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Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi

skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 2h

How to be an informed, pro-library, anti-book ban voter in upcoming fall elections (if you have them) and well into the future.

Don't just celebrate banned books. Don't just read banned books. VOTE to support the democratic institutions creating access to them.

bookriot.com/library-elec...

Be an Informed Pro-Library, Pro-Literary Voter Now: Book Censorship News, October 10, 2025

Elections in several states will be coming up throughout the months of October and November. Here's how to be a pro-library voter.

bookriot.com

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Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi

Dev Petty @devpetty.bsky.social · 15h

🧵

It would be my grandmother's birthday today so I'd like to tell you a bit about her since it seems relevant right now.

I can tell you this...she would have hated Elon, AI, Tech bros etc.

Here are some bits from her 2007 NY Times Obit:

Ida R. Hoos Is Dead at 94; a Critic of Systems Analysis

A black and white image of a woman in her 80s with large glasses and a rye smile, seated and leaning on the arm of a chair.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 15h

Anyway. Let me know if you want my opinion on which school board candidates to vote for in Montgomery, NJ. (Or my opinion on anything else, really. Always glad to tell you what I think you should do.) I know we're all frustrated w national politics/politicians--but local elections still matter a LOT

Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 15h

Soft censorship not only prevents those existing books from getting into the hands of readers, it also prevents new books from underrepresented writers from being published at all. This isn't about celebrating 1984 and THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 15h

Soft censorship--in which overworked teachers and librarians don't order books they anticipate as likely to be challenged (which are predominantly books by LGBTQ+ authors and writers of color)--is an enormous problem these days.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 15h

(quotes above are from an incumbent school board candidate in my district)

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 15h

Yes, this matters even in states like mine where there's a statewide Freedom to Read Act or similar. School board members who insist on "oversight" of what books educators put in school/class libraries & who champion "parental rights to protect their children's innocence" can still do serious damage

Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 20h

How to celebrate Banned Books Week: Read up on your local candidates for school board (and learn how to read between the lines--scarier candidates in my district basically speak in code); vote for the ones who will protect the freedom to read; encourage your friends & neighbors to do the same.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 20h

Yes, this matters even in states like mine where there's a statewide Freedom to Read Act or similar. School board members insisting on "oversight" of what books are in school & classroom libraries and pushing for "parental rights to protect their children's innocence" can still do serious damage

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 20h

How to celebrate Banned Books Week: Read up on your local candidates for school board (and learn how to read between the lines--scarier candidates in my district basically speak in code); vote for the ones who will protect the freedom to read; encourage your friends & neighbors to do the same.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 3d

I'm excited to wake up even earlier tomorrow to catch another sunrise and return to Ocean City for writing workshops with three groups of 7th graders. Visiting schools and getting the students excited about reading & writing is truly one of the greatest joys of author life ♥️

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 3d

After performing dramatic reading of a spooky story told only through text msgs ("You're It" from my collection HIDE AND DON'T SEEK: AND OTHER VERY SCARY STORIES), the 5th graders wrote stories of their own told only through texts or dialogue (students' choice). They came up with some great stuff!

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 3d

The second group of 5th graders invented a tale about an afeared bunny named Snowball, who, alas, was correct to be concerned about that strange noise--and those glowing eyes--in the bushes at night.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 3d

Saw a beautiful sunrise over misty fields on my drive to Ocean City, NJ, this morning & spent an excellent day leading writing workshops with creative 5th graders. In our warmup exercise, the 1st group invented a story about a pigeon who dresses up as a football player to try to score a pizza slice

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 4d

This week I get to wake up verrrrrrrry early to lead two full days of writing workshops with 5th and 7th graders in Ocean City, NJ (one of my favorite things to do). I'll be setting two alarms, since the night before an author visit, I get so excited about going to school, it's hard to fall asleep ♥️

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 9d

HIDE AND DON'T SEEK: AND OTHER VERY SCARY STORIES is "a strong choice for both horror fiends and those just wanting to dip their toes into scarier waters” (Booklist)—perfect for readers ages 8 to 888.

(Please don’t share it with any 889-year-olds. I shudder to think what might happen.)

Hardcover of Hide and Don't Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories by Anica Mrose Rissi, with illustrations by Carolina Godina, on a (spooky?) pile of sticks.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 9d

HIDE AND DON’T SEEK: AND OTHER VERY SCARY STORIES is a collection of 20 original spooky tales—some as silly as they are scary, some that will send a tingle up your spine, and a few that may make you want to hide under the covers and not come back out—with gorgeous illustrations by Carolina Godina.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 9d

It's getting ~spooky~ out there, so just a reminder that this book exists. 👻🖤 It has "all the makings of a modern classic...like Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" (SLJ, starred review) and is "certain to be a gateway drug to @stephenking.bsky.social" (Portland Press Herald).

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 13d

"This attention to the world is worth trying to preserve: The act of care that makes meaning — or insight — possible.”

All three quotes are from Meghan O'Rourke's July 20 NYTimes piece, "My Summer of Reckoning with ChatGPT." If you'd like to read the whole thing, here's a gift link.

Opinion | I Teach Creative Writing. This Is What A.I. Is Doing to Students.

www.nytimes.com

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 13d

O'Rourke goes on: “When I write, the process is full of risk, error and painstaking self-correction. It arrives somewhere surprising only when I’ve stayed in uncertainty long enough to find out what I had initially failed to understand."

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 13d

Thinking today about creative thrills, discomforts, and community, and what Meghan O’Rourke calls “that strange, astonishing current of attention in which one person’s thought leads to another, creatively multiplying. This sheer human pleasure in inventiveness.”

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 14d

The group chat is giggling over "(in Pan's palm)"

Thanks, @pwkidsbookshelf.bsky.social, for spreading the word about The Eavesdrop! Here's the link to our first issue: www.thisistheeavesdrop.com/issue-1-begi...

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 16d

53 minutes before the rapture is the *perfect* time to read a conversation among five multi-published authors (Anna-Marie McLemore, @exrpan.bsky.social, @ryansara.bsky.social, @novarensuma.bsky.social, and me) about their varied approaches to the craft and process of beginning a new novel

Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 17d

Happy fall! The first issue of The Eavesdrop is now live. 🌱 This season, we're talking about Beginnings--everything from fears & joys to momentum & logistics. We discuss the hows and whys of writing, including: How do you know for sure that the beginning of a novel is right? Or right enough for now?

Issue 1: Beginnings

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

www.thisistheeavesdrop.com

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks to everyone who already signed up for The Eavesdrop! We'll pick our giveaway winner at the end of October, so if you hit subscribe now (free!) you can still be entered to win a signed bk from each of us. We'll only step into your inbox once a season. www.thisistheeavesdrop.com/issue-1-begi...

Beginnings: an Eavesdrop conversation.
Book stack showing Anna-Marie McLemore's Flawless Girls, Anica Mrose Rissi's Wishing Season, Emily X.R. Pan's An Arrow to the Moon, Nova Ren Suma's Wake the Wild Creatures, and Sara Ryan's Mountain Upside Down.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 17d

Happy fall! The first issue of The Eavesdrop is now live. 🌱 This season, we're talking about Beginnings--everything from fears & joys to momentum & logistics. We discuss the hows and whys of writing, including: How do you know for sure that the beginning of a novel is right? Or right enough for now?

Issue 1: Beginnings

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

www.thisistheeavesdrop.com

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Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi

Anil Dash @anildash.com · 18d

u know what 2 do.

Prince is resplendent in front of a massive wall of autumn leaves.

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