Alejandro
@drovarela.bsky.social
Writer, public health enthusiast, National Book Award finalist. Next novel, MIDDLE SPOON (Viking, 2025). Everything you need to know: alejandrovarela.work
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776881/middle-spoon-by-alejandro-varela/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776881/middle-spoon-by-alejandro-varela/
Reposted by Alejandro
Join the McCormack Writing Center (formerly known as Tin House Workshop) for our 2026 Winter Online Workshop and cozy up to better craft!
Purchase: tinhouse.com/product/2026...
Purchase: tinhouse.com/product/2026...
January 10, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Join the McCormack Writing Center (formerly known as Tin House Workshop) for our 2026 Winter Online Workshop and cozy up to better craft!
Purchase: tinhouse.com/product/2026...
Purchase: tinhouse.com/product/2026...
Reposted by Alejandro
If any journalist wants to talk to a trans man with a PhD in Human Genomics who was trained in labs that studied the evolution of sex, I'm right here
Or just keep platforming Republicans who have a 5th grade understanding of biology so they get more trans people killed, sure 🤷🏻♂️
Or just keep platforming Republicans who have a 5th grade understanding of biology so they get more trans people killed, sure 🤷🏻♂️
December 18, 2025 at 5:27 PM
If any journalist wants to talk to a trans man with a PhD in Human Genomics who was trained in labs that studied the evolution of sex, I'm right here
Or just keep platforming Republicans who have a 5th grade understanding of biology so they get more trans people killed, sure 🤷🏻♂️
Or just keep platforming Republicans who have a 5th grade understanding of biology so they get more trans people killed, sure 🤷🏻♂️
Reposted by Alejandro
The Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale was a smash—huge thanks to mesmerizing readers @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social & Wah-Ming Chang, and lots of ❤️ to our awesome audience! 🗓️We’ll be back Jan. 12!
December 11, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale was a smash—huge thanks to mesmerizing readers @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social & Wah-Ming Chang, and lots of ❤️ to our awesome audience! 🗓️We’ll be back Jan. 12!
Reposted by Alejandro
MONDAY, 8PM: Join us for the Franklin Park Reading Series, featuring an all-star lineup: @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! #Free! #crownheights shorturl.at/9gnfC
December 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
MONDAY, 8PM: Join us for the Franklin Park Reading Series, featuring an all-star lineup: @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! #Free! #crownheights shorturl.at/9gnfC
Reposted by Alejandro
ONE WEEK AWAY--MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 8PM: Can't wait for the Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale with superstars @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! #Free
Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC
Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC
December 1, 2025 at 7:28 PM
ONE WEEK AWAY--MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 8PM: Can't wait for the Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale with superstars @angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! #Free
Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC
Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC
Reposted by Alejandro
We hope you've enjoyed ACCOMPLISHMENT SUNDAY as much as we have 🥰 Contributor @drovarela.bsky.social was interviewed by Julián Delgado Lopera about his new epistolary novel MIDDLE SPOON for @electricliterature.com. Check out this convo on anxiety and heartbreak: buff.ly/MLuaVWm
November 24, 2025 at 12:32 AM
We hope you've enjoyed ACCOMPLISHMENT SUNDAY as much as we have 🥰 Contributor @drovarela.bsky.social was interviewed by Julián Delgado Lopera about his new epistolary novel MIDDLE SPOON for @electricliterature.com. Check out this convo on anxiety and heartbreak: buff.ly/MLuaVWm
Reposted by Alejandro
MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 8PM: Join us for the Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale, featuring
@angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC #Free #crownheights
@angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC #Free #crownheights
November 26, 2025 at 6:02 PM
MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 8PM: Join us for the Franklin Park Reading Series Season Finale, featuring
@angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC #Free #crownheights
@angelaflournoy.bsky.social, Tim Blake Nelson, @drovarela.bsky.social, @megancummins.bsky.social, @jennifersears.bsky.social, and Wah-Ming Chang! Details: shorturl.at/9gnfC #Free #crownheights
Reposted by Alejandro
National Book Award finalist and renowned middle child Alejandro Varela tells us about being gay while heartbroken (@drovarela.bsky.social)
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
This Epistolary Novel Plumbs the Anxious Depths of a Broken Heart - Electric Literature
Alejandro Varela’s “Middle Spoon” is an obsessive exploration of mental health, polyamory, and the desire for our pain to be witnessed
electricliterature.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM
National Book Award finalist and renowned middle child Alejandro Varela tells us about being gay while heartbroken (@drovarela.bsky.social)
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. If not, give it to someone you dislike.
I got my gay lil hands on @drovarela.bsky.social’s new novel Middle Spoon. Cancel all my meetings!
September 9, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. If not, give it to someone you dislike.
Thanks @lithub.com.web.brid.gy for providing space for so many of us to share our work (and ideas).
“I’d wanted to dissect, intellectualize, and dramatize the pain of loss.” @drovarela.bsky.social on writing a novel that questions everything about love and heartbreak.
The Case for Polyamory: Alejandro Varela on Writing a Novel That Questions Everything
If you’re barely clinging to the safety of monogamy or the no-strings-attached joys of an open relationship, I don’t advise picking up my latest novel, Middle Spoon, where I write with painstaking …
buff.ly
September 9, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Thanks @lithub.com.web.brid.gy for providing space for so many of us to share our work (and ideas).
Reposted by Alejandro
“I’d wanted to dissect, intellectualize, and dramatize the pain of loss.” @drovarela.bsky.social on writing a novel that questions everything about love and heartbreak.
The Case for Polyamory: Alejandro Varela on Writing a Novel That Questions Everything
If you’re barely clinging to the safety of monogamy or the no-strings-attached joys of an open relationship, I don’t advise picking up my latest novel, Middle Spoon, where I write with painstaking …
buff.ly
September 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
“I’d wanted to dissect, intellectualize, and dramatize the pain of loss.” @drovarela.bsky.social on writing a novel that questions everything about love and heartbreak.
Reposted by Alejandro
I spoke with the great Sarah Schulman about her exceptional new book, which is a bracingly practical guide to building solidarity now, based on her decades as an activist for people with AIDS, Palestine and more. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/o...
Opinion | ‘This Moment Is a Cataclysm,’ but We Can Still Act
The longtime activist and writer Sarah Schulman on why now is the time to stand up to people you oppose.
www.nytimes.com
April 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
I spoke with the great Sarah Schulman about her exceptional new book, which is a bracingly practical guide to building solidarity now, based on her decades as an activist for people with AIDS, Palestine and more. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/o...
Reposted by Alejandro
BREAKING: Hundreds of Jews and allies have taken over Trump Tower chanting “We want justice, you say how. Bring Mahmoud home now!” and “Fight Nazis, not students.”
The civil disobedience is spawned by the ICE arrest of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil.
The civil disobedience is spawned by the ICE arrest of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil.
March 13, 2025 at 3:51 PM
BREAKING: Hundreds of Jews and allies have taken over Trump Tower chanting “We want justice, you say how. Bring Mahmoud home now!” and “Fight Nazis, not students.”
The civil disobedience is spawned by the ICE arrest of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil.
The civil disobedience is spawned by the ICE arrest of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil.
MIDDLE SPOON, Sept 2025 @vikingbooks.bsky.social. Not the book I set out to write, but the one I needed to. Couldn't be prouder of it. I hope it induces dialog, empathy, & fits of laughter. Pre-orders welcome. (Link in bio.) Thanks for supporting me/my work. 🙏🏽 Colin Webber for the design.
March 13, 2025 at 11:50 AM
MIDDLE SPOON, Sept 2025 @vikingbooks.bsky.social. Not the book I set out to write, but the one I needed to. Couldn't be prouder of it. I hope it induces dialog, empathy, & fits of laughter. Pre-orders welcome. (Link in bio.) Thanks for supporting me/my work. 🙏🏽 Colin Webber for the design.
Reposted by Alejandro
🧵Thread: How I Make Money and Survive as a Writer. I grew up with a household income of around 22k a year and recently transitioned out of the service industry to writing full-time. Hope some of this helps!
December 10, 2024 at 6:40 PM
🧵Thread: How I Make Money and Survive as a Writer. I grew up with a household income of around 22k a year and recently transitioned out of the service industry to writing full-time. Hope some of this helps!
Reposted by Alejandro
Join me & the incredible @livesinpages.bsky.social in January to discuss Revolting Indolence! An evening of indolent theorizing, good chisme, & so much more.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/marcos-gon...
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/marcos-gon...
December 10, 2024 at 2:59 PM
Join me & the incredible @livesinpages.bsky.social in January to discuss Revolting Indolence! An evening of indolent theorizing, good chisme, & so much more.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/marcos-gon...
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/marcos-gon...
Reposted by Alejandro
This interview with Nikki Giovanni from earlier this year should be required reading. oxfordamerican.org/web-only/nik...
![I think the transgender kids are the bravest kids right now that we see; they're as brave as my generation was in breaking down segregation. They're breaking down-I don't have the word for it right now-but it's gender prejudice, and [the idea that] somebody has decided that they can tell you who you are, what your name should be, and how you should look.
And those youngsters are saying, "No, I can decide who I am, what my name should be." Everybody's mad at me like, You should be a girl because we've decided you're a girl. And they say, "Well, who the hell are you?" I can decide that I'm a boy. And if it makes me happy, what does it mean to you? And I can decide that my name is John. And if you don't like that my name is Geraldine, why can't you name yourself? And if the people who know you and love you-or have to talk to you, maybe they don't even love you but they have to talk to you -you can tell them, “This is my name, and I would like to be referred to in that way."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bb6m3nt3ohlter5c35zjlt6z/bafkreibs7rspksh3k7ekvnnmxzeenwwuvr4ab6fs4usuckmu2zpdzq3hcq@jpeg)
December 10, 2024 at 3:18 AM
This interview with Nikki Giovanni from earlier this year should be required reading. oxfordamerican.org/web-only/nik...
This guy is the personification of a Bernie policy. Structural target. Mass appeal. Well planned.
December 9, 2024 at 9:36 PM
This guy is the personification of a Bernie policy. Structural target. Mass appeal. Well planned.
Reposted by Alejandro
A press release from the American Association of Anaesthesiologists condemns this new policy change and asks the public to reach out and complain to legislators.
Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut, New York and Missouri has declared it will no longer pay for anesthesia for the full length of some surgeries.
It the procedure goes over a certain time, anesthesia will not be covered for the duration.
www.asahq.org/about-asa/ne...
It the procedure goes over a certain time, anesthesia will not be covered for the duration.
www.asahq.org/about-asa/ne...
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Won’t Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Patients’ Surgical Procedures
In an unprecedented move, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans representing Connecticut, New York and Missouri have unilaterally declared it will no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or pro...
www.asahq.org
December 4, 2024 at 6:18 PM
A press release from the American Association of Anaesthesiologists condemns this new policy change and asks the public to reach out and complain to legislators.
Reposted by Alejandro
Israel killed 100 people in Gaza today. I listened to NPR this evening, and this wasn’t even reported in passing. There was even a report about an initiative to save endangered wolves somewhere, but no mention of the 100 people who were killed in less than 24 hours.
December 1, 2024 at 12:54 AM
Israel killed 100 people in Gaza today. I listened to NPR this evening, and this wasn’t even reported in passing. There was even a report about an initiative to save endangered wolves somewhere, but no mention of the 100 people who were killed in less than 24 hours.
Reposted by Alejandro
I finally made a Substack newsletter. In this first issue: Writing advice no one wants, an early year-end reflection, the last writer I had dinner with, and more
deeshaphilyaw.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
deeshaphilyaw.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
Welcome to Writing, Wandering, Wondering!
Writing advice no one wants, an early year-end reflection, the last writer I had dinner with, and more
deeshaphilyaw.substack.com
November 26, 2024 at 1:03 PM
I finally made a Substack newsletter. In this first issue: Writing advice no one wants, an early year-end reflection, the last writer I had dinner with, and more
deeshaphilyaw.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
deeshaphilyaw.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
I withdrew my work from consideration for the Jean Stein Award. I can't align myself with a human rights org that waits 5 months to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, while platforming zionists & pretending there's nuance to genocide.
✊🏽🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
✊🏽WAWOG
✊🏽🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
✊🏽WAWOG
April 14, 2024 at 12:27 PM
I withdrew my work from consideration for the Jean Stein Award. I can't align myself with a human rights org that waits 5 months to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, while platforming zionists & pretending there's nuance to genocide.
✊🏽🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
✊🏽WAWOG
✊🏽🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
✊🏽WAWOG
Inspired. Will attempt 3rd person.
This, from @alexanderchee.bsky.social is spectacular reading (especially for writers thinking about point of view, but also wonderful for writers, readers, people in the world generally)
querent.substack.com/p/letter-2-l...
querent.substack.com/p/letter-2-l...
Letter 2 - Letters from London
The Forest of Dreams
querent.substack.com
October 12, 2023 at 1:32 AM
Inspired. Will attempt 3rd person.
Had a dentist appt a couple months ago, during which I told her about my first book. She was effusive, but I assumed she was being polite. Had a follow-up yesterday & my novel was in the waiting area. She was already the best dentist I've ever had. Will wait till cleaning to tell her about 2nd book.
May 18, 2023 at 11:59 AM
Had a dentist appt a couple months ago, during which I told her about my first book. She was effusive, but I assumed she was being polite. Had a follow-up yesterday & my novel was in the waiting area. She was already the best dentist I've ever had. Will wait till cleaning to tell her about 2nd book.