Liesa Abrams
@batgirleditor.bsky.social
Editor-in-chief of Labyrinth Road imprint at Random House Children’s Books. Publishing books that help kids escape where they are while feeling seen for who they are. Obsessed with Batman and gluten-free muffins.
Happy #BookBirthday to Deeba Zargarpur!! The second Farrah Noorzad adventure is even better than the first! The kid characters are appealing, vulnerable, and so funny, and this time there’s a magic school storyline… who doesn’t love a magic school, especially when it’s for Jinn?? 😍😍
November 4, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Happy #BookBirthday to Deeba Zargarpur!! The second Farrah Noorzad adventure is even better than the first! The kid characters are appealing, vulnerable, and so funny, and this time there’s a magic school storyline… who doesn’t love a magic school, especially when it’s for Jinn?? 😍😍
Headed to the office to present Spring 2026 books to librarians (AKA our warriors)! Yes it’s election day and I am wearing my Jewish identity & my belief in Batman’s hope & my passion for our freedom to read and hoping that NY and NJ can fight back today against sexual predators & right wing bigots!
November 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Headed to the office to present Spring 2026 books to librarians (AKA our warriors)! Yes it’s election day and I am wearing my Jewish identity & my belief in Batman’s hope & my passion for our freedom to read and hoping that NY and NJ can fight back today against sexual predators & right wing bigots!
We were so lucky to have a visit from our lovely Labyrinth Road author, graphic novel creator/middle-grade expert Emma Steinkellner! Emma even drew on our illustrator wall! 😍 It’s the perfect season to check out Emma’s bestseller, THE OKAY WITCH, & grab her NELL OF GUMBLING fairy tale comic diaries!
October 16, 2025 at 2:47 PM
We were so lucky to have a visit from our lovely Labyrinth Road author, graphic novel creator/middle-grade expert Emma Steinkellner! Emma even drew on our illustrator wall! 😍 It’s the perfect season to check out Emma’s bestseller, THE OKAY WITCH, & grab her NELL OF GUMBLING fairy tale comic diaries!
Happy (belated) Book Birthday here to @esmesymessmith.bsky.social for the publication of the conclusion to Labyrinth Road’s first MG series! These characters and the author who brought them to life have sustained me & given me (& so many readers) hope. 💙 We can always challenge unjust authority.
October 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Happy (belated) Book Birthday here to @esmesymessmith.bsky.social for the publication of the conclusion to Labyrinth Road’s first MG series! These characters and the author who brought them to life have sustained me & given me (& so many readers) hope. 💙 We can always challenge unjust authority.
A bright spot of good news to end the week!
October 3, 2025 at 7:16 PM
A bright spot of good news to end the week!
🚨! My friend found this caveat in an ER consent form she was pressured to sign before reading (see alt text for the highlighted sentence of concern). EVERYONE needs to speak up on this—a president’s executive order could stop an ER from necessary treatment?? @aclu.org
September 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
🚨! My friend found this caveat in an ER consent form she was pressured to sign before reading (see alt text for the highlighted sentence of concern). EVERYONE needs to speak up on this—a president’s executive order could stop an ER from necessary treatment?? @aclu.org
This GF apple cake is here to remind you that tonight through Wed is Rosh Hashanah, & next Wed evening through Thurs is Yom Kippur. For many Jewish people, these are the most sacred holidays of the year. Please don’t schedule meetings w/ Jewish colleagues or expect email replies on these days!
September 22, 2025 at 10:46 AM
This GF apple cake is here to remind you that tonight through Wed is Rosh Hashanah, & next Wed evening through Thurs is Yom Kippur. For many Jewish people, these are the most sacred holidays of the year. Please don’t schedule meetings w/ Jewish colleagues or expect email replies on these days!
Who watches the birdwatchers
August 27, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Who watches the birdwatchers
Brooklyn!! Come see @itsladarrion.bsky.social at Taylor & Co. Books next Friday night!!
August 17, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Brooklyn!! Come see @itsladarrion.bsky.social at Taylor & Co. Books next Friday night!!
NYT recommends @shauniedarko.bsky.social’s creepy mystery with themes of anti-bullying & identity, SCHOOL FOR INVISIBLE BOYS, for kids going into middle school! “Haunting and heartfelt.” This one was also a NYPL Best Book of the Year and a Bank Street Best Book. 💙
August 13, 2025 at 2:44 PM
NYT recommends @shauniedarko.bsky.social’s creepy mystery with themes of anti-bullying & identity, SCHOOL FOR INVISIBLE BOYS, for kids going into middle school! “Haunting and heartfelt.” This one was also a NYPL Best Book of the Year and a Bank Street Best Book. 💙
Beautiful day to sit by the water and devour the ARC of this wonderful read from a debut author, which also happens to be @emilyshapiro24.bsky.social’s first solo acquisition for Labyrinth Road!
August 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Beautiful day to sit by the water and devour the ARC of this wonderful read from a debut author, which also happens to be @emilyshapiro24.bsky.social’s first solo acquisition for Labyrinth Road!
And Labyrinth Road has *two* books on the NYT list this week, as Dragon’s Apprentice stays on the middle grade paperback list for a 4th month straight!! Never gets old to see the name of the street from my painful childhood immortalized next to books that can help other kids escape hard times!
August 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
And Labyrinth Road has *two* books on the NYT list this week, as Dragon’s Apprentice stays on the middle grade paperback list for a 4th month straight!! Never gets old to see the name of the street from my painful childhood immortalized next to books that can help other kids escape hard times!
And I really hope that all the fans of @delilahsdawson.bsky.social & @sarahgailey.bsky.social don’t miss these boundary-smashing reads that tackle the ills of capitalism and magically explode penises, respectively. All with razor-sharp writing at every turn.
August 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
And I really hope that all the fans of @delilahsdawson.bsky.social & @sarahgailey.bsky.social don’t miss these boundary-smashing reads that tackle the ills of capitalism and magically explode penises, respectively. All with razor-sharp writing at every turn.
Five years after I packed up 20 boxes of books when I left my old job, I am finally unpacking & loving the reminders of all I published at Simon Pulse. Eternally proud to have worked with Christa Desir on these stories that challenged stereotypes and saved lives.
August 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Five years after I packed up 20 boxes of books when I left my old job, I am finally unpacking & loving the reminders of all I published at Simon Pulse. Eternally proud to have worked with Christa Desir on these stories that challenged stereotypes and saved lives.
Happy #BookBirthday @itsladarrion.bsky.social! So thrilled for readers to see how Malik’s story deepens in this second book, & all the crucial themes woven into an action-packed story of magic & resilience. This is a book to inspire the kind of conversations we should all be having. 💙
July 29, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Happy #BookBirthday @itsladarrion.bsky.social! So thrilled for readers to see how Malik’s story deepens in this second book, & all the crucial themes woven into an action-packed story of magic & resilience. This is a book to inspire the kind of conversations we should all be having. 💙
From the vault! 25 years ago, the once and future YA editors Liesa, Kieran, and Wendy all hung out in the same book series as writers… 😉
July 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
From the vault! 25 years ago, the once and future YA editors Liesa, Kieran, and Wendy all hung out in the same book series as writers… 😉
Happy Pride to Labyrinth Road’s two proudly queer books on the @bankstreetlibrary.bsky.social Best of the Year list! ARIEL CRASHES A TRAIN and SCHOOL FOR INVISIBLE BOYS—which also got an Outstanding Merit added designation!! 🎉🎉🌈
June 10, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Happy Pride to Labyrinth Road’s two proudly queer books on the @bankstreetlibrary.bsky.social Best of the Year list! ARIEL CRASHES A TRAIN and SCHOOL FOR INVISIBLE BOYS—which also got an Outstanding Merit added designation!! 🎉🎉🌈
My Sunday read is Animal Instinct by @amyshearn.bsky.social and it’s perfection. It’s also making me think how wild it is that we live our lives as if they are ours, and other people are basically living our same lives. Best line so far: “Seamless Rube Goldberg device of horniness”
June 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
My Sunday read is Animal Instinct by @amyshearn.bsky.social and it’s perfection. It’s also making me think how wild it is that we live our lives as if they are ours, and other people are basically living our same lives. Best line so far: “Seamless Rube Goldberg device of horniness”
Enjoying a cheese-laden bean chili nacho casserole on my sunny porch at lunchtime is my non-traditional shavuot celebration today. I commit to finding & creating joy & Pride where I can. Would love to hear how everyone else is celebrating the holiday and honoring the idea that joy is resistance.
June 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Enjoying a cheese-laden bean chili nacho casserole on my sunny porch at lunchtime is my non-traditional shavuot celebration today. I commit to finding & creating joy & Pride where I can. Would love to hear how everyone else is celebrating the holiday and honoring the idea that joy is resistance.
I was 5 miles from the actual Labyrinth Road—the imprint’s namesake—dealing with a very tough personal situation, when I heard that LR has *our first MG NYT bestseller!* Baltimore is brutal & beautiful & always both at once, so this just makes sense. Huge 🎉 for THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE!
May 8, 2025 at 12:03 AM
I was 5 miles from the actual Labyrinth Road—the imprint’s namesake—dealing with a very tough personal situation, when I heard that LR has *our first MG NYT bestseller!* Baltimore is brutal & beautiful & always both at once, so this just makes sense. Huge 🎉 for THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE!
#Baltimore represents. 👊 Check out this B&N bookseller’s shirt (& his mask!) He was very excited to hear about Labyrinth Road being a Baltimore-named imprint, and he told me he is working hard to make that Pikesville store a safe and inclusive place for every reader. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ @itsladarrion.bsky.social
May 7, 2025 at 3:41 PM
#Baltimore represents. 👊 Check out this B&N bookseller’s shirt (& his mask!) He was very excited to hear about Labyrinth Road being a Baltimore-named imprint, and he told me he is working hard to make that Pikesville store a safe and inclusive place for every reader. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ @itsladarrion.bsky.social
For the second time in two years on this same block, I have come to a fork in the road.
#Baltimore
#Baltimore
May 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM
For the second time in two years on this same block, I have come to a fork in the road.
#Baltimore
#Baltimore