But publishing Electric Literature isn\u2019t free; supporting writers isn\u2019t free. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support Electric Literature, so we can keep telling the stories that most need to be told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Denne Michele Norris Here are the most popular posts of the year by category, starting with the most read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These warm and fuzzy whodunnits are perfect for fans of Midsomer Murders <\/em>and Only Murders in the Building<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Some might think of cozy mysteries as edgeless and old-fashioned, but that\u2019s only the case if you want it to be. To my mind, the genre feels like a metaphorical warm blanket around the shoulders. Though the detective will be out to solve a murder, there\u2019s usually (but not always) less gore on the page, and while I\u2019ve used the word \u201cdetective,\u201d a cozy crime is most often solved by an enterprising member of the public.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Not all authors are as prolific as Stephen King or Joyce Carol Oates. This list is proof that it can take decades for even the most acclaimed writers to produce their next work: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The last few months have been an exciting time in the world of publishing, not only for the litany of debut novel and short story collection releases, but also for the publication of two long gestating, highly anticipated projects by Cormac McCarthy and Katherine Dunn.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Improving your writing doesn’t have to be a daunting task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Whether you are an aspiring writer, a Pulitzer-Prize winning memoirist, or a curious reader, these books on craft will change you and the way you think about the world\u2014as well as literature\u2014within the complex confines of beauty and truth.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Two words: erotic cannibalism. That’s all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Showtime\u2019s Yellowjackets<\/em> was the unlikely sleeper hit of 2021 with its dark, off-kilter narrative and female characters who are messy, deeply flawed (and sometimes just downright sinister)… The second season of Yellowjackets<\/em> was even darker than the first.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n These contemporary works of fiction weave in fairy tales to subvert what we take for granted as normal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Imagine the dark forest set on a planet mostly destroyed by climate change, the magic mirror in a story of race and identity, or that enchanted sleep in a tale about the unrelenting passage of time. Suddenly, these age-old fairy-tale objects are speaking to us about our real world, showing us how very odd it all is.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Claire Hodgdon writes about Apple TV\u2019s Shrinking<\/em> and the reality of being raised by a grieving single father: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “I have watched countless movies and shows that include a dead mother. Shrinking<\/em>, though, is about the single dad that is left when a mom dies. It is about the parent who is still there, not the one who is gone. The trying-but-failing Jimmy is sometimes so recognizable to me I can\u2019t watch. Jimmy wants to be a good dad more than he acts like one. He fumbles, and he betrays, and he is selfish, and\u2014he tries.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n George Harrison went from chief villain to unlikely hero in Kavita Das’s story of how Indian music came to the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why had George undertaken this grand endeavor of a cross-cultural tour, the likes of which had never been attempted before, putting his own musical reputation and resources at stake, if not to promote Indian music and musicians and to demonstrate the power of musical collaboration?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Rebecca Woodward’s parents raised her as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness. Decades later as an adult, she sees parallels between her escape from the religion and Prince Harry’s separation from the royal family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Like life in the royal family, Witness life was full of ever-shifting rules that often made little sense, but obedience to the men God had chosen to lead his organization was mandatory. In Spare<\/em>, Harry is often as mystified by the arbitrary rules that dictated his life as I had been. Obedience, it seemed, was the only point for both of us.”<\/p>\n\n\n Jennifer Baker, a former acquisitions editor, saw her experience working at a Big 4 publishing house reflected in The Other Black Girl<\/em>. The novel written by Zakiya Dalila-Harris tells a tried and true story of the challenges faced by Black professionals in the book world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Exclusion begins with erasure. Because if you don\u2019t exist, how can you even attempt to tell your own story?… Being the only, or one of the few, is an unenviable position no matter the situation or occupation.”<\/p>\n\n\n For Benjamin Schaefer, embracing disappointment is healthier than resenting another writer for their achievements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “It\u2019s discouraging to see the thing we want, to be so close to it we can almost touch it, and then to be told it isn\u2019t for us, not yet, maybe never. It resonates in the body…<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do we feel disappointment without avoiding it or offloading it onto someone else? Without giving in to the story about how we\u2019ve once again overestimated ourselves or the value of our work? Without perceiving disappointment\u2014and, by extension, desire\u2014as a threat to our well-being?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Lucy McKeon talks to Emmanuel Iduma about his memoir I Am Still with You <\/em>and his return to Nigeria in search of the uncle he never knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It was clear to me while I wrote the book that the real failure of imagination would be to avoid a reckoning with the histories that led, in part, to the protests. My sense is that political reckonings are cyclic in nature\u2014an event sparks a reaction, a reaction leads to a flashpoint, again and again.”<\/p>\n\n\n Hoda Mallone talks to Maggie Smith about her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful <\/em>and letting go without forgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I wasn\u2019t interested in writing a book in which I was the \u2018good guy\u2019\u2014a victim, a martyr\u2014and someone else was the villain.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Summer Farah talks to J. Robert Lennon and Carmen Maria Machado about how Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games<\/em> came together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We were curious what people would have to say about how games fit creatively in writers\u2019 lives. How do video games fit into a creative practice\u2014or, do they?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Chelsea Davis asks Kelly Link why we’re drawn to folk tales and how superstitions shape stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The patterns of fairy tales are so recognizable that introducing even the smallest piece of those patterns\u2014’once upon a time,’ for example\u2014means the language of the story that follows becomes charged. Readers will pay closer attention to the appearance of animals (talking or not), or colors, or, say, repetitions of three.”<\/p>\n\n\n In this roundtable discussion moderated by Summer Farah, Samah Fadil, Priscilla Wathington, and Rasha Abdulhadi talk about countering Zionist propaganda and mobilizing art into action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Literature can set the stage for the attempted annihilation of a people, and it is our responsibility to point to it. How often have I chosen a slow death in service of comfort? The truth is, I have never been able to look around a room and not see the genocidal escalation to come\u2014if the vitriolic disregard for human life, for Palestinian life, did not permeate through to our most mundane of activities, over 18,000 Palestinians would not have been killed in the past 67 days, over 1.5 million would not be displaced from Gaza.”<\/p>\n\u2014Summer Farah<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Looking to get away to a quiet space to focus on your writing without any distractions? In this newly updated article, Monica Macansantos recommends free or affordable 20 residency programs across America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “I was a young MFA student when I attended my first artists\u2019 residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. I had heard of these places nestled in the woods or in small-town America where writers and artists were provided with a private bedroom and studio space, as well as meals or a meal allowance, with the only expectation that they spent the majority of their time working on their art.”<\/p>\n\n\n Claudia Guthrie has the deets on the literary adaptations that we can’t wait to watch in the new year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “From classics like The Godfather <\/em>and Jaws <\/em>to modern marvels like Game of Thrones<\/em> and Crazy Rich Asians<\/em>, many of history\u2019s greatest films and TV shows began as novels. A well-written book provides the ultimate Hollywood source material, with complex characters and an engrossing plot that, when read, already plays like a movie in your head.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Laura Schmitt writes about the book podcasts you should be listening to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Whether you\u2019re a die-hard bibliophile in search of your next read, a writer seeking some inspiration for your work-in-progress, or simply someone who enjoys the soothing cadence of spoken words, there\u2019s a literary podcast for you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Samantha Paige Rosen recommends newsletters that offer the best of craft and <\/strong>publishing advice, <\/strong>writing prompts, pitch calls, <\/strong>and encouragement and <\/strong>commiseration about the writing life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Email newsletters can offer emotional support, tips and exercises for improving craft, and resources for getting published that might otherwise be inaccessible, especially to writers beginning their careers.”<\/p>\n\n\n Bradley Sides shares his top contenders for the most prestigious award of American literature. Spoiler alert: he was right! Well… half right, since there were two winners this year for Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “No matter how difficult it might be to figure out the year\u2019s winner ahead of time, it\u2019s still fun. It\u2019s a way to reflect back on the literary year that was\u2014and to uncover those works of fiction that might\u2019ve been missed when they were released. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In shaping my predictions, previous awards, critical acclaim, general buzz, and a little bit of plain intuition are the top factors that I focus on.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Novelist R.O. Kwon’s annual list of the most anticipated books by women of color is a perennial favorite of Electric Literature readers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Finding these books has become, in the last seven years, less difficult, and I continue to hope that American letters will become so inclusive this effort will become obsolete. But we\u2019re still far from that point. I\u2019ll keep hoping.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Novelist Michelle Hart highlights the new and forthcoming queer books of each season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is what queer art specifically does: it shows us that we have always been here and we always will be. Queer stories, like the ones listed below, do more than shine light on the shadows. They are<\/em> the light in the shadows. They are living documents of our lives.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n From summer<\/a> to fall,<\/a> fiction writer Wendy J. Fox recommends literary gems by indie publishing houses that should be on every reader’s TBR:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What\u2019s thrilling about the books coming out from small presses is the breadth of range\u2014there are intentional and accidental murders, family drama and polycules, medical calamity, geopolitics, and a whole lot of finding one\u2019s way through it all. It\u2019s a marvelous time to be a reader.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Each season, Laura Schmitt\u2014a former bookseller at The Bookshop in Nashville\u2014asks independent booksellers across America about the books they love: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “What lead titles live up to their hype? Who are the debut authors you won\u2019t want to miss? Which literary novel will speak to your very specific brand of autumn ennui? There\u2019s a lot to consider when it comes, but luckily indie booksellers have read like mad and are here to provide some guidance via their thoughtful and thorough recommendations.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Irish American editor Lucie Shelly brings her literary expertise across the pond with her recommendation of the best new novels from Ireland:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “With the blue-eyed boy Paul Mescal as an avatar of young Irish men, global audiences have come to see unflattering GAA shorts and emotional suppression as attractive. Mescal\u2019s breakthrough was of course in the Rooney Toons, and who knows, maybe that show was the start of the most recent wave of Irish prominence in pop culture. But when it comes to literature, Ireland has always been a powerhouse.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In one of Electric Lit\u2019s most-read essays of the year, \u201cBlack Women Are Being Erased From Book Publishing,\u201d Jennifer Baker examines the publishing industry in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. She holds the publishing industry accountable for appointing high-profile Black women to powerful positions, only to see many of those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":259591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[243,5647],"tags":[2983,5572],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Editor-in-chief of Electric Literature<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nReading Lists<\/h3>\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n1. 7 Cozy Mysteries To C<\/a>url Up With<\/a> by Alice Bell<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n2. 8 Long-Awaited Follow Ups to Beloved Books<\/a> by Chris Vanjonack<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3. 7 Craft Books to Help You Become a Better Writer<\/a> by Kyla Walker<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n4. 7 Books to Devour if You Love Yellowjackets<\/em><\/a> by Claudia Guthrie<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n5. 7 Books That Use Fairy Tales to Reveal the <\/a>Strangeness of the Real World<\/a> by Rebekah Bergman<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Essays<\/h3>\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n1. I Was My Mother\u2019s Daughter, and Then I Was Stuck With My Dad<\/a> by Claire Hodgdon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n2. I Was Too Quick To Call Out Cultural Appropriation<\/a> by Kavita Das<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3. As a Cult Survivor, I Found Prince Harry\u2019s Spare <\/em>Surprisingly Relatable<\/a> by Rebecca Woodward<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n4. Black Women Are Being Erased in Book Publishing<\/a> by Jennifer Baker<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n5. We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy<\/a> by Benjamin Schaefer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Interviews<\/h3>\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n1. The Quest to Uncover a Disappearance in the Biafran War <\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n2. Maggie Smith Finds Beauty in the Dissolution of Her Marriage<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3. The Craft of Turning Video Games into Literary Essays<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n4. Kelly Link Makes Fairy Tales Even Weirder Than You Remember<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n5. Palestinian Poets on the Role of Literature in Fighting Genocide<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The Misfits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Articles That Didn’t Fit Into Any Other Categories) <\/h4>\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n1. Free or Low-Cost American Writing Residencies<\/a> by Monica Macansantos <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n2. 10 Books Coming to TV and Film in 2024<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3. 12 Literary Podcasts for Writers and Readers<\/a> by Laura Schmitt <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n4. 7 Newsletters That Will Improve Your Writing<\/a> by Samantha Paige Rosen<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n5. Predicting the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction<\/a> by Bradley Sides<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Most Anticipated Guides<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ying-ge-Yo1cWJVKFY-unsplash-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n62 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2023<\/a> by R.O. Kwon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books for 2023<\/a> by Michelle Hart<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSmall Press Books You Should Be Reading This Season<\/a> by Wendy J. Fox<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat You Should Be Reading This Season According to Indie Booksellers<\/a> by Laura Schmitt<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe Most Anticipated Irish Novels of 2023<\/a> by Lucie Shelly<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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