The Audacious Roundup

For the Week of March 15th

Mar 19, 2021

(Yes, this was accidentally sent out on Wednesday. Oops. Let’s try this again, shall we?)

WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn now has an Audacious Book Club page up! They are an awesome store (I’ve yet to know an independent bookstore that wasn’t awesome), so throw them some business if you’re looking to purchase a book or three.

A short story I wrote is on a billboard in NYC, across from Penn Station. Definitely something I never thought I would see. You can read Graceful Burdens, and writing from other interesting women over at Amazon, which published this story.

That said, here is a piece about an independent bookstore owner trying to push back against Amazon’s domination. For writers, it’s complicated. It really is.

We have less than a week until our next Audacious Book Club chat. Don’t forget to register.

The hate crime/domestic terrorism that took place in Georgia this week, I don’t even have the words for it though I did write something. But here are some things we can do to support the Asian American community. Here are some other resources. Please do share writers and thinkers we should be listening to, and other useful information in the comments.

The online harassment of women has always been out of control but I guess now a few people are paying attention. It’s not a lot of fun when you are swarmed by bigoted haters who cannot stand how you use your voice.

Hollaback is hosting bystander intervention training if you want guidance on how to say something when you see something.

Are you reading anything good? I finished The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. this week and it is magnificent.

I also watched The Sound of Metal, which was truly excellent. Well worth your time, streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Saeed Jones has written a lovely vignette about sharing physical space with our friends once more, or at least, the idea of it.

The Oscar nominations were pleasantly diverse this year!

If you’re a writer who wants to do some investigative journalism for a local publication, this grant might be for you. Deadline is 3/23.

This Sharon Osbourne mess. EYES WIDE OPEN EMOJI.

Yo Yo Ma gave an impromptu cello concert while he waited after receiving his vaccine. I love these little moments of unexpected kindness and beauty. Sometimes, they seem so rare.

Kelly Dawson is in conversation with Rebekah about motherhood and disability, over at Cup of Jo.

A profile of Elliot Page.

This essay about a woman and an aggressive dog, is really affecting and beautifully written. The last line, the whole thing really, has stayed with me.

This Atlantic piece about incarcerated artists was really interesting. Ingenuity is absolutely everywhere. And so is creativity. Also, a short story from the immensely talented Paul Yoon.

I miss liner notes so I enjoyed this piece about women who write liner notes.

I often want to talk to our puppy Maximus Toretto Blueberry, to figure out what he is thinking. Here’s an essay about talking to animals, sort of.