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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 07/09/2026

Happy Labor Day, my company unionized and got union-busted last year and many of us including me are still unemployed and I’d do it again because unions are good

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

All my love and solidarity to Quirk Books Union. The publishing industry has no future without unions, and I'm so proud that we were part of the effort to unionize publishing.

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

the brilliant people left in the union are some of the very best I’ve had the privilege of working with. solidarity forever with my friends.

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 09/11/2025

I just want to say that forming a union is an act of strength, fellow-feeling, and belief in the work you do. That belief isn’t always enough because the people in power only care about what they can get, but I’m proud of my comrades for their courage and optimism.

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

A final update from Quirk Books Union ✊💔 Devastated that, in the three months since we unionized, management never met the union at the bargaining table -- and now the remaining four union members have all been laid off.

On October 1st, Quirk Books became an imprint of Andrews McMeel Publishing, and as a result, the positions of all the remaining union members have been eliminated. We were scheduled to begin bargaining our contract on October 2nd. We're dismayed that this has happened-we truly love the work we have done and the books we have helped create at Quirk, and the union was our effort to ensure that those books could continue being made sustainably and well.

Given the acquisition of the company and the layoffs, Quirk Books Union will no longer exist. Despite how this is ending, we greatly value the experiences we've had and the knowledge we've gained through the unionization process.

To anyone else thinking of unionizing: Please don't get discouraged! As we've learned, it's a hard fight that doesn't always end well, but we believe that unionization efforts will only serve to make publishing and labor better for all. If you're interested in unionizing, check out the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) @organizeworkers for resources and support!

Thank you all for your support and solidarity! It's meant a lot to every one of us who has been part of this unionization process

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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

this part!!!!! “The whole thing feels … disrespectful. Give me a job fair. Give me something where I can interact with another human.” www.thecut.com/article/job-...

thecut.com

The Job Search Has Become a Humiliation Ritual

“It feels like I’m trying to make my robots talk to their robots.”

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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

oh hey if you’ve been meaning to pick up Horror For Weenies, Bookshop is having an anti-prime day free shipping sale (also a slight discount on the book!): bookshop.org/a/293/978168...

bookshop.org

Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch

Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 07/10/2025

Could someone cool please start a press. There are so many great hires rattling around out there right now. I KNOW some of you are out here having secret money

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

...anyway! I am looking for work (and have been for months actually!!) and also soft-launching that I'm doing freelance marketing and publicity. if you have a book coming out that you think would benefit from a thoughtful publicist/marketer, I'd love to help you get it into the world!

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Great day to follow Quirk Books Union (@ QuirkBooksUnion on IG) and show your support for unions in publishing! 🙂✊ No particular reason or anything!! 🔗 www.instagram.com/quirkbooksun...

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Ashley C. Ford @smashfizzle.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Whether or not you support political violence won’t change where we’ve come to, nor where we’ve been for some time in this country. I am quite taken aback by how many people only invoke the term ‘political violence’ when it happens to a person with power. It’s political violence the other way too.

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Helen Rosner @hels.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

It’s so embarrassing when ppl say HP was important to their childhood so they can’t let it go. Did it open a love of books & you went on to devour millions more books? Or is it just that you took one step into total brand capture before your brain was fully formed & even now you wish to remain

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

happy labor day to: big unions, small unions, organizers, stewards, employees trying to start unions, workers at the bargaining table, non-eligible employees who support their workplace's union, workers waiting for voluntary recognition, striking workers, workers going to an election, etc

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Seven of Sixty Nine @internetperson69.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Happy Labor Day, comrades 🫡

Screenshot from Star Trek DS9. Leeta, Rom, and the rest of the workers at Quark's Bar are all huddled together. Caption: "(all chanting): Union! Union!"

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thank u, hexed @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Thrilled to see THIS IS MY BODY in the New York Times!!! "Unique, unexpectedly tender, surprisingly sensual and full of queer love." Thank you for this lovely and generous review, @gabino.bsky.social! archive.is/2025.08.31-1...

archive.is

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

I've been blissfully on vacation in Canada the last week, but it's as good a time as any to say that I was laid off from Quirk Books at the end of June. I'm sad to be leaving behind authors I loved working with and many wonderful colleagues!

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thank u, hexed @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

HIRE JESSICA AND OTHER FORMER QUIRK EMPLOYEES OR REGRET IT FOREVER

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

ICYMI 👇 The latest from Quirk Books Union on IG

AN UPDATE FROM QUIRK BOOKS UNION

On June 19th, Quirk Books Union was voluntarily recognized, thanks to our enthusiastic supermajority support among eligible workers. The following week, seven of our union members were laid off, including all full-time non-supervisory employees in the Sales, Marketing, and Publicity department and our two remaining acquiring editors. We're devastated by this recent development, but it hasn't weakened our resolve.

We look forward to meeting management at the bargaining table.

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

To be clear, we are NOT calling for a boycott. If you'd like to support the Quirk Books Union, please show your love to our authors (preorder their books, request from the library, etc). All of us want to see our books do well — and we want to prove that unions are good for business! Thank you!! 💞

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Here's a few Quirk books out in August! Please show them some love (preorder, request from the library, etc) 💓 🐝 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/789598... 🐸 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/789602... 🐱 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779681... 🐣 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/767109...

I'm Just a Little Guy by Charlie James, illustrated by Paige Tompkins (cover features a frog lounging lackadaisically)

Zoomi & Zoe and the Sibling Situation by Corey Ann Haydu, illustrated by Anne Appert (cover features a kid holding an imaginary friend baby while an older imaginary friend looks furious that this baby interloper is here)

Cat's First Halloween by Natalie Nelson (cover features a cat wearing bat wings and a super adorable baby)

This is My Body by Lindsay King-Miller (cover features cool typography with a rosary looped around it and colorful wasps. The cover is a deep red-orange.)

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Want to support our laid off Quirk Books Union members? Well, we have some very talented folks looking for work in Sales, Marketing, & Publicity, plus in entry level editorial/agenting. They're all rising stars and delightful to collaborate with — please consider them for work if you're hiring!

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Some personal news: As of Monday, I am no longer a kidlit editor at Quirk Books. I was laid off last week along with the other acquiring editor and every full-time union member on the Sales, Marketing, & Publicity team. Here's me on my last day with ~60% of the books I had the privilege to work on:

A kidlit editor holding a teetering stack of children's books (plus two adult books) and wearing a Newsguild union t-shirt

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 30/06/2025

Today was my last day at Quirk—which means I finally have time for freelance editing clients! If you’re developing a book at any stage please get in touch and we can discuss how I can help www.jesszimmerman.com/editing.html

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thank u, hexed @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Quirk's employees are some of the greatest people you'll ever meet. They treat their books and their authors with incredible care. I am lucky and proud to work with these people, and I hope their union is recognized quickly and wholeheartedly!

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 27/05/2025

They should invent a bitch who isn’t eating crackers

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

We're manifesting a hot labor summer for publishing 🌞 If you're on IG, you can follow along @ QuirkBooksUnion ✨

Two arms with clasped hands. One arm has text that reads ME, the other arm reads MY COWORKERS and the clasped hands reads UNIONIZING FOR A HOT LABOR SUMMER IN PUBLISHING

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 24/05/2025

Here are the friendship bracelets by the way

A circle of arms wearing beaded bracelets with a variety of slogans, including “Quirk Union,” “QBU,” and “Fuck AI.” One person also has “Men Lie” and “Virgo” but it really, really works because she’s very stylish (she is also wearing lace sleeves with a thumb hole).

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佳美 Yang 🍊📚🐱 @jamteayang.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

My workplace is unionizing and we made friendship bracelets about it 🥰 I love my co-workers and couldn't be more excited to be collaborating on positive change!!

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 23/05/2025

My coworker anonymized this behind-the-scenes moment so I can share it publicly. This is what unionizing looks like in publishing

Chat screenshot:
Coffee emoji: But also I think double hyphen is fine for social
Turtle emoji: just post and I’ll go in and edit the em dash in lol
Sun emoji: Ok I did it but we are not doing em dashes by committee in the future
No emoji: this is killing me
Sun emoji: I PUT THE EM DASH IN YOU MONSTERS
No emoji: I’m adding that to the comrade quotefile
Turtle emoji: I think this is the most conflict we’ve ever had as a union
.

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 23/05/2025

By the way, I would not be surprised if we saw a cascade of publishing unions in the next year or so. Abrams just won their vote and I bet there are more coming down the pike. If I were a journalist covering publishing or labor news I’d start preparing for that trend piece now (we’ll give a quote!)

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

as Jack Kelly (Newsies, 2012) once said, “there’s a lot of stuff you gotta have in order to be a union.” how lucky am I to get to stand with a group of such dedicated, vibrant, passionate people!! I’m so proud. (follow us on IG: @quirkbooksunion)

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Jaya Saxena @jayasaxena.com · 23/05/2025

LET'S GOOOOOO

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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

I am SO HAPPY that the wonderful brilliant folks at Quirk are unionizing!! follow them on IG and spread the word 💜💜💜

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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 23/05/2025

Here’s a new project we’ve been cooking for the last few months! So proud to stand with the brilliant, dedicated, passionate workers of Quirk Books. We’re not on Bluesky yet but you can follow us on Insta at @quirkbooksunion

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Red Emma’s @redemmas.org · 11/05/2025

Baltimore: there are ICE agents questioning people in Waverly this morning. Be careful and know your rights.

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

I promise you will find other books to love that don’t also come with a side of blood on your hands 👍

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Gretchen Felker-Martin PRE ORDER CHIMERA 2.16.27 🍉 @scumbelievable.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

For no reason at all, here's the campfire story scene in MANHUNT where a character relates the tale of J. K. Rowling's grisly death in her fortified Scottish castle.

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Jenny Kiefer @jennykiefer.com · 20/03/2025

I can now share the cover for CRAFTING FOR SINNERS, in which Quirk Books said Fuck AI and commissioned a real life crochet art piece

The cover for CRAFTING FOR SINNERS. Crochet art in the center: a pair of hands in the prayer motion with rainbow colored nails and strands of yarn hanging below.

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

so far I have received three congratulatory texts about Kieran Culkin

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gaby iori @gabyiori.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

the number of times I’ve chanted “chud chud chud chud” is not 0 (it’s like 7)

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silas denver 🍎 @sweatermuppet.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

redesign of the piece that has gotten me restricted/suspended at least 4 times 😇

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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I cannot stress this enough: fuck. this.

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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 29/08/2024

Five days till Horror for Weenies, one week till my launch event at Greenlight Books with @claymcleod.bsky.social & @iameeadams.bsky.social!! We'll have stickers! We'll have wine! We'll sign books! I'll be wearing something incredibly extra! @quirkbooks.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...

Event graphic for Horror for Weenies at Greenlight Books on September 5th at 7:30pm

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