Amy Fitzgerald
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amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Amy Fitzgerald
@amyarielfitz.bsky.social
1.8K followers 700 following 240 posts
Sr. Editorial Director for Carolrhoda Books/Lab and Zest Books at Lerner Publishing Group. Scribbler, scone enthusiast, history nerd, owner of multiple unmatched mittens. Opinions my own. She/her.
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amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · Feb 21
vacillating wildly between "gonna post a regular post" and "gotta voice support for basic human rights" will continue until morale improves
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Conversation transcript from this morning:

"No horrible famous people have croaked in the last 72 hours, are you gonna have enough energy to get through the day?"

"It's gonna be tough tbh"

Hours later:

"ENERGY RESTORED"
November 7, 2025 at 9:02 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Welp, I stand by this.

Nobody likes this man; nobody admires him; some (rich) (Republican) people (many of whom don't even live in Minneapolis) just know they can use him.

He's gonna stew in his own mediocrity for four more years while real leaders do real leading.
amyarielfitz.bsky.social Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 5d
If Frey gets reelected (tbd) at least the contrast between the reception to *that* and the reaction to Mamdani will be inescapable to him, even through all his protective layers of Republican donors. Jacob got 41-ish% of 1st-choice votes, which is what Cuomo got in NYC. That's loser energy.
November 5, 2025 at 5:46 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
If Frey gets reelected (tbd) at least the contrast between the reception to *that* and the reaction to Mamdani will be inescapable to him, even through all his protective layers of Republican donors. Jacob got 41-ish% of 1st-choice votes, which is what Cuomo got in NYC. That's loser energy.
November 5, 2025 at 2:00 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
"I could smell the onions and mustard"
Kevin Sorbo as Hercules, about to go "wait a minute, this isn't my world... DISAPPOINTEDDDDD"
November 4, 2025 at 6:44 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Btw Marcia Argueta Mickelson's THE WRITING ROOM is out today. It's set in NYC! It's about the daughter of a Guatemalan immigrant standing up to her rich white dad and the bigoted politician he's funding! It's about telling new stories when the old ones fail us.

@marciamickelson.bsky.social
Cover image for the The Writing Room by Marcia Argueta Mickelson. Uppercase yellow title text over an image of a brick building's red fire escape, with a jagged border of reddish bricks around the edges of the image. I’ve always thought he used to love my mom. Used to love me, when I was little. But maybe that was only because back then, our lives orbited his. I’ve always told myself he wanted his kids to grow into independent adults, but maybe kicking us out was just another way of controlling us. I’ve been telling myself that he’s not racist. That he must not realize what Wright’s truly like or that Wright is eyeing the governor’s office. That he already has more than enough of what he wants most. Those are the stories I’ve been telling myself. They’re not my father’s real story. “I understand.” Honestly, maybe I don’t; I’ve been shielded from so much by my dad’s wealth and privilege, by his whiteness. The stakes are probably higher than I can really process. But I know I can’t just sit behind a locked door and let myself feel safe while people like those little girls are being attacked. Yoly still doesn’t seem on board. “What if the media picks it up—that Robert Mitchell’s daughter is protesting outside his company headquarters?” “I don’t care. I hope the media does notice I’m there. I’ve cared what my dad thinks of me my whole life. Where has that gotten me?” I say it again for emphasis, inscribing the words in the air. “I. Don’t. Care. Anymore.”
November 4, 2025 at 4:56 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
"What gets you out of bed in the morning?"
"Well, it depends; finding out Dick Cheney died worked for me today"
November 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Needed this even more than usual yesterday:
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock saying "Lemon, it's Wednesday."
October 30, 2025 at 1:42 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
For the latest Things That Happened Thursday—my occasional updates on books I've edited—here's a Kirkus review of Ashley Granillo's upcoming middle grade novel, CHOIR GRRRL: "an emotional, well-realized story about finding your voice." It's out in February!
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
CHOIR GRRRL | Kirkus Reviews
The daughter of a former rock star in Los Angeles is torn between playing in a band with her sisters and her wish to sing in a choir.
www.kirkusreviews.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Given the whac-a-mole nature of AI features, this probably won't work forever, but so far so good! (I will personally never get tired of turning these little creepers off whenever I can.)
markpopham.bsky.social good hyuck, babe! @markpopham.bsky.social · 20d
hey I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere but - if you're using Chrome and you don't want this gross little AI Mode button to pop up in your address bar, paste "chrome://flags" into your address bar and search the flags for "AI Mode." find "AI Mode Omnibox Entrypoint" then you can just disable it!
screenshot of edge of address bar with "AI Mode" button screenshot of the chrome "flags" page with "ai mode" in the search bar; the search result "AI Mode Omnibox entrypoint" is highlighted, with an option box to the right set to "Default"
October 22, 2025 at 2:35 AM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Things That Happened Thursday has arrived again! What Things have happened in my publishing world?

First: Lupe Ruiz-Flores's historical middle grade novel THE PECAN SHELLER was praised as "captivating" by the legendary Laurie Halse Anderson in NYT:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/b...
Cover image for THE PECAN SHELLER by Lupe Ruiz-Flores. Full-color illustration of a tween girl with brown skin and long dark hair holding up a banner on which the title text is printed.
October 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Love living in an age when AI is supposedly able to conduct my entire emotional and creative life on my behalf but I can still type something into a search bar, be one letter off, and be presented with "no results"
October 15, 2025 at 2:54 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
WILD SONG by Candy Gourlay is out in the US! Frustrated by her hometown's limitations, Luki agrees to be part of an exhibition of Indigenous Filipinos at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis.

What
could
go
wrong?

See the starred reviews, excerpt, teaching guide, etc.: lernerbooks.com/shop/show/25...
Cover image for WILD SONG by Candy Gourlay. Green-tinted photo of a teen girl gazes at the reader. Translucent orange title text overlays the girl's face.
October 7, 2025 at 2:01 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
If you've been remiss about calling your Dem senators (raises hand) now's a great time to get back in the saddle. Tell them not to betray our trans friends & neighbors for a "deal." It's not even Lucy with a football—it's Lucy with a tear gas canister, insisting we're safe to come closer.
gregpak.net Greg Pak @gregpak.net · Sep 29
These scripts are GREAT and these calls are EASY and ESSENTIAL. Call your senators and reps today and tell them to vote against ANY bill that contains cuts to trans health care.

#DidThisToday
threnody.bsky.social emily moonlight @threnody.bsky.social · Sep 16
so: what do we need you to do? two things.

1.call your D/I senators. find contact info here: reps.fyi

what do we need you to say? try the call script below. adapt it; make it your own! there are bailout points written in, in case you get nervous. but please *call.* 🧵
September 29, 2025 at 5:06 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Today marks another Things That Happened Thursday: in which I post about stuff I meant to post about earlier.

First up: Shafaq Khan's middle grade debut, ZEYNA LOST AND FOUND, was selected for the American Booksellers Association's Indies Introduce program!
www.bookweb.org/indies-intro...
Cover image for ZEYNA LOST AND FOUND by Shafaq Khan. Full-color illustration of a girl running through a marketplace at night, holding a shining red jewel aloft in her right hand, while two other kids trail her
September 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Me, a rube: What is up with journalists being so credulous and/or disingenuous about [insert issue, pretty much any issue]? Do they not realize how ridiculous they sound? How could they possibly think this is responsible coverage?

The historical record, every time: lol
Screencap from the book Martin Luther King, Jr.: Nonviolent Strategies and Tactics for Social Change by John J. Ansbro: "Many of King's critics have implied that he was guilty of a self-contradiction by practicing a nonviolent protest that generated violence. Tim in a 1964 article on him as Man of the Year asserted, 'King preaches endlessly about nonviolence, but his protest movements often lead to violence.' US News and World Report in its analysis of how he won the Nobel Peace Prize indicated that many Americans thought it 'extraordinary that this prize should go to a man whose fame is based upon his battle for civil rights for Negroes—and whose activities often led to violence.' Hanes Walton Jr in The Political Philosophy of MLK maintained that in one respect King's nonviolence was similar to violence in that it could result in the destruction of property and life. Frank Meyer, in a 1965 article in National Review, 'The Violence of Nonviolence,' accused King of employing a nonviolence that had a 'violent essence' since it involved 'the provocation of violence,' 'the use of force against civil society,' and a ' violent assault upon representative, constitutional government.' Unlike Walton, who conceded that King's intentions and means differed from the advocates of violence, Meyer charged King's Nonviolent Movement with 'hypocrisy on a grand scale' since the movement aimed to provoke the supporters of the civil order so that they would initiate the first act of violence, and proceeded by 'relying upon the terror inspired by mobs to destroy the processes of constitutional civil government.'"
September 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
What if the Rapture already happened but literally everyone got left behind

Picture Peter waiting at the gates like a debut author at a book signing

Heaven's version of Y2K
September 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Sneakers is an underrated gem for all the reasons laid out here and also because James Earl Jones has to promise Dan Aykroyd a Winnebago at the end
September 16, 2025 at 10:25 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Zeyna Lost and Found by debut author Shafaq Khan is out today! Think National Treasure (with a stolen jewel, not the Declaration of Independence) on the Hippie Trail (a pre-1980 route across the Middle East) for middle graders: an adventure wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an international heist!
Cover image of Zeyna Lost and Found by Shafaq Khan: full-color illustration of three kids running through a market at night; the girl in front holds up a gleaming red jewel.
September 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
We're days away from this clown discovering that autism is caused by women having credit cards in their own names
September 5, 2025 at 7:31 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
"If you compare the kids of my sycophants to random kids I stare at in airports, their reactions to my radioactive vibes are completely different"

Dante had some great ideas but I would like to know if there are any new circles under construction
jakescottmd.bsky.social Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · Aug 30
RFK Jr: “If you’ve ever compared an unvaccinated kid to a vaccinated kid… you see the bright eyes, the engagement, the social interactions, the curiosity. And you compare them to the child who even had one or two vaccines, and they’re completely different.“

This man is an existential threat.
September 1, 2025 at 5:33 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
The weather in Minneapolis is beautiful and it feels like a sick joke and I hope this finds you well because I have to circle back on something
karenho.bsky.social Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · Aug 27
every day there is some of the worst news imaginable and then we all have to keep sending emails and filing reports like there hasn't been another mass shooting or another deeply reported feature about the horrors of war, technology, and new policies designed to hurt vulnerable people even more
August 27, 2025 at 6:55 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Long past time for Frey to get to the "find out" stage of his career
jchavezmpls.bsky.social Jason Chavez @jchavezmpls.bsky.social · Aug 21
I am disappointed that the DFL has stripped the DFL Endorsement from Senator Omar Fateh, who clearly had overwhelming support at the convention. They met privately and voted to overturn the will of Minneapolis delegates. An effort led by Mayor Jacob Frey. 1/
August 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
When people say they're not "naturally talented" at XYZ art and that's why AI should make it for them, I think of Darcy going "I'm not good at being polite to randos" and Lizzie going "so what man, I'm not good at playing piano because I never PRACTICE"
August 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
Time for another Things That Happened Thursday, my occasional roundup of stuff I meant to post about sooner!

First up: DISPLACED by Patrick Ochieng is out in the US! Kirkus's starred review called this MG novel about hope in impossible circumstances "outstanding."

lernerbooks.com/shop/show/25...
Cover image for DISPLACED by Patrick Ochieng. Full-color illustration of a boy holding a large yellow cannister and and standing in front of a tent city, with a cityscape of tall buildings in the background. The boy has dark skin and short hair. His expression is serious. He wears a short-sleeved shirt.
August 14, 2025 at 8:11 PM
amyarielfitz.bsky.social
I'm gonna need to see more Babylon 5 content on here if I'm gonna be living through seasons 2-4 plot point for plot point
August 11, 2025 at 11:16 PM