Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
@charliejane.bsky.social
Author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster (Tor Books, 2025), about a woman who teaches her mother how to do magic — and uncovers a queer scandal hidden in a 300 year old book.
SFF book critic @WashingtonPost.com. Co-host @ouropinions.bsky.social.
SFF book critic @WashingtonPost.com. Co-host @ouropinions.bsky.social.
Pinned
I'm so grateful for recent responses to Lessons in Magic and Disaster!!!
First, bookseller Rowan Julian with @novelneighbor.bsky.social in St Louis calls Lessons "a firecracker of a book" and "one of my favorites of 2025" in an utterly wonderful shelf-talker.
🧵
First, bookseller Rowan Julian with @novelneighbor.bsky.social in St Louis calls Lessons "a firecracker of a book" and "one of my favorites of 2025" in an utterly wonderful shelf-talker.
🧵
It's so good to be back on the West Coast.
By the time I wake up, all the serious people are halfway done with their workday. They can talk to each other and I'll blearily catch up after they've already made all the serious decisions together.
By the time I wake up, all the serious people are halfway done with their workday. They can talk to each other and I'll blearily catch up after they've already made all the serious decisions together.
November 24, 2025 at 8:31 PM
It's so good to be back on the West Coast.
By the time I wake up, all the serious people are halfway done with their workday. They can talk to each other and I'll blearily catch up after they've already made all the serious decisions together.
By the time I wake up, all the serious people are halfway done with their workday. They can talk to each other and I'll blearily catch up after they've already made all the serious decisions together.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
AMAZING lineup for the in-person SF launch of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the speculative fiction anthology about activism co-edited by @annaleen.bsky.social @drkarenlord.bsky.social and yours truly!
Join EFF at The Booksmith on Dec 2 at 7 PM in San Francisco to celebrate We Will Rise Again, a new collection of speculative stories exploring progressive social change from writers around the world. www.eff.org/event/we-wi...
We Will Rise Again at The Booksmith
The Booksmith is proud to be celebrating the release of We Will Rise Again with Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Reo Eveleth, Cindy Cohn, Andrea Dehlendorf, and Vida James.When:Tuesday, December
www.eff.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
AMAZING lineup for the in-person SF launch of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the speculative fiction anthology about activism co-edited by @annaleen.bsky.social @drkarenlord.bsky.social and yours truly!
"Who Moved My Cheese" is a book about people who tell their saddest stories to a wheel of cheddar, to find out who can provoke the most overwhelming emotional reaction
November 24, 2025 at 7:08 PM
"Who Moved My Cheese" is a book about people who tell their saddest stories to a wheel of cheddar, to find out who can provoke the most overwhelming emotional reaction
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
This part. Teachers are so undervalued and underpaid and loudly told both "you're essential" and also "you suck and if you say a word out of line, you might get fired and/or be targeted for harassment by the most powerful people in the country"
And of course we get the brain-dead political analysis. The biggest crisis of public education (and the greatest threat to kids with mental illness) is the Republican Party's funding cuts. But guess who gets blamed in the conclusion of the article?
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This part. Teachers are so undervalued and underpaid and loudly told both "you're essential" and also "you suck and if you say a word out of line, you might get fired and/or be targeted for harassment by the most powerful people in the country"
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
I've been thinking about how many journalists of color I know have gone through multiple layoffs and are tired of the instability on top of the stagnant pay, increasing workload, demand for more skills, threat of AI, and constant complaints about paywalls. It's hard to have kids or make plans.
November 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
I've been thinking about how many journalists of color I know have gone through multiple layoffs and are tired of the instability on top of the stagnant pay, increasing workload, demand for more skills, threat of AI, and constant complaints about paywalls. It's hard to have kids or make plans.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
really is incredible how often "men are having a problem, let's fix it using someone else's entire life" comes up. does the institute for family studies understand that children are whole complete human beings whose existence cannot be used as a coping mechanism for their fathers' anxieties? (no)
November 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
really is incredible how often "men are having a problem, let's fix it using someone else's entire life" comes up. does the institute for family studies understand that children are whole complete human beings whose existence cannot be used as a coping mechanism for their fathers' anxieties? (no)
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
It's clear now that what we really meant by "Recession" & "Suffering From Inflation" in 2022-24 was "folks liked the large income spike in 2020-21 & wanted more stimulus checks & welfare spending like what came with the ARP, perhaps permanently," but we are clearly not ready for <that> discussion.
August 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
It's clear now that what we really meant by "Recession" & "Suffering From Inflation" in 2022-24 was "folks liked the large income spike in 2020-21 & wanted more stimulus checks & welfare spending like what came with the ARP, perhaps permanently," but we are clearly not ready for <that> discussion.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
“Once, after the group bought out a tamale vendor’s cart, that man found them days later to say immigration agents were spotted on his block just hours after. ‘You saved my life,’ Rosales said the man told them.” apnews.com/article/chic...
Chicagoans buy out street vendors amid a federal immigration crackdown
Across Chicago’s Latino neighborhoods, fear of a federal immigration crackdown has emptied the streets.
apnews.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:16 PM
“Once, after the group bought out a tamale vendor’s cart, that man found them days later to say immigration agents were spotted on his block just hours after. ‘You saved my life,’ Rosales said the man told them.” apnews.com/article/chic...
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
Yep, one of the biggest drivers of the elite panic around “wokeness” was the increasing prominence of Black people and particularly Black women in their fields and we’re seeing that coalition rewarded with the targeting of Black workers.
Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.
The exit economy is here. Black Women are paying the highest price | Fortune
This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. And it's not a recovery, it's a redistribution of opportunity.
fortune.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Yep, one of the biggest drivers of the elite panic around “wokeness” was the increasing prominence of Black people and particularly Black women in their fields and we’re seeing that coalition rewarded with the targeting of Black workers.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
A reminder that I'm raising $4k to support @scarleteen.com's staff and volunteer health fund to ensure that sex educators doing some of the BEST sex ed around are able to access health care. In an era of misinfo where most kids don't even get the most basic in school, Scarleteen is critical.
Scarleteen Staff and Volunteer Healthcare Fund
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www.classy.org
November 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
A reminder that I'm raising $4k to support @scarleteen.com's staff and volunteer health fund to ensure that sex educators doing some of the BEST sex ed around are able to access health care. In an era of misinfo where most kids don't even get the most basic in school, Scarleteen is critical.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
"The real power of imagination is that it helps us envision something better than raw power."
This is a really good read. Every third line feels quotable, and I felt better after reading it.
This is a really good read. Every third line feels quotable, and I felt better after reading it.
So I was invited to accept an award for "imagination in service to society." This forced me to think a bit about what "imagination," "service" and "society" mean to me.
Here's the speech I delivered last night:
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
Here's the speech I delivered last night:
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
"The Enemy of Imagination": Here's the Speech I Gave Last Night
I had such an incredible day yesterday, y’all. First I was at the Trans Day of Literature at George Mason University, talking with incredible authors...
buttondown.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:54 PM
"The real power of imagination is that it helps us envision something better than raw power."
This is a really good read. Every third line feels quotable, and I felt better after reading it.
This is a really good read. Every third line feels quotable, and I felt better after reading it.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
November 23, 2025 at 4:27 PM
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
It’s crazy to have SIX dedicated security lines at LaGuardia airport just for Clear & give them priority at the THREE general boarding lanes. This is a tax-payer funded airport that seems to be trying to force people to give their biometric info over to a private company or get squeezed & squeezed.
November 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
It’s crazy to have SIX dedicated security lines at LaGuardia airport just for Clear & give them priority at the THREE general boarding lanes. This is a tax-payer funded airport that seems to be trying to force people to give their biometric info over to a private company or get squeezed & squeezed.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
We need it. Not only are the classes full, but also concert halls, libraries - we've gone to a bunch of classical concerts this year as an antidote to despair and guess what - they are full. They were not as full before, but they are now.
"Humanities are shrinking" is artificially imposed top down.
"Humanities are shrinking" is artificially imposed top down.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
We need it. Not only are the classes full, but also concert halls, libraries - we've gone to a bunch of classical concerts this year as an antidote to despair and guess what - they are full. They were not as full before, but they are now.
"Humanities are shrinking" is artificially imposed top down.
"Humanities are shrinking" is artificially imposed top down.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
If you still have a Twitter account, today is a great day to delete it.
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
If you still have a Twitter account, today is a great day to delete it.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
Remember last year when we said we would drop The Tribune's paywall if we raised enough money to support the transition to free? About that… 😁
The Salt Lake Tribune will drop its paywall next year, CEO tells donors at NewsMakers gala
After years of requiring people to pay for online news content, The Tribune announced an upcoming change during its 2025 annual NewsMakers Gala.
www.sltrib.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Remember last year when we said we would drop The Tribune's paywall if we raised enough money to support the transition to free? About that… 😁
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
Better Off Ted was ahead of its time.
November 23, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Better Off Ted was ahead of its time.
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
wednesday Wednesday WEDNESDAY!
you’re gonna be like
you’re gonna be like
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
wednesday Wednesday WEDNESDAY!
you’re gonna be like
you’re gonna be like
I do not know where I would be without Doctor Who
When I started high school someone asked me if there was a mentor or role model who shaped me.
I babbled about the Doctor for like minutes.
The look on their face when they realized I was talking about a fictional character 🫨
When I started high school someone asked me if there was a mentor or role model who shaped me.
I babbled about the Doctor for like minutes.
The look on their face when they realized I was talking about a fictional character 🫨
November 23, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I do not know where I would be without Doctor Who
When I started high school someone asked me if there was a mentor or role model who shaped me.
I babbled about the Doctor for like minutes.
The look on their face when they realized I was talking about a fictional character 🫨
When I started high school someone asked me if there was a mentor or role model who shaped me.
I babbled about the Doctor for like minutes.
The look on their face when they realized I was talking about a fictional character 🫨
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
This is very good. Clear, calm, factual, and devastating for proponents of bans on puberty blockers for trans youth.
theconversation.com/puberty-bloc...
theconversation.com/puberty-bloc...
Puberty blockers: why politicians overriding doctors sets a dangerous precedent
The government’s ban on puberty blockers undermines clinical expertise and targets trans youth with a policy that lacks evidence, consistency and fairness.
theconversation.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:42 AM
This is very good. Clear, calm, factual, and devastating for proponents of bans on puberty blockers for trans youth.
theconversation.com/puberty-bloc...
theconversation.com/puberty-bloc...
Upon enrolling in Dogfarts, you must sit in the Selection Chair to determine what sort of butt you have.
If your butt be generous, welcome to House Maximus
If your butt be slender, thou joinest the House of Spindleus
Tight-ass? You are joining the House of Clenchmuch
If your butt be generous, welcome to House Maximus
If your butt be slender, thou joinest the House of Spindleus
Tight-ass? You are joining the House of Clenchmuch
November 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Upon enrolling in Dogfarts, you must sit in the Selection Chair to determine what sort of butt you have.
If your butt be generous, welcome to House Maximus
If your butt be slender, thou joinest the House of Spindleus
Tight-ass? You are joining the House of Clenchmuch
If your butt be generous, welcome to House Maximus
If your butt be slender, thou joinest the House of Spindleus
Tight-ass? You are joining the House of Clenchmuch
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
I'm biased here but it strengthens my belief that global scale algorithmic social media is one of the worst inventions in human history. I'd delete it off the face of the earth without a second's hesitation
November 19, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I'm biased here but it strengthens my belief that global scale algorithmic social media is one of the worst inventions in human history. I'd delete it off the face of the earth without a second's hesitation
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
Excellent speech by @charliejane.bsky.social about imagination in service to society. Great stuff.
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
November 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Excellent speech by @charliejane.bsky.social about imagination in service to society. Great stuff.
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
buttondown.com/charliejane/...
Reposted by Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧
There’s a scene where Spenser walks for miles during a blizzard to help someone because that’s who he was and that was the job in front of him. “Do the job in front of you” as an ethos isn’t bad. Doing so while assuming everyone is worthy of respect until proven otherwise is admirable
November 22, 2025 at 6:28 PM
There’s a scene where Spenser walks for miles during a blizzard to help someone because that’s who he was and that was the job in front of him. “Do the job in front of you” as an ethos isn’t bad. Doing so while assuming everyone is worthy of respect until proven otherwise is admirable