Charlie Jane Anders's Blog, page 4

Everything You Need to Know About My Next Novel!

Photo: Daderot/Wikimedia

It’s almost six months before my next novel comes out on Aug. 19. Lessons in Magic and Disaster is my first novel for adults in ages, and I’m tremendously proud of it. I poured so much of my heart into this book (but don’t worry, I put down tarps first.)

What’s it about? Jamie is a grad student in English lit, but she’s also a witch. Her mother, Serena, has been hiding from the world in an old one-room schoolhouse for nearly seven years, ever since Serena’s wife died and...

"They Just Want Them Out of Sight": A Short-Term Fix for Homelessness

Thanks for reading my newsletter! I have a book coming out in August called Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Jamie’s mother Serena has been hiding away in an old one-room schoolhouse ever since her life went up in smoke. Now Jamie is determined to help Serena return to the world by teaching her how to do magic. It’s the sweetest gut-punch. You can pre-order it anywhere, but if you want your copy signed and personalized with a doodle, please order from Green Apple Books and include details in the c...

Hope Is Important, But So Is Curiosity

As always, this newsletter is free — but please pre-order my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. It’s a strange, tender mother-daughter story about a young witch who decides to teach her heartbroken mother how to do magic. There are flashbacks to the mom’s past as a lesbian activist in the 1990s, and a Dark Academia subplot about uncovering the secrets of a mysterious queer book from 1747. Nicola Griffith calls it “a hymn to queer love, joy, and persistence… A book for our times — and ...

Telling Stories Is Still Saving My Heart and Mind

Yesterday, I got an amazing surprise: Green Apple Books asked me to sign a stack of copies of my book Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories. And they were paperbacks! They looked much easier to carry around in a purse or pocket than the hardcover, and also more affordable. I was so overjoyed.

I had no idea that Tordotcom was putting out a paperback of Never Say You Can't Survive, but I'm so delighted this just happened. Because (to my endless relief) th...

James Mangold is Wrong. We Need Irony Now More Than Ever

Before we get started… I have a book coming out in August. It’s the book of my heart, and I’d be so grateful if you pre-ordered it. Lessons in Magic and Disaster is about a trans woman who teaches her mother to be a witch. And about the mother’s past as a queer activist in the 1990s, and how she created her own queer family. And about a mysterious novel from 1747 that hints at a long-buried scandal. It’s got magic and dark academia and love and grief and healing. You can get it anywhere, but if ...

They Debated Hawaiian Beliefs, But Didn't Listen to Native Hawaiians

Welcome, new subscribers! If you just subscribed to this newsletter as a result of my livestreamed conversation with Rebecca Solnit et al., then you can read some of my writings about resistance and community here and here. In this newsletter, I sometimes write about those things, but I also touch on pop culture, writing advice, and memoir. Also, this newsletter is free, but I’d be incredibly grateful if you were to pre-order my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. It’s about family and...

Erotica Made Me The Writer I Am Today

Before we get started… this newsletter is free, but I have a novel coming out in August and I would be absurdly grateful if you pre-ordered it. Pre-orders are increasingly important: they let the bookstores know what books you’re interested in, and they result in a lot of early sales. Plus it’s a present you give to yourself ahead of time.

Lessons in Magic and Disaster is a novel for adults about a trans witch whose mother has been hiding from the world ever since a tragic event seven years ago....

Google Told Me To Walk Into Traffic

This newsletter is still free — but if you would like to support me, then please pre-order my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. (You can see all the places to order it here.) It’s about a young woman who teaches her grief-stricken, heart-broken mother how to do magic, with startling results. It’s also about discovering the secrets of a mysterious novel from 1749, and the long-buried scandal that it reveals. Mostly, it’s about trauma, grief, and learning to love life again. It’s alrea...

What Are Book Critics For?

Hi! I have a novel coming out in August 2025 called Lessons in Magic and Disaster. It’s about a young trans woman who tries to bring her heartbroken mother back to life by teaching her how to do magic. It’s really about queer generations, and the struggle for liberation, and holding onto a healthy relationship with desire in the face of grief and trauma. This book is on Edelweiss now, plus you can pre-order it anywhere books are sold. If you want a signed/personalized/doodled copy, please pre-or...

A Basket Full of Mini Rants!

Sorry, there's no big essay or interview this week. Instead, here are a bunch of topics which I thought about writing a whole newsletter about — but everything I had to say, I realized I could say in a paragraph or two. Basically, it's five rants for the price of one. I hope you enjoy! (If enjoy is the right word for rants. Please send me your thoughts on this.) 

But before I unleash the mini rants… here’s just a reminder that you can get signed, personalized copies of any of my books from Green...