Ilana Masad
@ilanaslightly.bsky.social
Writer and critic for hire. Author of the novel "All My Mother's Lovers" and "Beings," forthcoming from Bloomsbury, 9/23/25.
Pre-order links (and hopefully other stuff soon): https://linktr.ee/ilanaslightly
Pre-order links (and hopefully other stuff soon): https://linktr.ee/ilanaslightly
It's the most wonderful time of the year: that time when I begin to think about what planner to buy for the new year and how it will absolutely obviously fix my life and my productivity.
Any recs?
My must-have is pretty basic--I just want there to be one day per page rather than a weekly spread.
Any recs?
My must-have is pretty basic--I just want there to be one day per page rather than a weekly spread.
November 28, 2025 at 10:30 PM
It's the most wonderful time of the year: that time when I begin to think about what planner to buy for the new year and how it will absolutely obviously fix my life and my productivity.
Any recs?
My must-have is pretty basic--I just want there to be one day per page rather than a weekly spread.
Any recs?
My must-have is pretty basic--I just want there to be one day per page rather than a weekly spread.
Remind me, how do you write stuff?
November 28, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Remind me, how do you write stuff?
Reposted by Ilana Masad
hey allright okay, mine won a contest and was recently listed in @electricliterature.com's best short story collections of the year. if you're into melancholic literary realism then maybe this is for you: share.google/sFdhjh5R3KvP...
November 27, 2025 at 1:48 AM
hey allright okay, mine won a contest and was recently listed in @electricliterature.com's best short story collections of the year. if you're into melancholic literary realism then maybe this is for you: share.google/sFdhjh5R3KvP...
What an absolutely excellent piece by Lily Meyer over at @motherjones.com:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
AI is coming for your toddler's bedtime story
Artificial intelligence poses an increasingly real threat to children’s literature—and children’s learning.
www.motherjones.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM
What an absolutely excellent piece by Lily Meyer over at @motherjones.com:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I've said it before and I'll say it again but for those of us who didn't grow up in the US, T-giving is really freaking weird
November 26, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again but for those of us who didn't grow up in the US, T-giving is really freaking weird
Reposted by Ilana Masad
deeply embarrassing behavior from a monopoly
lol the google doodle today sends you to their AI chatbot, they must be desperate for people to actually use the thing
November 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM
deeply embarrassing behavior from a monopoly
lol the google doodle today sends you to their AI chatbot, they must be desperate for people to actually use the thing
November 26, 2025 at 4:54 PM
lol the google doodle today sends you to their AI chatbot, they must be desperate for people to actually use the thing
Reposted by Ilana Masad
Reposted by Ilana Masad
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
Reposted by Ilana Masad
Yup
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Yup
I caught my kiddo's stomach bug that he presumably caught in daycare and I cannot emphasize enough how utterly fucked up it is to be sick and only able to think about how I'm wasting a work day, especially since my partner took my kiddo to my mom's and so, like, I technically have time and space
November 25, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I caught my kiddo's stomach bug that he presumably caught in daycare and I cannot emphasize enough how utterly fucked up it is to be sick and only able to think about how I'm wasting a work day, especially since my partner took my kiddo to my mom's and so, like, I technically have time and space
This is an excellent piece that you should read and also, I think there's something so much bigger going on on top of all this, which is that we have become so utterly numbed to dead kids in this country that we think just a couple kids dying of a horrible preventable disease isn't a big deal
November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
This is an excellent piece that you should read and also, I think there's something so much bigger going on on top of all this, which is that we have become so utterly numbed to dead kids in this country that we think just a couple kids dying of a horrible preventable disease isn't a big deal
Apparently I haven't read *any* of the Goodreads Choice Awards finalists this year?! Only like a handful are even on my TBR list. What a world, what a time.
November 25, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Apparently I haven't read *any* of the Goodreads Choice Awards finalists this year?! Only like a handful are even on my TBR list. What a world, what a time.
A friend reminded me of this piece I wrote today and I just reread it and it feels very relevant still! I don't hang out on substack anymore really (moved my newsletter to Buttondown) but thought I'd share
open.substack.com/pub/imasadcr...
open.substack.com/pub/imasadcr...
Paranoia, Pain, Preferences
Or, trying to sort some shit out
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
A friend reminded me of this piece I wrote today and I just reread it and it feels very relevant still! I don't hang out on substack anymore really (moved my newsletter to Buttondown) but thought I'd share
open.substack.com/pub/imasadcr...
open.substack.com/pub/imasadcr...
Reposted by Ilana Masad
ICYMI, on the third Fridays of the month, @ilanaslightly.bsky.social joins us to give her recommendations of queer book you need to be reading. Here's what she shared with us last Friday! Get them here: bookshop.org/lists/the-ga...
youtu.be/GQ3HifExcmI
youtu.be/GQ3HifExcmI
Queer Book Recommendations with Ilana Masad
YouTube video by The Gaily Show
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 5:58 PM
ICYMI, on the third Fridays of the month, @ilanaslightly.bsky.social joins us to give her recommendations of queer book you need to be reading. Here's what she shared with us last Friday! Get them here: bookshop.org/lists/the-ga...
youtu.be/GQ3HifExcmI
youtu.be/GQ3HifExcmI
Reposted by Ilana Masad
You're not supposed to break the host on your first outing as a featured contributor. But @ilanaslightly.bsky.social did just that.
youtube.com/shorts/Um913...
youtube.com/shorts/Um913...
When your guest breaks you on air, go to commercial!
YouTube video by The Gaily Show
youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
You're not supposed to break the host on your first outing as a featured contributor. But @ilanaslightly.bsky.social did just that.
youtube.com/shorts/Um913...
youtube.com/shorts/Um913...
Thank you! Yes, I am now doing a monthly feature recommending books for the @thegailyshow.org! This month I featured The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan, Blue-Skinned Gods by @sjsindu.bsky.social, and Confidence by Rafael Frumkin!
congrats! to @ilanaslightly.bsky.social and @thegailyshow.org on start of something good
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
Ilana Masad’s Queer Book Recs! Plus: Queer TV Reviews
YouTube video by The Gaily Show
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Thank you! Yes, I am now doing a monthly feature recommending books for the @thegailyshow.org! This month I featured The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan, Blue-Skinned Gods by @sjsindu.bsky.social, and Confidence by Rafael Frumkin!
Reposted by Ilana Masad
congrats! to @ilanaslightly.bsky.social and @thegailyshow.org on start of something good
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
Ilana Masad’s Queer Book Recs! Plus: Queer TV Reviews
YouTube video by The Gaily Show
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:22 PM
congrats! to @ilanaslightly.bsky.social and @thegailyshow.org on start of something good
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
www.youtube.com/live/9YyvHdU...
If you'd like a free copy of BEINGS, Goodreads is running another giveaway of ten copies - open for another couple days!
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Book giveaway for Beings by Ilana Masad Nov 11-Nov 25, 2025
Enter to win one of 10 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Nov 11-Nov 25, 2025. Enter to win 1 of 10 finished copies of BEINGS!
www.goodreads.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:37 PM
If you'd like a free copy of BEINGS, Goodreads is running another giveaway of ten copies - open for another couple days!
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
If LinkedIn sends me one more goddamn email about a writing job related to AI istfg
November 23, 2025 at 1:08 AM
If LinkedIn sends me one more goddamn email about a writing job related to AI istfg
OK but for real the heroin chic should not be back
November 22, 2025 at 2:33 AM
OK but for real the heroin chic should not be back
What if, hear me out, I had energy
November 22, 2025 at 12:44 AM
What if, hear me out, I had energy
Reposted by Ilana Masad
Oh no it's end of year list season
November 20, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Oh no it's end of year list season
Whenever one of my friends gets a good gig in media I get so happy, because it feels increasingly rare to see good people get hired as opposed to truly ridiculously unqualified people who have a lot of money and/or some kind of ethically unsound relationship to those in power
November 20, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Whenever one of my friends gets a good gig in media I get so happy, because it feels increasingly rare to see good people get hired as opposed to truly ridiculously unqualified people who have a lot of money and/or some kind of ethically unsound relationship to those in power