Me Time
Focus on the Lights
I hope whatever your plans for this time of year are that you will have fun, a good rest, and some joy in your life. The world is not making this easy, but I'm heartened by so many people posting about the magic of the lights of Hanukkah.
I'm thinking a bit about the coming year and looking forward to a bit of an overhaul of this newsletter. Nothing too drastic, but a name change is certainly under consideration.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to these next two weeks and whatever happiness and peace they can bring.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Sapphic Lit and Other Book Stuff
Best Gifts for Writers - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Here’s my list of the best gifts for writers (a few links are affiliate ones, but they’re all things we use/love).
2026 State of Reading Report | Fable Blog
This isn’t another “best of 2025” list; this report goes beyond editors’ picks and bestsellers to highlight what readers are actually reading, how they are reading, and what genres struck a chord this year.
How Diverse Were Traditionally Published Sapphic Romances in 2025? | by Lavender Books | Nov, 2025 | Medium
criteria were:
published as an adult romance, any subgenre the publisher is owned by a Big 5 publishing company published in 2025
No, Colleen Hoover Did Not Email Me: Current Scams Targeting Authors | Jane Friedman
The more books I’ve published, the more calls, texts, and emails I’ve received from supposed reviewers, book clubs, television producers, and popular authors. As technology advances, the schemes become harder to spot and filter out.
How to Support Anti Book Censorship Work Through Holiday Giving: Book Censorship News, December 5, 2025
So how can you support anti book censorship work through holiday giving? Here are 10+ ideas. Some will be pretty straightforward ways to support efforts in overturning book censorship and supporting public institutions of democracy. Others will stretch you and your gift recipient a little bit more, perhaps offering the chance to spread holiday energy throughout the coming year. Some ideas will have a financial investment, while others can be done for little or no money at all.
Election Day 2025: Voters Consistently Rejected Book Restrictions in School Board Races - The Authors Guild
While book challenges reached historic highs in 2024 and 2025, voters responded decisively. Beginning with pivotal Texas school board races in May and continuing nationwide through November, voters repeatedly chose candidates who opposed censorship and supported respecting the discretion of professional librarians and parental freedom over district-wide bans.
See Why Three Types of Character Motivation Matter - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Even in the case of genres like romance where literal survival is not on the table, motivation is still important. This is because inner desires, existential needs like identity, love, ambition, or self-realization.
What matters is that your character’s motivations are believable, emotionally resonant, and aligned with the story.
Lavender Literary Society at Lesbian Lives Conference: Amy Hoffman x Jyotsna Vaid x M Gessen - YouTube
A special edition of the American LGBTQ+ Museum’s Lavender Literary Society featuring the editors of “The Dream of a Common Movement,” Jyotsna Vaid and Amy Hoffman. M Gessen will moderate an inspiring conversation exploring this collection of essays, interviews, and speeches by the late feminist and civil rights activist, Urvashi Vaid, whose pioneering writing and organizing over the course of four decades fundamentally shaped the LGBTQ+ movement. This event is part of the 2025 Lesbian Lives Conference and is sponsored at The New School by the Gender and Sexualities Studies Institute.
My Brush with a Pay-to-Play Book Award | Jane Friedman
Not all pay-to-play book awards are scams; the good ones do have their uses. Not long ago, an author discussed the potential value of awards in her article on this site, I Won a Writing Award. Does It Matter? I’ve also given my take on such awards for indie authors at IngramSpark’s blog.
On a Hunt for 19th-Century Erotica, We Found Lesbians — History News Network
Across this spectrum of erotic words and images, sapphic sex can be found just about everywhere.
Often, these sexual encounters between women are framed as educational.
News For A Challenging Time
GO's Queer Year In Review - GO Magazine
In 2025, we saw immense, and at times, seemingly insurmountable, challenges to the LGBTQ+ community. Yet, we continued to rise up again and again in the face of those who hoped to see us fail—and we looked damn good doing it.
Lesbian Teacher Allegedly Called "Witch" Gets Six-Figure Settlement From District | Them
A school board trustee had allegedly said Rose Tagnesi was part of a “LGBTQ coven.”
Culture and Joy
GO's 2025 Ultimate Queer Gift Guide - GO Magazine
From butches to femmes, the fashion obsessed to the granola girls, GO’s found a little something for everyone.
Sarah Paulson finally got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame & it was gayer than a Pride parade - Queerty
Paulson attended yesterday’s ceremony with her long-term partner, Holland Taylor. Speakers at the event included Taylor and actress Amanda Peet.
From "Period, T" to 'AHS': 11 Times Sarah Paulson Was the Most Sarah Paulson | Them
Paulson is not only an out lesbian; she played a small but integral role in one of the most acclaimed and beloved sapphic films of all time, Carol. Though she didn’t get much screen time, she does get one of the film’s most thrilling scenes.
All eyes are on Lucy Liu's erotic sapphic painting era - Queerty
uhh so apparently lucy liu is a world renowned artist, known for her lesbian paintings under the pseudonym Yu Ling ( her Chinese name
The queer community mourns the loss of trailblazer Jewel Thais-Williams
Founder of Catch One, Thais-Williams became the first Black woman to own an LGBTQ club in the nation.
My Mothers Are Still Married. A story about a kid who grew up with… | by A.F. Reid | Modern Women | Nov, 2025 | Medium
I’d prefer if people didn’t try to make it weird for my kid in the way people sometimes tried to make it weird for me. But what I will also say is that, knowing what I already know about this little one, she will have the strength to stand up for herself, if need arises.
Whatever she becomes, I will trust her to demonstrate it well.
This is one of many things I have learned from having two gay moms.
Rebel Wilson And Wife Ramona Agruma Share News Of Baby Number Two - GO Magazine
Rebel Wilson and Ramona Agruma are ending the year with some happy news. The couple announced that they are expecting their second child together, sharing a sweet video montage on Instagram that featured family photos, a glimpse of a positive pregnancy test, and a shot of Agruma lifting her pink sweater to reveal her belly.
These TikTok lesbian grandmas are spilling wild gay secrets about the 1960s & the internet is absolutely obsessed - Queerty
In the comments section, both LGBTQ+ people and allies shared heartwarming photos of their own queer family members, stories about gay culture in the ’60s, and how impactful it is to hear about his grandmothers’ experiences.
This gay mom raised a hunky D1 quarterback & she's spiking the parental football - Queerty
Dr. Lorri Sulpizio, a San Diego-based leadership coach, introduces the heartwarming video by spiking the parental football. “He’s a D1 football player, empathetic and loving at the same time!,” she writes.
“Lesbian energy can bring on some healthy masculinity!”
This viral video claiming gay people make better parents than straight people has sparked a huge debate - Queerty
Shapiro-Barnum goes on to explain his belief. This includes the fact that gay people “never have kids by accident”. It usually takes a lot of planning and sometimes a lot of money. Any kids they have are very much wanted, which increases the chances they will be well cared for.
Shapiro-Barnum admits he’s a little biased. He has three lesbian moms and two gay dads. He says his two lesbian moms wanted a child and turned to their best gay friend for help. His moms later split up and met new partners, so he had six people involved with his upbringing (five remain).
Opinion | Why I Had to Kill Family Dinner - The New York Times
“You’re on your own for dinner tonight,” I told my wife and kids. “Great!” they said. We were all tired of family dinner.
That time Ava Gardner & Lana Turner had a very sapphic threesome with a blonde bombshell - Queerty
While Gardner seemed to hint at lesbian relationships in her autobiography, she eventually confessed to a number of bisexual encounters in private conversation, and her close friendship (and likely more-than-friendship) with fellow rising star Lana Turner was much whispered about during their early days at MGM
Before Judy, Barbra & Gaga, this closeted A Star is Born actress lived out a gay fantasy - Queerty
Where would the movies be without Janet Gaynor? This silent film legend may not be as much of a modern household name as “talkies” performers Katharine Hepburn or Humphery Bogart, but her remarkable artistry in cinema’s nascent days is still immensely impressive. Among the many qualities making her so compelling is Gaynor’s alleged status as being either bisexual or gay. Though closeted publicly, like so many quietly queer performers in vintage Hollywood, Gaynor’s queer ambiance still materialized in fascinating ways throughout her career.
These 18th century lesbians were a throuple before throuples were a thing - Queerty
The two women found freedom in their new home, but there was an added twist: not only did the two bring along Sarah’s dog Frisk, they also asked Sarah’s servant Mary Carryl to come along.
Turns out the raunchiest thing Emily Dickinson ever wrote wasn’t about death… it was her sapphic love letters - Queerty
On the anniversary of what would be the poet’s 195th birthday, let’s take a minute to set the record straight—and spill some centuries-old tea while we’re at it.
‘A girl of genius’: archives unsealed of Amy Levy, queer Jewish writer admired by Oscar Wilde | Books | The Guardian
“Not only was she a fine and evocative writer, but she was also so complex. She affirmed her Jewish identity, but she was also an atheist. She seemed to get along very well with men, but she was a queer woman.”
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A Terrific Quote
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.
