“I’d like to thank the academy…” <- no, seriously. Many thanks to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and congrats to the whole Nashville Public Television team for the Emmy Award for A Word on Words. Go, little show, go! #keepreading

For The Washington Post: “Learning From Our Mistakes” — Maybe humanity could save our future if we just paid a little attention to the lessons of our past. A new essay.

In The New York Times: “Wishing Away the Wish List” — The desire to bring back the mystery in giving has a little something to do with the desire to be taken care of, or maybe even to be a child again.

NEW cartoon! Need a pep talk? Follow @wildlifecoach on Instagram to get one from a Wildlife Life Coach. Giraffes, bats, turtles, pigs… they’re all here to help.

In the Washington Post: “Teaching Girls to Save Their Own Lives” — This essay has mermaids, Michelle Obama, and the book that changed one writer’s life forever.

A Word on Words is back on Nashville Public Television! This one was a blast: chatting in the backyard with National Book Award-winning legend Louise Erdrich about her latest novel, LaRose.

Recent interviews: Colson Whitehead, Yaa Gyasi, Ann Patchett, Glennon Melton, Lee Boudreaux, John Gregory Brown, Megan Abbott, Brad Watson, and more

“This Shop’s Walls Can Talk (In 140 Characters)” There’s enough opportunity for mistaken identity on Twitter to populate a Shakespearean comedy, but it’s still fun. Here’s an essay about creating a bookstore’s voice, from the front page of the Book World section in Washington Post.

A little dark humor up on The Hairpin: The Life-Changing Magic of Spending Money — or, the secret to finding joy in frivolous purchases.

“It’s Not the Celebrities We Mourn For” – Talking mortality and magical thinking in the opinion pages of The Los Angeles Times.

Get your copy anywhere you buy books! (For autographed copies, order from indie bookstore Parnassus Books.) And check out the penguins on Buzzfeed, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, BookPage, The Millions, and more…

Festival season keeps rolling! Just finished: The Mississippi Book Festival, the Mid-South Book Festival, and the Southern Festival of Books!