Charlie Jane Anders's Blog, page 2

I'm So Inspired By These Brazen Women From 300 Years Ago

The Sixties saw the beginning of a long period of glorious liberalization. Women gained more rights and outlets for self-expression. Art and literature started to challenge conventional norms and gender roles. For about sixty years, this seemed like the new normal. People started to take this liberalization for granted — and then society clamped down again, with a return of theocratic repression and authoritarianism. 

I am, of course, speaking about the 1760s and the period of liberalism that en...

Who Gets a POV In Your Story? It's a Political Decision.

Before we get into it, a few quick plugs!

This Saturday at 7 PM I’m hosting a special Writers With Drinks featuring M.M. Olivas, Natasha Muse, June Martin, Alex Hanna and Lio Min. It’s at Strut, 470 Castro St. SF, and it’s free (but donations strongly encouraged).

My upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster got praised by Gary K. Wolfe at Locus as my “most personal and mature novel to date,” and also as my finest.

Barnes & Noble is offering a 25 percent discount on pre-orders for Lessons th...

I Don't Want To Write Asshole Protagonists Right Now

First, a couple of quick plugs!

I have a novel coming out in August called Lessons in Magic and Disaster. A trans witch decides to bring her grief-stricken mother back to the world the only way she can think of: by teaching her mom to do magic. It’s my homage to A.S. Byatt’s Possession as well as all my favorite books about complicated magic and even more complicated families. You can pre-order a signed/personalized copy from Green Apple — and if you’re in Canada and pre-order before July 20, yo...

I Still Miss My Luddite Web Browser

My novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster comes out in less than two months! Jamie is a PhD student in English lit, researching a mysterious novel from 1749 that seems to hold important secrets. But Jamie’s mom, Serena, is in a bad spot — Serena has been hiding from the world in an old one-room schoolhouse for the past several years, ever since Serena’s life fell apart. Jamie has a big secret: she’s a witch, and she decides to bring Serena back to the world by teaching her magic. This book is my ex...

10 Hot Takes About Superman

Thanks for reading my newsletter! My book Lessons in Magic and Disaster comes out in two months, on August 19. I’ve been so grateful for all the love early reviewers have shown this book about a young woman who teaches her mother how to do magic. The other day Uncanny Magazine’s Lynne M. Thomas described it as “like the most comforting of hugs from a loved one at a difficult time.”

You can pre-order from Green Apple and get a signed/personalized copy sent anywhere in the USA — and if you pre-ord...

The Origins of Prince and the Minneapolis Sound, according to Sue Ann Carwell

Thank you for reading my newsletter! If you’d like more of my writing, I have a novel coming out in August called Lessons in Magic and Disaster. It’s about a young woman who teaches her mother to be a witch. It’s also about the secrets of queer artists in 1740s London. It’s gotten starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, and Nicola Griffith called it “a hymn to queer love, joy and persistence.”

You can pre-order it anywhere, but if you’re in the USA you can pre-order a signed/personalize...

Why the Worst People Are So Keen to Wreck Art and Culture

The original title of Lessons in Magic and Disaster was a very on-the-nose placeholder: My Mother, My Apprentice.

That's about as basic as you can get for the title of a novel about a woman teaching her mother how to do magic. Later, I went through a bunch of other titles. For a while, the book was called Can We Be Friends?, meaning: Can you be friends with your mom? Then for a long time, it was called The Prodigal Mother, which stuck hard enough that I even printed some stickers with that title...

She Was the Biggest Scandal in Georgian England

Thanks for reading my newsletter! If you like my writing, I have a novel coming out in August. Lessons in Magic and Disaster has gotten two starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal, and I’ve been so happy to see rave reviews from many early readers. It’s about a witch named Jamie who decides to teach her grief-blighted mother how to do magic. It’s about queer families, healing, and unconditional love. And it’s about a mysterious book from 1749 that holds the secrets of a long-buried scand...

Our Default Story Structure Is Literally Killing Us

If you’d be willing to spend a few bucks a month to subscribe to this free newsletter, then please do consider supporting me by pre-ordering my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. It’s gotten starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus! I’ve been so overjoyed by the early word of mouth. Lessons is a deeply heartfelt, kind story about healing, reconnecting with family, and learning to be honest with the people in your life. It’s about Jamie, a young PhD student who is also secretly ...

She Was the Best Stand-Up Comic in 18th Century London

Just a quick note: I’m publishing my first novel for adults since 2019! Lessons in Magic and Disaster comes out this August — it’s about a young witch who teaches her mom how to do magic. It’s gotten starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal, and I’m so grateful for the love it’s gotten from random readers. You can pre-order it from Green Apple and I’ll sign, personalize and doodle-ize your copy. If you pre-order anywhere and send me a receipt, I’ll send you a PDF of All the Birds in the S...