The Audacious Round Up
For the week of March 28th
Greetings from Paris where, in about twelve hours, my baby brother is getting married. Again. LOL. Just jokes, Michael. Just jokes.
I am raising money for Hope for Haiti, a wonderful non-profit I work with. My dad is the vice-president of the board and helps them build schools and hospitals and other kinds of infrastructure in Haiti. I could not be prouder of how he chooses to spend his time and energy. If you would like to contribute to our annual fundraising drive, the Hike for Haiti Challenge, you can do so online.
The April selection for The Audacious Book Club is Ancestor Trouble by Maud Newton. We will be in conversation with Maud on April 27th at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. Registration is open.
Tressie, Debbie Millman and I are hosting a writing workshop retreat in July 2022. You can also register for this if you want to spend a weekend with us. We hope to see you there! It will be fun and more.
Roxane Gay Books is closed to unagented submissions until 6/15/2022. I’ve found, I think, my first few books! I am open to agented submissions so please send me great books! I am also open, again, for submissions to The Audacity’s Emerging Writer Series. Read the guidelines and submit your best writing. Submissions will be open until I have 24 essays.
Don’t Forget: Why Design Matters by Debbie Millman.
I participated in a roundtable discussion about the Oscars incident with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Charles M. Blow and Esau McCaulley.
And I wrote a defense of thin skin.
A new graphic essay from Aubrey Hirsch about who is being protected and who isn’t by the absolutely terrible attempts to legislate trans people out of existence.
The first Roxane Gay Books have been announced—And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, Lush Lives by J.V. Lyon, and Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter.
On The Roxane Gay Agenda this week, I speak with visual artist Barbara Kruger, which was a real honor. She is one of my favorites.
The Oscars happened and they were… eventful. There were also some winners. Producer Will Packer talks about what happened behind the scenes. Will Smith apologized and has resigned from the Academy and I do think we need to have a conversation about scale and proportion. There are and should be consequences for bad behavior but what is appropriate? A lot of people have made what happened about them. Also, let’s not pretend Will Smith introduced bad behavior at the Oscars. Let. Us. Not. A lot of humor rose out of The Incident. The last thing I will say is that I cannot believe how long this conversation has lasted. Joel D. Anderson cautions us not to take The Incident too seriously and he is right.
David Dennis Jr. on how underrepresented comedians have long dealt with the threat of violence.
A gorgeous poem by Amanda Gunn, a writer one of my students, Ariella, introduced me to.
The brilliance of the one, the only Charo.
A review of Why Design Matters in Forbes.
There was a basketball game and the dark side lost.
This story about a woman with an abusive mother from whom she is estranged, has been bullied by the university she attended is outrageous on so many levels. Get into it.
There is a new tv show about Julia Child on HBO Max and I cannot wait to watch.
Some really twisted people in this world. This story is unbelievable. Really so many stories are unbelievable. And yet.
Mo’nique and Lee Daniels have mended their rift and I hope she gets all the work. She is a talented actress.
Angelea Preston talks about what happened when she won America’s Next Top Model, and then they took the title away.
About all those straight-to-video action movies.
Meg Elison takes on Stephen King and his problem with fat people.
Brandon Taylor interviews Percival Everett.
Unreasonable student loan debt burdens ruin lives.
Rich people doing rich people bullshit.
Not even sure what to say about this TikTok drama involving a young man and older women who love him and how a fandom has gone toxic.
A sentence I never thought I would write—Lizzo has created a shapewear line.
Sheila Bridges’s Harlem Toile de Jouy is THRIVING. We have a few things made of this toile and it is just wonderful.
On humiliation.
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they have keyboards.
A review of the Audacious Book Club April selection, Ancestor Trouble by Maud Newton.
A conversation with Quinta Brunson.
Disney finally decides to do the right thing about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
I am going to spend the rest of the day doing a Charo deep dive. She is fantastic!
Hello! Is there a link to the recording of Roxane's conversation with Sequoia Nagamatsu about How High We Go in the Dark?