Blue
by Gideon Leek
“I hate you I hate you I hate you.” That’s what Nora texts me. Today is her birthday. Two days earlier, I’d mailed her a letter. I don’t think she liked the letter. The letter was Plan A. Now it’s time for Plan B, which starts with a flight. Well, two flights.
In our weekend reading: remembering Annie Dillard, thoughts on Keith Rosson’s new novel, and more.
Mallory Smart is an author, editor, publisher, and podcaster. She has had a prolific year with multiple stories published and a chapbook, We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes, from Thirty West Publishing. Her newest horror story collection is Book of David from House of Vlad, out October 7, 2026. An authentic encapsulation of Midwest gothic, Book of David is certainly a haunting collection just in time for Halloween. I sent her a list of questions to learn more about David.
In our morning reading: an interview with Gonçalo M. Tavares, new writing from Amber Sparks, and more.
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Adele Bertei and China Miéville, a remembrance of Annie Dillard, and more.
There are many reasons to pick up Greg Tate’s recently-reissued Flyboy in the Buttermilk, beginning with the fact that it’s a triumphant, wide-ranging collection of nonfiction and cultural commentary. Add in the presence of introductions by both Questlove and Hanif Abdurraqib, each of whom does an excellent job of pointing out why Tate’s work mattered when at the time it was written and continues to matter, and you have the makings of a classic returning to print.
In our morning reading: thoughts on Deb Olin Unferth’s new book, cryptids in fiction, and more.
Eighteen: Twenty-two
by David Tuchman
“This is my punishment,” Moshe decides as Yoni’s minivan flips over the median on the Harlem River Drive and smashes upside-down into the asphalt, sending bits of shattered windshield skittering across the Amsterdam Avenue exit. “This is what I get for daring to speak.”