Right now, I’m reading and rereading Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, which is a comfort read for me—a sapphic romance novel. It’s interesting to go outside of my usual genres; I never read romance novels until very recently. At the same time, I’m reading a forthcoming memoir by Morgan Parker. What are you reading, and how are you feeling/thinking about it?

Hi friends! I'm in the early phases of trying to put together a collection of speculative short stories, and would love your reccs on your faves. Some of my fav writers in the genre include Octavia Butler, Akwaeke Emezi, Becky Chambers, and folks of that ilk. Similarly - I'm trying to become less afraid of essays/creative nonfiction, my original genre that I've drifted out of in the past two years. Some of my favorite collections are Be Not Afraid of Love by Mimi Zhu, Body Work by Melissa Febos, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alex Chee, etc. Would love reccs there as well! If anybody is working on similar projects, would love to connect!

Are you trying to write every day? (If you're stuck, I recommend the One-Day Writing Kickstart (https://esmewang.com/writing-kickstart; if you're feeling stressed about building a writing habit, I recommend this class: https://esmewang.com/building-a-writing-practice.) I'm running late on a book I have on deadline, so I thought I'd start this thread to check in with you all about how it's going, and please join in if you think it would be helpful to you as well. I'll try to check in even when I get no writing done. Here we go!

This is the introduction thread. Say hi, tell us where you’re from and what your writing is all about! In your introduction, answer these 4 questions: ➡️ What is your name (preferred pronouns as well, if you don't mind) ➡️ Why did you decide to join The Unexpected Shape Café? ➡️ What is your favorite book? ➡️ What are you interested in writing about? We can’t wait to meet you! If you'd like to share anything else as well, feel free! And welcome!