Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #literary-fiction, aggregated by home.social.
Lines of a princess, drawn since kindergarten.
I lived a quiet life, right up until I drew near to the mirror.
Today, my lines are beautiful.
#TwitterFiction #XFiction #MicroFiction #ShortShortStory #140CharacterFiction #50CharacterFiction #ShortStory #SketchbookBeforeTheMirror #GenderIdentityDisorder #Transgender #ComingOfAge #Sketch #Princess #HormoneTherapy #BeingMyself #Touching #LingeringImpression #ImplicitNarrative #LiteraryFiction #LightNovel #OriginalWriting #ConnectWithFictionLovers
Literary Fiction Books That Challenge What We Believe
Our beliefs shape how we interpret the world, but they don't always withstand closer examination. These Literary Fiction books explore characters confronting unfamiliar perspectives, uncomfortable realities, and ideas that challenge their assumptions. Their stories invite readers to consider how experience can reshape understanding. A compelling choice for anyone who enjoys fiction that opens up new ways of thinking.
https://www.newinbooks.com/literary-fiction-books-that-challenge-what-we-believe-2026/
Two worlds. Two eras. One unbroken ache.
If you enjoy literary fiction and historical novels, I invite you to discover Venus’s Tears and add it to your Want to Read list.
I would be delighted to hear your thoughts.
#HistoricalFiction #LiteraryFiction #History #novel #fiction
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/262094665-venus-s-tears
So excited to see that this short story continues to move people 5 years after its publication!
https://store.creativeramblings.com/en-cad/products/what-will-happen-next
On Substack, Everlasting Worldbuilder captures some of the essence of reviving an abandoned manuscript from 2023 and creating an authorial bible and worldbuilding ledger.
#philosophy #writing #author #manuscript #novel #fiction #speculativefiction #sciencefiction #ubstack #blog #artificialintelligence #llms #writingprocess #literaryfiction #creativewriting #ridleypark
A Whisper in the Storm
https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Storm-Nicole-Higginbotham-Hogue-ebook/dp/B0H6PDFY2T?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&th=1&psc=1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VCdBzsjy9fuayZXPUyKZ9IVJr702zqCyucB74Yf_PpZUvLE9GJ-tjUOSnK8uJonz4Ga3sJOBkIT9orzw0hAMm6vyiQlXW2NAU6u3bLnTocegDuEVDl_Q-jI2JEMCxNQ3iMrlHPycuyv3079eRCLrpNDfKAmCw0cT2KT3AuMADjWtrevxJd-Cn_obtaNV-M3FFXRh_iVUC9az2Ag0EnRcF1-fBqIlLTXVx0x482gaIRw.qhafeKzGOyWALbwa9JLQSBjpcDPTgs2Ik1hKlmpazrw&dib_tag=AUTHORhttps://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/10/21/a-whisper-in-the-storm-2/
New Books to Read in Literary Fiction | October 20
Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard, Irina Shapiro, Jean Grainger, Andrew Wareham, Sally Forbes, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!
https://www.newinbooks.com/new-books-to-read-in-literary-fiction-october-20-2026/
To succeed he must win over Charles I of England, while in Paris ‘the Cardinal’ is working to frustrate him. Will nation cheat nation as people deceive one another in their personal lives?
Pax is a rich, compelling study of desire, power, art – and the search for private and public peace.
#literaryfiction #histfic #amreading #books #fiction #bookstodon #booksaboutartists
#booksky 💙📚 #bookstodon Wild Lightening Strikings. My #bookreview of House Arrest (English translation) by Noa Yedlin, on my #bookblog now. Thanks to @newvesselpress.bsky.social for the ARC of this satirical #literaryfiction novel via @edelweiss. #2026NewReleaseChallenge #2026BooksInTranslation
http://tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/10/19/wild-lightening-strikings/
"The moment Satoshi stepped onto the train at Meguro, he started looking at people..."
Subway Seat Story by Takeshi Chin https://medium.com/lit-up/subway-seat-story-c3cbdbb754b5/
#fiction #literaryfiction #quietstories #quickread
in the Lit Up press #litpub & #readingcommunity
#read & #share a #story today
The halfway point
Amongst the busy day of driving children around to their activities, I managed about about two hours of writing. I learned recently that I should bring my laptop with me when I bring my daughters to their activities. When they're off doing gymnastics or learning science stuff, it's ideal writing time for me! It's a good thing I managed to be disciplined like that today, because it allowed me to finally reach 30,000 words in Lessons in Absence. It feels like a halfway point. I had originally […]
Literary Fiction About Starting Over When Life Shifts
These Literary Fiction stories confront uncomfortable truths with clarity and depth. From shifting identities to fractured relationships, each novel explores the cost of survival and the quiet strength it takes to endure. Ideal for readers who appreciate fiction that feels real and unvarnished.
https://www.newinbooks.com/literary-fiction-about-starting-over-when-life-shifts-2026/
Meet these great indie literary fiction authors at the Literary Fiction Genre Indie Authors Starter Pack! If you wish to be included in the starter pack, reply here. #literaryfiction #writingcommunity #authorsky bsky.app/starter-pack/inventi...
Literary Fiction Genre Indie A...
Meet these great indie literary fiction authors at the Literary Fiction Genre Indie Authors Starter Pack! If you wish to be included in the starter pack, reply here. #literaryfiction #writingcommunity #authorsky bsky.app/starter-pack/inventi...
Literary Fiction Genre Indie A...
Interview with Ellen Shapiro, Author of The Color of Revenge
Author interview for The Color of Revenge (Maddie Landon Mysteries)…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-ellen-shapiro-author-of-the-color-of-revenge/
Interview with Ellen Shapiro, Author of The Color of Revenge
Author interview for The Color of Revenge (Maddie Landon Mysteries)…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-ellen-shapiro-author-of-the-color-of-revenge/
Interview with Livia Angela Jaén, Author of Within the Order of the Dragon
Author interview for Within the Order of the Dragon (The Untold Story of a Vampire Family Book 1)…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-livia-angela-jaen-author-of-within-the-order-of-the-dragon/
New Books to Read in Literary Fiction | October 13
Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Livia Angela Jaén, Ellen Shapiro, Kristan Higgins, Pippa Grant, Jane Bitomsky, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!
https://www.newinbooks.com/new-books-to-read-in-literary-fiction-october-13-2026/
Literary Science Fiction Books to Expand Your View of the Future
These literary science fiction books with stunning prose and complex characters will give you a new perspective on what it means to be human.
https://bookriot.com/literary-science-fiction-books/
#LiteraryFiction #ScienceFictionFantasy #SwordsandSpaceships #literary #scifi
An Honest Thief
An Honest Thief by Abrahim Laaraibi An Honest Thief is a story about conscience in a world that condemns the burglar but honours the men who steal people's future. He had come for what he could carry. The smell stopped him. In the kitchen, a pot stood on the stove with its lid slightly crooked. Cumin, browned onions, meat cooked until it loosened from the bone. Beneath a cloth on the table, bread gave off the last of its warmth. He listened for footsteps in the rooms beyond. Nothing. His […]
New Books to Read in Literary Fiction | October 6
Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like K.J. Gillenwater, Tracy Gray, Izzy Bayliss, Melissa Anne, Lynn Morrison, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!
https://www.newinbooks.com/new-books-to-read-in-literary-fiction-october-6-2026/
Meet these great indie literary fiction authors at the Literary Fiction Genre Indie Authors Starter Pack! If you wish to be included in the starter pack, reply here. #literaryfiction #writingcommunity #writesky bsky.app/starter-pack/inventi...
Literary Fiction Genre Indie A...
Meet these great indie literary fiction authors at the Literary Fiction Genre Indie Authors Starter Pack! If you wish to be included in the starter pack, reply here. #literaryfiction #writingcommunity #writesky bsky.app/starter-pack/inventi...
Literary Fiction Genre Indie A...
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
I downloaded this because it was recommended by Emily St. John Mandell in an interview promoting her latest novel Exit Party (which I have not yet downloaded). The tenor of her recommendation was that it was little-known but deserved a wider readership.
Fair enough, I thought, on many counts. I could not recall ever having heard of Dan Chaon. I’ve read since that he has had short stories featured in The Best American Short Stories, an annual edited collection of which I have several volumes in the house. I used to buy them religiously back in the 90s (when I was doing my degrees), and then my younger daughter started buying them when she was doing her degree. But I’d never heard of him and I’d never heard of this, which was published in 2009. I’m not really a lit-fic guy, so it’s not a surprise, but you’d think something that was “critically acclaimed” would filter through.
So: was it a solid recommendation from St. John Mandell? Is this worth a wider readership? Short answer: yes. If you, like me, had not heard of it, don’t be afraid.
“The lives of three strangers interconnect in unforeseen ways–and with unexpected consequences” runs the one-sentence description of the book. Would that I could come up with something as punchy for my own books. In that one sentence you get what makes this interesting. You’ve got three narrative strands which appear to have nothing to do with each other. Your puzzle-solving mind (of course) starts looking for connections and thematic links, and you begin to find some. And then at a certain point, you make the breakthrough.
Reading the author’s own description of how he composed the novel (starting with fragmentary images which he somehow knew were part of the same thing and then starting to write scenes until he had an epiphany) it seems that the reader undergoes a similar process. That, there, is very clever. You’re somehow transmitting the experience of a creative breakthrough from author to reader, through the medium of words on a page.
Miles Cheshire is a failure of a man whose life has been blighted by the antics and (probable) schizophrenia of his missing twin. The twin, Hayden, has been in the wind for years, and Miles simply cannot get on with his life because he feels he needs to track Hayden down. We join him on an epic road trip into the wilds of Canada, following clues he is convinced Hayden has left for him.
Lucy Lattimore is a recent high school graduate who goes on the lam with a man who was very recently one of her teachers. Ew, you’ll be thinking, and yes. They end up in a deserted motel in Nebraska where Lucy begins to question her life choices.
Both Miles and Lucy have abandoned their old lives; both of them are orphaned. The third in the triumvirate is Ryan Schuyler, who also walks away from his life having discovered that his parents aren’t his parents. It is Ryan’s story which gives the novel its title—which is typical of the kind of scam email you might get from identity thieves.
Identity—who you are, where you come from, what it is that makes you you, that is the major theme of the novel. How easy is it to walk away from yourself? Remember the Flitcraft story from The Maltese Falcon? A man walks away from his wife and family and his conventional life following a near-death experience. He is found by a detective a few years later living a few miles away, leading a completely conventional life with another wife and another family. Whereever you go, there you are.
The three point of view characters are all curiously passive, caught up in things, allowing themselves to be led. The narrative includes multiple digressions and analepses. A character picks up the phone, hears a woman on the line, and several pages later the phone call continues. This kind of thing can get a little irritating. The other thing I’d say is, sometimes you get more invested in one or other of the characters and it can feel frustrating when the focus shifts to the others. But stick with it, because when it comes, it’s a pleasure.
I won’t say much more. As you read, you see the commonalities. You understand the futility of Miles’ quest; with Lucy, you know straight away she’s making a horrible mistake, but the nature of that mistake hits you when it hits her. And Ryan? Well, let’s sat that there’s a metaphor there that’s a little heavy handed.
(Short note on the Kindle edition: I was surprised by the ending because there’s actually a lot of gubbins after the actual novel ends. Not just acknowledgements but an interview and a load of ‘book club’ discussion points.)
#bookReview #bookReviews #Books #fiction #litFic #LiteraryFiction #Reading
6 Literary Fiction Books About Complicated Choices
These Literary Fiction stories confront uncomfortable truths with clarity and depth. From fractured families to lifelong regrets, each novel explores the boundaries between hope, grief, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Ideal for readers who appreciate fiction that feels real, emotionally resonant, and unafraid to ask tough questions.
https://www.newinbooks.com/6-literary-fiction-books-about-complicated-choices-2026/
https://www.europesays.com/3285220/ The human cost | Tabish Khair’s ‘Drown All the Refugees’ #AdityaManiJha #BooksOnMigration #BooksOnRefugees #ContemporaryIndianLiterature #displacement #DrownAllTheRefugees #HeartOfDarkness #HumanDisplacement #IndianFiction #IndianNovelist #IndianPoetry #JosephConrad #LiteraryFiction #migration #RefugeeCrisis #RefugeeLiterature #Refugees #TabishKhair #TabishKhairNovel #TheHumanCost
Interview with D. J. Pratt, Author of Dominique's Journey
Author interview for Dominique's Journey…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-d-j-pratt-author-of-dominiques-journey/
Interview with Jared Morrison, Author of The Crossing
Author interview for The Crossing…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-jared-morrison-author-of-the-crossing/
Interview with D. J. Pratt, Author of Dominique's Journey
Author interview for Dominique's Journey…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-d-j-pratt-author-of-dominiques-journey/
So excited to see that this short story continues to move people 5 years after its publication!
https://store.creativeramblings.com/en-cad/products/what-will-happen-next
Does a book need a moral compass to be great?
A viral take demanded that great literature must possess a "coherent moral vision." I wrote on why treating fiction like a Sunday-school syllabus ruins the art form. As Harold Bloom wrote: "It is not the function of the greatest prose fiction to redeem us."
https://salespitch.substack.com/p/the-sunday-schooling-of-literature
📚 American Hagwon by: Min Jin Lee
In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow le...
https://bookblabla.com/book/american-hagwon
#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #familylife #multigenerationalfiction #immigrationfiction
New Books to Read in Literary Fiction | September 29
Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Jared Morrison, D. J. Pratt, Chloe Benjamin, Jodi Picoult, Kay Chandler, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!
https://www.newinbooks.com/new-books-to-read-in-literary-fiction-september-29-2026/
📚 The Glass Hotel by: Emily St. John Mandel
Vincent is the beautiful bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star glass-and-cedar palace on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. New York financier Jonathan Alkaitis owns the hotel. When he passes Vincent his card with a tip, it's the beginning of their li...
https://bookblabla.com/book/the-glass-hotel
#books #reading #libraries #fiction #dystopianfiction #mysterydetective #literaryfiction #generalfiction
Read our newest short story, “Where Have All The Young Girls Gone?” by David A. Cohen which asks, "Does the outcome of your actions dictate their value?" #ethics #shortstory #fiction #literaryfiction
afterdinnerconversation.substack.com/p/where-have...
“Where Have All The Young Girl...
GMBC ep14 - LitTechs and Jane Eyre and GMO Dodo's...Oh My! A Game Master's Guide to Literary Adventures in Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair" #jasperfforde #literaryfiction #ThursdayNext #bibliophile #scifi #scififantasy #literarydetective #metafiction #steampunk #timetravel #timetraveler #books #booksbooksbooks #booksaboutbooks #ttrpgpodcast https://www.k-squareproductions.com/gmbc
"Copa met the question that would haunt him for the rest of his life — When was time first created?.."
Buya, Everywhere by Yang Zefan https://medium.com/the-mad-river/buya-everywhere-9ace531af6a8
#time #fiction #literaryfiction in The Mad River #litpub and #readingcommunity
Meet these great indie literary fiction authors at the Literary Fiction Genre Indie Authors Starter Pack! If you wish to be included in the starter pack, reply here. #literaryfiction #writingcommunity #authorsky bsky.app/starter-pack/inventi...
Literary Fiction Genre Indie A...
https://www.laviezine.com/1645586/neuronal-skies-and-the-dark-songs-of-life-in-asmodeus/ Neuronal Skies and the Dark Songs of Life in “Asmodeus” #1990s #Asmodeus #chicago #demon #DominicanRepublic #fiction #horror #LiteraryFiction #metal #music #postmodern #psychedelic #RitaIndiana #rock #Spanish #translation
📚 Termination Shock by: Neal Stephenson
One man, a visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humani...
https://bookblabla.com/book/termination-shock
#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #sciencefiction #generalfiction #thrillers
Literary Fiction Books About Identity and Belonging
Who we are can change depending on where we are and who surrounds us. These Literary Fiction books explore identity, belonging, relationships, culture, and the tension between how characters see themselves and how others see them. Each offers a different perspective on finding—or questioning—a sense of place. Explore these picks when you enjoy fiction that examines what shapes a person.
https://www.newinbooks.com/literary-fiction-books-about-identity-and-belonging/
Interview with Mike Faricy, Author of Partners (In Crime)
Author interview for Partners (In Crime) Book 1…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-mike-faricy-author-of-partners-in-crime/
Interview with Kinan Kotrash, Author of Moonlight Over Still Water
Author interview for Moonlight Over Still Water…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-kinan-kotrash-author-of-moonlight-over-still-water/
Interview with Kwadwo Abrokwa, Author of Joseph of Africa and America
Author interview for Joseph of Africa and America…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-kwadwo-abrokwa-author-of-joseph-of-africa-and-america/
Interview with Kinan Kotrash, Author of Moonlight Over Still Water
Author interview for Moonlight Over Still Water…
https://www.newinbooks.com/interview-with-kinan-kotrash-author-of-moonlight-over-still-water/
Was Francis protecting Frankie—or exploiting her vulnerability?
Today’s four-star review of The Antique Picker’s Daughter by Melanie Dugan explores its morally complex characters, uneven pacing, and thought-provoking treatment of youth homelessness and survival. The post also includes Melanie’s guest essay about treating an outline as a flexible blueprint.
https://ginaraemitchell.com/the-antique-pickers-daughter-review/
#TheAntiquePickersDaughter #MelanieDugan #LiteraryFiction #BookReview…
📚 Etna by: Paul Yoon
Set in a fictional country in the present day, this is a story told through the eyes of an ex-military dog, Etna. After surviving years of a devastating war, Etna decides one night to leave the men he has fought alongside for years and return home—to the place where he was taken from when he was young, in the thin ...
https://bookblabla.com/book/etna
#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #animalsfiction #magicalrealism
So excited to see that this short story continues to move people 5 years after its publication!
https://store.creativeramblings.com/en-cad/products/what-will-happen-next