THE BEST OF THE LITERARY INTERNET

TODAY: In 1903, Mark Twain moves to Florence, Italy.

Meet the authors shortlisted for the 2026 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize . | Lit Hub In Conversation

Was Cormac McCarthy that guy in your MFA? | Lit Hub Craft

We promise: you really don’t need a smartphone . | Lit Hub Technology

On Irish legend’s dangerously seductive fairies , the beguiling aes sidhe. | Lit Hub History

“Plath described and wrote herself into the violence of her own century. She is now part of the record of the violence of our own.” Kristin Grogan considers new collections of Sylvia Plath’s writing . | Boston Review

What really makes a bad literary adaptation bad? | The Walrus

Sarah Stankorb considers the tradwives who are deconstructing : “They are a sign that gender-based authoritarianism is unsustainable, even among the biggest advocates for women’s submission.” | Slate

Sarah Clegg digs into the surprisingly deep roots of romantasy .…