AUDACIOUS BOOKCLUB HAPPENINGS
Our July selection is Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin. We will be in conversation with Gretchen on July 30th and registration is open.
THE NEWSLETTER WEEK IN REVIEW
Audacious Book Club: Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin
PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL NEWS
We’re having a writing contest. Only paid subscribers can enter and win! Prizes include $2,500, publication in the newsletter, and a mentoring session!
August 24-25, I will be in Sydney, Australia, speaking at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. I’ll also be at the Wheeler Center in Melbourne on August 27th!
My essay series, Roxane Gay Presents, with Everand has launched. First up: Julia Turshen with Built For This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting and in this video, you will learn about the queer powerlifting club she started. The second essay in this series is: You Are a Teen Mom: Instructions by Randa Jarrar. You can learn more about Randa in this video. The third essay in this series is My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living by Gabrielle Bellot. The fourth essay in this series is Good Girls: Notes on Dog Rescue by Elaine Castillo. You can learn more about Elaine in this video. The final essay, by me, is called Stand Your Ground, and it will be out soon!
Megan Pillow and I wrote a little book about power called Do The Work: A Guide About Power and Creating Change. It is out NOW!
Oliver Radclyffe’s beautiful memoir, Frighten the Horses is one of The Millions most anticipated books of the summer (technically, early fall). This amazing book is out on September 17th but pre-orders are open and pre-orders are greatly appreciated.
Writer Iheoma Nwachukwu needs some help while dealing with an immigration nightmare.
In more Supreme Court shittery, they have decided that presidents should be kings. Basically.
A teen opioid crisis fueled by… Snapchat?
Happy birthday, Caesar salad! An ode to Caesar salad. And a defense of wine.
Thirty queer artists (including moi) talk about when we were 30.
A retreat for men who want to be better men.
The pleasures of sobremesa.
A brilliant essay from Robert Jones Jr. about Jerrod Carmichael, what it means to be Black and gay, self-loathing, classism, and much more.
A bitcoin mine in Texas is causing health problems for the town’s residents. Also, it is harming the planet.
As if things weren’t grim enough, you can buy bullets from a vending machine!
Romance bookstores are all the rage. One of my fave’s is The Ripped Bodice which has locations in L.A. and Brooklyn!
New thing to worry about: digging holes at the beach.
Did you know the man who killed Tamir Rice was still policing? He just resigned from his latest position.
An interesting history of bouillon cubes.
I think I will more to say about this in a standalone post but Alice Munro’s daughter Andrea Skinner has shared that her stepfather sexually abused her and when her mother found out she chose her husband over her child. Truly, every single adult in Andrea Skinner’s life failed her. It’s one of the most horrible stories I’ve ever heard.
In tiny good news, the French have rejected LePen’s far right coalition though they still have seats in Parliament. And in England, the Tories have been roundly soundly defeated.
Apparently the earth’s core is slowing down? This seems not good. I mean, I’ve seen The Core. I know how this story ends.
A profile of Chappell Roan. New fiction from Sally Rooney. A review of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s new novel Long Island Compromise. And an interview. And another review. And another review! Finally, Brodesser-Akner writes about the kidnapping case that inspired her new novel. A review of the third season of The Bear which we have recently started. It’s… aesthetically interesting still but absolutely incoherent in terms of narrative. A conversation with Jill Biden who is on the cover of Vogue while the country debates whether or not her husband should withdraw from the presidency. Everything’s FINE! Nothing to see here.
Another month, another record set of high temperatures.
When memoirists revisit their memoirs through memoir.
What’s the deal with celebrity book clubs? As far as I’m concerned, almost anything that encourages people to read is good.
Some NYC libraries are bringing back Sunday hours.
Students at a middle school (?!) decided to harass and impersonate and otherwise do terrible things to their teachers. I don’t enjoy reading hate news anymore.
Remote workers are outsourcing their jobs which… I’m not mad at. None of my business!
In shocking news, luxury handbags are being made by exploited workers. Newsflash! Almost everything we use is made by exploited workers which is to say fast fashion, slow fashion, it’s all kind of shitty and we should probably pay more attention to that.
J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace still holds up and remains one of my favorite novels.
Rudy Giuliani was finally disbarred.
A great man created a laundry bus for unhoused people. What a lovely thing to do.
RFK Jr. has some dark secrets that absolutely disqualify him for almost everything. See also: Donald Trump! And Joe Biden, too! Though one of these men is less bad than the others.
Such a plethora of goodstuff in this roundup.Though 'Supreme Court shittery' really spoke to me. Is that one t or two?
Roxane!! How many books have you co-written?! Collaborating with your insanely talented queer writer friends seems to be your Super Power ❤️ Rock on Sister ❣️