Katy Hershberger

blue graphic with an outline of the United States. Red and white text reads: Call. National Book Banning Bill Proposed in US House of Reps. Tell your rep: Vote no on H.R. 7661.

We've had a day to pull a few things together, so here's a thread some more targeted info opposing the potential national book ban just proposed in the House of Representatives.

Image showing Mayor Mamdani looking frustrated, with a text overlaid that reads “NYC Public Library Action Network” at the top, and in large bold letters text that reads “Mayor Mamdani did not honor his commitment to allocate 0.5% of the city expense budget to NYC public libraries in his preliminary budget” and then in smaller font below, there is text that reads “visit NYCPLAN.ORG for more information”

While a candidate, @mayor.nyc.gov pledged to commit 0.5% of the city’s budget to public libraries.

Unfortunately, Mayor Mamdani has broken this promise in his preliminary FY27 budget, released yesterday, where he allocated 0.39% to libraries.

This amount is well below the promised 0.5%

I would not be a journalist without WaPo - their arts coverage, their local influence, their internships - starting as a teenager when they had a program for kids to write about high school theatre. Heartbroken for their staff, readers, the whole news ecosystem.

serious aaWOOOOgah is right

Thanks to Taylor and Travis for getting engaged today to help promote my piece about how wedding is a performance!

Writing Someone Else’s Autofiction… When They’re a Pop Star Turned Wedding Singer In the back room of a Brooklyn bar, a nonbinary performance artist named Skye is suddenly nervous before their show. Soon, they will pretend to marry their polyamorous partner, who they really do l…

For @literaryhub.bsky.social, I wrote about Jens Lekman as a wedding singer and becoming a character in your own story.

Writing Someone Else’s Autofiction… When They’re a Pop Star Turned Wedding Singer In the back room of a Brooklyn bar, a nonbinary performance artist named Skye is suddenly nervous before their show. Soon, they will pretend to marry their polyamorous partner, who they really do l…

Writing someone else’s autofiction: how novelist David Levithan fictionalized musician Jens Lekman’s side hustle as a… wedding singer.

I have been looking for a jacket like this!

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear

A cool, new feature we just launched (for members): You can search years of PM Job Board listings to see the posted salary information.
www.publishersmarketplace.com/jobs/salary....

Still Alive | A magazine for the living A magazine for the living, about the living. Preorder issue 3 now.

This spring I wrote about my kid's baffling inner life, the malleability of the self, and one weird old chicken.
stillalivemag.com/articles/spi...

Kids Media Is In Its Villain Era Storytelling for children is finally moving beyond the good guy vs. bad guy tropes, and we all stand to benefit.

For Romper I wrote about my goth child and finding humanity in the monsters and bad guys of children’s media. www.romper.com/entertainmen...

Never not repping publicists. lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2024/02/free...

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For work @publisherslunch.bsky.social, I've reported on burnout, unions, low morale, lower pay, and that time PRH tried to buy S&S. Proud of the work, hopeful for the future.

I called Courtney Summers "a master of the bitch" and I stand by it electricliterature.com/this-book-an...

Why Aren’t Female Celebrities Writing More Novels? If Sean Penn and James Franco can publish novels, why not Reese Witherspoon or Constance Wu?

In Slate, I considered the sexism of celebrity vanity project novels slate.com/culture/2019...

Two Suicidal Teens, Four Possible Paths (Published 2020) Aaron and Tillie are strangers, until they meet on a bridge. Bill Konigsberg’s new novel explores where four different plotlines could take them.

For the NYTBR, I reviewed Bill Konigsberg's THE BRIDGE: www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/b...

Rereading the Master of ‘Dying Teen’ Lit I grew up on a Virginia cul-de-sac with two parents and a Super Nintendo. I thought myself serious and pensive; I considered the meaning of life, not just a grade on a spelling quiz. I was both pre…

"I was introduced to real life pain through imaginary people." Remember Lurlene McDaniel? I do! lithub.com/rereading-th...

Who Agrees That Swimming in the Ocean Is Scary? | Katy Hershberger “Swim!” he yelled, but it was too late for me.

This essay is about aging and fear and the beach. RIP Catapult catapult.co/stories/who-...

Losing My Religion at Christian Camp - Longreads Katy Hershberger recalls the way her decade at Christian summer camp both shaped and condemned her views of faith and girlhood.

Here's an essay for Longreads about summer and faith and girlhood longreads.com/2019/08/08/l...

Perspective | Learning how to parent in a world I cannot control We do it all to protect our children and have a sense of control. But how much can we do?

For The Washington Post, I wrote about parenthood and the pandemic and the myth of protection and my boobs. www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/20...

Feels like a good day to populate this place with some of my writing (not all from this year)...