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The Literary Establishment Wants to Lobotomize You
How the Nobel Prize in Literature Became a Celebration of Soulless Writing
14 hrs ago
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Liza Libes
148
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Why Crime and Punishment is the Second-Greatest Novel Ever Written
Dostoyevsky understood something about human nature that modern literature has forgotten.
Oct 5
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September 2026
Cathy Ames Is Evil. That’s the Point.
Netflix’s East of Eden reveals Hollywood’s growing inability to believe in evil—and our culture’s growing inability to believe in choice.
Sep 28
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Liza Libes
318
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How Bad Writing Became Literary
The National Book Award reveals three disturbing trends in contemporary fiction
Sep 21
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Liza Libes
274
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This Book Is Everything Wrong With Modern Literature
I found the perfect case study in how contemporary literary fiction has lost its soul.
Sep 14
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Liza Libes
136
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Provocative Insights From an Unapologetic Classicist
Watch my recent interview with Peter Boghossian
Sep 7
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Liza Libes
51
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August 2026
How to *Actually* Write a Novel
The anti-MFA guide to writing great fiction—and a sneak peek into my writing process
Aug 31
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Liza Libes
124
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12 Literary Opinions That Would Get Me Kicked Out of an MFA Program
These publishing rules are slowly killing great literature
Aug 24
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Liza Libes
448
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Publishing Says My Novels Won’t Sell. Let’s Prove Them Wrong.
Meet the four novels I’m determined to bring into the world.
Aug 17
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Liza Libes
107
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The Publishing Industry Stopped Believing in Its Readers
The success of Theo of Golden suggests readers never stopped craving ambitious fiction—and exposes the publishing industry's assumptions about modern…
Aug 10
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Liza Libes
137
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How the Left Killed Reading
How literature became political—and lost readers along the way.
Aug 8
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Liza Libes
214
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Why Modern Fiction Stopped Producing Great Characters
The publishing industry stopped searching for psychological depth.
Aug 3
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