Literature
Books, writing, reviews, poetry, and storytelling.
Are We Living In a Simulation? And Other Questions Concerning Our Role in the Universe
In 1637, French philosopher René Descartes recorded a basic truth in his grandly entitled Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences: Je pense, donc je
Tom Drury on Writing from Flyover Country
In May of 2022 I was invited to speak at an international conference called Flyover Fictions. Hosted by the American Studies program at the University of Innsbruck, in the Austrian Alps, the conferenc
10 Books on the Birth of Modern New York
New York has never been shy about celebrating the people who built it. Their names are etched into buildings, attached to parks and libraries, and repeated in stories about how a small colonial port b
How the Author of Aladdin Got Erased From History
Hanna Diab, an eighteenth-century Syrian adventurer, dreamt up one of the world’s best-known stories, Aladdin or The Wonderful Lamp, from the facts of his own life. But Diab has been neglected and unc
Five Books About World War II for Young Readers
From a very early age, my son Dashiell was fascinated by World War II. I know exactly where this started, and it certainly helped that he comes from a lineage of history buffs. His great grandparents
No Such Thing as Monday
There’s nothing mysterious about my sister. She wasn’t hard to find. It’s just I’d never tried. All I had to do was look up where she works and catch a few buses over there. It turned out it was quite
Ten Lives by Mona Chalabi review – what if we were totally honest about our wealth?
The data journalist puts her own finances – and those of ten others from across the economic spectrum – under a microscope How much do you earn? If the question makes you bristle – and I realise we ha
‘We are dream-walking into a desperate situation’: the Booker prize winner on his sci-fi alien invasion wakeup call
He is a sci-fi titan but M John Harrison has just exploded into the mainstream – with The End of Everything, an apocalyptic novel set on the Kent coast. Does he really think we have no hope left? With
The brand new Stylus Prize will distribute $750,000 to three literary nonprofits.
Today, the Literary Arts Fund announced the inaugural winners of a new major literary prize: The Stylus Award, which recognizes nonprofits making essential contributions in the literary world. This aw
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is donating a flat to emerging writers.
Attention, skint artists of England! Phoebe Waller-Bridge—the Fleabag herself—is starting a side hustle: patron saint to creatives with rent woes. Specifically, Waller-Bridge will be lending a flat to
Lit Hub Daily: November 10, 2026
Eve Sneider on the genius of Janet Malcolm, who “was running circles around everyone else.” | Lit Hub Biography The revolution won’t be televised, but it might be telephoned. | Lit Hub History Jane Ci
How the Telephone Changed the World
A beige plastic telephone sits on a wooden table. The handset, attached by a coiled cord, rests in its cradle. The base has a clear dial with ten finger holes. The telephone is the most ordinary of ho
What is the Best Literary TV Adaptation of All Time? Day Two
After a big first day, just 32 of the boob tube’s finest fare are left in contention. A ton of you participated yesterday—thank you!—though a good chunk of you personally let me down. But more on that
The Enduring Genius of Janet Malcolm
By the time I learned who Janet Malcolm was, it turned out that I had been circling her for some time. What I mean is that I had known about her work—I had read some of her articles in college
My Electric Journey Out of Darkness: 10 Books on Electroconvulsive Therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy is often used as a last line of treatment against mood disorders. It works by sending short electrical shocks to the brain to induce a seizure. The approach was innovated in
Lit Hub Asks: 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers
The Lit Hub Author Questionnaire is a monthly interview featuring seven questions for five authors with new books. This month we talk to: Tahmima Anam (Uprising) Gabriel Bump (Don’t Stop Snowing) Siân
Jarvis Cocker on judging the Booker prize: ‘It’s just like being in a band’
The singer on how being in Pulp prepared him for judging a literary prize, reading 163 books while on tour, and feeling like the odd one out on the panel • M John Harrison becomes the first science fi
Why Do We Sing?
Why do people sing? Why is it so necessary that we would go to any length to do it, even in the face of repression? Linda Ronstadt suggests people do it for the same reasons the birds do: “They sing