Karen Myna Cantor
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karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Karen Myna Cantor
@karenmynacantor.bsky.social
460 followers 220 following 65 posts
Swamp enthusiast, writer of extremely chaotic YA fiction. She/her. Repped by Ismita Hussain at Great Dog Literary. ALEX, BY PROXY (Holiday House 2026); SNAKETOWN, FLORIDA (HH 2027). https://linktr.ee/karenmynacantor
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karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Karen Myna Cantor @karenmynacantor.bsky.social · 2d
ALEX, BY PROXY is now available for preorder (see link in bio), and will be published 7/21/2026 with Holiday House!
Trope map of ALEX, BY PROXY. The cover is overlaid onto a starry background, surrounded by text identifying tropes or story elements of the book. These include: • mental illness rep • chaotic found family • exploration of true crime genre • podcast that grows more and more unhinged • overthinking MC + best friend who's never had a single thought in his life • what happens AFTER the Munchausen syndrome by proxy reveal • podcast transcripts, news, articles, letters Blurb of ALEX, BY PROXY. Blurb reads: HARROWING NEW DETAILS IN ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE… SHOCKING INFORMATION SURFACES AS ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE HEADS TO TRIAL… HOW COULD A MOTHER POISON HER SON? Welcome to sixteen-year-old Alex’s life, ripped straight from the headlines. Alex is a victim of Munchausen by proxy, but he’s also a witty, sarcastic kid with unusually good crossword skills and a penchant for astronomy. At least he used to be. Now that he’s recovered from years of illness induced by his mother, he sort of has to figure out who he is all over again… And most importantly, he’ll have to decide if he can testify against the woman who gave birth to him. As Alex awaits the trial, his friends convince him to start a podcast as a way to tell his story. Lethal Lullaby brings Alex closer to his old life—hanging out with friends, cracking jokes, having fun—but at the same time, dark memories surface, forcing Alex to acknowledge that the podcast could be making things worse. It seems like he’s got deeper issues than he’d like to admit, and this time, he can’t blame them on his mom. Day by day, Alex’s mental health crumbles, until he can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction. Should he trust himself to testify? And if he gets up there, what version of the truth will he share?
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
ALEX, BY PROXY is now available for preorder (see link in bio), and will be published 7/21/2026 with Holiday House!
Trope map of ALEX, BY PROXY. The cover is overlaid onto a starry background, surrounded by text identifying tropes or story elements of the book. These include: • mental illness rep • chaotic found family • exploration of true crime genre • podcast that grows more and more unhinged • overthinking MC + best friend who's never had a single thought in his life • what happens AFTER the Munchausen syndrome by proxy reveal • podcast transcripts, news, articles, letters Blurb of ALEX, BY PROXY. Blurb reads: HARROWING NEW DETAILS IN ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE… SHOCKING INFORMATION SURFACES AS ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE HEADS TO TRIAL… HOW COULD A MOTHER POISON HER SON? Welcome to sixteen-year-old Alex’s life, ripped straight from the headlines. Alex is a victim of Munchausen by proxy, but he’s also a witty, sarcastic kid with unusually good crossword skills and a penchant for astronomy. At least he used to be. Now that he’s recovered from years of illness induced by his mother, he sort of has to figure out who he is all over again… And most importantly, he’ll have to decide if he can testify against the woman who gave birth to him. As Alex awaits the trial, his friends convince him to start a podcast as a way to tell his story. Lethal Lullaby brings Alex closer to his old life—hanging out with friends, cracking jokes, having fun—but at the same time, dark memories surface, forcing Alex to acknowledge that the podcast could be making things worse. It seems like he’s got deeper issues than he’d like to admit, and this time, he can’t blame them on his mom. Day by day, Alex’s mental health crumbles, until he can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction. Should he trust himself to testify? And if he gets up there, what version of the truth will he share?
December 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
ALEX, BY PROXY is on Edelweiss!!!! I still don't know how to use Canva, but I was excited so I made this (my wife: "It's giving Animorphs??")

Preorder links are live in my bio!!!!
The cover of ALEX, BY PROXY, getting smaller and smaller on a black background. Text reads, "ALEX, BY PROXY is on Edelweiss!!!! You can request it and stuff!!!! Wooo!!!"
October 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
So excited to reveal the cover of ALEX, BY PROXY, out 7/21/2026 from Holiday House!

I love this cover and design—thank you to Chelsea Hunter (of Holiday House) for an incredible design and Beatriz (@/naranjalidad on IG) for a stunning cover.

Preorder links are in the LinkTree in my bio!!!
Cover of ALEX, BY PROXY! It features a boy in profile view, the focus zoomed in on his head and shoulders as he falls against a teal background. The boy has his eyes closed, with pale skin and dark brown hair that seems to ripple as he falls. Other items fall around him: a microphone, newspapers (including one that reads, MOTHER POISONS HER SON), and a pillbox with pills falling out. The whole scene has a sort of glitched out quality to it, with portions of Alex and the falling items blurring into rainbow static. The blurb of ALEX, BY PROXY, overlaid on top of a version of the cover without Alex's face (so just the blue background and the falling items around the edges). Blurb reads: HARROWING NEW DETAILS IN ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE… SHOCKING INFORMATION SURFACES AS ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE HEADS TO TRIAL… HOW COULD A MOTHER POISON HER SON? Welcome to sixteen-year-old Alex’s life, ripped straight from the headlines. Alex is a victim of Munchausen by proxy, but he’s also a witty, sarcastic kid with unusually good crossword skills and a penchant for astronomy. At least he used to be. Now that he’s recovered from years of illness induced by his mother, he sort of has to figure out who he is all over again… And most importantly, he’ll have to decide if he can testify against the woman who gave birth to him. As Alex awaits the trial, his friends convince him to start a podcast as a way to tell his story. Lethal Lullaby brings Alex closer to his old life—hanging out with friends, cracking jokes, having fun—but at the same time, dark memories surface, forcing Alex to acknowledge that the podcast could be making things worse. It seems like he’s got deeper issues than he’d like to admit, and this time, he can’t blame them on his mom. Day by day, Alex’s mental health crumbles, until he can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction. Should he trust himself to testify? And if he gets up there, what version of the truth will he share?
October 24, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
maudlinhouse.bsky.social
THE MAIN ATTRACTION by D.L. Stille

maudlinhouse.net/the-main-att...
The Main Attraction
The first time someone died at Fantasy Fair, no one thought to check near Old Cassie. She was little more than an embellished archway, after all: something people idly passed through without much paus...
maudlinhouse.net
June 10, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
turnandwork.com
and fiction from:
Dawn Tasaka Steffler @dawnsteffler.bsky.social in @jmwwjournal.bsky.social
Beth Sherman in Milk Candy Review
D.L. Stille @dorothystille.bsky.social in @maudlinhouse.bsky.social
Anaïs Godard in @fracturedlit.bsky.social

Links to the stories here:
The Shortlist for June 13, 2025 - turn and work
Nonfiction by Melissa Witcher. Fiction by Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Beth Sherman, D.L. Stille, and Anaïs Godard
www.turnandwork.com
June 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Medicaid work requirements would be a disaster:

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/o...
Opinion | We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.
www.nytimes.com
June 8, 2025 at 11:26 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
⭐️ bookish checkpoint ⭐️

📚 Last book read: HURRICANE HEROES IN TEXAS by Mary Pope Osborne

📚 Current read: ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad

📚 Last book added to tbr: AMERICA'S NOT-SO SWEETHEART by Blair Hanson

📚 Next read: THE RAVEN SCHOLAR by Antonia Hodgson
May 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
ciaragemmam.bsky.social
Spanish TV before Eurovision today
May 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
regwaltney.bsky.social
Sensitivity editors can help before and after a draft to deepen a plot and reduce harm to communities! Check out more detailed services on my site and contact me!

Boosts and shares appreciated!
#writingcommunity #disabledauthor #amediting #writerslife #amwriting #services
Writing Services Sensitivity Edits: $30/hour Specialized dev edits on specific topics of communities! - Disability - LGBT+ - Polyamory - Autism - Trauma/Abuse - PTSD Consulting: $50/1st hour + $30/additional Developing concepts and improving writing skills! - Fantasy - Horror/Dark - Romance - CYO More Info: www.regwaltney.com/contact
March 6, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
eladn.bsky.social
This is also an example of the way people don’t immediately think of infrastructure and systems when they think of how to solve societal problems.

When we talk about ending extremism, we discuss it as a fight. Well, what if it was more about building walkable cities and funding community spaces?
eladn.bsky.social Elad Nehorai @eladn.bsky.social · Dec 21
Car culture is one of the things people don’t see as harmful because they’re so used to it. But when you live somewhere without it, it’s hard to forget how much healthier it is when cars don’t rule your life.

Community was decimated by cars well before smart phones. Atomized lives are radicalizing.
roryblank.bsky.social Rory Blank @roryblank.bsky.social · Dec 20
one of my central beliefs, really genuinely and sincerely is that cars are fundamentally evil and indoctrinate people into extremely reactionary ideology.
I am not joking.
December 21, 2024 at 12:36 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Since the UHC CEO killing, I've seen health insurers claim they are a safeguard against "unnecessary care". I wondered: what did they do during the opioid crisis, when restricting drug access may have saved peoples' lives? You will not be surprised to learn they caved to Purdue Pharma for $$$.
An important test came in 2003. At a meeting with Purdue, an executive for the insurer UnitedHealthcare raised concerns about abuse of OxyContin, noting that some patients were being prescribed as many as 1,000 pills a month. The insurance company planned to limit prescriptions to 60 pills; doctors would need to call to get authorization for higher amounts. For help, Purdue turned to Merck-Medco, the P.B.M. that UnitedHealthcare had hired to handle prescription drug benefits for its customers. The effort culminated in a meeting at UnitedHealth Group’s offices. A Merck-Medco official delivered a presentation on the “potential loss of rebates” to the insurer if it went forward with the limit, an executive for the P.B.M. reported to Purdue. “That information convinced the UHG team to change,” he wrote.
December 17, 2024 at 2:35 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
So what we're not gonna do with this UnitedHealthcare CEO killing is immediately say the killer was mentally ill/psychotic/schizophrenic etc. Already seeing comments like this. Nope! Not today!! If your first instinct when you hear of a violent crime is to assume mental illness, maybe fix that
December 11, 2024 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
ryanmarino.bsky.social
How come it’s not a crime when UnitedHealthcare kills people?
December 4, 2024 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
kaitlynabdou.com
GIVEAWAY TIME!

I am hosting a GIVEAWAY on my newsletter! To enter, share this post, sign up for my mailing list, and fill out the form linked in my "welcome" e-mail!

bit.ly/3Zbdw8Y

Winner will be selected on December 15th!
A yuletide holiday photo of a candle in front of a pine tree with crystals around it. Text says "Much Abdou About Nothing Yuletide Giveaway" Recieve a specially curated “writers’ essentials” kit! To enter: Share this post! join my mailing list, fill out the google form inside the “welcome” e-mail Winner selected december 15th
November 19, 2024 at 8:49 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
i wish i could make polls here 😔 i would be so annoying
November 18, 2024 at 12:58 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
i want to know more about your favorite books friends what is a book that made you go AAHHHHH this year
November 18, 2024 at 12:57 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
okay friends I have to know: how many books do you normally read at once
November 17, 2024 at 5:06 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
⭐️ bookish checkpoint ⭐️

📚 Last book you read: LANGUAGE CITY by Ross Perlin

📚 Current read: THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley & THE TRUTH ACCORDING TO EMBER by Danica Nava

📚 Last book added to tbr: IMMORTAL DARK by Tigest Girma

📚 Next anticipated read: WE WILL BE JAGUARS by Nemonte Nenquimo
noellemonet.bsky.social Noelle Monét | ADD BOUND BY FURY ON GOODREADS @noellemonet.bsky.social · Nov 16
⭐️ bookish checkpoint ⭐️

📚 Last book you read: PEOPLE WE MEET IN VACATION by Emily Henry

📚 Current read: IMMORTAL DARK by Tigest Girma

📚 Last book added to tbr: GONE WOLF by Amber McBride

📚 Next anticipated read: BLOOD DEBTS & PARABLE OF THE SOWER
mstevensonbooks.bsky.social M. Stevenson @mstevensonbooks.bsky.social · Nov 16
✨bookish checkpoint✨

📚last book you read: Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis
📚your current read: Babel by RF Kuang / Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee / Queer as Folklore by Sasha Coward
📚last book added to your tbr: Kiss Me Maybe by Gabriella Gamez
📚next anticipated read: Dragonfall? Idk I don’t plan!
November 17, 2024 at 4:45 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
People's Book in Takoma Park is a wonderful spot! 🌈
mbbrownsf.bsky.social MB Brown @mbbrownsf.bsky.social · Nov 12
Support your local independent bookstore! Or one in another part of the country and have them ship something to you!
rokwon.bsky.social R. O. Kwon 권오경 @rokwon.bsky.social · Nov 11
for anyone trying to extricate yourself from the clutches of Amazon: bookstores make more than a third of their money between now & New Year’s, & most bookstores ship nationwide 💌
November 12, 2024 at 12:31 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
I am so thrilled my disaster YA contemporary books will be coming to Holiday House! We've had gay rights, now let's have some gay wrongs (or at least, incredibly ill-advised decisions involving 600 pythons).
Screenshot of a Publisher's Marketplace deal announcement for June 25th, 2024. The announcement is titled: SNAKETOWN, FLORIDA, A HISTORY OF UNNATURAL DISASTERS by Karen Myna Cantor Imprint: Holiday House Announcement text reads: Mapmaker Karen Myna Cantor's SNAKETOWN, FLORIDA, in which a group of teens plot to save their hometown in central Florida--and its zany residents--by faking a disaster and unleashing hundreds of pythons; and A HISTORY OF UNNATURAL DISASTERS, in which a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy starts a true crime podcast to tell his side of the story and investigate his own mother's crime, to Sally Morgridge at Holiday House, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Ismita Hussain at Great Dog Literary (world).
June 26, 2024 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
happyfoxxcreations.bsky.social
SURPRISE! It's here! ITS HERE! Things lined up faster than expected so you can now go get your bee bag down below!
happyfoxxcreations.com/shop/ols/pro...
November 19, 2023 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
eladn.bsky.social
Multiple things can be true at once:

1. Oct 7th was the worst collective trauma Jews have experienced in our lifetimes

2. The war on Gaza is a horror

3. Antisemitism is rising

4. Islamophobia is rising

Those trying to use one of these to cancel others are making things worse
October 29, 2023 at 5:56 AM
Reposted by Karen Myna Cantor
boner.ink
i feel like people get here from twitter with a bunch of latent aggression like soldiers coming back from the war to polite society, but they can't fit in because all they know how to do is kill
May 31, 2023 at 7:57 AM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Hi! My name is Karen Myna, and I mostly write YA contemporary that leans hard into shenanigans and chaos.

My current MS is a Florida Man-inspired story where two teen girls try to put their South Florida town on the map in the worst way possible--by staging a (fake) disaster.

Enjoy some turtles!
Photo of three turtles sitting next to a placid creek. The first turtle is climbing over the second while the third watches, bemused. Leaves and ferns frame the scene.
October 24, 2023 at 11:28 PM
karenmynacantor.bsky.social
Lately I've gotten really into this lil app that's like Tamagotchi but self-care??? My bird is named Blueberry and I have learned that he has no thoughts, no thoughts at all. A role model for us all
A screenshot from the Finch app. It shows a little cartoon bird jumping in the air, surrounded by confetti. The little bird is blue with a gray beak, and wears a yellow frog costume. He looks proud! The text reads, "Congratulations! You and Blueberry completed 200 adventure days together!"
October 21, 2023 at 1:44 AM