So thrilled to see this cover out there and so proud of Sita. This book is beautiful. Thanks @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social!

We Need Diverse Books@weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social · yesterday

💌 Mark your calendars for THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Sita Jit, forthcoming from Lerner Books on February 2nd, 2027! 🎨 Illustration by Ash Roy 🖼️ Cover design by Athena Currier 🌟 bit.ly/DistanceBetwe...

Writers! One of my absolute favorite people in the business is open to queries again. 👇🏽

Erik Hane@erikhane.bsky.social · 2d ago

I pushed the button. I'm officially open for queries.

If only they could bottle up the feeling of when you make your copyeditor laugh in the Word .doc comments.

A little ramble about showing up, while wondering just who publishers are showing up for. open.substack.com/pub/ericsmit...

How We Show Up, or There Are 15,000 Postcards in My Office

Who does the industry actually want to show up for?

open.substack.com

Another day another scammer. Writer friends, you’ll never hear from me via an AOL email (I’m not emailing you from the past) or an email a la “ericsmithagent at gmail dot com.” Just the neighborhood one. Check those emails when you get some surprise outreach.

“Still punk as f*ck,” I whisper to myself as I put on my compression gloves.

My annual “here’s a ton of free publishing advice” post. You can access: TWENTY successful query letters. Six book proposals that sold. A guide to research agents. And a guide to writing I.P. All for free, right here. www.ericsmithrocks.com/perfect-pitch

Perfect Pitch — ERIC SMITH

ericsmithrocks.com

Squished in the middle of this story was this heartbreaking paragraph. Unconscionable.

Brian Lyman@brianlyman.bsky.social · last wk.

A lot of what-the-hell moments in this story, but building a data center in a floodplain in Louisiana is inviting the wrath of Poseidon.

Drizzling a little while out for a walk with the baby. Her tiny feet stick out of the covered stroller, and she flexes her toes in the rain, giggling like mad. Life is hard these days but sometimes you get moments that are perfect. ❤️

Shared this year's passport for the Philly Bookstore Crawl, and wow did it come out lovely. It's less than a month away, we've got almost sixty bookshops. There are mini-festivals, industry talks, concerts, and more. Angus Andrews designed it. They’re amazing. www.phillybookstorecrawl.com

The almost-one-year-old is digging in the garden with a little shovel, and oh my heart, maybe one day she too can spend $400 to grow five tomatoes, just like papa.

Getting asked the usual “how do I host one of these to promote my books?!” questions about the Philly Bookstore Crawl, so a reminder: If you launch a community event to promote yourself, it’s not a community event. And it probably won’t work the way you want it to. www.phillybookstorecrawl.com

The Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl

phillybookstorecrawl.com

Everything @runwithskizzers.bsky.social does is a must read. ❤️

Preeti Chhibber@runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 2w ago

‼️HE’S JUST SOME GUY ON NETGALLEY ‼️ What happens when a perfectly planned life crashes into beautiful chaos and unexpected connection(s)? Request it now! www.netgalley.com/catalog/book... 🎸 HE'S JUST SOME GUY 🥁 1/19/27

I watched The Sheep Detectives last night, which answers a simple question… what if everyone you showed up for, showed up for you, even when it seems impossible. Anyhow, cried the whole time. 10/10 movie.

*playing the FF7 remake* *sephiroth appears* *close up of sephiroth smirking* “I could fix him.”

Hooray! @alwayscoffee.bsky.social’s poetry collection is out today with @clashbooks.bsky.social, and I do hope you’ll pick it up! And if you’re in Philly, come hangout with us on Thursday at H&H Books!

Darlings!! Today, I am over at The Big Idea ( @scalzi.com ), talking about poetry and storytelling — who gets a voice and how powerful that voice is! whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/21/t...

The Big Idea: Ali Trotta

There is art all around us, and poetry can be found in places you’d never expect. Author Ali Trotta speaks on the true power of poetry in the Big Idea for her newest poetry collection, Offeri…

whatever.scalzi.com

Hey Philly friends, this is THIS WEEK! Come hangout at an AMA about poetry and traditional publishing.

Eric Smith@ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

So my agency’s latest industry event is live, and in July! Tired of hearing “poetry doesn’t sell” from folks? Me too! Join us for a free convo on traditionally publishing poetry, at Head and the Hand here in Philly. As always, it’s free. www.theheadandthehand.com/events/pitch...

This comes out…tomorrow?? Holy hell. So grateful to @clashbooks.bsky.social for being wonderful! I’m so in love with @katelanfoisy.bsky.social’s gorgeous art & grateful to @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social for being 18 kinds of fab! So excited for y’all to read it!! Thank you for all the support. XO

Some fun, three-book-deal-shaped news from last week. ❤️ Exploring ways to work with indie authors on their subrights has been a lot of fun.

As someone in publishing I really appreciate how all of the true crime shows my wife watches have titles that tell you exactly what they are. Wives with Knives My Killer Neighbor For My Man Almost Got Away With It Murdered My Author Spouse—

It’s wild how many of my group chats are full of friends getting into physical media again. Scooping up old games, keeping an eye out for good DVDS and Blu-rays at thrift stores… So tired of streaming and not owning anything.

“Still punk as f*ck.” I mutter to myself as I move my record collection to make room for an air purifier.

Oh hey, my agency’s next “let’s make publishing less mysterious” event is live, and is centered on memoir! American Grammar! 8/21! An AMA with @annasplat.bsky.social @ashleylopez.bsky.social @farahnazrishi.bsky.social! And as always, it’s free. www.neighborhoodliterary.com/neighborhood...

When a character says the title of a book in the novel, that’s the author looking right at the camera like in The Office.

Guess who got to sign some preorders this week?? It was SUCH a joy! I can't believe Offerings for Ordinary Gods is out NEXT WEEK!!!! **runs in circles** Everyone at Inkwood was AWESOME! AND there was a smol surprise at the store! See if you can catch it in the video: www.tiktok.com/@alitrotta/v...

I got to sign some preorders this week for my poetry collection, Offerings for Ordinary Gods (out July 21 from @CLASH Books — ahhhh!). It was an absolute joy, and there was a small surprise at the sto...

TikTok video by Ali

tiktok.com

SO, Offerings for Ordinary Gods is out July 21! [gasp] Because it's come up elsewhere, it's available globally. Go online to your fav bookseller, and it's there for preorder! IF you want a signed copy, Inkwood's got you. Outside the US, email them (inkwoodnj@gmail.com)! They'll get your sorted.

Offerings for Ordinary Gods by Ali Trotta | Inkwood Books

Pulling from the symbolism of tarot cards and fairytales, this speculative horror poetry collection recenters the power from altars of ordinary gods back to our highest self.

inkwoodnj.com

Every morning when I take my son to summer camp in his red wagon, on the way home there’s this elderly woman who points at the now empty wagon and exclaims “those are my kinda kids!” and then cackles maniacally, and honestly, she’s my life goals for when I retire.

So excited that this book is out today. I got to watch @arvd.bsky.social write it chapter by chapter, like a serial novel in an old newspaper. What a wild delight. It’s something special. Pick it up! ❤️

Publishing and parenting have both taught me to have supernatural patience, which helps me out in both spaces.