The Audacious Roundup

For the week of August 28th

Our September book club selection is Witness by Jamel Brinkley. We will be in conversation with Jamel on September 22nd at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. Registration is open. If you missed our conversations with John Milas or Sarah Rose Etter, they are up on YouTube now.

If you’re looking for a nice notebook, check out my Draft Writing Journal from Baron Fig. It’s pretty swank if I do say so myself. To accompany my Draft Writing Journal, there is now a pen! It’s beautiful and satisfying to hold. And if you’re looking for some writing instruction, you might want to check out my Masterclass. Debbie Millman’s Remarkable Life Deck is a useful tool for taking stock and looking forward.

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Debbie and I are taking her incredible podcast, Design Matters, on the road. We will be co-hosting live episodes in Brooklyn (September 18th), Boston (September 19th), Washington D.C. (September 20th) and Philadelphia (September 21st). You can BUY TICKETS HERE! And even if you can’t make it, it would be a huge help if you could spread the good word to your friends and frenemies in those cities! Guests will be announced in the coming days but as a teaser, in D.C., we will be in conversation with the one and only Kara Swisher!

Most people in the literary community are wonderful but there are scammers among us. It’s important to remember that you should do your due diligence when working with an editor-for-hire (which you probably DO NOT need). Ask them how they work and communicate. Speak with their former clients. Ask them to do a paid editorial sample so you’re clear on their editorial and feedback styles. Also, people that may seem powerful in the literary community still do not have the power to blackball you or otherwise thwart your success. This isn’t the mafia. And if you feel like you’re being taken advantage of, reach out to someone with more experience to serve as a sounding board. I, for one, would be happy to offer counsel in such a circumstance.

A fall reading preview that includes my forthcoming book, Opinions! And speaking of fall reading, Hot Springs Drive is out on November 7th, and has starred reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal.

In shocking news, Truth Social is having financial problems.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance is an incredible concert. Blue Ivy is charming as hell. The entire audience understood the assignment to wear shiny silver things. Many celebrities were in attendance. And never forget this greatness from OTRII.

Joe Jonas has his publicist working overtime, releasing the news on a holiday weekend that a divorce from Sophie Turner is impending and, poor Joe, he is being forced to parent, which is what parents are supposed to do. What an asshole.

Movie studios fumbled yet another bag when they lowballed Taylor Swift who decided to produce and distribute her Eras concert film on her own.

Speaking of, it’s time for the studios to end this interminable strike. We want to get back to work and we want to be compensated fairly for our work. Happy Labor Day! (Also, their attempt at damage control PR is… just sad.)

Some members of the DGA are being real shady. Haters gonna hate.

Here is an epic saga about a girl and a boy and a one night stand and some stolen hoof shoes that are, apparently, in fashion.

Burning Man is happening but it rained a lot and now the place is mired in mud and no vehicles can get in or out so 70,000 people are trapped there. Now, Burning Man was already my idea of a nightmare but, turns out, nightmares can get even worse.

RIP to Jimmy Buffett, mayor of Maragaritaville, chill fashion icon. His fans are paying homage.

Goodreads is hiring a social media manager.

Zendaya celebrated a birthday. What a delightful young woman.

In Ohio, a police officer killed 21-year old Ta’Kiya Young in a Kroger parking lot. She was pregnant. May her memory be a blessing and may her family receive justice.

Did you know there are only 32 public defenders in all of Mississippi?

Has dog culture gone too far?

A profile of the talented Myriam Gurba. And an interview with Gurba in Vogue.

Oh dear. Some tennis players at the U.S. Open are smelling weed. Coco Gauff had to advocate for herself when the umpire wasn’t doing her job properly. Meanwhile, Coco is evolving into quite the young woman and player.

Simone Biles, a champion again.

A review of Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things starring Emma Stone.

Vultures are making unsolicited sales offers in Maui but they likely won’t get away with it!

In creepy news, NYPD plans on using drones to police backyard parties this holiday weekend. Fuck that.

The woman who holds the world record for the longest mullet. It’s a thing of beauty.

Lake Lanier continues to Lake Lanier.

Mitch McConnell had another weird episode that suggests something is really wrong with him. Evil ass man.

Proud Boys are being sentenced for their actions on January 6th.

In Gabon, a military coup.

At UNC, a campus shooter killed a faculty member and is now in custody. During the crisis, student journalists continued to report on what was happening. The front page of the school paper the following day was… deeply affecting.

There was a mass shooting in Jacksonville, by a white supremacist hell bent on harming Black people. Three people died. Pudding lover DeSantis tried to act contrite but literally no one believes he cares about anything but himself. The side-eye he received at a press conference was epic.

In Nebraska, a world record for the most attendees at a women’s sporting event. Go Huskers!

Sometimes, you just need a break from making decisions.

An excerpt from a forthcoming biography of Elon Musk. Asshole.

Cord Jefferson has adapted Percival Everett’s Erasure into a film. I cannot wait to see it. Erasure is a great novel.

Narcan will soon be available over the counter. Finally. And in California, paying drug users to stay sober.

The Tennessee GOP continues to be racist.

Pope Francis has had enough of American conservatives which is… quite something when you consider the source.

HBO’s The Idol which was not good, has been cancelled after one season.

Even in Antarctica, women can’t get away from sexual violence and harassment.

Over in Spain, Luis Rubiales remains defiant even though he kissed a player without her consent. His mom is on a hunger strike because she feels her son is being persecuted. That kind of… explains a lot.

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard. NBD.

R.O. Kwon on things to do in Seoul.

Author John Scalzi reflects on twenty years of attending sci-fi conventions.

A trial date has been set for one of Trump’s many criminal cases—March 4th.

The fanfic to romance pipeline is strong!

People who worked at this taser company got tased! For like, fun? I don’t even know…

In praise of a decent shopping experience. And the soundtrack of CVS.

An incarcerated man writes about how listening to Taylor Swift allows him to feel like a part of the world.

A heartbreaking essay from a father who lost his daughter far too young.