NonBinary Review authors reinvent classic texts, from Grimm’s fairy tales to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Their short stories, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art interacts with the original work to fill in blanks, extend the story, and offer a fresh perspective.

Writer Guy Bergstrom explains why NaNoWriMo sets up aspiring novelists for failure — and how a different approach, focusing on narrative and structure over output, might be the way to go.

“I was curious about more than just how often ‘girl’ books appeared; I wanted to understand who was writing these books, and the fate of the ‘girl’ in the title.” Exploring today’s book titles, Emily St. John Mandel asks: “Who are these girls? Why are there so many of them?”

At The Other Journal, theology intersects with culture. Presented twice yearly by the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, it features writing on theology, politics, art, poetry, and more.

“[D]on’t do it without a plan. Because the very last thing a tense situation needs is someone full of good intentions but with no knowledge of de-escalation tactics or self-defense.” Ideas for moving beyond symbolism to activism in the wake of the US presidential election.

“By supporting this man, you’ve made the world less safe for my children.” Turkish immigrant Melih Onvural writes an open letter to his teacher to ask why she supported Donald Trump.

“For the Trump voters, Trump’s racism may have been just part of the package deal, the Cinemax they had accept to get the HBO. For those who are the target of that racism (and sexism, and homophobia), however, it’s not Cinemax. It’s their lives.”

Coming to grips with a Trump presidency: “But if we want to make the best of this, we need to ask a question: Why did those 50 million people vote for Trump? Trying to get to the bottom of that question will help us learn from the past and get better.”