Emma Alpern
@emmaalpern.bsky.social
Copyediting & writing & editing at @nymag
I reviewed Ann Patchett's latest, about a radiant stepfather who comes back into a middle-aged woman's life www.vulture.com/article/ann-...
I Keep Falling for Ann Patchett’s Slightly Maudlin Novels
Her latest, Whistler, is full of unusually decent people. But it still made me tear up.
vulture.com
We're all in a suspicious mood now that LLMs are churning out billions of words a day. It's unclear who is passing off AI text as their own. What about the people whose writing just happens to sound like AI? I talked to a bunch of them! nymag.com/intelligence...
The People Getting Falsely Accused of Using AI to Write
Clean, precise prose is now a liability, and non-native English speakers and autistic writers are often paying the price.
nymag.com
I wrote a review of Down Time by Andrew Martin, featuring a headline you can argue with www.vulture.com/article/andr...
There Are No Great Pandemic Novels
Andrew Martin’s funny but overly earnest Down Time is the latest entry in this genre.
vulture.com
Book Gossip by @jvojdani.bsky.social is now biweekly, and we love it for that www.vulture.com/article/book...
Book Gossip Is Going Biweekly
New York’s newsletter about what the literati are really thinking is entering a new chapter.
vulture.com
I really love this review of my favorite memoir of the year, from @emmaalpern.bsky.social www.vulture.com/article/neko...
Neko Case Survived It All
The songwriter’s unusual tell-all skips the gossip, revealing a life in music as the solution, not the plot.
vulture.com
For @nymag.com's Reasons to Love New York issue, I talked to a man who built every building in the five boroughs out of balsa wood www.curbed.com/article/reas...
39 Reasons to Love New York Right Now
From congestion pricing to Cameron Winter.
curbed.com
this month, a "constellation novel" from Olga Tokarczuk, a satire-thriller about a scheming author, a chic L.A. book (never been, personally!!! seems nice). And more! @jvojdani.bsky.social and I wrote about them here www.vulture.com/article/the-...
6 New Books You Should Read This December
Including a debut about an aging movie star, a midlife road-trip novel, and a new novel from Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk.
vulture.com
it's such a pleasure to be able to share this best books list from anthony jeselnik. as with movies, where we publish john waters's list as well as our critics, this list has gone up along with our nymag list by @jvojdani.bsky.social and @emmaalpern.bsky.social www.vulture.com/article/anth...
The Best Novels of 2025, According to Anthony Jeselnik
The stand-up comedian read 51 books this year. Here are his favorites.
vulture.com
Even in a fractured media landscape, these books held our attention. The best books of 2025 include Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in 12 years, a geopolitical thriller by Susan Choi, and Keith McNally’s memoir.
The Best Books of 2025
Even in a fractured media landscape, these books held our attention. The best books of 2025 include Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in 12 years, a geopolitical thriller by Susan Choi, and Keith McNally’s memoir.
vulture.com
New York Magazine’s picks for what to see, hear, watch, and read from November 19 to December 3: Chloe Zhao’s heartbreaking ‘Hamnet’ adaptation, Ken Burns’s ‘The American Revolution’ docuseries, and the final season of ‘Stranger Things.’
25 Notable New Releases Over the Next Two Weeks
New York Magazine’s picks for what to see, hear, watch, and read from November 19 to December 3: Chloe Zhao’s heartbreaking ‘Hamnet’ adaptation, Ken Burns’s ‘The American Revolution’ docuseries, and the final season of ‘Stranger Things.’
nymag.com
Here are the books you Must Read this October, fresh and hand selected www.vulture.com/article/new-...
7 New Books You Should Read This October
Thomas Pynchon’s account of rising fascism, a millennial cheating novel, and a memoir from a James Beard winner.
vulture.com
here are our top picks for an amazingly busy book month! www.vulture.com/article/new-...
8 New Books You Should Read This September
A Patricia Lockwood novel, an unsparing memoir from Arundhati Roy, and self-described “nepito baby” Zosia Mamet’s essay collection.
vulture.com
Kate Riley joined a Christian commune to figure out how to live well. What she found was more complicated.
How a Christian Commune Inspired Kate Riley’s Novel
Kate Riley joined a Christian commune to figure out how to live well. What she found was more complicated.
thecut.com
Kate Riley's first (and maybe last) novel Ruth is one of my favorite books I've read in a long time, odd and funny and totally singular. For @TheCut, I talked to her about the fascinating communal-living experience that led her to write it www.thecut.com/article/kate...
How a Christian Commune Inspired Kate Riley’s Novel
She joined a religious group to figure out how to live well. What she found was more complicated.
thecut.com
I talked to Ottessa Moshfegh, Lucy Sante, and others about the freeform "literary busking" they're doing over on Substack for @vulture.com / @nymag.com www.vulture.com/article/subs...
Substack Is Where Writers Go to Be Weird
It has become the premier destination for literary types’ unpublished musings.
vulture.com
if you go on a hunger strike and your local newspaper is too hollowed out to even write it up, what happens next? I reviewed Hilary Plum's intriguing new novel, State Champ, for @thecut.com www.thecut.com/article/revi...
Please Read This Weird, Funny Abortion Novel
In Hilary Plum’s State Champ, a charismatic screwup stages a hunger strike after an abortion doctor is sent to prison.
thecut.com
In Hilary Plum’s ‘State Champ,’ our main character is a charismatic screwup, Angela, the receptionist at a women’s-health clinic in an unnamed U.S. state who stages a hunger strike after an abortion doctor is sent to prison.
Congratulations to Hilary Plum on this review by Emma Alpern in The Cut - link below @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @thecut.com @emmaalpern.bsky.social
A new syllabus for you over at @vulture.com, and it will happen every month 🥲 www.vulture.com/article/new-...
8 New Books You Should Read This May
A grumpy bookshop employee’s musings, an investigation of parenthood in the digital age, and an essential history of OpenAI.
vulture.com
May new book release recommendations include a new Ocean Vuong novel, an essential history of OpenAI, and Amanda Hess’s investigation of parenthood in the digital age.
8 New Books You Should Read This May
May new book release recommendations include a new Ocean Vuong novel, an essential history of OpenAI, and Amanda Hess’s investigation of parenthood in the digital age.
vulture.com
The McNally Jackson Festival is coming in May -- with talks held over the course of several weeks, plus a phone-free closing party at TJ Byrnes and a print zine www.vulture.com/article/mcna...
McNally Jackson Is Starting a Book Festival
The city’s big little indie-bookstore chain is betting on the idea that readers want something more than the standard launch party.
vulture.com
McNally Jackson is starting a twice-yearly festival including talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (with ‘a secret lineup’). ‘There will be events related to the festival at least two or three nights a week,’ Sarah McNally says.
McNally Jackson Is Starting a Book Festival
McNally Jackson is starting a twice-yearly festival including talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (with ‘a secret lineup’). ‘There will be events related to the festival at least two or three nights a week,’ Sarah McNally says.
vulture.com