Writers With Drinks

06/18/2024

I love hearing authors read their own work. Author readings are the lifeblood of book culture -- i miss bookstore readings and spoken word events. So in my latest newsletter I offer some tips to help authors do a better job with reading out loud 📚🎤🤩

One thing that bums me out is my sense that people don't seem to want to listen to authors reading their work in public as much as they used to. (This is a...

06/07/2024

Super grateful to Jami Attenberg for featuring me in today's installment of , a daily newsletter with inspirational/noodly writing thoughts.

Wherein I confess to being one of those people who talk to themselves too much

On the quirks of our process.

06/05/2024

Hey did you know I have a newsletter? I DO! It comes out once a week, it's free, and it's my most provocative thoughts on pop culture, SFF, q***r stuff, or my own life experience. Topics have included , writing, internalized transphobia, and the truth about "cancel culture". I would consider it a personal kindness if you would subscribe!

We're dancing because we're happy. Or we're dancing in order to become happy. Or we're happy that we can dance. One of those.

05/28/2024

"There's no way that you can talk back to a gun. The gun doesn't have an opinion, it's just trying to hurt you."

In my latest newsletter I talk to Annalee Newitz about their new book, STORIES ARE WEAPONS, and how to protect ourselves about psychological warfare. This is such a necessary conversation right now!

For the past few years, my partner Annalee Newitz has been learning all about the history and theory of psychological warfare. The result is a stunning book,...

05/24/2024

I was utterly heartbroken when Folio Books closed. It was a wonderful store that foregrounded SFF and romance, and punched way above its weight class. Irreplaceable. Or so I thought!

Now some of the former owners are starting over in the same space. Please support them if you can!

Former Folio Books owner and staff need your support to open … Katerina Argyres needs your support for Save An Independent Bookstore in Noe Valley, San Francisco

05/15/2024

Lately I've noticed a LOT of science fiction books that take place in a post-climate change future where a lucky few live in luxury and everyone else lives in the dirt. I've also noticed a lot of fantasy novels that lean into cozy sweetness. Five new books illustrate this perfectly!

My latest book review column in the Washington Post (gift link):

Dystopia or delight? These stories from Victor Manibo, Peter S. Beagle and others let you take your pick.

05/13/2024

King Lear had a happy ending. The Tempest's Caliban got a Lady Caliban. Romeo was sometimes a girl. From the 1660s until the early 19th century, performances of Shakespeare's plays took a *lot* of liberties... and this helped make Shakespeare the icon he is today.

My latest newsletter:

First, some quick announcements: The latest episode of Our Opinions Are Correct is about America’s proud tradition of psychological warfare. Promises...

05/10/2024

So incredibly honored and thrilled that PROMISES STRONGER THAN DARKNESS is a finalist for the 2024 Locus Award for best young adult novel. This whole ballot is utterly incredible.

All three books in the Unstoppable trilogy are officially Lodestar *and* Locus Awards nominees! 🚀✨

05/05/2024

Hey, I have a newsletter! It goes out every week, and it's free! Please subscribe!

Check out my archives, including recent pieces about:

🚀 Star Trek and Star Wars
🚀 internalized transphobia
🚀 bias against the unhoused
🚀 why god hates figs
🚀 writing and creativity

We're dancing because we're happy. Or we're dancing in order to become happy. Or we're happy that we can dance. One of those.

05/01/2024

Please pardon this terrible flier that I made in two minutes! The TRANS NERD MEET UP is this coming Saturday at from 12:30 until whenever. It's a super chill time for anyone who identifies as trans/nb/gnc and likes to geek out about whatever. We don't gatekeep!

04/24/2024

Rejoice! April is a *banner month* for science fiction and fantasy. I loved all four of these books about winged cyborgs, shapeshifting monsters, and people fighting for liberation in space. My latest SFF book review column is up at the Washington Post 👀📚🚀

Gift link:

This month’s sci-fi and fantasy novels from Elaine U. Cho, John Wiswell and others will take you to strange worlds.

04/22/2024

Just a heads up: voting for the Hugo Awards is now open!

We've decided to make all three books in the Unstoppable trilogy available in the Hugo voters packet. So if you haven't gotten to these books yet, and you want to read about q***r joy, space battles, defeating fascism, and serious debates about the ethics of violence, then now is your chance!!!

04/16/2024

For years, I watched *every* terrible comedy where a boy becomes a girl, or vice versa. Now, I give quick "reviews" of all of them.

I watched these mostly godawful "fish out of gender" movies so you don't have to!

I used to have an obsession with films where the main character changes gender, for reasons which might be kinda obvious. There's a huge and somewhat bizarre...

04/05/2024

Amazing news! The wonderful San Francisco bookstore Green Apple Books has created a special landing page for you to order signed and personalized (and doodled!) copies of my books. You can pre-order the paperback of PROMISES STRONGER THAN DARKNESS, which comes out in four days, and I'll draw a cat doing whatever you want!

If you would like any of these titles personalized** please indicate in the order comment! **Please note, any personalizations will add about a week to the processing time.

03/31/2024

FLASH SALE! My writing advice book Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times By Making Up Stories is just $2.99 in all ebook formats (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc) for one day!

Your creativity can change the world — but it can also help protect you from the worst the world has to offer.

03/29/2024

So glad I can finally shout about this! My YA novel PROMISES STRONGER THAN DARKNESS is nominated for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, given at the Hugo Awards. This means all three books in the Unstoppable trilogy have been Lodestar nominees.

PROMISES comes out in paperback April 9! 🚀

03/27/2024

The wonderful X-Men podcast Graymalkin Lane just interviewed me about Escapade, the trans mutant hero I co-created for Marvel a while back. This was such a deep, thoughtful conversation.

It's on their Patreon page, but it's *free* to listen to for everybody!

Get more from Graymalkin Lane on Patreon

03/25/2024

I offer some advice on writing trans stories — and the final piece of advice is, "Be fu***ng fearless."

https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/writing-trans-stories-for-fun-and-liberation/

Happy and 💝 🏳️‍⚧️

The Trans Rights Readathon is going on right now. Roughly a thousand people are reading trans stories and celebrating trans narratives, while raising money...

03/20/2024

My latest newsletter is about the concept of prestige — as in, Prestige TV and fancy literary novels.

The same book can read VERY differently depending on what you know (or think you know) about its author........

I absolutely loved the novel Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace when I read it back in the day. I devoured it, forcing myself to read all of those bloody...

03/19/2024

My latest SFF book review column is out in the .com featuring three science fiction books where love really IS a battlefield.

Paywall-free link: https://wapo.st/3PrFSGL

New novels by Natasha Pulley, Sierra Greer and James Goodhand tell heartbreakingly complex stories about romance and its discontents.

03/13/2024

I used to love Captain Kirk on , until the worst possible thing happened: I got a job.

I had a string of abusive bosses, and I started to notice something about Kirk's management style...

My latest newsletter:

I used to look up to Captain Kirk, Star Trek's fearless leader, when I was a kid. When I was seven or eight, I had a homemade Starfleet captain shirt, which...

03/04/2024

Hiiii just a heads up that the TPB collection of Hawkgirl by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan is *now available* for preorder from your local comic shop. (It's been on Amazon/Bookshop for ages, but now it's in Previews and comics retailers can order.)

Get some Hawkin great comics!

03/01/2024

Just saw that Locus Magazine named PROMISES STRONGER THAN DARKNESS their "top pick" among young adult novels from 2023. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

02/27/2024

"You'd never know that we're living in a golden age of TV comedy right now."

In my latest newsletter, I write about Extraordinary, the funniest TV show you're probably not watching.

(Because unfunny "comedies" are getting all the attention.)

https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/the-funniest-tv-show-youre-probably-not-watching/

02/21/2024

Every month I try to review books that I
A) enjoyed
B) want to geek out about
in my Washington Post SFF review column.

But please believe me when I say that all five books I review this month are *extraordinary*. I felt so lucky to be able to review them.

Paywall-free link:

New books from Yangsze Choo, Rae Giana Rashad and others explore how clever underdogs manage to endure and heal.

02/20/2024

Bonnie Raitt's career ended back in 1986.

And yet, somehow she's still making music, topping the charts and winning Grammys. There's a lesson for creative people here! My latest newsletter....

Bonnie Raitt's career ended back in 1986. For a long time record company Warner Brothers, had sat on her album Nine Lives for a few years, refusing to...

02/19/2024

Just a reminder: the special all-ages gamer version of TRANS NERD MEET UP is this Sunday. The Eventbrite is technically "sold out" but you do not need a ticket. No need to RSVP. Just show up! Eventbrite does not need to know if you're coming!

Come play some games and celebrate trans community!

02/13/2024

Lately there's been a lot of talk about the problems building a "personal brand" on social media. How do you promote yourself online without burning out?

I offer a few possibly helpful tips:

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about people, especially writers and other creative people, needing to have a "personal brand" on social media. This...

02/12/2024

"YouTuber" ought to be a title for a caricature artist who will draw your likeness as a potato.

02/12/2024

Both Batman and James Bond used to get *scared out of their wits*, and that was when they were actually cool. Heroes who get terrified ROCK.

I'm prepping my next newsletter, but I just wanted to reup last weeks in case you missed it:

No, seriously. I am going to fire up this hot take — and I might even convince you that I'm right. So I finally watched Puss in Boots: the Last Wish, because...