Leland Cheuk
@lelandcheuk.bsky.social
Author of 3 books, including the novel NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN. Work in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Salon, etc. Runs the indie press 7.13 Books.
Picked my best books of the year for @NPR and this was one of them!
@lelandcheuk.bsky.social recommends BRING THE HOUSE DOWN by Charlotte Runcie: apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Picked my best books of the year for @NPR and this was one of them!
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
really excited to launch the newest residency at Upstart & Crow, which is specifically for parent-writers and includes a childcare stipend in addition to a residency grant and space to work. the residency I have dreamed of! applications open this weekend: upstartandcrow.com/programs/par...
Parent-Writers' Residency | Upstart & Crow
upstartandcrow.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:18 AM
really excited to launch the newest residency at Upstart & Crow, which is specifically for parent-writers and includes a childcare stipend in addition to a residency grant and space to work. the residency I have dreamed of! applications open this weekend: upstartandcrow.com/programs/par...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Cover design for THE MORGUE KEEPER (7.13 Press, October 15, 2025). @lelandcheuk.bsky.social
October 16, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Cover design for THE MORGUE KEEPER (7.13 Press, October 15, 2025). @lelandcheuk.bsky.social
Today is pub day for THE MORGUE KEEPER by Ruyan Meng, 7.13 Books #35. Asian Review of Books calls it “devastating.”
Karissa Chen, bestselling author of HOMESEEKING, calls it “chilling” and “Kafkaesque.”
It’s a cautionary tale for authoritarian times
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Karissa Chen, bestselling author of HOMESEEKING, calls it “chilling” and “Kafkaesque.”
It’s a cautionary tale for authoritarian times
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Morgue Keeper
Check out The Morgue Keeper - <p>In 1966, as a brutal revolution grips his city, morgue keeper Qing Yuan spends his nights cleaning bodies in silence-until a viciously murdered woman, known only as "#...
bookshop.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Today is pub day for THE MORGUE KEEPER by Ruyan Meng, 7.13 Books #35. Asian Review of Books calls it “devastating.”
Karissa Chen, bestselling author of HOMESEEKING, calls it “chilling” and “Kafkaesque.”
It’s a cautionary tale for authoritarian times
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Karissa Chen, bestselling author of HOMESEEKING, calls it “chilling” and “Kafkaesque.”
It’s a cautionary tale for authoritarian times
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
It's been tough going for small publishers for a while, but they continue to publish a lot of the most exciting new work, and are the main supporters of the short story as a form. Support indie publishing when you can!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK
The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.
www.thebookseller.com
October 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM
It's been tough going for small publishers for a while, but they continue to publish a lot of the most exciting new work, and are the main supporters of the short story as a form. Support indie publishing when you can!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Reminder that my debut collection was reissued almost two years ago with three new stories, kinda like how Dischord would package LPs and 7"s onto CD editions in the 90s. bookshop.org/p/books/tran...
Transitory
Check out Transitory - <p>The stories in Transitory</em> consist of familiar locations turned bizarre and longstanding relationships sacrificed to singular obsessions. Unearthly figures appear on a ci...
bookshop.org
September 14, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reminder that my debut collection was reissued almost two years ago with three new stories, kinda like how Dischord would package LPs and 7"s onto CD editions in the 90s. bookshop.org/p/books/tran...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
ICYMI, there's new fiction by me at Heavy Feather Review this week! heavyfeatherreview.org/2025/07/03/c...
Haunted Passages Short Fiction by Tobias Carroll: “Crude Thing”
Matteo called it a crude thing. In the end that’s what stuck with me the most. A crude thing, a visitation, something unspeakable. The crude thing, and where it took us all. I was there and Erin wa…
heavyfeatherreview.org
July 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
ICYMI, there's new fiction by me at Heavy Feather Review this week! heavyfeatherreview.org/2025/07/03/c...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.
17 new books our critics can't wait to read this summer
We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.
n.pr
June 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.
I wrote this! 👇🏾
In Sunday's @bostonglobe.com print edition but up digitally just now, @lelandcheuk.bsky.social reviews THE BOOK OF RECORDS by Madeleine Thein, an inventive and thoughtful novel that blends speculative and philosophical elements. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/14/a...
A girl and her father wash up in mysterious shelter by the sea, where they meet a trio of philosophers - The Boston Globe
Canadian author Madeleine Thien takes on big ideas in her experimental, speculative novel.
www.bostonglobe.com
May 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I wrote this! 👇🏾
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
I was so happy to edit this review of ZEAL, by @mjerkins.bsky.social, which our critic @lelandcheuk.bsky.social says is a page-turner that readers will also learn from. A compelling historical romance centering Black love. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/16/a...
Divided by history, reunited by passion - The Boston Globe
Morgan Jerkins’s second novel spans centuries to paint a compelling portrait of Black love
www.bostonglobe.com
April 16, 2025 at 10:28 PM
I was so happy to edit this review of ZEAL, by @mjerkins.bsky.social, which our critic @lelandcheuk.bsky.social says is a page-turner that readers will also learn from. A compelling historical romance centering Black love. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/16/a...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Fun to meet @lelandcheuk.bsky.social whose @713press publishes AAPI fiction at the Women's National Book Association. Buoyed by the publishers and agents who heard my pitch and said, “Keep on going!” So grateful to be repped by a great agent.
April 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Fun to meet @lelandcheuk.bsky.social whose @713press publishes AAPI fiction at the Women's National Book Association. Buoyed by the publishers and agents who heard my pitch and said, “Keep on going!” So grateful to be repped by a great agent.
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Cover design for the reissue of TRANSITORY by Tobias Carroll @tobiascarroll.bsky.social (7.13 Press, December 2023) @lelandcheuk.bsky.social
March 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Cover design for the reissue of TRANSITORY by Tobias Carroll @tobiascarroll.bsky.social (7.13 Press, December 2023) @lelandcheuk.bsky.social
Congrats to @samanthaschoech.bsky.social on the pub day of her debut collection MY MOTHER'S BOYFRIENDS! The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "beautifully alive." Vendela Vida calls it "Witty and utterly enchanting." Order it now!
tinyurl.com/ff62pkhr
tinyurl.com/ff62pkhr
My Mother's Boyfriends a book by Samantha Schoech
A daughter witnesses her mother grow angels' wings. A mistress begins writing letters to her lover's wife. Thanks to a genealogy test, a middle-aged woman meets a sister she's never known, and they're...
tinyurl.com
January 22, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Congrats to @samanthaschoech.bsky.social on the pub day of her debut collection MY MOTHER'S BOYFRIENDS! The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "beautifully alive." Vendela Vida calls it "Witty and utterly enchanting." Order it now!
tinyurl.com/ff62pkhr
tinyurl.com/ff62pkhr
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Feeling a lot of trepidation and fear and also gathering strength for the years of fighting ahead. One way I'm doing that is by celebrating good things when I can. So please celebrate the beautiful cover of my novel, BEINGS, which is now up everywhere.
(pre-order links in bio 💜🙏)
(pre-order links in bio 💜🙏)
January 21, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Feeling a lot of trepidation and fear and also gathering strength for the years of fighting ahead. One way I'm doing that is by celebrating good things when I can. So please celebrate the beautiful cover of my novel, BEINGS, which is now up everywhere.
(pre-order links in bio 💜🙏)
(pre-order links in bio 💜🙏)
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
I am so ridiculously pleased to share, finally, that I have a new novel coming out in about nine months called BEINGS and it's about aliens and loneliness and queerness and archives.
Eee!
Eee!
January 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I am so ridiculously pleased to share, finally, that I have a new novel coming out in about nine months called BEINGS and it's about aliens and loneliness and queerness and archives.
Eee!
Eee!
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Wipe the sleep from your eyes: it's a NEW YEAR, and we're now OPEN for your short fiction collections! Our new SS/FF editor (will be revealed tomorrow) + our incredible reading team can't wait to see what incredible books y'all have been working on--send 'em!!! splitlippress.submittable.com/submit
January 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Wipe the sleep from your eyes: it's a NEW YEAR, and we're now OPEN for your short fiction collections! Our new SS/FF editor (will be revealed tomorrow) + our incredible reading team can't wait to see what incredible books y'all have been working on--send 'em!!! splitlippress.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
low-key driven nuts by the attention/monetary power of prestige writer substacks and how they just promote other prestige writer substacks
(i don't even have skin in the game on this as i am terrible at maintaining my newsletter, but it's just annoying)
(i don't even have skin in the game on this as i am terrible at maintaining my newsletter, but it's just annoying)
December 29, 2024 at 11:21 PM
low-key driven nuts by the attention/monetary power of prestige writer substacks and how they just promote other prestige writer substacks
(i don't even have skin in the game on this as i am terrible at maintaining my newsletter, but it's just annoying)
(i don't even have skin in the game on this as i am terrible at maintaining my newsletter, but it's just annoying)
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Fellow freelancers, we're stronger together!!!
Are you a freelancer tallying up this year's earnings and coming up short? We are too! Join us in calling for at least $1/word and schedule a call with a member of
@fspnwu.bsky.social's Book Critics Working Group to find out more about organizing with us! buff.ly/49PSvo3
@fspnwu.bsky.social's Book Critics Working Group to find out more about organizing with us! buff.ly/49PSvo3
December 24, 2024 at 8:21 PM
Fellow freelancers, we're stronger together!!!
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Eight years ago, a budding scientist gave a commercial airline pilot a gift that would link the two for life.
Since then, they'd met in person and linked up on social media. But when she boarded a flight a week ago, she didn't expect to see him.
Then an announcement came over the PA system.
Since then, they'd met in person and linked up on social media. But when she boarded a flight a week ago, she didn't expect to see him.
Then an announcement came over the PA system.
A pilot raced through the airport to surprise an old friend: the woman who saved his life | CNN
When Allie Reimold boarded Flight 2223 in Houston a week ago, she didn’t expect to see the pilot whose life she had saved.
cnn.it
December 22, 2024 at 8:47 PM
Eight years ago, a budding scientist gave a commercial airline pilot a gift that would link the two for life.
Since then, they'd met in person and linked up on social media. But when she boarded a flight a week ago, she didn't expect to see him.
Then an announcement came over the PA system.
Since then, they'd met in person and linked up on social media. But when she boarded a flight a week ago, she didn't expect to see him.
Then an announcement came over the PA system.
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
I'm so thrilled to be part of this anthology, Smashing the Tablets, edited by @saralippmann.bsky.social and @snrogoff.bsky.social. Queering/fucking with sacred texts is a truly Jewish practice and I'm so proud of the short story of mine that's in this book. Pre-order!
bookshop.org/p/books/smas...
bookshop.org/p/books/smas...
Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible a book by Sara Lippmann and Seth Rogoff
Lot's daughters rebel against their predatory father, Jacob wrestles an angel in a queer underground nightclub, Job arrives in the form of an avaricious former sorority girl--Smashing the Tablets pres...
bookshop.org
December 19, 2024 at 6:09 PM
I'm so thrilled to be part of this anthology, Smashing the Tablets, edited by @saralippmann.bsky.social and @snrogoff.bsky.social. Queering/fucking with sacred texts is a truly Jewish practice and I'm so proud of the short story of mine that's in this book. Pre-order!
bookshop.org/p/books/smas...
bookshop.org/p/books/smas...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Is this the bardo? Am I in the fucking bardo?
(AP) - Trump says he will 'look at' pardon for embattled New York mayor Eric Adams, who is facing bribery charges.
December 16, 2024 at 5:21 PM
Is this the bardo? Am I in the fucking bardo?
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
My husband has been in the hospital for a low white blood cell count, zero neutrophils, and plenty of opportunistic infections with no end in sight. I’m raising money to help pay for my lodging, which I’m doing to be closer to the hospital. NO PRESSURE at all, but if you’d like: gofund.me/23f3543a
Donate to Help Esme Stay Close to Chris in Hospital, organized by Esmé Weijun Wang
My name is Esme Weijun Wang and I'm an author, speaker, and teacher. My hus… Esmé Weijun Wang needs your support for Help Esme Stay Close to Chris in Hospital
gofund.me
December 7, 2024 at 12:08 AM
My husband has been in the hospital for a low white blood cell count, zero neutrophils, and plenty of opportunistic infections with no end in sight. I’m raising money to help pay for my lodging, which I’m doing to be closer to the hospital. NO PRESSURE at all, but if you’d like: gofund.me/23f3543a
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Applications now open for the Community of Writers Summer Workshop in Olympic Valley, way up in the Sierras of California. Runs July 7-July 14. Check out the staff roster and see if the workshop is right for you.
communityofwriters.org/workshops/wr...
communityofwriters.org/workshops/wr...
Summer Writers Workshops
2025 Writers Workshops in Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, and Memoir
July 7-14, 2025
The Writers Workshops is a seven-day program which assists serious writers by exploring the art and craft ...
communityofwriters.org
December 2, 2024 at 9:27 PM
Applications now open for the Community of Writers Summer Workshop in Olympic Valley, way up in the Sierras of California. Runs July 7-July 14. Check out the staff roster and see if the workshop is right for you.
communityofwriters.org/workshops/wr...
communityofwriters.org/workshops/wr...
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
We don't often recommend journalistic pieces. But we think you all should read this powerful, important work by Patrick Fealey in @esquire about his life as a homeless writer. Please make time this holiday weekend for "The Invisible Man."
My Life As a Homeless Man in America
An extraordinary firsthand account.
buff.ly
November 27, 2024 at 6:05 PM
We don't often recommend journalistic pieces. But we think you all should read this powerful, important work by Patrick Fealey in @esquire about his life as a homeless writer. Please make time this holiday weekend for "The Invisible Man."
Reposted by Leland Cheuk
Calling all translators! We're building a Bluesky starter pack for emerging and established translators—so that we can follow each other and be in community together on the World Wide Web. If you want to be included, add yourself to this thread, and share this post far and wide with your networks :)
November 26, 2024 at 7:08 PM
Calling all translators! We're building a Bluesky starter pack for emerging and established translators—so that we can follow each other and be in community together on the World Wide Web. If you want to be included, add yourself to this thread, and share this post far and wide with your networks :)