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rebeccamakkai.bsky.social
Pulitzer finalist for THE GREAT BELIEVERS; new novel, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU, out now. Artistic Director at StoryStudio Chicago. Trying to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You should, too. rebeccamakkai.substack.com https://rebeccamakkai.com
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I had not even considered that a costume like this would give me permission to throw apples at the crowd all night...

Working on a novel but feeling stuck? Hoping to start but not sure where? Take Pedro Ponce’s @storystudiochicago.bsky.social class. Explore foundational elements of novel-writing & actively apply these elements on the page… First class is May 21 on Zoom! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

Oh woooop registration is now open for this event with Carmen Maria Machado and @meganstielstra.bsky.social -- I'm guessing in-person tickets will again sell out very fast, so probably don't wait. It's online too, though!

The cover of this week’s Economist.

Should this be my costume for hosting @storystudiochicago.bsky.social's annual fundraiser party? Please vote. Yes No Hell no Hell yes

@storystudiochicago.bsky.social’s May genre series features three awesome historical fiction writers (Amanda Churchill, Dawn Tripp, and Jamila Mennicks, moderated by Diego Báez) and you can tune in to the panel for FREE. Sign up below! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

I think we should call measles the Trump Pox.

ONE WEEK TIL STORYBOARD APPS ARE DUE! Did you hear that? That’s me screaming all the way from Chicago to remind you what an incredible workshop experience you’d have with some incredible instructors and community here in Chicago (or online!) if you sit down and get your act together and apply.

Just putting this here so you can accuse your right-wing acquaintances of committing sodomy:

Wave a wand over your fiction… Learn to translate experiences of extreme emotion into moments of magic in Hajrije Kolimja’s @storystudiochicago.bsky.social class. Four classes, starts May 7, Zoom! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

Madison, Wisconsin friends! I’m thrilled to be in conversation with @abrahamverghese.bsky.social about his new novel, THE COVENANT OF WATER at the Madison Public Library. This is a ticketed event–details below. www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/events/lunch...

Lovely to see @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social’s guide to literary Chicago in print. It was posted online months ago, but is in today’s NYT Book Review. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/b...

Learn to write funny stuff about your life in @elissabassist.bsky.social's @storystudiochicago.bsky.social class, no matter how unfunny your life your life may feel sometimes… One class, Zoom, May 1! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

When something big happens and you’ve just got to tell the story, but aren’t exactly sure how, @ellenblumbarish.bsky.social's @storystudiochicago.bsky.social class is for you. One class, April 29, Zoom! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

when we said launch the rich people into space that's not what we meant

There are kids who will never pick up a dead bear carcass and load it into their car but then forget about the bear carcass because they went to a fancy steakhouse but then remember about the bear carcass and finally dump the bear carcass in Central Park

If you are okay with this, with any of this, please do something for your future self: Please write down, privately, the thing that would officially be Too Much for you. 🧵

Black Americans make up 13% of the population. But as federal government employees, Black employees are: 20% of the Dept. of Health & Human Services 24% of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs 26% of postal workers, 30% of the Dept. of Education That's the "swamp" Trump is draining.

Super excited to be in conversation with (locally born and raised!) Jennifer E. Smith to discuss her latest novel: FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY next Tuesday, April 22 at 6pm! Join us at Lake Forest Bookstore, and RSVP below… I hope to see you there! www.lakeforestbookstore.com/event/store-...

Reimagine revision in Alejandro Nodarse’s @storystudiochicago.bsky.social class. Six classes start April 21; you’ll discuss revision as a process of both critical self-evaluation and a possibility for discovery… Join on Zoom! www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

StoryBall—@storystudiochicago.bsky.social's annual fundraiser—is less than a month away, and this year’s theme is THE EMERALD CITY (Did you know Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum wrote the book while living in Chicago? And the book turns 125 just a week after StoryBall!)

To celebrate having 20,000 subscribers on Subst*ck, I made a Zillow post. Because we all deserve one.

This is always SO FUN. It's not a party unless you put a weird gameshow in the middle of it!

This seems right, and all of this is WRONG.

We're so excited for all our authors on this Kirkus Reviews list! Congrats to Julian Barnes, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Díaz, @minjinlee.bsky.social, Valeria Luiselli, @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social, Donna Tartt, Ocean Vuong, and @colsonwhitehead.com 🤩🍾🥂 www.kirkusreviews.com/fiction/best...

We fulfilled a longtime dream at @storystudiochicago.bsky.social this year and combined our StoryBoard Conference & our annual Writers Festival… and this is a program you won’t want to miss. Here’s how it works:

My Facebook memories are DELIVERING today so I'm going to share them with you. A thread: 1) This is, uh, not a photo of me. It's from a bizarre 1920s book from a nudist colony/cult leader. He believed nudism would help you tell which women were most fertile. 🙄