Anica Mrose Rissi
@anicarissi.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.2K following 560 posts
Author of books for kids & teens 🌈 Fan of dogs & ice cream 💚 Faculty at VCFA WCYA Most recent books: WISHING SEASON and HIDE AND DON'T SEEK Up next: GIRL REFLECTED IN KNIFE (4/2026) https://anicarissi.com/ newsletter: https://thisistheeavesdrop.com/
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anicarissi.bsky.social
Drank my tea. Called my reps. Now let's write some words.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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 ♥️
anicarissi.bsky.social
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!
anicarissi.bsky.social
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.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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
anicarissi.bsky.social
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 ♥️
anicarissi.bsky.social
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.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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).
anicarissi.bsky.social
"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
anicarissi.bsky.social
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."
anicarissi.bsky.social
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.”
anicarissi.bsky.social
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...
Listen in!
Authors (from l.) Emily X.R. Pan, Nova Ren Suma, Sara Ryan, Anica Mrose Rissi, and Anna-Marie McLemore (in Pan's palm) gathered to celebrate the launch of their free quarterly newsletter The Eavesdrop. In the newsletter, the cofounders plan to share their thoughts on craft, publishing, and their creative processes. The first issue of the newsletter, which released on September 22, on Beginnings, can be viewed here.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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
anicarissi.bsky.social
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
anicarissi.bsky.social
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.
anicarissi.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi
anicarissi.bsky.social
In the past nine days, I've written two (2) and a quarter pages of what might become a new book, and there's more tinkering than drafting going on here for sure, but: I like them.
anicarissi.bsky.social
Lucky 6th grader! I recently listened to the audiobook and was swept into the memory of reading it over and over again as a kid (though my favorite Natalie Babbitt book will forever be The Search for Delicious)
anicarissi.bsky.social
(Me too, Tato. All of us too.)
anicarissi.bsky.social
Happy Friday. Tato has some concerns.
Close-up of a worried-looking dog. (He's fine; that's just his resting concerned face.)
Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi
ryansara.bsky.social
I'm making a newsletter with my friends @exrpan.bsky.social, @novarensuma.bsky.social, @anicarissi.bsky.social & Anna-Marie McLemore! It's called The Eavesdrop. It's free, quarterly, on Ghost. Our first issue comes out on the autumn equinox, and you can subscribe here: thisistheeavesdrop.com
Welcome to The Eavesdrop
A quarterly conversation in your inbox with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma
thisistheeavesdrop.com
anicarissi.bsky.social
Something I'm psyched about: Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Sara Ryan, Nova Ren Suma & I are creating a (free) collaborative newsletter, The Eavesdrop, which is a quarterly conversation about process & craft. If you'd like to find us in your inbox four times a year, here's the link to sign up!
novarensuma.bsky.social
Ever wanted to eavesdrop on a conversation with five writers? @anicarissi.bsky.social @ryansara.bsky.social @exrpan.bsky.social, Anna-Marie McLemore, & I are launching a new newsletter so you can do just that! Subscribe to get our first issue on Monday! www.thisistheeavesdrop.com/about/
Logo that says:
The Eavesdrop
a quarterly conversation in your inbox
with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma

thisistheeavesdrop.com
Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi
novarensuma.bsky.social
Ever wanted to eavesdrop on a conversation with five writers? @anicarissi.bsky.social @ryansara.bsky.social @exrpan.bsky.social, Anna-Marie McLemore, & I are launching a new newsletter so you can do just that! Subscribe to get our first issue on Monday! www.thisistheeavesdrop.com/about/
Logo that says:
The Eavesdrop
a quarterly conversation in your inbox
with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma

thisistheeavesdrop.com
Reposted by Anica Mrose Rissi
willalex.bsky.social
Ahem.
🎶Haaaaaaaappy BOOOOOOOOOK DAAAAAAAAAAY tooooooooooooo meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…🎶
📖🎂🚀
The front cover of SUNWARD, gorgeously illustrated by Owen Gent, shows the title of the book hovering between the sun and the moon. (Something bad seems to have happened on the moon.)