Pens and Poison is the literary project of author Liza Libes. Enter a world of literary analyses, cultural critiques, and other hot takes.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Twice weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 204 | Founded | 2 years ago | Last Issue | 6 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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pensandpoison.orgLatest Issues
12 Literary Opinions That Would Get Me Kicked Out of an MFA Program
The publishing industry has a censorship problem.
Ever since I’ve started querying my novels, I’ve gotten lots of feedback on what you can and cannot do in a literary novel. I’ve been told that my openings are too slow, that my characters...
Publishing Says My Novels Won’t Sell. Let’s Prove Them Wrong.
My name’s Liza.
You may know me as the writer behind your favorite Substack, Pens and Poison, but when I’m not reading Dostoyevsky or lamenting the state of our culture, I’m writing novels.
My dream has always been to move people with my...
The Publishing Industry Stopped Believing in Its Readers
A version of this article originally appeared in Fair for All.
Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden is this summer’s go-to read for BookTokkers and academics alike—and it broke every rule in contemporary publishing.
Last month, The Wall Street Jou...
How the Left Killed Reading
Americans are bored of reading.
A 2021 Gallup poll found that the average American now reads 12.6 books per year, down from 18.5 in the late 1990s. The contrast is even starker in college-educated readers, whose yearly book quota has dropp...
Why Modern Fiction Stopped Producing Great Characters
The publishing industry stopped searching for psychological depth.
Even if you’ve never picked up Melville’s Moby-Dick, you’ve probably encountered the image of Captain Ahab standing at the helm of the legendary Pequod, cursing the great w...
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The writers behind this newsletter.
Founder of Pens and Poison, a unique multi-platform project that promotes the love of literature and the humanistic tradition.
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