Jonny Diamond

New York

Writer and Editor in Chief at Literary Hub

Writer, reader, unreliable narrator. Editor @LitHub. Writing a book about axes for W.W. Norton.

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Articles

One great short story to read today: madeline Ffitch’s “Seeing Through Maps”

6 days ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

According to the powers that be (er, apparently according to Dan Wickett of the Emerging Writers Network), May is Short Story Month. To celebrate, for the third year in a row, the Literary Hub staff will be recommending a single short story, free* to read online, every (work) day of the month. Why not read along with us?
Why Lit Hub is no longer on Twitter

2 weeks ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

“Why I’m leaving Twitter” is, at this point, an irritating genre of post. Nonetheless, it’s important to go on record in the face of Elon Musk’s vacuous amorality and its concomitant amplification of actual Nazis (not to mention his relentlessly inept destruction of American government as oligarch-in-chief). Look, the guy is bad, and his platform is bad, and most of the people on his platform are bad.
Lucia Berlin vs. Raymond Carver: Who Is the Real Patron Saint of Realism?

3 weeks ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

I can’t remember the first Raymond Carver story I read. “Cathedral” is a safe bet, but I can’t be sure. I only remember that, in my early twenties, when I began dreaming of a writing life in earnest, there he was. For writers like me (i.e. male millennial with a liberal arts degree) Carver has always been there, the patron saint of realism, the epitome of craft, a master of distilling life into language.
Happy Birthday, Lit Hub, You’re Ten Years Old

1 month ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

Yes, We've Survived a Whole Decade on the Internet Literary Hub was launched ten years ago today.
Agnes and Ned by Jonny Diamond

1 month ago | hobartpulp.com | Jonny Diamond

She had death in her hands, in her heart, in the americ tang of her angry sweat: she was jealous of a piece of bread. It was a dark, trunk-thick loaf of Polish bread, and Agnes could think of nothing else. Ned made a special trip to get the loaf, went the long route each week to pick it up at the Polish bakery. Agnes could not remember the last time he'd gone the long route for her.
A Small Press Book We Love: Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton

1 month ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

Small presses have had a rough year, but as the literary world continues to conglomerate, we at Literary Hub think they’re more important than ever. Which is why, every (work) day in March—which just so happens to be National Small Press Month—a Lit Hub staff member will be recommending a small press book that they love. The only rule of this game is that there are no rules, except that the books we recommend must have been published, at some time, and in some place, by a small press.
A Small Press Book We Love: The Bear by Andrew Krivak

2 months ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

Small presses have had a rough year, but as the literary world continues to conglomerate, we at Literary Hub think they’re more important than ever. Which is why, every (work) day in March—which just so happens to be National Small Press Month—a Lit Hub staff member will be recommending a small press book that they love. The only rule of this game is that there are no rules, except that the books we recommend must have been published, at some time, and in some place, by a small press.
Dear Jimi Hendrix: A Letter, in Gratitude, From Jeffery Renard Allen

2 months ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

September 18, 2020Article continues after advertisementJimi:I hope this brief message reaches you and finds you well. If you have a moment, please respond and let me know. And I hope the years have been good for you, well for you. On this momentous occasion, 50 years since you left us too soon, I wish I had some special offering to pass on in commemoration. I do not.
A Small Press Book We Love: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

2 months ago | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

Small presses have had a rough year, but as the literary world continues to conglomerate, we at Literary Hub think they’re more important than ever. Which is why, every (work) day in March—which just so happens to be National Small Press Month—a Lit Hub staff member will be recommending a small press book that they love. The only rule of this game is that there are no rules, except that the books we recommend must have been published, at some time, and in some place, by a small press.
New Jersey fights back in the face of national book-banning.

Dec 12, 2024 | lithub.com | Jonny Diamond

In an example of what the next four years might look like—blue states preemptively protecting the rights and freedoms of their citizens against the authoritarian creep of federal policy—New Jersey Governor Chris Murphy signed into law the “Freedom to Read” act earlier this week. Article continues after advertisementMost of us cringe these days when “Freedom” shows up in any political discourse, but in this case, it might actually be apt.