This is the book living rent-free in my head this summer that I keep recommending to people. If you haven't read it yet, get on it!
Erin L. McCoy@erinlmccoy.bsky.social · 2w agoHappy (belated) three-month birthday to UNDERLAKE 🩵
Erin L. McCoy
@erinlmccoy.bsky.social
UNDERLAKE (Doubleday, 2026) WRECKS (Noemi Press, 2025) Poetry & fiction in American Poetry Review, Best New Poets, Conjunctions • Assistant poetry editor, Narrative • Multilingual erinlmccoy.com
Erin L. McCoy@erinlmccoy.bsky.social · 2w agoHow @tomjunod.bsky.social draws a profound portrait of a character in just 12 words in his new autobiography, IN THE DAYS OF MY YOUTH (@doubledaybooks.bsky.social) — in this week’s installment of The Next Sentence. Plus, a prompt to try it yourself. open.substack.com/pub/erinlmcc...
Bring Your Characters to Life in 12 Words or Less
"She's famous for this, her worry—her talent for letting her worry do all the work of love" —Tom Junod
open.substack.com
How do you build a world? It’s a question every novelist, regardless of genre, must ask obsessively. This example from Marilynne Robinson’s seminal novel, HOUSEKEEPING, taught me a whole new way to approach the problem. Read about it on The Next Sentence: open.substack.com/pub/erinlmcc...
World-Building, List-Making, Texture: Lessons from HOUSEKEEPING
There are many ways to set the scene for your novel.
open.substack.com
When I decided to write my second novel in the third person, I was soon overwhelmed with the number of choices I needed to make. Then I read THE GARDEN (@doubledaybooks.bsky.social) by Clare Beams & realized—I might not have to choose. Read more: erinlmccoy.substack.com/p/writing-in....
Writing in the Third Person? It's Time to Break Some Rules
What Clare Beams's THE GARDEN teaches us about navigating the third-person point of view.
erinlmccoy.substack.com
Every character lives inside a moment in history. How does history drive character and story development without overwhelming the plot? This week I took a look at Chantel Acevedo’s gorgeous new novel, CAGES (@europaeditions.bsky.social). Read now: open.substack.com/pub/erinlmcc...
The One Timeline Question Most Novels-in-Progress Skip
What a lioness in Havana can teach us about placing our characters inside history
open.substack.com
In this week’s installment of the Next Sentence, I explore what a passage from Anna Burns’s MILKMAN (@graywolfpress.bsky.social ) teaches us about building narrative tension and revealing character at the same time. open.substack.com/pub/erinlmcc...
Tension, dread, and character-building in Anna Burns's MILKMAN
“Three times in my life I’ve wanted to slap faces and once in my life I’ve wanted to hit someone in the face with a gun.
open.substack.com
“When you can only see so far, what more is there to hope for? No wonder, then, that in a single country we occupy a thousand different planets.” @erinlmccoy.bsky.social in @literaryhub.bsky.social lithub.com/a-short-hist...
A Short History of America’s Drowned Towns
A Dairy Queen, a Subway, three dollar stores, a strip of half-empty storefronts along Main Street: you could hardly call it a community, where I grew up in rural Kentucky. Or rather, it didn’t feel…
lithub.com
Aquatic! Southern! Gothic! @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on UNDERLAKE by @erinlmccoy.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/unde...
Aquatic Southern Gothic | Los Angeles Review of Books
Erin McCoy’s debut novel draws out the uncanny nature of environmental histories of the American South.
lareviewofbooks.org
"Every single one of us lives inside some kind of bubble. I think the point is to try, again and again, to see it." Underwater, Unbelonging, Unknowing: @sbfeldman.bsky.social interviews @erinlmccoy.bsky.social about Underlake (@doubledaybooks.bsky.social). ➡️ buff.ly/eyzOMXO
Hey, there—are you writing a novel? Me too! And starting today, I’m launching a weekly newsletter called the Next Sentence so we can write our novels together.
The Next Sentence » by Erin L. McCoy | Substack
UNDERLAKE (Doubleday, 2026) • WRECKS (Noemi Press), 2025), Florida Book Award winner. Click to read The Next Sentence » by Erin L. McCoy, a Substack publication. Launched a few seconds ago.
erinlmccoy.substack.com
It’s publication daaaaay! My debut novel has officially launched! UNDERLAKE tells the story of two women who dive deep into a lake and discover communities who have been living underwater for decades. 📖 Pick up your copy: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/underlake-... 🙏🙏 @doubledaybooks.bsky.social
Underlake was featured in @bookriot.bsky.social's roundup of the best new sci-fi & fantasy books of April 2026! 🌊 Thank you so much to @libertyhardy.bsky.social for the lovely write-up. So excited to appear alongside @mikechenwriter.bsky.social and @neuvel.net. Link: bookriot.com/new-sci-fi-a...
Absolutely in awe of @erinlmccoy.bsky.social's debut novel, UNDERLAKE. Thanks to @clarebeams.bsky.social, Susanna Kwan, and Ron Rash for the kind words. Preorder UNDERLAKE wherever books are sold: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804090...
UNDERLAKE by @erinlmccoy.bsky.social is full of "lush prose that deftly unpacks grief, familial love, and religious zealotry" via @forbes.com www.forbes.com/sites/caroli...
For Readers, April’s New Literature Offers Something For Everyone
From a highly anticipated debut that puts tradwife content in its crosshairs, to a sophomore horror novel from one of the genre’s rising stars, to a poignant examination of class and loyalty–April’s n...
forbes.com
Join me for the official launch of my debut poetry collection, WRECKS, in Seattle this Friday!
Happy pub day to Wrecks, the debut poetry collection by @erinlmccoy.bsky.social , available on the Noemi website! www.noemipress.org/catalog/poet...
In just 1 week, I’ll be launching my debut book, WRECKS, in Brooklyn alongside the brilliant @jasonbcrawford.bsky.social & @abipollokoff.bsky.social, my dear friend since MFA days. Preorder WRECKS from @openpoetrybooks.bsky.social: open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com/products/mcc...
What an honor! This is such an astute and thoughtful review. Thanks to Benjamin and @versecurious.bsky.social 🙏🙏
Noemi Press@noemipress.bsky.social · 10mo agoCheck out the most recent episode of @versecurious.bsky.social reviewing Wrecks by @erinlmccoy.bsky.social! Link to the full episode in our story Wrecks will be released on October 15th!
Take a look at @noemipress.bsky.social for our current & forthcoming book. Wrecks by @erinlmccoy.bsky.social is a stunning collection or “Girl Work” by @zefrrr.bsky.social is a personal fave too!
This is very exciting news — preorder Erin’s book!
Erin L. McCoy@erinlmccoy.bsky.social · 12mo agoI am beyond thrilled to share the cover of my debut novel, UNDERLAKE, forthcoming from Doubleday in April 2026. UNDERLAKE is available for preorder now: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804090... Thank you to @doubledaybooks.bsky.social and @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social for a gorgeous book 🙏
Louisville artist doing great things! SO excited for you @erinlmccoy.bsky.social ! Congratulations!!!
Erin L. McCoy@erinlmccoy.bsky.social · 12mo agoI am beyond thrilled to share the cover of my debut novel, UNDERLAKE, forthcoming from Doubleday in April 2026. UNDERLAKE is available for preorder now: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804090... Thank you to @doubledaybooks.bsky.social and @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social for a gorgeous book 🙏
I am beyond thrilled to share the cover of my debut novel, UNDERLAKE, forthcoming from Doubleday in April 2026. UNDERLAKE is available for preorder now: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804090... Thank you to @doubledaybooks.bsky.social and @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social for a gorgeous book 🙏
Underlake by Erin L. McCoy: 9780385552073 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A richly glittering debut about the interlocked fates of two women, raised worlds apart, who must join forces on an extraordinary journey, diving leagues beneath the water's surface—and straight...
penguinrandomhouse.com
A man who helped save a 9-year-old during a shark attack in Florida last month is now facing deportation after being taken into custody for driving without a license.
The Trump regime definitely doesn’t want you to download this app that lets you report and track ICE sightings.
ICEBlock
Stay informed about reported ICE sightings, within a 5 miles radius of your current location, in real-time while maintaining your privacy. ICEBlock is a community-driven app that allows you to share ...
apps.apple.com
"Now the trumpet of your body. Now my mouth full of air." — @adedayoagarau.bsky.social in @narrativemag.bsky.social www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/poems...
