Maggie O’Farrell and the Art of Inventing the Past

By Katy WaldmanJune 1, 20267 min read

Why read historical fiction? A new novel by the author of “Hamnet” offers one answer: because it’s fun.

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To Know a Person Entirely: Re-Discovering My Grandfather Through Fiction

There is something I need to tell you about my grandfather: his name was Ben. He smoked Virginia Slims. He drove a big, low Cadillac with a beer between his knees. He was a lawyer. He helped license a line

Sofia MontroneJun 10, 2026

Literary Hub

Grief, Rage, and Restraint: Zinzi Clemmons on Telling Her Own Story

Being invited to interview a writer that one admires is so rewarding, and I’m thrilled that I got the chance to speak with Zinzi Clemmons about her new book Freedom: Essays. We need Clemmons’s voice. We need her critique. It

Myriam GurbaJun 9, 2026

The Paris Review

The Summer of Lion Meat

In the medieval period it was common for translators to insert commentary on their theories and methods directly into the text.

Tere Dávila and Rebecca Hanssens-ReedJun 8, 2026

The Paris Review

The Vanishing Library: Timothy Ely’s Odd Little Book from Outer Space

“The few words it contains are indecipherable, of no language. (The letters look Hebrew—if you don’t know Hebrew and have never seen Hebrew letters before.)”

Max RossJun 9, 2026

The Conversation

Meet the internet movement trying to tackle the manosphere. It’s called BreadTube

Video essayists on YouTube are trying to beat the manosphere at it’s own game. Here are five insightful channels to watch.

Marian-Andrei Rizoiu, Associate Professor in Behavioral Data Science, University of Technology SydneyJun 9, 2026

The Rumpus

Poetry Can Save Us - The Rumpus

The Trouble Ball witnesses the darker parts of history and celebrates resistance to the forces that created those. Martín Espada’s new book, The Trouble

Alex ChambersSep 16, 20116 min read