A Visit from Emma Straub

Talking about getting weird.

Hi friends.

Emma Straub is taking over the letter today in honor of her new book coming out this week and we’re glad to have her.

We love Emma. She’s a real one. She is someone who, I think, writes for the people but for herself, too, which is to say her gaze is deep at work in her books. Her writing is witty and full of heart and she’s smart and you always feel like you’re in good hands when you crack open one of her books.

Her newest, American Fantasy, was named a most anticipated book of 2026 by the NYT, People, Time, and lots of other wonderful publications that still talk about books, god bless ‘em. Kirkus, in a starred review, called it, “A delightfully nostalgic novel about how the things we loved in the past have the power to shape our future.” And Ann Patchett herself said of the book, “I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy.”

It came out on Tuesday, which means you can walk into a store right now and buy it.

And it’s also worth mentioning she does a lot for literature and her community with her bookstore, Books are Magic, which is a neighborhood institution. Here she talks about writing about the weird stuff inside of yourself.