Jennifer Steil
@jfsteilauthor.bsky.social
Novelist, memoirist, essayist, short story writer, freelance editor, book coach, and mentor. Books: Exile Music, The Ambassador's Wife, and The Woman Who Fell From the Sky. Work has appeared in The New York Times, Kenyon Review, World Policy Journal, etc.
SB 13 is a bill that removes local control from public schools across Texas and gives politicians (not parents) the power to decide what books are or are not available to students.
action.everylibrary.org/texas_school...
action.everylibrary.org/texas_school...
Texas School Bans Students from the Library
Politicians, not parents, are deciding what children can read in the United States.
action.everylibrary.org
October 18, 2025 at 7:04 AM
SB 13 is a bill that removes local control from public schools across Texas and gives politicians (not parents) the power to decide what books are or are not available to students.
action.everylibrary.org/texas_school...
action.everylibrary.org/texas_school...
Please give this week's Liminal a read - we dig into the escalating book bans in the US, what they mean, and how you can help. Bizarrely, the title of the link is incorrect. The title is: What's Behind Americans' Fear of Books. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/the-idiocy...
The idiocy of restricting reading
If books are as scary as the censors make them out to be, I'm going to dress as one for Halloween.
jennifersteil.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Please give this week's Liminal a read - we dig into the escalating book bans in the US, what they mean, and how you can help. Bizarrely, the title of the link is incorrect. The title is: What's Behind Americans' Fear of Books. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/the-idiocy...
Please give this week's Liminal a read - we dig into the escalating book bans in the US, what they mean, and how you can help. Bizarrely, the title of the link is incorrect. The title is: What's Behind Americans' Fear of Books. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/the-idiocy...
The idiocy of restricting reading
If books are as scary as the censors make them out to be, I'm going to dress as one for Halloween.
jennifersteil.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Please give this week's Liminal a read - we dig into the escalating book bans in the US, what they mean, and how you can help. Bizarrely, the title of the link is incorrect. The title is: What's Behind Americans' Fear of Books. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/the-idiocy...
The CDC Library plays an important role in providing our public health professionals with access to the best information.
Without them, CDC employees will lose access to information and resources in an outbreak.
bit.ly/4qaDIMi via @everylibrary.bsky.social
Without them, CDC employees will lose access to information and resources in an outbreak.
bit.ly/4qaDIMi via @everylibrary.bsky.social
PETITION: Protect the Center for Disease Control Library
Staff at the CDC Library were laid off on October 10th and have not been brought back. Sign the petition to call for their return.
bit.ly
October 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The CDC Library plays an important role in providing our public health professionals with access to the best information.
Without them, CDC employees will lose access to information and resources in an outbreak.
bit.ly/4qaDIMi via @everylibrary.bsky.social
Without them, CDC employees will lose access to information and resources in an outbreak.
bit.ly/4qaDIMi via @everylibrary.bsky.social
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
A thread: My friend and Columbia classmate @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social published this beautiful piece of writing in this weekend's New York Times. First I want you to go read it. And then... www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
Dress Rehearsal for a Wedding I’ll Never Attend
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A thread: My friend and Columbia classmate @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social published this beautiful piece of writing in this weekend's New York Times. First I want you to go read it. And then... www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
During COVID, authors who had books published in 2020 banded together to create the group Lockdown Lit. We did joint events & promoted one another's work. One member, @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social has had a Modern Love column published. It's heartbreakingly beautiful.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
During COVID, authors who had books published in 2020 banded together to create the group Lockdown Lit. We did joint events & promoted one another's work. One member, @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social has had a Modern Love column published. It's heartbreakingly beautiful.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
My friend @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social has a piece in the Modern Love column of the New York Times!
I truly wish it was under better circumstances, but this is a huge accomplishment. 💞📰
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
I truly wish it was under better circumstances, but this is a huge accomplishment. 💞📰
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
Dress Rehearsal for a Wedding I’ll Never Attend
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
My friend @jfsteilauthor.bsky.social has a piece in the Modern Love column of the New York Times!
I truly wish it was under better circumstances, but this is a huge accomplishment. 💞📰
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
I truly wish it was under better circumstances, but this is a huge accomplishment. 💞📰
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
It is one of the greatest honors of my writing life to have this piece in the Modern Love column of @nytimes.com this weekend. It's online now, in print this weekend! It would mean the world to me if you could give it a read, and perhaps share it! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
Dress Rehearsal for a Wedding I’ll Never Attend
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:07 PM
It is one of the greatest honors of my writing life to have this piece in the Modern Love column of @nytimes.com this weekend. It's online now, in print this weekend! It would mean the world to me if you could give it a read, and perhaps share it! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...
This week's Liminal column is out! Would love it if you gave it a read and shared it with your people. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/border-cro...
Border crossers, blood, and first scan results
This week I learned how my body is reacting to the trial, as well as the history of immigration in France.
jennifersteil.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
This week's Liminal column is out! Would love it if you gave it a read and shared it with your people. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/border-cro...
The National Endowment for the Arts was founded to benefit every single American. How well do you understand its impact on your life? Please checkout my latest Liminal, and I would be so happy if you were inclined to subscribe and or share! #NEA #arts jennifersteil.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...
Why you should care about the gutting of the NEA
Our national soul is in grave danger. Do you dare to speak up for it?
jennifersteil.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 7:04 AM
The National Endowment for the Arts was founded to benefit every single American. How well do you understand its impact on your life? Please checkout my latest Liminal, and I would be so happy if you were inclined to subscribe and or share! #NEA #arts jennifersteil.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...
This week's Liminal column takes a break from cancer to talk about art, and why I breathe it. Please give it a read and share with your friends! How art operates as an oxygen mask open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
How art operates as an oxygen mask
Small museums, large lives, brutal crimes, disobedient feet, and the spaces between
open.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 6:15 AM
This week's Liminal column takes a break from cancer to talk about art, and why I breathe it. Please give it a read and share with your friends! How art operates as an oxygen mask open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
I'm delighted my interview on Off-Leash Arts with Tanya Shaffer is out now! It was a delight to talk with fellow Oberlin grad Tanya about writing, theater, kidnapping, etc. www.tanyashaffer.com/off-leash-ar... #writing #oberlin #books #travel #ExileMusic #ovariancancer #TheAmbassadorsWife #Yemen
Author Jennifer Steil: Go Somewhere That Challenges Your Beliefs — Tanya Shaffer
Jennifer Steil is a British-American writer currently living in France. She’s the author of the novel Exile Music , which won Grand Prize in the Eyelands 2020 Book Award...
www.tanyashaffer.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I'm delighted my interview on Off-Leash Arts with Tanya Shaffer is out now! It was a delight to talk with fellow Oberlin grad Tanya about writing, theater, kidnapping, etc. www.tanyashaffer.com/off-leash-ar... #writing #oberlin #books #travel #ExileMusic #ovariancancer #TheAmbassadorsWife #Yemen
Once in awhile, I am delighted to stumble upon a review of one of my books I hadn't seen before. I just discovered this moving review of Exile Music: literaryhoarders.com/5-star-ratin... #exilemusic #literaryfiction #historicalfiction #Bolivia #Austria
Exile Music by Jennifer Steil
literaryhoarders.com
August 2, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Once in awhile, I am delighted to stumble upon a review of one of my books I hadn't seen before. I just discovered this moving review of Exile Music: literaryhoarders.com/5-star-ratin... #exilemusic #literaryfiction #historicalfiction #Bolivia #Austria
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
Food-distribution points in Gaza have practically become death traps, @ibishblog.bsky.social argues. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation may not have intended to create these conditions, but it now perpetuates them without correction and with full awareness.
Food Aid in Gaza Has Become a Horror
In the scramble for sustenance, Palestinians are gunned down for no reason, with no excuse.
bit.ly
August 2, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Food-distribution points in Gaza have practically become death traps, @ibishblog.bsky.social argues. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation may not have intended to create these conditions, but it now perpetuates them without correction and with full awareness.
Every day, a new reason to be ashamed to be an American. Kids should have the opportunity to read whatever the hell they want. How else will their minds open? #reading #lgbtq #censorship pen.org/press-releas...
Supreme Court Decision on LGBTQ Storybooks in Public Schools Lays Foundation for New Assault on Books Of All Kinds in Schools - PEN America
The Supreme Court ruling today mandating “opt outs” for children whose parents object to LGBTQ+-relevant picture books in public schools deals a “deeply disappointing” blow to the right to read under ...
pen.org
July 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Every day, a new reason to be ashamed to be an American. Kids should have the opportunity to read whatever the hell they want. How else will their minds open? #reading #lgbtq #censorship pen.org/press-releas...
"“It’s more about sharing, not necessarily the experience, but the fact that ‘I was there,’” she said." A Photo Gone Wrong in the Uffizi Fuels Selfie Worries in Europe’s Museums www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/w...
A Photo Gone Wrong in the Uffizi Fuels Selfie Worries in Europe’s Museums
www.nytimes.com
June 28, 2025 at 7:55 AM
"“It’s more about sharing, not necessarily the experience, but the fact that ‘I was there,’” she said." A Photo Gone Wrong in the Uffizi Fuels Selfie Worries in Europe’s Museums www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/w...
Cheered me up this morning: apnews.com/article/bois...
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
The Democratic controlled cities of Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho, adopted new city flags this week that show support for LGBTQ+ people in defiance of new laws passed by their states’ Republican-con...
apnews.com
May 9, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Cheered me up this morning: apnews.com/article/bois...
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
America is facing a broad assault on free expression and access to knowledge. Here are three ways to stand up for free speech and libraries.
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/3-ways-...
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/3-ways-...
April 4, 2025 at 3:43 PM
America is facing a broad assault on free expression and access to knowledge. Here are three ways to stand up for free speech and libraries.
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/3-ways-...
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/3-ways-...
Trump signed an Executive Order attacking Federal Funding for Libraries.
Please send an email to your legislators and governors before it's too late!
action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025 via @everylibrary.bsky.social
Please send an email to your legislators and governors before it's too late!
action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025 via @everylibrary.bsky.social
SEND AN EMAIL: Stop Trump's E.O. Attacking Federal Funding for Libraries
We need your help TODAY to tell your governors and key members of the House and Senate that federal funding for libraries - the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - needs to be preserved!
action.everylibrary.org
April 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Trump signed an Executive Order attacking Federal Funding for Libraries.
Please send an email to your legislators and governors before it's too late!
action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025 via @everylibrary.bsky.social
Please send an email to your legislators and governors before it's too late!
action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025 via @everylibrary.bsky.social
What the hell does an ambassador do? I cannot tell you how often people ask me this question. Thus, this week I interview my husband, who explains it all open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
What the hell does an ambassador do?
Unlike the American system suggests, working effectively as an ambassador requires a vast set of skills and decades of experience.
open.substack.com
March 28, 2025 at 3:34 PM
What the hell does an ambassador do? I cannot tell you how often people ask me this question. Thus, this week I interview my husband, who explains it all open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
― Theodore Roosevelt
March 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
― Theodore Roosevelt
Freedom of speech isn't doing well at Columbia, with deans warning international students that "...their academic accomplishments — or even their freedom — could be at risk if they attracted the ire of the Trump administration." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...
At Columbia, Tension Over Gaza Protests Hits Breaking Point Under Trump
There were protests, arrests, the departure of the school’s president. Then, a new administration arrived in Washington.
www.nytimes.com
March 15, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Freedom of speech isn't doing well at Columbia, with deans warning international students that "...their academic accomplishments — or even their freedom — could be at risk if they attracted the ire of the Trump administration." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...
Today's Liminal offers some medical updates, a story about a friendship born of flowers, and an account of a hectic but exciting less-than-48 hours in London. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/a-friendsh...
A friendship born of flowers
Scan update, fairy godparents, and a dramatic weekend
jennifersteil.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Today's Liminal offers some medical updates, a story about a friendship born of flowers, and an account of a hectic but exciting less-than-48 hours in London. jennifersteil.substack.com/p/a-friendsh...
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
Toni Morrison's Beloved, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five... literary classics are under attack. The Authors Guild has taken a significant step forward in our legal challenge against Florida’s controversial book removal law (Section 1006.28).
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/ag-asks...
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/ag-asks...
March 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Toni Morrison's Beloved, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five... literary classics are under attack. The Authors Guild has taken a significant step forward in our legal challenge against Florida’s controversial book removal law (Section 1006.28).
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/ag-asks...
Read more: authorsguild.org/news/ag-asks...
Reposted by Jennifer Steil
