Literary Mama

What Was Lost: A Queer Accounting of the NY Times Book Review, 2013-2022 “Goodbye, Pamela Paul,” was the headline of Andrea Long Chu’s now-iconic, recently ASME-nominated New York Magazine farewell to the former NY Times Book Review editor, when Paul left the paper two …

Trans and queer writers review thirteen essential queer books (that weren’t covered by the New York Times Book Review during Pamela Paul’s reign).

“Most of the Time, power has to do with dominance. But poetry is never about dominance. Poetry is powerful but it cannot even aspire to dominate anyone. It means making a connection. That’s what it means.”

-- June Jordan

The Evening Trimesters: A Guide to Your Afterbirth Erin was erratic about gynecological appointments until the day of all the blood. Searching futilely for heavy pads in the box of uncategorized toiletries—mysterious cream, that pill in the plastic wi...

“We’ll be seeing a bit of each other on a regular basis until you expel, or, if you like, ‘birth’ the final remains of your fertility. You should book for next month before you leave.”

Read Rachel Geman's morbidly funny story, "The Evening Trimesters: A Guide to Your Afterbirth":

the engine(idling Issue 9 Collab Matchmaker Our 9th Issue will be all about Collaborations! *** *** *** *** *** *** Fill out this Google Form if you need a creative partner for this project. We'll match you up with another interested c...

Our 9th issue is all about Collaborations!

There's still time for you to fill out our Google form & get matched up with another interested partner!

forms.gle/RC6xx8L9BSBh...

Issue deadline April 30

You do not need the robots to creatively prompt you! Just try to take the most violent bite of yourself possible. Try to swallow yourself whole

From the Editor: January/February 2026 I'm ambivalent about new year's resolutions, as I am about goals in general. I'm old enough to know that the pressure to achieve a goal is less likely to motivate me than it is to ruin my experience o...

"I’m ambivalent about new year’s resolutions, as I am about goals in general. I’m old enough to know that the pressure to achieve a goal is less likely to motivate me than it is to ruin my experience of the process." - Libby Maxey

Check out the Jan/Feb issue before the March/April drop next week:

"People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them." ~ James Baldwin

Re-opening: The Connecticut Literary Anthology The Connecticut Literary Anthology (Fiction Poetry Nonfiction; non-paying) opened to submissions https://duotrope.com/anthology/the-connecticut-literary-anthology-34734 #amwriting

The Connecticut Literary Anthology (Fiction Poetry Nonfiction; non-paying) opened to submissions https://duotrope.com... #amwriting

Eight Tips for Writing an Unreliable Narrator: writershelpingwriters.net/2026/02/8-ti...
#writing #writingtips #novels #writingcommunity

Fire department turns down $250,000 Google donation amid data center fight An Oklahoma fire department turned down a significant donation from Google.

I follow the news around local data center resistance fairly closely. This one stands out.

Rebecca Lehmann: Resurrecting Anne Boleyn and Going from Poet to Novelist Eva and Amanda chat with Rebecca Lehmann, author of The Beheading Game, about rewriting Anne Boleyn through the lens of motherhood and bringing a poetry background to novel-writing.

"The thing about the story that I find resonant and that I think resonates with people 500 years later is that in so many ways, it seems like she's a woman being punished for her power and her success."

@rebeccaslehmann.bsky.social, author of The Beheading Game:

“Stories move in circles. They don’t go in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between stories, and finding your way through them is as easy and hard as finding your way home.” ~ Naomi Newman

What We're Reading--March 2026 Literary Mama staff have been keeping busy whittling down their TBR stacks and are sharing the details with you! Literary Reflections editor Blair Lipsitz has been reading The Correspondent by Virg...

What are LM staff reading? Find out here:

February 2026 Reads for the Rest of Us Each month, <em>Ms.</em> provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. There are hundreds of books being released every month, and it is chal...

@anjalienjeti.bsky.social’s “Ballot” earned a spot in @msmagazine.com’s February Reads roundup.

Check out the full list: https://bit.ly/3OWj44i

📚💙 #LiteraryStudies @bloomsburylit.bsky.social

Opportunities Literary Mama is an all-volunteer organization that brings mamas and mama supporters together through literature. Over the years, our staff has included mamas of all sorts, reaching across identities ...

We're looking for a reviews editor!

wearing my women in stem t-shirt on international women’s day to celebrate the fact that i was given that and a reusable water bottle instead of equal pay

An outline of a naked woman is embroidered on linen in the same bone white colour as the linen. She stands legs together, her right hand covering her groin, her left hand, palm up, extended slightly to her side. She looks to the right. Her entire body except for her belly is covered in intricate markings representing different neurological sensations. Her face is a mask of green lines, feathery grey lines cover her shoulders and chest. There is a thick band of intricate burgundy stitching around her waist. Her forearms and hands are covered in thick blue undulant lines. Her right leg has bands of burgundy along the muscles, with small dots around them. Her inner left leg has a thick line of blue running up it, with thin branches spreading towards her outer leg.

For this #InternationalWomensDay I’m sharing a symptomatology #embroidery, body map (2016), in which I stitched my #MECFS symptoms freehand over a few months. ME/CFS affects mostly women, and the symptoms are often ignored or not taken seriously because of medical misogyny.

#SciArt

Join me at the The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge 4-8 pm today, 3/8, for the Rock Out for Rent Relief! Help support our neighbors who need rent assistance due to ICE's occupation. Five amazing local bands, food, beverages, and community. You can buy tickets at the door!

“When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Where they speak out for the privileges of a puny group, I shall shout for the rights of all mankind.” - Pauli Murray

Pen Parentis Submission Manager Pen Parentis, Ltd, is a nonprofit organization that provides resources to authors who are also parents. Our Fellowship is intended to promote the creation of new work by writers who are at the busiest...

@penparentis.bsky.social writing fellowship! See below for submission guidelines:

My Son and the Moon My son learned about the moonin the pages of a bookbefore ever seeing itin the northern summer sky For monthshe pointed upwards, sayingmooo but there was nothingbut the sunon its way to and from the T...

Alyse Carlson, "My Son and the Moon":

Dropkick Murphys finish up their set at a benefit show across from Alex Pretti Memorial: “We’ll never forget what we saw with our own eyes, we’ll never forget what we’ve seen here today. thank we’ve seen here today. Thank you all for allowing us to come bear witness with you, thank you Minnesota!”.

Speak out: Protect our Public Post Office The Postmaster General has sounded the alarm. The Postal Service will run out of cash by February 2027 - less than a year from now without urgent action. Warning that, potentially, "everything is on t...

We need to make sure the Post Office works. Millions of important pieces of mail are sent every month, including absentee ballots.

My favorite AWP story so far is I stepped in dog shit while walking with my editor and she didn't miss a beat when she told me to "just walk it off" in an authoritative but friendly voice because she is totally used to trudging through shit with me

Text image with a quote from Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director, Writers at Risk, expressing concern about writers and dissidents in Iran's prisons. Emphasizes prioritizing civilian lives. Mentions PEN America and directs to pen.org for the full statement.

Amid ongoing military strikes and conflict in Iran, PEN America and @pensydney.bsky.social condemn the escalating and urgent threats to detained writers, including poet and translator Ali Asadollahi, as well as other political prisoners jailed in the country. Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...

This convo was a delight! Tune in to hear me talk The Beheading Game, Anne Boleyn as a mother, and my own attempts at “pizza” parenting 🍕😂

What We're Reading When we have free moments, it can be difficult to choose whether we want to spend that time writing or reading. Fortunately, the winter months are often a period when we can manage more of both becaus...

Featuring Karen Hao's Empire of AI & Kiersten White's Mister Magic:

knees some nights i sleepwith the hope that the blades of my shoulders mightsprout wings, feathered and gruesome butcapableof lifting me from the mattressand carrying me to the top of the oak outside my win...

"knees," by Shannon K. Evans:

"Making art is not easy. It asks you to open yourself to the unknown, and that means you might discover something wildly unexpected. You might even discover your world is not what you thought it was." ~ Jeannine Ouellette / @jeannineouellette.bsky.social