Dan Fesperman

Thank you, Suzanne. Much appreciated! And, no, no one has yet, although there has been quite a bit of interest, so I'm hoping...

We loved Zadar even more, so if you get a chance...

Such a great country to travel in.

Thank you, Neil! He was an enjoyable character to keep company with in all those months of writing.

Thank you, Jeremy. And, yes, the one I'm working on now (about 58,000 words completed) rejoins Emil five years after the end of Winter Work, when he is called upon to take care of some unfinished business from Cold War days.

Thank you so much! Hope it helped some of the miles pass more quickly. Looking forward to reading your memoir.

Good timing! I'll be returning to Sarajevo for a brief overnight visit (first time since 1996) in about a week!

Glad you enjoyed it.

Total mentions that Trump is taking a 5-day trip to Scotland on our dime in order to promote his new golf course -- 0

A Spy Thriller With an Unlikely Hero: A Disgraced Comedian

Thrilled to see this New York Times review by Christopher Bollen of my new novel Pariah. Pub date is Tuesday!
#booksky

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/b...

Quoting from this college fight song seems quite appropriate at the moment:

Fight fiercely, Harvard
Fight, fight, fight
Demonstrate to them our skill
Albeit they possess the might

Congratulations to @paulvidich.bsky.social on publication day of his fine new novel, The Poet's Game.

If you happen to be in NYC this Wednesday, I'll be helping Paul launch the book with a 6 p.m. event at The Mysterious Bookshop, at 58 Warren Street in Manhattan.
paulvidich.com/books/the-po...

Especially as opposed to Sgt. Paine's review of Holly Martins' work, as heard in passing in The Third Man: "That's what I like about your books, sir. You can pick them up and put them down anytime."

Doubt I can recommend any books on this, partly because I'm not clear on how to define "independent journalism." Untrained citizen journalists? Trained journalists who strike out on their own? A good lab of indy (non-profit) local journalism that you might want to check out is the Baltimore Banner.

That was my own stupid brain fart, and I thank you for pointing it out. I still tend to think of it by its nickname, No Such Agency.

Goodness, what a nice surprise. Thrilled to know it.

You probably already know this, but the Berlin tunnel op figured prominently in one of Ian McEwan's early novels, The Innocent (1990). A great read.

Oh, I have no doubt she's up to it, I just wonder if Caro will be as likely as before to heed editorial advice, especially with regard to cutting, considering how difficult it was even for Gottlieb to win some of their past battles. It'll be a new dynamic for sure.

I'll join in that cheer for sure, but I do wonder who will have the courage and chemistry to edit it now that the great Bob Gottlieb is gone.

So if a journalist exposes the racism of a key government employee, JD believes it's the journalist who should be punished, not the employee. Got it.

Trump Lawsuits Against Media Gain Momentum First Amendment experts say Mr. Trump’s lawsuits, based on an unproven legal theory, lack merit. But more could be on the way.

@marcelias.bsky.social
Hey, Marc Elias, if Trump can achieve big results by suing news media under consumer protection law, even against accurate stories, why can't Dems get far more powerful results by suing Fox, Breitbart, AON, etc., by using the same weapons?
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/b...

One shooting in the industry and Anthems execs rolled right over.

Thanks for that thread, which rings true in so many ways.

First you learn to write. Then you learn to be a writer, which can be distracting as hell.

Intriguing details in the shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, an insurer notorious for denying its customers of coverage.
- The shooter's obvious careful planning.
- The words "deny" and "delay" engraved on the shell casings.
- It's locale: United's "Investor Day" (Customer Day? No way)

When will the national media stop being shocked by Trump's dishonesty?

In their own idiotic and heedless way, they're also yelling, "Defund the police!"

Return to Valetto, by Dominic Smith.

Beautiful book.

You can't up the ante until you first ante up.

Freud could've spent hours analyzing that photo.

Speaking of which, have you read Jenny Erpenbeck's fairly amazing (but sometimes disturbing) novel, "Kairos?"

Thank you, sir! Much obliged

Haven't posted here much yet, so I thought I'd try to get things rolling by offering this advance look at the cover for my next novel, which will be published in July by Knopf. #booksky