookstores (and Libraries!) on The Lit Hub Podcast A weekly behind-the-scenes dive into everything interesting, dynamic, strange, and wonderful happening in literary culture—featuring Lit Hub staff, columnists, and special guests! Hosted by Drew Br…

Check out @mbwwelch.bsky.social on the @literaryhub.bsky.social podcast talking a few of our favorite things... Bookstores and libraries anybody? 🤩
lithub.com/celebrating-...

Our table at the ABA Winter Institute!
If you stopped by yesterday, you probably saw a new face behind the table. That’s me (Andrew), a new employee for Belt, helping out with marketing. It was great to meet both new and longtime fans of Belt, and to chat a bit about the year’s upcoming projects!

Who gets to follow their dreams?: An Interview with Sara Maurer on her debut novel, "A Good Animal." - Chicago Review of Books An author’s debut is so much more than a welcoming of a new voice into the literary world; it’s a widening of new perspectives for readers. This is especially true when that author’s novel introduces ...

"Rural spaces, especially agricultural ones, never let you forget that you exist in a body, that you won’t be around forever."

@rsdeeren.bsky.social's interview with @saramaurerwrites.bsky.social on "A Good Animal” (@stmartinspress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/25/w...

The Question of Hope: An Interview with Tayari Jones on "Kin" - Chicago Review of Books Our review of Tayari Jones's new historical novel, "Kin."

"This is my most Southern novel...The characters are all unique, and some of them are larger than life, and they talk a lot of trash. They’re funny."

@aaisforaarti.bsky.social's interview with @tayari.bsky.social on "Kin” (@aaknopf.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/24/t...

Wooooo congrats!!!

Interview: Camille Bordas on “One Sun Only” The Chicago-based writer discusses the pleasures of editing, writing in English versus French and the narrative power of anxiety.

I have a new article out in Newcity Lit today about the inimitable Camille Bordas!
lit.newcity.com/2026/02/23/c...

Exclusive Cover Reveal: A First Look at Victor Ladis Schultz's "The Book of the Jaguar" - Chicago Review of Books An exclusive cover reveal of Victor Ladis Schultz's debut novel, "The Book of the Jaguar"

We’re excited to offer an exclusive cover reveal of Chicago Review of Books Daily Editor @celldeathvic.bsky.social's forthcoming debut novel, The Book of the Jaguar (Fairwood Press, August 18, 2026)! Check it out below 😍 and join us in congratulating Victor!
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/19/e...

What We Lose When Our Independent Bookstores Close I’m on my way to a reading when I get the call from my mother letting me know that my uncle passed away. The news isn’t unexpected. In the past few months, his worsening condition made a stranger o…

@mbwwelch.bsky.social on the closing of Chicago’s Volumes Bookcafe and what we lose when we lose independent bookstores.

This is so so lovely. Needed this today. Thank you @mbwelch.bsky.social so much.

What We Lose When Our Independent Bookstores Close I’m on my way to a reading when I get the call from my mother letting me know that my uncle passed away. The news isn’t unexpected. In the past few months, his worsening condition made a stranger o…

I wrote about the loss of @volumesbooks.bsky.social, the encroachment of corporate bookselling in Chicago, and what it means for our literary scene and community overall.

A huge thank you to @literaryhub.bsky.social ❤️

lithub.com/what-we-lose...

What We Lose When Our Independent Bookstores Close I’m on my way to a reading when I get the call from my mother letting me know that my uncle passed away. The news isn’t unexpected. In the past few months, his worsening condition made a stranger o…

"I measure a full-fledged bookstore by its discoveries, its hand-written recommendation note cards, and the checkouts that turn into runaway conversations about what we’re reading..."

We're so proud to see @mbwwelch.bsky.social is in @literaryhub.bsky.social today!! 🤩

lithub.com/what-we-lose...

This is honestly one of my favorite pieces we’ve ever run on the site 👀

The preorders are arriving! 👀

You know you've found the right people when you're texting at 7:45 in the morning -- even before a first cup of coffee -- about a book you both loved. @mbwwelch.bsky.social

"On An Inland Sea" (@beltpublishing.bsky.social) comes out in a month, so we're hosting a release party @roscoebooks.bsky.social on March 10!

Join us for a discussion & reading from contributors including @rsdeeren.bsky.social, Lina Tran, & Kristin Idaszak!

RSVP here: forms.gle/34RkG1WWprCa...

The End of Books Coverage at the Washington Post Becca Rothfeld, a former critic at the Washington Post, on the death of the paper’s books section.

Becca Rothfeld, a former critic at the Washington Post, on the death of the paper’s books section. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/zmzLbN

As a Hachette author, one who has written an entire novel about book bans, this is so deeply disappointing and maddening.

A publisher makes choices as to what to publish. Choosing not to offer on a book is NOT a ban. It is NOT censorship to say, we'll pass. Publishing a book is a CHOICE.

Look at this beautiful list of incredible writers! 😍

"On An Inland Sea" comes out next month!

I’ve Been Laid Off. I’m Not Done. After 20 years at The Washington Post, I’m suddenly on my own — and still writing about books.

After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

@storystudiochicago.bsky.social's Pub Crawl is in full swing, and we wanted to invite you to our FREE panel on 2/27 w/ CHIRB editors @reemasabrina.bsky.social, @rachellayown.bsky.social, and @gregzimmerman.bsky.social, moderated by @mbwwelch.bsky.social—sign up below!
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The guy who owns Amazon shutting down the books section of the Washington Post is beyond parody

“Care works in direct opposition to abuses of power”: Sarah Bruni Discusses “Mass Mothering” - Chicago Review of Books I first met Sarah Bruni some 26 years ago at a party in Iowa City, where we were both undergraduates at the University of Iowa. I don’t recall what we initially talked about, maybe our friends, classe...

"The gift to spend more unstructured time moving between the US and Latin America deeply informed how I was thinking about the instability of narrative truths."

@michaelzapata.bsky.social's interview with Sarah Bruni is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/03/c...

12 Must Read Books of February 2026 - Chicago Review of Books Here are the 12 books you need to read this February 2026.

From thrilling noirs and captivating literary mysteries to new releases from some of our most exciting authors working today, February is shaping up to be a match made in heaven for readers, @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. Check out our most anticipated books!
chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/02/1...

We're officially 10 years old today!

It's been quite a decade. Nearly 3,000 published reviews, interviews, essays, book lists, cover reveals, and more. Millions and millions of views. Ten years of CHIRBy awards, readings, and events bringing our literary community together...

I was so happy to write about the brilliant Toya Wolfe for @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social series on Chicago books of the past 10 years! We are absolutely living in the New Chicago Renaissance, and there's a lot that sucks about the world right now but the Chicago lit scene is not one of those things.

For our 10th anniversary, we've started the New Chicago Renaissance series to revisit exemplary works of literature about Chicago from the last 10 years, and explore their continued relevance. Stay tuned for one every month!