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Iris Blasi

@irisblasi.bsky.social
1.3K followers 831 following 108 posts

Book lover and literary agent at Arc Literary. Say hi here: iris@arcliterary.com. arcliterarymanagement.com/the-agents#iris

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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
"Successful authors are the ones who keep showing up through failure." Three cheers to @robwhart.bsky.social for his transparency in this great @opensecretsmag.bsky.social essay about the many failures that come before success. JUST KEEP GOING.
opensecretsmagazine.com
I'm a Thriller Author Who Figured Out the Secret to Actually Selling Books
And it’s not ideal—because it’s all about the things you can’t control
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Some exciting deal news today!
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
I could not be more excited myself! Rare are the books that make me laugh AND break my heart, and I feel so lucky to have spent the time I have in this place with these people @daniellebarrwrites.bsky.social has created. I can't wait to get to invite the rest of the world in!
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
An interesting tactic in my inbox today: An author calling attention to the number of rejections he's received thus far from other agents ("at least 35").
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
"Any agent will tell you that finding a writer in slush is like finding a needle in a haystack." This is a VERY good piece by data scientist @lbmcgrath.bsky.social about the realities of the slush pile:
laurabmcgrath.substack.com
textCrunch, No. 2: Looking Inside the Slush Pile
And your odds of getting out of it
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I just received a query referring to me as "Agent Blasi" and, honestly, I could really get into this honorific.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
My favorite recent query is for the "literary fiction work of approximately [word count] words."
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
I love @olgakhazan.bsky.social's answer to the question "What about writing surprises you?" Via @memoirland.bsky.social: memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...
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Nicole Tersigni @nicsigni.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
you’re fired. wait you’re rehired. email us a list of things you’ve done today wait forget it you’re fired again. come back your job was important. you’re fired. or hired. come in to the office. wait the office has no computers go home. we are the department of government efficiency.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
"I think my main takeaway is that writing a book is exhausting beyond belief, and yet here I am doing it all over again." @juliekliegman.com Happy first birthday, MIND GAME!!!
buttondown.com
Happy first birthday, Mind Game
Plus, a shiny new website.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
"Here’s the thing about first books: It might not be the book that gets you there. ... I know writers who didn’t hit until their third, fourth, or even seventh book. The unifying factor amongst successful writers tends to be stubbornness, not MFAs." via @opensecretsmag.bsky.social
opensecretsmagazine.com
Dear Daddy Advice Column March 2025: Do You Need an MFA to Get Your Novel Published?
Our advice columnist has strong opinions about MFA programs: “The unifying factor amongst successful writers tends to be stubbornness, not MFAs. “
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Ashley C. Ford @smashfizzle.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
For me, fighting fascism has nothing to do with thinking I’ll win. I don’t fight because there’s an inevitable outcome, I fight because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do something.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
If you like incredibly intelligent fiction with horror elements, you are going to LOVE what @joshuadbellin.bsky.social and I working on right now. Stay tuned…
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Just popping in to say that @lindaholmes.bsky.social's BACK AFTER THIS is officially out today, and, if you're looking for a smart, funny book to lift you up in these dark times, this is it. And, as a bonus: Linda reads the audiobook herself, which any fan of PCHH is going to LOVE. I certainly did!
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Advice from @jamiattenberg.bsky.social for writers trying to finish a book: "I think less about the finish line & more about the starting line. I think about my reason for beginning the book in the first place. I have found when I tap into the spirit of that original purpose, it often renews me."
1000wordsofsummer.substack.com
Let's Talk About Crossing the Finishing Line
By returning to the starting line.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love the tv show "From." If you are an author whose manuscript is anything in the vein of that vibe (character-driven horror in an isolated small town with mysteries rooted decades back), please send it to me immediately, as I want to represent you.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Fresh stack.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Aspiring authors, please know: There are more novels in drawers than anyone really talks about.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
It was my job to bring dessert to the Super Bowl party last night.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A host of literary organizations have released a joint statement decrying Trump’s anti-trans executive order in no uncertain words: “This return to McCarthyism by other means is a leap backwards to a grim chapter of American history.”
publishersweekly.com
Literary Organizations Release Joint Statement Decrying Anti-Trans Executive Order
The American Booksellers Association, Audio Publishers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, PEN America, and dozens of other orgs issued a letter addressing President Donald Trump's e...
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
"First they came for the transgender athletes, and I did not speak out—because I was not a transgender athlete." This is how it begins.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I received a query for a manuscript with 492,000 words. I realize word counts can vary, but that is simply too many words.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
“Focus is a fundamental substance of democracy.”
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, that’s the point. Take a minute and watch this from @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social.
nytimes.com
Video: Opinion | Don’t Believe Him
Look closely at the first two weeks of Donald Trump’s second term and you’ll see something very different than what he wants you to see.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
“‘Constitutional crisis’ does not even begin to capture the radicalism of what is unfolding in the federal bureaucracy and of what Congress’s decision not to act may liquidate in terms of constitutional meaning.” A must-read from @jamellebouie.net:
nytimes.com
Opinion | There Is No Going Back (Gift Article)
The president’s opponents, whoever they are, cannot expect a return to the Constitution as it was.
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Matt Monagle @monagle.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
“If you would have asked me a week ago, I'd have told you that this kind of thing would never in a million years happen. But now, who the fuck knows."
wired.com
A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It’s also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls So...
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
THIS ⬇️
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
“One source explicitly said that they were only reporting to me because there was no one left in the Federal Government to report security breaches to.” @nathantankus.bsky.social with a must-read on the treasury payments crisis:
crisesnotes.com
Day Five of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025: Not “Read Only” access anymore
If you are a current or former career Bureau of the Fiscal Service Employee, especially if you’re a legacy IT programmer with years of experience and especially if you are a COBOL programmer currently...
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Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
There are literally not enough journalists employed in the US to cover the bad shit that is happening right now. We are now going to experience the social consequences of a weakened news industry--which are the same as the benefits of a weakened news industry, to those who weakened it.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Protip: @roxanegay.bsky.social's The Audacity is a hell of a news aggregator, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed amid this onslaught of terrible news. Highly recommend subscribing: audacity.substack.com/p/the-audaci...
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
“The ideal game show viewing experience should evoke memories of running a fever in your childhood bedroom at high noon, watching bleary-eyed as a trio of panelists guesstimate the retail cost of a vacuum cleaner.” Truer words were never spoken. Great piece by @lukewinkie.bsky.social :
slate.com
We All Know What’s Coming for Vanna White. Why Aren’t We Ready?
The icon’s delightful era of senioritis on Wheel of Fortune has been harder-earned than it might seem.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Highly recommend this piece by @thefrankiedlc.news about American masculinity's toxic turn and why combat sports were the perfect breeding ground for Trump to build his base.
thefrankiedlc.news
TrumpMania won the White House
why combat sports were the perfect breeding ground for Trump to help build his base
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
This answer from @lidiamiles.bsky.social is the very greatest answer you will ever hear to the question "What's the elevator pitch for your book?"
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Some excellent tips from @rachelkramerbussel.bsky.social on the elements that make for a memorable personal essay:
opensecretsmagazine.com
How to Get Your Personal Essay Published in Open Secrets Magazine
Writing tips and submission advice from Open Secrets Magazine editor Rachel Kramer Bussel
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
One of the quickest ways to lose my attention in a query is to let me know that you just finished your manuscript yesterday and that no one but you has read it.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
According to Bookscan, twenty percent of the top 200 print books of 2024 were written by four authors: Sarah J. Maas, Freida McFadden, Ana Huang, and Colleen Hoover.
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
The New Bestsellers of 2024 - Publishers Lunch
Romance, romantasy, and domestic suspense dominated the bestselling books of 2024: Twenty percent of the top 200 print books according to Circana Bookscan–as of December 28–were written by four author...
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Emily Van Duyne's LOVING SYLVIA PLATH is one of @readbookpage.bsky.social's 12 Best Biographies of the Year! www.bookpage.com/tag-page/bes...
bookpage.com
Best Biographies of 2024
From renowned authors to heads of state, game-changing activists and cultural icons, these 12 illuminating profiles delighted and inspired us.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
"There’s already been a most anticipated book list for 2025 and I wasn’t on it. I don’t expect to be on those lists! This is not that kind of book! But still, I had feelings about it." Agent-turned-author @katemckean.bsky.social on writerly anxiety: katemckean.substack.com/p/it-happene...
katemckean.substack.com
It Happened To Me
I Hate My Book
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
He rated the Unabomber’s manifesto 4/5 stars.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
I certainly didn’t think I’d be ending my Monday by examining a suspected murderer’s Goodreads account.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Every state should do this.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Stop what you’re doing and read @caseyparks.bsky.social’s story today.
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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Your monthly reminder: Keep writing. When no one cares, persist. When things appear to be crumbling, keep at it. When it's difficult, push through. When you feel alone, listen to the stories in your blood. Just write. The world needs you to tell your truth through your words.
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
When is too soon to start thinking about books to bring on Christmas vacation?
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
My Heart's Invisible Chainsaw the Size of Your Fist #literaryturducken
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
American Gods of the Birnam Woods #literaryturducken
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
On Beautyland That Time Forgot #literaryturducken
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Iris Blasi @irisblasi.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Tender is the Night of the Girl Waits with Gun #literaryturducken
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