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Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

4.2K followers 1.3K following 4.5K posts

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

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Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

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

Perhaps no one can be surprised that the subject of a scandal writes a book anymore. But offering her an editorship showed disregard for the damage she’s caused and the journalistic ethics she’s burned to the ground. The glamorous photo shoots, the breathless gossip on her sordid saga—they all function to rehabilitate the images and careers of people who have done harm. When a major publication repeats a joke about vaccines without mentioning, for instance, the two unvaccinated children who died of measles in the U.S. this year, they contribute to the rise of dangerous actors and they normalize those who helped them into power.

November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

She's here, she's available for preorder, and she's available for ARC requests 🥹

HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS: Why We Watch The Bachelor is an anthology of 29 essays by 30 contributors, and includes pieces about racism, spoiling, love, loss, friendship, heterosexuality, and so much more.

Cover of HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS: Why We Watch The Bachelor edited by Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais. It features four women - white with glasses and short hair, Black with long hair holding a wine glass, white with reddish hair holding a wine glass, and brown with log hair up in a bun and glasses - sitting together with their backs to the viewer looking at a big TV screen with the title of the book on it.

November 6, 2025 at 5:56 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

because he wants to be a dictator/king, that's why

Screenshot of subject line from an email from The New Yorker that reads:
Why Trump Keeps Talking About a Third Term

October 29, 2025 at 9:36 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Got to visit @allshewrotebks.bsky.social and @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social at @portershed.bsky.social on Friday, what a joy!

Me, a white queer with glasses and piercings and a tattoo sleeve, wearing a tank top, with my hair up in a high ponytail, smiling at the camera widely while signing a copy of BEINGS in All She Wrote Books.

A redheaded toddler holding onto the chalkboard sign outside of Porter Square Books that includes the info about my event there

October 6, 2025 at 1:32 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

I'm going on tour with BEINGS this week, and I'm very nervous and also excited! Here's the rundown - if you live in these cities or know someone who does, please come/tell them to come???

Philly - Mon, 9/29
Washington, DC - Tues, 9/30
NYC - Wed, 10/1
Providence - Thurs, 10/2
Boston - Fri, 10/3

September 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

I love it when style guides are pissy

Entry from AP style guide. The header is "OK, OK'd, OK'ing, OKs" and the text of the entry reads, in its entirety, "Do not use okay."

September 23, 2025 at 10:17 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

BEINGS is out today! Writing can be a lonely project (and this book is about loneliness in many ways) but it is absolutely impossible, at least for me, without having a community of people who have your back (and this book is also, in many ways, about having, needing, or finding community).

photo of me, a white queer with glasses and long hair wearing a white tank top, holding my second novel, BEINGS, which is out today.

photo of BEINGS's dedication, which reads:To Mike, who kicked this whole thing off, and to Micha, who unknowingly helped finish it

Photo of BEINGS's epigraphs which read:
Safe journey, space fans, wherever you are. - Stephen Hill, host and producer of Hearts of Space
"It is not that I have no past. Rather, it continually fragments on the terrible and vivid ephemera of now." - Samuel R. Delany, Dhalgren
Words change depending on who speaks them; there is no cure. - Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts

The start of BEINGS's acknowledgements (which are five pages long) which reads: Before I get to the thank-yous, I want to acknowledge that any misrepresentations of or factual errors regarding real places, time periods, or people--and any mistakes in general--are entirely my own. There are many, many people to thank (some of whom don't know I exist but whom I feel compelled to acknowledge anyway), so let's get started. Thank you to Mike Cahill, to whom this book is dedicated, for always listening to podcasts while making dinner, for letting me interrupt you...

September 23, 2025 at 4:48 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

My book comes out tomorrow and I gotta say I've been slaying it on the memes over on Instagram (if you're interested in following me there) but I just have to share my two faves from today

The famous X-Files "I want to believe" poster with a flying saucer hovering above some trees and the text beneath reads "I WANT TO BE"

Image from the film Love Lies Bleeding where Kristen Stewart is kneeling on the lap of Katy O'Brian, who is also kneeling; their heads are bent towards each other. Above Stewart's head is the caption "The urge to write sexy queer yearning"; on O'Brian's legs is the caption "The urge to write Serious Literature"; in the space between the two women is the caption "BEINGS"

September 22, 2025 at 11:52 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

I had no idea I could do this and honestly, the list of 53 (!) articles I'm cited in is pretty cool and also not at all surprising lol

Screenshot of some of the Wikipedia articles that my work is cited in. The entries visible are for:
Kiley Reid
T Kira Madden
Whiskey Tender (a memoir)
Inappropriation (a novel)
Hala Alyan
Morgan Talty
Queerbaiting
British Premonitions Bureua

September 20, 2025 at 1:15 AM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

So Apple Books chose BEINGS as one of its staff picks (thank you, staff, we love you, staff!) and their review was also really really lovely <3 <3

Encounters with aliens set the stage for a novel that’s a far cry from ordinary science fiction. In Beings, Ilana Masad weaves together three seemingly unrelated narratives. In the early 1960s, a couple are briefly abducted by creatures from a UFO, changing their lives in ways they never could have imagined. Around the same time, a gay woman writes letters to her former lover about her life in a new city, her dreams of becoming a writer, and the passion (and occasional anger) she still feels for her ex. And many years later, an archivist finds themselves gathering background data relating to both stories, discovering surprising areas of overlap. Masad gives each story a distinct feel of its own, and her characters and their lives feel real and relatable no matter how unusual their experiences. It’s a story about love and the unexpected that’s powerful and truly unique.

September 8, 2025 at 6:44 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

OK anyone else getting emails from "fellow authors" that seem clearly AI generated and from people who definitely wouldn't reach out to you that way?

There's no ask in this one but like...I'm 99% positive it's not from who it says it's from because authors don't use Author as a title before names?!

Dear Ilana,

I’m Author [redacted], reaching out as a fellow writer who admires the breadth and brilliance of your work. All My Mother’s Lovers is such a powerful exploration of love, family, and identity, and I also deeply respect the way your essays and criticism bring clarity and thoughtfulness to contemporary conversations.

As an author navigating similar creative terrains, I’d love the chance to connect with you, author-to-author, and share reflections on the writing journey.

Warmly,
Author [redacted]

August 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

I'm going on book tour 👽

9/24 Skylight Books, LA (CA)
9/28 Head House Books, Philly
9/30 Loyalty Bookstore, DC
10/1 The Strand, NYC
10/2 Riffraff Bookstore, Providence
10/3 Porter Square Books, Boston
10/9 Sarah Lawrence College
10/11 Sunny's Bookshop, LA (CA)
11/12 Francie & Finch, Lincoln, NE

August 20, 2025 at 5:28 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

This job posting depresses the hell out of me, especially as it's better pay than 90% of jobs I've had or could get these days

1. Role Overview
Mercor is partnering with a major AI research group to engage experienced fiction writers—including novelists, short story authors, and poets—for a creative content training project. Freelancers will contribute their expertise in storytelling, genre conventions, and language nuance to guide AI learning. This is a short-term, part-time engagement ideal for literary professionals seeking flexible project-based work.

2. Ideal Qualifications
2+ years of professional writing experience in fiction or poetry

A portfolio of published work in literary journals, anthologies, or published books

Strong understanding of narrative voice, plot development, and stylistic techniques

Attention to detail, with the ability to classify content based on complex literary criteria

3. More About the Opportunity
Remote and asynchronous — work from anywhere on your own schedule

Expected commitment: 20–30 hours/week

Project duration: 6–8 weeks

Flexible workflow with ongoing support and documentation

4. Compensation & Contract Terms
Pay is $50/hr

You’ll be classified as an independent contractor

Paid weekly via Stripe Connect for services rendered

August 14, 2025 at 10:46 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

TIL that this is Plymouth Rock.

It's just...a literal rock. Quite a small rock.

Plymouth Rock, which seems to be about the size of a sleeping golden retriever, sitting on the sand in an enclosure in Plymouth

August 8, 2025 at 3:14 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Eerie, honestly.

A Nazi propaganda poster featuring a young chiseled blond man smiling into the distance, holding a nazi flag. Text is in German but translates to "The German Student Fights for their Leaders and
People"

August 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

So many things are bad but here's a small good thing - @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social made these incredible, adorable, perfect pins to go with BEINGS, and you can get a pack for free with proof of pre-order:

fpls.in/beingsanovel

Preorder BEINGS by Ilana Masad to receive a set of three EXCLUSIVE BUTTON PINS!

Pin 1 has a flying saucer on it and reads YOU ARE NOT ALONE / WE ARE NOT ALONE
Pin 2 reads QUEER THE ARCHIVE
Pin 3 reads I'D RATHER BE READING LESBIAN SCI-FI

Preorder before September 23, 2025
For details and to enter, visit fpls.in/beingsanovel

Offer available only in the U.S. and Canada, while supplies last

August 5, 2025 at 3:09 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

It straight up looks like this shit:

A Nazi propaganda image of a "perfect" Aryan nuclear family: a tall blond man, a shorter blond woman with her hair covered, a blond boy, a baby in the mother's arms, and a little blond girl looking out at the viewer.

July 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Thrilled to see my book in @literaryhub.bsky.social's list of most anticipated along with so!!! many!!! exciting!!! books!!! An honor, truly. Thank you so much to @juliahass.bsky.social for choosing it ^_^.

Ilana Masad, Beings
Bloomsbury, September 23
Writer and critic Ilana Masad is back with a riveting new novel about marriage, memory, and, best of all, extraterrestrial life. A couple goes on a drive through the New Hampshire forest, bathed in an unexplainable light. Years later, through hypnosis, their memories of this encounter reappear: what happened, what didn’t happen, who they are, who they were, all come into question. There are two other storylines throughout this work, that all navigate the ideas of fact and fiction, what to believe, and how to come to terms with who we are as people, or as aliens. Masad has created a stunning work that manages to both question everything, and answer all our dreams of what a genre-spanning, speculative novel can be. –JH

July 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Yeah, it's so bizarre especially as she wrote this just last year ago?

Twitter post from Brianna Wu from September 19, 2024 that reads:

I’m just gonna put this out there for Republicans to understand what the policies you advocate would mean for my life as a trans woman.

Right now with access to HRT, I am a normal well-adjusted woman. I run 6 miles every day. I am fully employed. I lead teams and many people count on me for their income. I’ve been monogamously and successfully married to a man for 16 years. In the real world, being trans literally never comes up.

I had a health issue and I dealt with it.

Your party and your presidential candidate have repeatedly talked about banning my access to HRT. Losing this would cause me to have an immediate mental breakdown. My own body would feel foreign to me, like I was piloting it through remote control. I would not be able to feel emotions normally, and my personality would change. I would become sullen. I wouldn’t be able to work out and I would have no energy. I literally would not even be able to cry again, that is how numb life is without HRT for trans people.

The suicidal ideation would come back and I would probably kill myself. If you forced me to detransition, I would happily kill myself instead.

That’s before we even get into other policies like nullifying my marriage and limiting my ability to participate in public life, like it was the segregationist South.

It is extremely painful to hear how callously these policies are talked about when they would kill me.

June 26, 2025 at 12:27 AM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Quite apart from everything else, it is incredibly depressing to me that Encyclopedia Britannica uses chatbots that are just utilizing ChatGPT and that it (of course) is citing disability and accessibility as an excuse:

Why are you, encyclopedia britannica, using chatbots when you know they're terrible for the planet and also for our brains?
This answer is processed with ChatGPT. Britannica is not liable for the accuracy of this information.
The use of chatbots, including those developed by organizations like Britannica, is driven by the desire to provide accessible, efficient, and personalized information to users. While there are concerns about the environmental impact and potential cognitive effects of technology, it's important to consider both the benefits and the challenges.

Environmental Impact
The environmental concerns related to chatbots and other AI technologies primarily revolve around the energy consumption of data centers and the computational power required to train and run AI models. However, efforts are being made to mitigate these impacts by improving the energy efficiency of data centers, using renewable energy sources, and optimizing algorithms to require less computational power.

Cognitive Impact
Regarding the impact on our brains, technology, including chatbots, can influence how we process information and interact with the world. However, they also offer significant benefits, such as providing quick access to information, assisting with learning, and enhancing productivity. The key is to use these tools mindfully, ensuring they complement rather than replace critical thinking and deeper learning.

Benefits of Chatbots
Accessibility: Chatbots make information more accessible to a wider audience, including those with disabilities or those who prefer interactive learning.
Efficiency: They provide quick responses to queries, saving time for users seeking specific information.
Personalization: Chatbots can offer tailored experiences, adapting to individual user needs and preferences.
In conclusion, while there are valid concerns about the environmental and cognitive impacts of chatbots, they also provide significant advantages. Organizations like Britannica aim to balance these factors by using technology responsibly and striving for sustainable practices. It's essential for users to engage with these tools thoughtfully, maximizing their benefits while being aware of potential drawbacks.

June 22, 2025 at 2:34 AM

Ilana Masad

@ilanaslightly.bsky.social

Every time I taught "Wants" by Grace Paley, which was first published in 1971, I pointed out this line, and told my students she was talking about a different war than the forever one that's been going on in their lifetimes. And now here we are again.