Chicago Review of Books
@chicagorevbooks.bsky.social
A @storystudiochicago.bsky.social publication! Editor-in-Chief @mbwwelch.bsky.social
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Published my first newsletter issue in quite a while. Check it out. It's short, because sometimes after a writing lull, you just need to get a new thing out there.
newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com/archive/97-n...
Special thanks to everyone at @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com/archive/97-n...
Special thanks to everyone at @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
#97 / New Moon Newsletter
Beginning a new cycle
newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Published my first newsletter issue in quite a while. Check it out. It's short, because sometimes after a writing lull, you just need to get a new thing out there.
newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com/archive/97-n...
Special thanks to everyone at @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com/archive/97-n...
Special thanks to everyone at @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
Get a first-look at the new books coming out of the Chicago literary community in 2026 at our CHICAGO WRITERS SHOWCASE on January 21, 6:30pm at the Book Cellar! It’s our next evolution in our mission to uplift the voices in our city’s creative community 🧵
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/j...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/j...
December 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Get a first-look at the new books coming out of the Chicago literary community in 2026 at our CHICAGO WRITERS SHOWCASE on January 21, 6:30pm at the Book Cellar! It’s our next evolution in our mission to uplift the voices in our city’s creative community 🧵
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/j...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/j...
"Art, perhaps unlike reality, does crave a perceiver."
@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with @madamesosostris.bsky.social on her new book "Lazarus Species” (@milkweededitions.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/t...
@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with @madamesosostris.bsky.social on her new book "Lazarus Species” (@milkweededitions.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/t...
The Eternal Present of Poetry: An Conversation with Devon Walker-Figueroa About "Lazarus Species" - Chicago Review of Books
Our interview with Devon Walker-Figueroa about her new collection, "Lazarus Species."
chireviewofbooks.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
"Art, perhaps unlike reality, does crave a perceiver."
@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with @madamesosostris.bsky.social on her new book "Lazarus Species” (@milkweededitions.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/t...
@recycledgiraffe.bsky.social's interview with @madamesosostris.bsky.social on her new book "Lazarus Species” (@milkweededitions.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/19/t...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Parsed through stacks of ARCs & chose 2025 favorite books, like One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (@aaknopf.bsky.social), Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou (@tinhouse.bsky.social), & Sacrament by Susan Straight (Counterpoint).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
The Best Books We Read in 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
A list of the best books the CHIRB team and contributors read this year.
chireviewofbooks.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
💚💚💚
December 18, 2025 at 7:44 PM
💚💚💚
And now 🥁🥁🥁 For the best short story collections of the year...
With books from:
@nupress.bsky.social, @eccobooks.bsky.social, Counterpoint Press, The Sante Fe Writer's Project, @catapultbooks.bsky.social, @whiskeytit.com, Cornerstone Press, Astra House
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/18/t...
With books from:
@nupress.bsky.social, @eccobooks.bsky.social, Counterpoint Press, The Sante Fe Writer's Project, @catapultbooks.bsky.social, @whiskeytit.com, Cornerstone Press, Astra House
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/18/t...
The Best Short Story Collections of 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
Our favorite short story collections of 2025.
chireviewofbooks.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
And now 🥁🥁🥁 For the best short story collections of the year...
With books from:
@nupress.bsky.social, @eccobooks.bsky.social, Counterpoint Press, The Sante Fe Writer's Project, @catapultbooks.bsky.social, @whiskeytit.com, Cornerstone Press, Astra House
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/18/t...
With books from:
@nupress.bsky.social, @eccobooks.bsky.social, Counterpoint Press, The Sante Fe Writer's Project, @catapultbooks.bsky.social, @whiskeytit.com, Cornerstone Press, Astra House
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/18/t...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Waking up to the Chicago HWA group email titled — Becky in the trib! Is the best way to wake up!!
CHICAGOAN OF THE YEAR, BECKY SPRATFORD
@raforall.bsky.social
Congratulations!
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/c...
CHICAGOAN OF THE YEAR, BECKY SPRATFORD
@raforall.bsky.social
Congratulations!
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/c...
Chicagoan of the Year in Books: If you’re into horror, thank the librarian Becky Spratford
She’s the unassuming champion behind the rise in horror lit. “To me, Becky is the spark plug, lynchpin, head coach and fairy godmother of horror,” says author Daniel Kraus.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Waking up to the Chicago HWA group email titled — Becky in the trib! Is the best way to wake up!!
CHICAGOAN OF THE YEAR, BECKY SPRATFORD
@raforall.bsky.social
Congratulations!
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/c...
CHICAGOAN OF THE YEAR, BECKY SPRATFORD
@raforall.bsky.social
Congratulations!
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/c...
We love being a part of this community 🥰
This was unquestionably a challenging year…but we still managed to find as much joy as we possibly could. Thank you all for helping to make this writing community so strong, vibrant, and yes, just a whole lot of fun!!!
#writingcommunity
#writingcommunity
December 18, 2025 at 5:36 PM
We love being a part of this community 🥰
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
It’s end of year list season at the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social, and we read a lot of stunning books!
Parsed through stacks of ARCs & chose 2025 favorite books, like One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (@aaknopf.bsky.social), Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou (@tinhouse.bsky.social), & Sacrament by Susan Straight (Counterpoint).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
The Best Books We Read in 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
A list of the best books the CHIRB team and contributors read this year.
chireviewofbooks.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:30 PM
It’s end of year list season at the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social, and we read a lot of stunning books!
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Wooohoooo! Check out the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social's editors list of the best books they read this year. Perfect for last-minute gift ideas for the reader in your life.
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
The Best Books We Read in 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
A list of the best books the CHIRB team and contributors read this year.
buff.ly
December 18, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Wooohoooo! Check out the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social's editors list of the best books they read this year. Perfect for last-minute gift ideas for the reader in your life.
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
What are the best books we read this year? Always a hard question, but @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social has compiled them all! 📚
Wooohoooo! Check out the @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social's editors list of the best books they read this year. Perfect for last-minute gift ideas for the reader in your life.
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
buff.ly/D9rhbzs
#books
#booksky
The Best Books We Read in 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
A list of the best books the CHIRB team and contributors read this year.
buff.ly
December 18, 2025 at 3:53 PM
What are the best books we read this year? Always a hard question, but @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social has compiled them all! 📚
Parsed through stacks of ARCs & chose 2025 favorite books, like One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (@aaknopf.bsky.social), Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou (@tinhouse.bsky.social), & Sacrament by Susan Straight (Counterpoint).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
The Best Books We Read in 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
A list of the best books the CHIRB team and contributors read this year.
chireviewofbooks.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Parsed through stacks of ARCs & chose 2025 favorite books, like One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (@aaknopf.bsky.social), Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou (@tinhouse.bsky.social), & Sacrament by Susan Straight (Counterpoint).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/17/t...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
I was so honored to write this appreciation of my favorite "lost" gay novel, Nebraska by George Whitmore, a hugely important novel to me and many others. Now available from @thesongcave.bsky.social in a gorgeous edition. Thank you @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
"A novel about the echoes of shame and the possibility of disrupting them."
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
In the Reissue of “Nebraska” by George Whitmore, A Memorial for a Voice Lost to AIDS - Chicago Review of Books
In the prologue to his 1988 book of profiles of people living with AIDS in New York City, Someone Was Here, George Whitmore describes a photograph he saw in a magazine in a waiting room, a picture of ...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
I was so honored to write this appreciation of my favorite "lost" gay novel, Nebraska by George Whitmore, a hugely important novel to me and many others. Now available from @thesongcave.bsky.social in a gorgeous edition. Thank you @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social!
"Leaves a lasting impression on what it means to fight for one’s voice and freedom when everything else is taken."
Ashley Thompson's review of “Cape Fever” by Nadia Davids (@simonandschuster.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/t...
Ashley Thompson's review of “Cape Fever” by Nadia Davids (@simonandschuster.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/t...
The Power of Storytelling Preserves Memories in Nadia Davids’s “Cape Fever” - Chicago Review of Books
Nadia Davids’s Cape Fever is a chilling psychological thriller that blends the ghostly with the historical, exploring colonial legacies through the lives of two women, breathlessly bound to each other...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:13 PM
"Leaves a lasting impression on what it means to fight for one’s voice and freedom when everything else is taken."
Ashley Thompson's review of “Cape Fever” by Nadia Davids (@simonandschuster.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/t...
Ashley Thompson's review of “Cape Fever” by Nadia Davids (@simonandschuster.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/t...
"A novel about the echoes of shame and the possibility of disrupting them."
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
In the Reissue of “Nebraska” by George Whitmore, A Memorial for a Voice Lost to AIDS - Chicago Review of Books
In the prologue to his 1988 book of profiles of people living with AIDS in New York City, Someone Was Here, George Whitmore describes a photograph he saw in a magazine in a waiting room, a picture of ...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
"A novel about the echoes of shame and the possibility of disrupting them."
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
Read @rpmirabella.bsky.social on "Nebraska" by George Whitmore (@thesongcave.bsky.social).
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/16/i...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Recipients of the so-called “CHIRBy” Awards include Eve L. Ewing, WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona-Maguigad and New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed.
Five Chicago writers recognized with Chicago Review of Books 2025 awards
chicago.suntimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Recipients of the so-called “CHIRBy” Awards include Eve L. Ewing, WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona-Maguigad and New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed.
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Someone told me last night—
‘Cynthia, you’ll look back on tonight and realize this moment, this is your pivot. This is where you belong. This is your community and city.’
I’m writing so many different things & looking forward it all being in the world soon 💗
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
‘Cynthia, you’ll look back on tonight and realize this moment, this is your pivot. This is where you belong. This is your community and city.’
I’m writing so many different things & looking forward it all being in the world soon 💗
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
A City Where Words Breathe: On Celebrating 10 Years of the CHIRBy Awards - Chicago Review of Books
I arrived late to my first Chicago Review of Books Awards in 2019. I was a new editor on the team then, nervous and uncertain about how early to arrive for the ceremony and lost between the awfully na...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Someone told me last night—
‘Cynthia, you’ll look back on tonight and realize this moment, this is your pivot. This is where you belong. This is your community and city.’
I’m writing so many different things & looking forward it all being in the world soon 💗
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
‘Cynthia, you’ll look back on tonight and realize this moment, this is your pivot. This is where you belong. This is your community and city.’
I’m writing so many different things & looking forward it all being in the world soon 💗
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
"[The Osage language] is something that has been in my bones and my blood for decades. I’m so happy to have been able to get it all down on the page."
Elisa Shoenberger's interview with Elise Paschen on "Blood Wolf Moon” (@redhenpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/15/o...
Elisa Shoenberger's interview with Elise Paschen on "Blood Wolf Moon” (@redhenpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/15/o...
Osage Family History in Elise Paschen’s Poetry Collection "Blood Wolf Moon" - Chicago Review of Books
We all know what historical fiction is. It’s fiction taking place in a period in the past like Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall or Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. But what do you call poems that...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM
"[The Osage language] is something that has been in my bones and my blood for decades. I’m so happy to have been able to get it all down on the page."
Elisa Shoenberger's interview with Elise Paschen on "Blood Wolf Moon” (@redhenpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/15/o...
Elisa Shoenberger's interview with Elise Paschen on "Blood Wolf Moon” (@redhenpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/15/o...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
🎉🎉🎉
In POETRY, Rob Macaisa Colgate for HARDLY CREATURES (@tinhouse.bsky.social)!!!
December 15, 2025 at 2:35 PM
🎉🎉🎉
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
It only makes sense that the best city in the world has the best community of writers
We had such a fabulous time at the CHIRBys last night... And if there’s one thing we agree on, it’s that Chicago has the BEST literary community in the country!!!
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
December 12, 2025 at 11:14 PM
It only makes sense that the best city in the world has the best community of writers
We had such a fabulous time at the CHIRBys last night... And if there’s one thing we agree on, it’s that Chicago has the BEST literary community in the country!!!
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
December 12, 2025 at 9:44 PM
We had such a fabulous time at the CHIRBys last night... And if there’s one thing we agree on, it’s that Chicago has the BEST literary community in the country!!!
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
@tvayyyy.bsky.social @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social @samiraahmed.bsky.social @eveewing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Stunned and honored to have received the 10th Annual Chicago Review of Books Award for Fiction. The CHIRBys are a special event, a truly Chicago moment.Thank you @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social and all the readers, writers, judges, supporters, and members of this extraordinary community.
December 12, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Stunned and honored to have received the 10th Annual Chicago Review of Books Award for Fiction. The CHIRBys are a special event, a truly Chicago moment.Thank you @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social and all the readers, writers, judges, supporters, and members of this extraordinary community.
"I feel that my job is to honor the archive as closely as possible."
Ryan Asmussen's interview with @akasomeguy.bsky.social on "His Toy, His Dream, His Rest” (@fsgbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/12/e...
Ryan Asmussen's interview with @akasomeguy.bsky.social on "His Toy, His Dream, His Rest” (@fsgbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/12/e...
Epical American: John Berryman and his Dream Songs – An Interview with Shane McCrae - Chicago Review of Books
An interview with Shane McCrae about editing a new collection of John Berryman's poetry, "Only Sing."
chireviewofbooks.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
"I feel that my job is to honor the archive as closely as possible."
Ryan Asmussen's interview with @akasomeguy.bsky.social on "His Toy, His Dream, His Rest” (@fsgbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/12/e...
Ryan Asmussen's interview with @akasomeguy.bsky.social on "His Toy, His Dream, His Rest” (@fsgbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/12/e...
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
This is your ONE WEEK warning. Pub Crawl Early Bird Registration ends next Wednesday 12/17 at midnight. Save $50 for the next week on the ORIGINAL online month-long publishing intensive.
Register now, and learn, pitch, publish with us! buff.ly/RB4SuzP
#writingcommunity
Register now, and learn, pitch, publish with us! buff.ly/RB4SuzP
#writingcommunity
December 10, 2025 at 6:17 PM
This is your ONE WEEK warning. Pub Crawl Early Bird Registration ends next Wednesday 12/17 at midnight. Save $50 for the next week on the ORIGINAL online month-long publishing intensive.
Register now, and learn, pitch, publish with us! buff.ly/RB4SuzP
#writingcommunity
Register now, and learn, pitch, publish with us! buff.ly/RB4SuzP
#writingcommunity
Reposted by Chicago Review of Books
Congratulations to tonight's 2025 Chicago Review of Books Award winners!
December 12, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Congratulations to tonight's 2025 Chicago Review of Books Award winners!