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SF Layzell

@sflayzell.bsky.social
2.1K followers 1.6K following 655 posts

I write queer stories & edit books sometimes sflayzell.com Buy Cottonopolis, a MG set in 1840s Manchester, shortlisted for Little Rebels sflayzell.com/cottonopolis Views mine, contact via website

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Maria Haskins @mariahaskins.com · 02/10/2026
There's a new edition of THE HOBBIT & it's the one illustrated by Tove Jansson which has never been published in English before. (It was pub'd in Sweden where Astrid Lindgren picked her to do the illustrations!) Read more: tovejansson.com/hobbit-tolki... 📖 www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
Tove Jansson's cover for THE HOBBIT with a very Jansson-esque Bilbo holding a shield and axe with mountains behind, Smaug flying overhead, and the line of riding dwarves as tiny silhouettes behind.
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Rose Schmits @roseschmits.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Are you even really celebrating the good word of Skeletor if you’re not having your pumpkin juice out of a tentacle cup? Did Beetlejuice die for our sins for nought? www.roseschmits.com
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 22h
Looks like today's responsible grownup behaviour is going to involve an impromptu trip to Brighton 🤩
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Steven Patchett @stevenpatchett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Pre-order post is the best post. Excited to get this, the following up of the acclaimed "Your body is not your body". This is for the benefit of the Trans Legal Services Network and Trans Doe Task Force, and i can't wait to read it. @tenebrouspress.bsky.social
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's not even funny what kind of loss I will absorb if I have to create an account to do business with you. I will walk away from a winning lottery ticket, I promise you.
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Lawrence Schimel @lawrenceschimel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#kidlituk
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Trash Cat Lit @trashcatlit.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We're chuffed to bits to announce our Best Small Fictions 2027 noms 🦝 Not easy choosing from months of amazing fiction, congrats to these five superb writers 💜 @cuylermeade.bsky.social @shiramusicant.bsky.social Clara Cooke @joycebingham.bsky.social Zoe Davis @meanerharker.bsky.social 1/2
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Proud Geek LGBTQ+ Bookshop @proud-geek.co.uk · 14/09/2026
From coming-of-age lit-fic to paranormal mysteries, queer history and a whole bunch of new trans fiction, here’s what’s new at Proud Geek this September: See something you like? Grab a copy from proud-geek.co.uk #queerbooks #booksky
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We Need Diverse Books @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🚨 Applications for WNDB’s Walter Dean Myers Grants are officially open! 💻 bit.ly/2026WalterGrants 📅 Applications close at 11:59 PM on October 31st, 2026
Red graphic titled “Walter Grants: Applications Now Open”. A subtitle beneath that says, “$2000 grant opportunity for diverse, unpublished writers and illustrators.” In the lower left hand corner is an illustration of a writer sitting at a table and typing on their laptop. In the lower right hand corner is a light blue starburst that says, “Accepting Applications Through October 31st”.
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Absolutely delightful news about a delightful person! #UKKidlit
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Little Island Books @littleislandbooks.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This Black History Month, we are publishing the first book for young children to celebrate Black Irish identity. Please join Little Island, Black and Irish, @leondiop.bsky.social and @enemaku.bsky.social at @chaptersbookstore.bsky.social on 20 October for the launch of BLACK & IRISH: AWESOME ICONS!
Launch invitation:

Join us to celebrate...
LEON DIOP & GRACE ENEMAKU'S
BOOK LAUNCH
Tuesday 20th October from 6.30pm
Chapters Bookstore, Parnell St, Dublin 1

Cover of book; photos of Leon and Grace; logos of Little Island and Black and Irish
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Throwback Thursday! One year ago I had the joy of joining fellow Little Rebels shortlistees @sarahhaggerholt.bsky.social @ellemcnicoll.bsky.social & Cathy Jenkins to talk radical children's fiction, chaired by @darrenchetty.bsky.social, hosted by @theclpe.bsky.social @littlerebsprize.bsky.social 💙📚🌈
Smiling people holding books in front of a screen displaying the same books. 
Left to right: Sarah Hagger-Holt, Elle McNicoll, SF Layzell, Cathy Jenkins & Darren Chetty.
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Aled Thompson @aledthompson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It's spooky season which means I can finally bring this piece back 🎃🐈‍⬛
A pumpkin patch featuring multicoloured pumpkins, some with carved faces, and black and white cats, frogs, crows and foliage
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Letterbox Library @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A gorgeous Throwback Thursday from @sflayzell.bsky.social #KidLitUK
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Proud Geek LGBTQ+ Bookshop @proud-geek.co.uk · 01/10/2026
Apparently, it’s International Coffee Day, so here are twelve queer cafés in the UK and Ireland that are worth a visit: Read the full blog post over at proud-geek.co.uk/post/lgbtq-c...
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Throwback Thursday! One year ago I had the joy of joining fellow Little Rebels shortlistees @sarahhaggerholt.bsky.social @ellemcnicoll.bsky.social & Cathy Jenkins to talk radical children's fiction, chaired by @darrenchetty.bsky.social, hosted by @theclpe.bsky.social @littlerebsprize.bsky.social 💙📚🌈
Smiling people holding books in front of a screen displaying the same books. 
Left to right: Sarah Hagger-Holt, Elle McNicoll, SF Layzell, Cathy Jenkins & Darren Chetty.
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It's Black History Month in the uk! Schools, businesses etc this is your reminder to book Black authors and speakers IN OTHER MONTHS not just october.
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Nico Martinez Nocito 🏳️‍⚧️ @nicowritesbooks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I couldn't be more excited to have my poem "trans/formative" in this incredible, vibrant, deeply queer magazine. It's about what it means to change yourself until the world's expectations can no longer hold you 🏳️‍⚧️💙✨️ othersidespec.com/pieces/trans...
othersidespec.com
trans/formative - OTHERSIDE
For us to be trans/formative we must first be trans/formed, our bodies unspooling from convention so that conviction instead  becomes the messy, sticky substance that drags our bones together and give...
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Raven Books @ravenbooks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Open for your browsing pleasure 'til 5pm
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InQ! London's Queer Comic Fair @inqcomicfair.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🌈InQ! DAY TWO is TODAY! 🦋 📍 Where: The London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, 60-62 Hopton Street, Blackfriars, London, SE1 9JH 🗓️ When? TODAY!! ⏰ What time? 10:30am - 5:30pm ✏️ Who's it for? Everyone. inQ! is family-friendly and all are welcome! 🚀 Tickets: FREE! Come join us! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Text reads: it’s today! London’s queer comic fair. Join us for day two.
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The Toy 🍩🦜🍑🌻🌈🪐🛼🎈🐢 @thetoypress.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Always nice to pop into the National Poetry Library in London to see The Toy on display! All past editions no less!
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T Guzman @tguzman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"I want to come home, to Earth, to Ithaca. That this was all a mistake. That we were never meant to be so far in space, untethered from the sun we know, forever treading grey corridors in yellow shirts." By @mcarphil.bsky.social from @barrelhouse.bsky.social www.barrelhousemag.com/online-lit/y...
barrelhousemag.com
Yellowshirt Elegy, by Meghan Phillips — Barrelhouse
Down in engineering you can’t even see the stars. Dad was so proud when I was reassigned— the heart of the ship, the heart of the ship,
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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I think the most “adult who was in a gifted and talented program as a kid” thing I could have done to myself was become an author. Just giving myself endless homework and a need for people to be proud of me forever.
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InQ! London's Queer Comic Fair @inqcomicfair.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
London’s Queer Comic Fair is back with a WHOLE WEEKEND of queer comics joy this September 26th and 27th 2026. Double the comic fair fun! Entry is FREE. We’re family friendly so bring all your friends. Tell everyone! Get excited! inQ! is BACK! [Poster by the brilliant @kitsuneart.bsky.social]
Illustrated poster for inQ! London's Queer Comic Fair. At the top, the text says "London's Queer Comics Fair is Back" There is a circle on the top-right corner that says "Free Entry" in it. The image has a person with their back us, wearing a leather jacket. The leather jacket has inclusive, LGBTQ+ and progressive patches on the sleeves. On the back of the jacket it has the text "26 + 27 Sept 2026. inQ! London LGBTQ+ Community Centre. 60-62 Hopton St. SE1 9JH. 10:30am to 5:30pm. The person is reading a comic. In the background is the London landscape.
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Rose Schmits @roseschmits.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
www.roseschmits.com
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Northodox Press 📖 @northodoxpress.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We are excited to be back at the Northern Publishers' Fair in Manchester in November, hosted by our friends @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social 😍 It's a brilliant day out and being a bit later this year may help with Christmas present ideas! Tickets: fly-on-the-wall-press.eventcube.io/events/97643...
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Follow @skullsandsheets.bsky.social for updates on the charity auction they're running in December! There are lots of great donations pouring in. I've donated a copy of my book Cottonopolis plus a one-off sketch of one of my favourite scenes 🐴
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Letterbox Library @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
UK Primary/EY Teachers- Our newsletter! www.letterboxlibrary.com/subscribers Stay connected and enjoy member-only discounts. Latest issue includes: TRIBUTE to our new Children's Laureate TIPS: selecting Black History titles BOOK PACKS: new and updated OFFER: on our Black History Book Pack KS1/2
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 23/09/2026
I think my thoughts on the lesbian bar story are that it's not particularly newsworthy. The coverage was heavily sensationalized. I think you could go to most local clubs or churches and find people just as wild.
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Mary Wyrd (she/her) @marywyrd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It’s the FOURTH and FINAL DAY of the (fictional) Horror Writers Chat Conference. It’s award time, and ** drumroll ** you’ve won an award! Speech!! Speech!! Q4: #HorrorWritersChat - Who do you thank for helping you get this far in your horror writing career?
QUESTION FOUR. Who do you thank for helping you get this far in your horror writing career? Quote post your answer and include the hashtag #HorrorWritersChat NO links or covers! Save your self promo for the outro (after answering the questions). Please LIKE, SHARE, and COMMENT on other posts. 
Background photograph (in duotone of red and black) of a hotel corridor leading to a door. The corridor is almost completely symmetrical.
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Disco Barrington 🏳️‍⚧️ Author @discobooks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It’s been one week! And a brilliant week at that.
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Frog and Toad Bot @frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Frog and Toad quickly ran back to the store. Then they sat in the shade of a large tree and ate their chocolate ice-cream cones together.
Under the shade of a big leafy tree, Frog, Toad, and two friends sit quietly, savoring their ice cream—determined to enjoy every last bite before the sun can interfere again.

From "Ice Cream"
In *Frog and Toad All Year*
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Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Oh and just for fun, this listing was attached to this article, in case you were curious what the top video rentals and sales in the U.S. were on November 20th, 1999
Top video rentals and sales in November 1999
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ech0reads.bsky.social @ech0reads.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
you should read The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by @lindzmcleod.bsky.social
screenshot of a scene from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Mack puts a plate down in front of Dennis with them both sitting at the table. Dennis looks down and then throws the plate away like a frisby into the hallway. 

The text next to Mack reads 'Caroline's mother'

'caroline' above Dennis 

'marrying a man' above the plate that is thrown.
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I've been working on a historical novel about resistance to the engineering of the fen landscape, so it's fascinating and a little scary to read about what might happen next. My short story The Seventh Swan introduces some of the novel's characters 🦢 #fens hyacinthreview.org/sf-layzell-t... 📚💙📚🌈📚⏳
hyacinthreview.org
The Seventh Swan - The Hyacinth Review
Dorothy hid in the reeds until the gang had passed. Wearing her father’s tunic, trousers and cap, she knew she could be taken for a boy. At home, with Bram, she was Dodie, the big sister who brought h...
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Lyndsey Croal (she/her) @lyndseycroal.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"It’s very inconvenient that the hermit crab has taken up residence in your bones."... ICYMI, I wrote a story about a woman being haunted by a hermit crab residing in her dead husband's skeleton... A quick read, and free via @electricliterature.com: electricliterature.com/the-bone-her... 💀🦀✨
electricliterature.com
My Dead Husband Still Wants the Last Word - Electric Literature
"The Bone Hermit," flash fiction by Lyndsey Croal
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I've been working on a historical novel about resistance to the engineering of the fen landscape, so it's fascinating and a little scary to read about what might happen next. My short story The Seventh Swan introduces some of the novel's characters 🦢 #fens hyacinthreview.org/sf-layzell-t... 📚💙📚🌈📚⏳
hyacinthreview.org
The Seventh Swan - The Hyacinth Review
Dorothy hid in the reeds until the gang had passed. Wearing her father’s tunic, trousers and cap, she knew she could be taken for a boy. At home, with Bram, she was Dodie, the big sister who brought h...
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 18/09/2026
The Fens produce a third of England’s vegetables and support tens of thousands of jobs. But with a third of the region below sea level, climate change poses growing challenges to this engineered landscape. Report by Katie Jenkins and Robert James Nicholls, #Fens #ClimateChange
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Britain’s most artificial landscape may not survive climate change
The Fens, source of a third of England’s vegetables, faces rising floods, drought and heat as climate risks collide.
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Melinda Salisbury @melindasalisbury.com · 18/09/2026
Finally, someone has fully understood the female gaze, because as everyone else has pointed out, that is Lesbian Christopher Walken and that is EXACTLY what women want
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Emily St. James @emilystjams.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Or to quote Woodworking (Emily St. James, 2025): "It will seem easy once you’ve done it and impossible until you have. But you can do it. Your imagination simply isn’t big enough yet. You’ll see."
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Oh! Oh dear I see what's happened here A tangle, a puzzle A mix-up, a muddle A mizzle, a curdle A skittle, a turtle No Don't fear I see what's happened here And here I am To help. #writingcommunity #writingforchildren #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
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Nefarious Bat Press @nefariousbatpress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We weren't expecting to be posting this quite so soon... but good news: we're reopening to submissions! 🎉
WE'RE REOPENING TO SUBMISSIONS!
WE WEREN'T EXPECTING TO WRITE THIS QUITE YET. BUT OWING TO A BIT OF UNEXPECTED GOOD FORTUNE - WE'RE OPENING BACK UP TO SUBMISIONS!

WE'RE LOOKING FOR QUEER HORROR NOVELS OF AT LEAST 50,000 WORDS FOR A LATE 2027 EARLY 2028 RELEASE
IN EXCHANGE, WE'RE OFFERING A SMALL ($250) ADVANCE AND A LOT OF LOVE, CARE AND ATTENTIONIF YOU KNOW US, THEN YOU KNOW THE SORT OF THING WE LIKE, AND THE SORT OF THING WE DON'T. (IF YOU DON'T KNOW US: WORTH HAVING A QUICK READ AROUND TO MAKE SURE WE'RE THE RIGHT FIT)

PLEASE:
• NO "AI"-GENERATED ANYTHING
• NO RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA OR TRANSPHOBIA, ABLEISM OR MISOGYNY - TRUST US, WE CAN SMELL THEM ALL A MILE AWAY
• NOTHING THAT ISN'T QUEER HORROR

THINK YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING FOR US?
EMAIL IT OVER TO
INFO @NEFARIOUSBATPRESS.COM
WITH A COVER NOTE AND SYNOPSIS, MARKED
"QUEER HORROR SUBMISSIONS"

CHEERS! ~ THE BATS
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Kev Harrison @kevharrison.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I've just lined up tomorrow's @thisishorror.bsky.social news but, #ICYMI, here are last week's new & forthcoming releases: www.thisishorror.co.uk/news-round-u... It Pierces: A Folk Horror by @therealjackfinn.bsky.social - out now from Crow Street Press ... 1/2
thisishorror.co.uk
News Round-up Week Ending 11 September 2026
Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week … Out now from author Jack Finn and Crow Street Press, It Pierces: A Folk Horror Four veterans. One fo…
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Choosing what to read next... 📚💙
Book stack guarded by resin house crow. Books are: Boglands by Merritt Turetsky, Elizabeth and Ruth by Livi Michael, and The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
My new story about a heist on a sleeper train! Check it out along with the rest of Trash Cat's autumn prompted stories 📚🪐📚💙📚🌈✒️
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I loved this story 📚🌈
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Lucy Lapinska / LD Lapinski 💛🤍💜🖤 @ldlapinski.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Yeah this is all I can stretch to promo wise www.amazon.co.uk/Some-Body-Li...
A picture of the book Some Body Like Me and a ribbon imploring the reader of this text to read the book as well
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SF Layzell @sflayzell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I loved this story 📚🌈
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Bywater Books @bywaterbooks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🏳️‍🌈 IT’S SAPPHIC SEPTEMBER 🏳️‍🌈 👀 This week, Jae's Sapphic Book Bingo features autistic MCs. ✅ Check out the books & daub your card today! ➡️ See all 15 books here: loom.ly/hxpptrw #SapphicBooks #NeurodivergentRepresentation #AutisticProtagonist #BookSky
Promotional graphic set against a rainbow background. At the top, digital tablet and paperback versions of Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen and the Matchmaking Scheme by Mari SanGiovanni are displayed. Below, a white card reads Sapphic Book Bingo 2026: Autistic Main Characters, flanked by two rainbow infinity symbols. The Bywater Books logo sits in the bottom left corner.
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Ella Dawson @brosandprose.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I am doing EVENTS and I want you to BE THERE. 9/30: @eraofemma.bsky.social and I are discussing hot lesbian ghosts at the Ripped Bodice BK. 10/5: Katherine Grant and I are hosting a romance read-in to benefit @authorsabb.bsky.social at Book Club Bar in Manhattan! Tickets: linktr.ee/brosandprose
Ella's Upcoming Events

9/30: HAPPILY EVER AFTERLIFE launch with Emma R. Alban
@ the Ripped Bodice, Brooklyn

10/5: Romance read-in to benefit Authors Against Book Bans
@ Book Club Bar, Manhattan
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