Who do I think I am?

Hi, I’m Rebecca Makkai, and I write fiction. That’s a lonely job, and (maybe oddly for a writer) I’m an extreme extrovert. I could take my laptop to Times Square, but instead I write at home and take frequent breaks to interact with actual (albeit digital) humans. You’re less pliable than the characters who live in my head, but often more entertaining…

So, a SubStack it is.

(Hey look, here’s a teeeeeeeny tiny bookshelf of stuff I wrote! You can click on the covers to learn more.)

What you’ll find here

Pretty reliably:
- Writing prompts and advice. I genuinely love teaching writing, and talking about writing, and cheering you on.
- Books — for now, specifically my 84 Books project, in which I’m reading 84 books in translation, in honor of my late father. I’d love for you to join me.
- Bizarre Zillow finds. They are my jam.
- True crime of yore. (Also my jam.)
- Strange etymologies. (I was raised by two linguists. I was handed this jam at birth.)
- Hungarian food. (Listen, I have a lot of jams.)

Unreliably:
- Whatever else floats all of our boats.

Will there be actual jam?
- Probably not. I like the stuff, but I’m afraid of canning because I’m afraid of botulism.

Why you might subscribe

I’ll always put out lots of free content, but I also like to pay bills. (Big electricity fan!) So I’ll do some special posts for subscribers, and every few weeks I’ll do a writing advice column with questions/cries for help from subscribers only. I’ll also post things like deleted scenes from past books or sneak peaks of upcoming ones.

I like you

Really! And I’d love for you to join this community.

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