As always, thanks for signing up and scrolling through. I hope your pitches and/or queries land and the words flow this week.

Without further ado.

Prison Banned Books Week is next week. Recidivism goes down when incarcerated individuals have access to books, but there is no institution in the U.S. as heavily censored as the prison system. (Book Riot)

Arkansas wants to jail librarians. The state’s Act 372 would make it possible for anyone to question any book in a library, and jail librarians and booksellers for supplying minors with “inappropriate material,” like Romeo and Juliet. (The Fire)

Texas banned students from entering secondary school libraries. After passing SB 13, which requires school libraries to be free from “harmful,” “indecent content,” and “profane content.” While there are no legal definitions as to what those terms mean in terms of specifics, school libraries — except for a handful of elementary school libraries — are closed until further notice to make sure shelves are clean. (Book Riot)

Related: Here’s what Florida’s book bans are costing its taxpayers. (NPR)

‘Best of 2025’ Season begins. Barnes & Noble was the first major retailer to drop their lists, dropping their favorite picks “so far” across 19 categories, including fiction, mystery & thriller, horror, romance, personal development, eBook series, audiobooks, and libros en espanol.

We need Philip Pullman’s books now more than ever. As His Dark Materials turns 30, and we prepare for the last Book of Dust installment, Aisling Walsh looks at the enduring legacy of this beloved series. (LitHub)

Impact editors help journalism be a force of good. Publishing a story isn’t the same thing as holding someone accountable. To help make sure change starts taking place, newsrooms can bring on an impact editor, “someone who can understand the role of the investigation in the context of the wider issue in the world, who’s able to go out and speak to policymakers and civil society organizations, and ask, ‘What are you working on? Where could our findings be useful and how can we get them to you in a way that can be most useful to you?” (Nieman Lab)

The Track Record Problem. More often than not, big deals (or deals at all) go to debut authors. They’re easier to take a gamble on, it appears, because publishers seem to believe an author’s second book will always sell less than their first, even if the books are unrelated. The reason? Publishers serve the bookstores. (Jenna’s Substack)

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The benefits of brevity. Whether you’re writing 80,000+ word manuscripts or 800-word articles, the ability to write tight, conscience sentences is a priceless skill. (Writer Unboxed)

What a successful query letter looks like. Mylee Miller shares the query letter that landed her 25 full requests and an offer. (The Manuscript Maniac)

Using the Buddhist Principles for “well spoken speech” can strengthen your writing. Buddhism suggests asking yourself five important questions before speaking: whether your information is true, helpful, timely, spoken in goodwill, and expressed sensitively. (Writer Unboxed)

How to not lose your cool when the edit letter lands. The secrets to keeping your cool are to lose your cool in your group chat, but then remember that your story is just words. No one’s dying. This is not a personal attack. You and your editor are working towards telling this story the best way possible. (Jenna’s Substack)

Examining first lines can help you learn how to hook your reader. We all know we have read stories that gripped us right from the opening, but understanding what hooked us and why — and then replicating the ability in our own writing. Writing coach Lynette M. Burrows breaks down best sellers’ openings. (Writers in the Storm)

Creators must protect themselves. While many of us write, draw, and create with the best intentions, the companies we work with have a different incentive. Especially if you’re operating without an agent, it’s important to learn how to protect yourself against predatory contracts. (Jane Friedman blog)

Platform building isn’t a necessary evil, actually. Engaging with readers isn’t just a means to a book sale; it’s a way to continue an author's work: transforming the reader. (Jane Friedman blog)

Reminder:
I have openings + quick turnarounds on query letter edits.

Kaylyn Aldridge, literary assistant at Metamorphosis Literary Agency, is only accepting paranormal romance and horror romance through the end of October. “All spice, no spice, or a little spice (as a treat).” Please submit queries through Query Tracker.

Shannon Snow, literary agent at Creative Media Agency, is looking for “spicy dark romance,” especially if you’ve already self-published and are seeking representation. Please submit queries through Query Tracker.

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Eater Chicago is accepting pitches for reported features and voice-driven content related to the local Chicago restaurant and dining scenes. Pitches should focus on notable openings and closings, map updates, local dining news, scene reports, trend reports, or second-day news features. Please submit through the pitch form.

Meka Boyle, Articles Editor for Family Style, is looking for pitches of “essays, on art, culture, and fashion for Oct, Nov, and Dec. Ideally with a timely peg.” Pitches should be “for written-through cultural features with quotes from multiple sources.” Rate: $300 for 800 words. E-mail pitches to [email protected] “with a brief intro as to who you are and a short synopsis of the who/what/where/why/when of it all. Please also share clips written in a similar format.”

Katherine Laidlaw, Senior Business Writer at The Hustle, is looking for pitches of reported feature stories on business, tech, and the economy for their Sunday newsletter. Stories should “explain fun or interesting economic topics — kind of like Planet Money but in newsletter form — while others highlight people or businesses successfully going against the grain. Rate: $.81 to $1 per word. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Rheana Murray, Essays Editor at Newsweek, is looking for pitches of personal essays on parenting, health, and relationships. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

PLAY, a queer food and culture magazine, is looking for pitches of stories that “explore queerness and being outside in all forms,” for the second edition. These stories can take the form of essays, reported features, poetry, short fiction, visual art, and recipes that reside at the intersection of queerness, food, and the outdoors. Rate: $300 - $500. Deadline: Oct 31. Please pitch through the submission form.

The Rumpus is accepting submissions of essays, criticism, interviews, and comics. Pay is $100 for prose submissions and $50 for poetry. Please submit through the pitch form.

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Gannett Co., Inc., and USA TODAY are seeking a remote, full-time Developmental Editor to “drive growth and development of revenue through strategic affiliate content.” Rate: $50,000 - $78,000 depending on experience, education level, and location.

People, Inc. is hiring a part-time, remote News Updates Editor for The Spruce Home & Crafts. You will be responsible for pitching and writing timely news content for publication on The Spurce for at least 10 - 15 hours a week. Ideal candidates have two years of experience writing or editing home or lifestyle media, are comfortable with internet research, and are skilled in sourcing subject media experts. Rate: $25/hr.

Sometimes you need to revisit old books, the way you need to see old friends. I dug back into Faithful Place, the third installment in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. We follow Frank Mackey, an undercover detective who played a co-starring role in The Likeness, the second Dublin Murder Squad novel.

When Frank was 19, he and his girlfriend, Rosie Daley, had a plan: to run away together to London to start a new life. When Rosie didn’t show for the ferry, Frank assumed she had left him behind. After her suitcase turns up 22 years later, the mystery of what happened to Rosie begins to unravel.

One of the best ways I learn is to research and read. Before, during, and after my MFA, I’ve read books on book writing, marketing, magazine writing, travel writing, and more. Here are the books that I still re-read after all of these years.

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As always, here are the podcasts I listen — and re-listen — to.