For one thing, publishing moves very slowly, and the timing rarely lines up. By the time a book goes from concept to zero-draft, revised seven* times, beta-read, queried, cried over, queried again, edited, sold, designed, printed, marketed, shipped, reviewed, and finally placed into readers’ hands, the trend has probably changed. But more importantly, writing toward a trend can flatten the instinct that brings a book alive in the first place. Lasting work feels like someone was paying attention before most of us knew how to name what we were feeling, and less like a well-designed product.

That is the mercy of the craft: if you write honestly from what is pressing on your heart, you may already be closer to the cultural pulse than you think. After all, we share a world: absorb the same anxieties, inherit the same griefs, move through the same technologies, economies, wars, losses, longings, and hopes; and some believe we share a higher consciousness.

While looking back at bestselling books across the last century, popularity is typically shaped by the following influences: marketing, distribution, censorship, literacy, class, race, school systems, book clubs, film adaptations, celebrity, prize culture, and pure luck. And while bestseller status and literary value are not always the same thing, the lists still tell us something. They show us what readers were hungry for.

• What they feared.

• What comforted them.

• What they wanted explained.

• What they wanted to escape.

• What they were finally ready to confront.

A Century of Publishing Trends

1900s: American Origin Stories

To Have and to Hold, by Mary Johnston topped the 1900 list, while Owen Wister’s The Virginian led in 1902. These books helped feed an imagination preoccupied with origins, conquest, individualism, and the romance of early national identity.

A young and expanding nation often reaches for myth before it reaches for self-interrogation. At the turn of the twentieth century, American readers were drawn toward historical romance, frontier myth, and national self-imagination. These books became part of a country narrating itself to itself! Who are we? Where did we come from? What virtues do we want to believe built us? The answers were often romanticized, selective, and tragically incomplete.

1910s: Optimism Before the World Broke Open

The 1910s brought a strange mixture of moral questioning, spiritual anxiety, and sentimental reassurance.

The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill was the bestselling novel of 1913, reflecting an era interested in religion, reform, and institutional doubt. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter, published the same year, gave readers a figure of radical optimism.

By 1917, Publishers Weekly separated fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists as World War I increased public interest in nonfiction. And that same year, H.G. Wells’s Mr. Britling Sees It Through, a novel about World War I, became the #1 fiction title. On the edge of catastrophe, readers wanted both moral seriousness and emotional shelter. Sometimes optimism becomes a kind of survival technology. (hmm, sound familiar?)

1920s: Glitter, Escape, and the Moral Hangover

The 1920s are remembered for jazz, glamour, speed, money, and reinvention, but the decade’s bestselling fiction reveals instability under the shine. Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street led the 1921 list, with Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence at #4 and E.M. Hull’s The Sheik at #6. Edna Ferber’s So Big topped the 1924 list, and Anita Loos’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes appeared high on the 1926 list.

The decade wanted modernity, but it also wanted judgment. It wanted glamour, but it also wanted to know what glamour cost. Books of the period looked backward to manners, marriage, pioneers, and moral architecture even as the country accelerated into mass media, consumerism, and spectacle. And a pattern emerges: in decades of rapid change, readers often reach in two directions at once. They want the thrill of the new and the reassurance of an older structure.

1930s: Big Books for Hard Times

During the Great Depression, readers turned toward sweeping stories of endurance, escape, and survival. Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth topped the 1931 list. Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind led in both 1936 and 1937. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s The Yearling topped the 1938 list.

These books are large in scale and emotion. They ask readers to live inside hardship for a while, but with scenery, drama, and a bit of distance. The 1930s remind us that readers in crisis often want stories big enough to hold suffering along with love.

1940s: War, Faith, and the Search for Meaning

The 1940s were shaped by World War II, and bestselling books carried the era’s hunger for survival, ambition, faith, and moral order. Franz Werfel’s The Song of Bernadette topped the 1942 list, Lloyd C. Douglas’s The Robe led in 1943, Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit led in 1944, and Kathleen Winsor’s Forever Amber topped 1945. W. Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge also appeared high on the 1944 list.

Nonfiction had a real moment in the 1940’s as it reflected the war directly. In December 1941, Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer and That Day Alone by Pierre Van Paassen were both high on Publishers Weekly’s nonfiction bestseller list.

War always changes what readers ask from books. Entertainment remains necessary, but another question demands answers: What can or should a person believe in after the world has shown what it is capable of?

1950s: The Perfect House Had Cracks in the Walls

The 1950s are often packaged as an era of domestic order, but the decade’s bestselling books show pressure under the image. James Jones’s From Here to Eternity topped the 1951 list. Grace Metalious’s Peyton Place ranked #3 in 1956 and #2 in 1957. Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago topped 1958, and Leon Uris’s Exodus led in 1959.

The decade’s fiction seems fascinated by what polite society suppresses: sex, violence, war trauma, scandal, & political repression. Readers were not as satisfied with conformity as the culture wanted them to appear. The polished surface had already begun to crack, and books helped widen the fracture.

1960s: Justice, Rebellion, and the Unreliable American Dream

The 1960s brought political upheaval, civil rights struggle, Cold War dread, sexual revolution, and generational revolt. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird ranked #3 in 1961 after its 1960 publication. Katherine Anne Porter’s Ship of Fools led in 1962. Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls led in 1966. Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint topped 1969, with Mario Puzo’s The Godfather at #2 and Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain at #5.

Nonfiction carried the decade’s urgency as well. In 1963, the week of the March on Washington, James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time was the #2 nonfiction bestseller on Publishers Weekly’s list.

The 1960s wanted social rupture, confession, and liberation. Books followed that sentiment into courtrooms, bedrooms, & governments.

1970s: What Lurks Beneath the Water, the Family Tree, and the State

This decade keeps asking what lies beneath: beneath the water, beneath government, beneath history. The 1970s brought environmental fear, political disillusionment, identity reckoning, and distrust of power.

Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull led the 1972 and 1973 fiction lists. James A. Michener’s Centennial topped 1974, with Watership Down by Richard Adams at #2, Jaws by Peter Benchley at #3, and John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at #4. E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime led in 1975, while Leon Uris’s Trinity topped 1976.

The nonfiction lists were just as revealing. During the Watergate era, All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reached #1 on Publishers Weekly’s nonfiction list, while Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex and Robert Atkins’s Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution showed readers turning toward the body, appetite, and self-management.

1980s: Greed, Horror, and Systems Under Pressure

The 1980s gave readers ambition, horror, techno-politics, historical sprawl, and spectacle. Stephen King’s It topped the 1986 list. Tom Clancy’s The Cardinal of the Kremlin led in 1988. Stephen King’s The Dark Half was the #1 fiction bestseller during the week the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, while Nancy Reagan’s My Turn led nonfiction that same week. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos also appeared on nonfiction bestseller lists in the early 1980s, reflecting a mass hunger for science, scale, and wonder in the age of personal computing and Cold War futurism. This was a decade of systems. The monsters got bigger because the systems got bigger.

1990s: Confession, Suspicion, and the Rise of the Personal Story

The 1990s brought legal thrillers, intimate confession, memoir, spiritual seeking, and suspicion of institutions. Jean M. Auel’s The Plains of Passage led in 1990. Alexandra Ripley’s Scarlett led in 1991. Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne topped 1992, with John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief at #2. Robert James Waller’s The Bridges of Madison County led in 1993, and James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy ranked high in 1994.

The decade was also fertile ground for memoir and public confession. Maus by Art Spiegelman appeared on Publishers Weekly’s nonfiction list in 1991, and O.J. Simpson’s I Want to Tell You appeared on the 1995 annual nonfiction list during the culture’s obsession with the Simpson trial.

Readers wanted to know what institutions were hiding. They also wanted personal stories of survival, trauma, & family as the reality TV era was born. Suspicion and confession became twin literary engines.

2000s: Codes, Chosen Ones, War, and Post-9/11 Distrust

After 9/11, readers gravitated toward hidden histories, conspiracies, moral battles, global conflict, war, and systems of belief. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code topped the 2003 and 2004 fiction lists. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones ranked high in 2002 and 2003. Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns led the 2007 fiction list. John Grisham’s The Appeal topped 2008, and Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol led 2009.

The period’s nonfiction bestseller lists reflected politics and polarization. In 2003, The Savage Nation by Michael Savage and Useful Idiots by Mona Charen were both high on Publishers Weekly’s nonfiction lists around the start of the Iraq War. Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father climbed paperback bestseller lists around the 2008 election.

The 2000s wanted codes behind history, magic behind the wall, corruption behind institutions, and a chosen path through darkness.

2010s: Marriage, Memory, Desire, and the Unstable Self

The 2010s were full of psychological suspense, intimate betrayal, dystopian anxiety, viral desire, YA crossover, and the growing influence of online reader communities. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson led in 2010. Fifty Shades of Grey topped 2012, followed by The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. Gone Girl ranked #10 that same year. John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars led 2014, and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train led 2016 after ranking #3 in 2015.

This decade was fascinated by what could not be trusted: the spouse, the narrator, the self. Desire became mainstream spectacle. Domestic life became a crime scene. Young adult dystopia gave a generation language for authoritarianism.

2020s: Isolation, Self-Repair, Romantasy, and the Hunger for Tenderness

The 2020s are still unfolding, but the patterns are already somewhat visible. In 2020, Barack Obama’s A Promised Land topped the annual list, followed by Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: Grime and Punishment, Mary L. Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough, Suzanne Collins’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing, Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. By 2022 & 2023, Colleen Hoover dominated the lists with It Ends with Us, Verity, and It Starts with Us. James Clear’s Atomic Habits stayed remarkably strong. Prince Harry’s Spare, Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry all appeared in the 2023 top ten. In 2024, Kristin Hannah’s The Women led the list, followed by Sarah J. Maas, Dav Pilkey, Freida McFadden, James Clear, Colleen Hoover, and Rebecca Yarros.

This decade is reading through isolation, burnout, algorithmic intimacy, political dread, self-repair, fandom, and the collapse of old attention patterns. Romance, romantasy, thrillers, celebrity memoir, children’s books, habit books, and emotionally direct fiction are all thriving.

The dominant question of this decade might be: How do we stay human under all this pressure?

What Readers May Want Next:

The Age of the Irreplaceable

My prediction is that the next wave of lasting books will include AI plots, climate plots, and collapse plots, because all of those subjects will be prevalent. But the books that endure may be the ones that ask, first, what consciousness, care, and community mean in a world where more and more can be simulated and automated.

I’m querying a book about many of these questions now, and I’m part of a large wave of writers thinking through the same territory. We may also see more fiction about synthetic life, spiritual hunger, ecological kinship, chosen families, animal consciousness, reproductive autonomy, and the body as the last contested place of truth.

We may see nonfiction move beyond productivity and into restoration: attention, nervous system repair, land, ritual, grief literacy, spiritual practice, and meaning. And maybe we might see poetry take more of a center stage as people begin to value the radical act of slowing down.

That is why I keep returning to this belief: writers should write what will not leave them alone, and trust that the private pressure may also belong to the collective heart. Because trends are late, but the heart is early.

Thank you for reading,

NJ.

View Author Website

I’m looking forward to spending time with everyone on Thursday, April 16th at 1PM EST. If you missed the main event post you can review all dates/links/timelines here:

What to expect:

We’ll begin with first impressions, move into a few guiding questions, and close with reflections that you can carry into your week. You’ll never be put on the spot, and you are welcome to attend to only listen. Moreover, we welcome those who’ve skimmed, close-read, or are just beginning.

The Slow Read Book Club is free and open to anyone who wants to join, so feel free to share this event with family or friends. The more the merrier.

Share

For April’s Chat, we’ll reflect on these chapters:

• Maple Sugar Moon

• Witch Hazel

• A Mother’s Work

• Allegiance to Gratitude

• The Honorable Harvest

April’s Bookside Chat (2 of 3)

April 16 | 1–2:30 pm EST
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86815757593?pwd=GosGiLm8nSkddqJklwv2IjhsEU0V6t.1

ADD TO CALENDAR

P.S. At the close of our Slow Read (in late May), I’m hosting a workshop for Paid Subscribers: “Finding Your Voice in Poetry & Prose.” More details soon.

Warmly,
NJ.

I’m happy to share Pocket Pitch, a pop-up pitch-event (say that 10x fast) hosted by Pocket MFA that connects writers with receptive literary agents & small presses, all in one day! It’s designed for writers with unpublished, unagented manuscripts, and it welcomes all genres and categories.

Pocket Pitch is open to current Pocket MFA writers and alumni, BUT if you’re reading this through Blake Bell (), Lauren T. Davila ( ) , or MY Substack ( )— your spot is also free. Otherwise, this event is not open to the general public.

On April 21, participating agents and presses will browse pitches posted to the event platform and request material directly if something catches their eye. Writers may submit one pitch per person, and the pitch should include: the title, author name, email, word count, and a short hook-style description of the book.

As a 3x Pocket MFA Alumni, I’m especially happy to spread the word about this! If you’ve been querying for a while, or you’ve just finished a manuscript and want to get it in front of industry readers, this is a unique opportunity to put your work forward.

Thanks for reading, and happy pitching!

-NJ.

Our first Slow Read Book Club has begun, and I’m really looking forward to spending time with everyone on Thursday, March 19th at 12PM EST. If you missed the main post you can review all dates/links/timelines here:

March’s Bookside Chat (1 of 3)

March 19 | 12:00–1:30 pm EST
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85937906558?pwd=3yrpnlsRuE18z0Sb3XS1WJbfYnLmCf.1

ADD TO CALENDAR

What to expect:

We’ll begin with first impressions, move into a few guiding questions, and close with reflections that you can carry into your week. You’ll never be put on the spot, and you are welcome to attend to only listen. Moreover, we welcome those who’ve skimmed, close-read, or are just beginning.

For this first conversation, we’ll reflect on these chapters:

• Skywoman Falling

• The Council of Pecans

• The Gift of Strawberries

• An Offering

• Asters and Goldenrod

• Learning the Grammar of Animacy

The Slow Read Book Club is free and open to anyone who wants to join, so feel free to share this event with family or friends. The more the merrier.

Share

P.S. At the close of our Slow Read (in late May), I’m hosting a craft session for Paid Subscribers: “Finding Your Voice in Poetry & Prose.” More details soon.

Warmly,
NJ.

I’m looking forward to kicking off our first Slow Read Book Club. Our voted selection is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer—a smart blend of nature, science, and personal reflection that invites us to think about our relationship with the living world.

Purchase Copy

We’ll be reading this book slowly over three months (March–May) and gathering once a month for a guided, fireside-style Zoom conversation. These are relaxed, welcoming conversations—with no lectures or pressure, and no expectation to perform. [free to all subscribers]

📅 March 19 | Chat 1: 12:00–1:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

📅 April 16 | Chat 2: 1:00–2:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

📅 May 14 | Chat 3: 2:00–3:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

March Reading

• Skywoman Falling

• The Council of Pecans

• The Gift of Strawberries

• An Offering

• Asters and Goldenrod

• Learning the Grammar of Animacy

April Reading

• Maple Sugar Moon

• Witch Hazel

• A Mother’s Work

• Allegiance to Gratitude

• The Honorable Harvest

May Reading

• Windigo Footprints

• The Sound of Silverbells

• Sitting in a Circle

• Burning Sweetgrass

• The Sacred and the Superfund

Read at your own pace—skim, or dip in where you can. The conversations are designed to welcome you wherever you are in the book.

A note on reminders

I’ll send a reminder email about a week before each bookside chat, with the Zoom link + a link to “ADD TO CALENDAR” + reading sections, so you don’t have to keep track of everything yourself. Please add me to your primary email so they don’t end up in your spam folder.

I hope you will join us and if you think you might, please like or comment on this post, it will help me plan out the meetings better if I know how many people to expect. The first three subscribers to comment “I’m in!” and restack this post will receive an e-book or print copy of the book.

Warmly,
NJ

Leave a comment

These Monthly Roundups are to help you submit your work without information overload. Let’s keep progressing your story.

Below is a curated selection a few great vetted opportunities to keep you writing and submitting without analysis paralysis. Every month, I post 1-2 strategic opportunities, in the following categories, that are worth your time and $ to submit.

• Poetry

• Prose

• Grants, Awards, Fellowships, or Residencies.

• Workshops, Retreats, or Conferences.

Terry J. Cox Poetry Award — Regal House Publishing

Full-length poetry manuscript prize (48–100 pages) offering $1,000 + book publication. Individual poems may have been previously published if rights are retained.
Deadline: January 31, 2026
Fee: $25
🔗 https://regalhousepublishing.com/the-terry-j-cox-poetry-award/

Phyllis Smart-Young Prize in Poetry — The Madison Review

Awarded for a single submission of unpublished poems (up to 15 pages). Includes $1,000 + Spring issue publication.
Deadline: February 1, 2026
🔗 https://madisonreview.submittable.com/submit

Yeats Poetry Prize — WB Yeats Society of NY

International poetry prize for unpublished poems in English (≤ 60 lines).

1st Prize: $1,000, 2nd Prize: $500
Includes publication in the judge’s report, a commemorative plaque, and a two-year Society membership.
Judge (2026): Joseph O. Legaspi
Deadline: February 1, 2026
Fee: $15 first poem / $12 additional
🔗 https://yeats.submittable.com/submit

Rejected Poetry Prize — Palette Poetry

Celebrates strong poems previously rejected elsewhere.

1st Prize: $3,000 + publication

Additional prizes and finalist publications
Deadline: January 31, 2026
Fee: $20 (up to 3 poems)
🔗 https://www.palettepoetry.com/the-2025-26-rejected-poetry-prize/

Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest

Prize for unpublished short fiction (≤ 4,000 words). Includes publication in The Kenyon Review and a full scholarship to the Kenyon Review Writers Workshops.
Deadline: January 31 (annual)
Fee: $24
🔗 https://kenyonreview.org/submit/short-fiction/

Edinburgh Short Story Award — Scottish Arts Trust

International short fiction prize offering £3,000 and publication in an annual anthology.
Fee: £10
Deadline: See Submittable listing
🔗 https://scottishartstrust.submittable.com/submit/339517/2026-edinburgh-short-story-award

AWP Award Series (Poetry, Fiction, CNF, Novel, Translation)

National awards across multiple genres. Prizes typically include cash awards and publication with partner presses or journals.
Deadlines: Vary by category (generally February–March)
Fee: ~$30–35
🔗 https://www.awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Contests/AWP-Award-Series/Overview.aspx

Soaring Gardens Artists Retreat — Summer Residencies

Three-week, multi-disciplinary residencies (writing, visual art, music) in rural Pennsylvania. Housing, studio space, transportation support, and weekly communal meals included.
Deadline: January 9, 2026

https://oralermantrust.com

Write On, Door County — Dick Scuglik Memorial Residency & Scholarship

A collaborative residency focused on ekphrastic writing, pairing one writer with one visual artist (2026 artist: Laurel Grey). Includes travel assistance, stipend, and grocery allowance.
Deadline: January 15, 2026
🔗 https://writeondoorcounty.org/get-inspired-2/

AWP Conference & Bookfair — #AWP26

Hosted by: Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)
Location: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD (in-person) OR AWP Anywhere Pass (virtual)

The premier annual gathering for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Hundreds of panels, readings, and the largest literary bookfair in North America. Event dates: March 4–7, 2026.

Event Details

• Dates: March 4–7, 2026 (Baltimore & virtual).

• Venue: Baltimore Convention Center.

• Registration periods & sample rates:

  • Early Bird (Aug 11–Nov 24, 2025): Member $210 / Nonmember $330; Anywhere Pass member $110, nonmember $190.

  • Preregistration (Nov 25, 2025–Mar 3, 2026): Member $260 / Nonmember $380; Anywhere Pass member $120, nonmember $200.

  • On-site (Mar 4–7, 2026): Member $435 / Nonmember $540; Anywhere Pass member $130, nonmember $210.

  • Student & Senior rates available; Saturday-only pass $25 (on-site).

Participation Guidelines

• Who should attend: Writers at any stage, educators, students, editors, publishers, and literary organizations.

• Presenters: Discounted presenter rates; presenters must be linked to an accepted event.

• Accessibility: On-site and virtual accessibility services; ADA-compliant.

• Policies: Terms & Conditions and Anti-Harassment Policy apply to all attendees.

REGISTER

I know we can get lost in long lists, so hopefully these quality monthly sub-samplers will be helpful. If you apply, let me know in the comments—I’d love to cheer you on and post your success in the newsletter.

Happy Submitting!

♥ NJ

POEtic Threads: Apparel for Writers.

For those of us who live in words, edit with caffeine, and revise until our eyelids stick to our scleras. POEtic Threads focuses on comfortable, wearable pieces, that nod to the writing life: for when you’re deep in the draft trenches, heading to a reading/book club, or just want to be cozy.

Check Out POEtic Threads

“’Hear! hear!’ screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, ‘winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.’”

- Henry David Thoreau

A Snow Day on Sanity Ranch

As this space grows, I’ve been thinking carefully about how—and when—to open it further. Anything offered here matters to me only if it feels relational rather than transactional, rooted in conversation rather than performance. In 2026, I’m holding a few community offerings with that spirit in mind:

Slow Read Book Clubs

Seasonal book picks (of all genres) with virtual monthly meetings via zoom as well as an additional text-inspired craft talk per book.

We kick off in Spring`26, reading March 1st-May 1st:

Book Vote Opens Now

Gathering in Real Time

In the spring, I’ll be attending AWP. I’m looking forward to being in rooms full of writers again—to the conversations in hallways, the reminder that this work is communal even when it’s solitary. If you’ll be there too, let me know in the comments as we will be setting up a substack gathering, in conjunction with .

Astral Academy, A Novel

The Astral Academy world continues to unfold, with new episodes every weekend. You can follow along below for free. Paid subscribers will receive the full ebook at the end of the series.

Astral Academy

Serial Fiction: Speculative, metaphysical sci-fi-bent series about a secret program that harnesses the power of a higher dimension and tests the limits of the human mind.

By NJ Simat 🤍

POETRY:

ESSAY:

Thank you for reading,

Sincerely,
NJ Simat

Creative Director & Editor of PHIL LIT JOURNAL

Get more from NJ Simat 🤍 in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Literary Fiction — Internal weather (alt. Pretty prose)
Upmarket Fiction — Accessible depth
Mainstream Fiction — Hindsight hit
Commercial Fiction — Fast payoff (alt. High-premise)
Women’s Fiction — Interior change
Book Club Fiction — Discussion hooks

Children’s — Gentle wisdom
Middle Grade — Big feelings
Young Adult — First everything
New Adult — Becoming, reckoning

Romance — Will they
Rom-Com — Meet cute

Contemporary — Now problems
Historical Fiction — Past problems

Dystopian — Future problems

Speculative Fiction — What if

Science Fiction — Future consequences
Hard Science Fiction — Math matters
Soft Science Fiction — Human matters
Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) — Planet stakes

Metaphysical — Reality questioned
Visionary — Consciousness expanded

Fantasy — Magic systems
High Fantasy — World immersion
Low Fantasy — Magic intrudes
Portal Fantasy — Magic door
Urban Fantasy — City magic
Dark Fantasy — Beauty rots

Magical Realism — Casual miracles
Mythology Retellings — Old gods

Mythic — Archetypal truths

Horror — Don’t die
Cozy Horror — Don’t worry*

Gothic — Atmospheric dread
Southern Gothic — Polite decay
Paranormal — Otherworldly intrusion

Thriller — Sustained tension
Psychological Thriller — Mind games

Mystery — Who did
Detective Fiction — Solve it
Police Procedural — Process matters

Crime — Why did
Noir — Moral rain
Gangster — Loyalty costs

Adventure — Relentless motion
Action — Immediate impact
Epic — World stakes (alt. Hero’s Journey)
Western — Hard landing
Pulp — Stylized excess

Comedy — Earned laughs
Satire — Laugh, wince

Experimental — Rules optional
Slipstream — Genre bleed

Memoir — I survived
Autobiography — Me, myself
Biography — Someone else
Creative Nonfiction — True art
True Crime — Real horror

Spiritual — Faith inquiry

Argue with me in the comments (but lovingly please). Or better yet—add your own two-word genre reduction.

Share

Below are five ways to shear the fear, keep your head above the herd, and stay human.

1. As always, we begin by noticing: Pay attention to whether you are operating in/from a state of fear or love—because they cannot exist in the body at the same time.

This is not spiritual language, or metaphor; it’s neurobiology.

Allow me to explain, the heart contains its own intrinsic nervous system—sometimes called the cardiac brain—made up of tens of thousands of neurons capable of sensing, learning, and sending information. What’s often overlooked is that communication between the heart and the brain is not a one-way, brain-led, command structure. In fact, the majority of neural signals travel from the heart to the brain, primarily through the vagus nerve. These signals feed directly into regions of the brain involved in emotion, decision-making, and threat detection, including the amygdala.

When you enter a state of fear, the amygdala becomes dominant. It signals danger and overrides higher cognitive functions, narrowing perception and prioritizing survival. Heart rhythms become erratic, reinforcing this alarm state. The system locks into vigilance.

But when you experience love, awe, gratitude, or deep presence, something very different happens. The heart’s rhythm becomes more coherent and organized. Signals traveling through the vagus nerve begin to inhibit activity in the amygdala, effectively dampening the fear response. Blood flow shifts away from survival circuitry and back toward regions of the brain responsible for reasoning, empathy, and long-term perspective. Fear isn’t suppressed through force—it simply loses neurological dominance.

This is why fear and love cannot truly coexist. They rely on opposing nervous system states. One tightens, accelerates, and narrows. The other slows, regulates, and opens. Ancient texts named this long before neuroscience could explain it:

Modern neuroscience describes the same phenomenon as parasympathetic regulation overriding threat circuitry. Different language, same mechanism.

2. Keep your head where your feet are.

If every screen is telling you the sky is falling, do something radical: look outside.

If people are not running toward you in terror, if no one is actively harming you, if your body is safe in this moment, then your immediate reality deserves more authority than a mediated or predicted one. The world is vast, and unfortunately terrible things happen every day—somewhere. But we don’t stop walking outside because sinkholes exist. Fear collapses the distance between you and the horrors, but wisdom restores it.

Furthermore, capacity matters. We are not meant to carry the emotional weight of the entire globe. When we are flooded with endless tragedy, we don’t become more compassionate—we become numb to adapt. Prolonged exposure to suffering, that we cannot act on, erodes empathy and leads to helplessness, not a better society. Being informed does not require being consumed by it, nor is it always helpful to “know” everything.

Sometimes this means taking a break from the internet.

3. Put your energy where your relationships are.

This is not practicing apathy, it’s guarding against it. It’s acknowledging that we only have so much headspace, so we need to engage with discernment.

Be cautious of causes you don’t understand but feel pressured to adopt—especially when they’re delivered by people you don’t really know and are motivated by peer pressure or forces you cannot see.

Your first relationships are with family and friends; if there is work to be done, start there. Those healthy units ripple outward into the world. Furthermore, relationships also exist between you and the physical places you inhabit. If you see hunger in your town, care about that. If you see animals suffering where you live, respond to that. If your community has unmet needs, engage there. If everyone invested deeply and locally, the globe would be covered.

Local causes can still include other parts of the world. I’ve joined forces with a group with familial ties to South America and thus traveled to places like Chinandega, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, several times. I’ve helped build hospitals, treated wounds, fed families, and cleaned dwellings with my own hands. I can say this with experience backing my words: direct human (and animal) service is profoundly different from online advocacy or donation alone. It restores dignity to both giver and receiver. It generates energy instead of draining it. It fills you with peace instead of overwhelm.

Arguing with abstractions—or bots masquerading as people—rarely changes the world. Showing up for real people often does. No online argument has ever rivaled the life-giving clarity of real service.

This grounding matters, because causes are all too easy to adopt online, especially when they arrive packaged with urgency and belonging. This doesn’t mean never donating financially; it means knowing and understanding what you are supporting.

4. Ask whether the emotion you’re feeling was the intended end game.

This is a simple but powerful filter. If something leaves you afraid, enraged, or filled with dread, pause and consider whether that reaction was the whole (data) point.

Fear, outrage, and despair are efficient tools for engagement. They narrow perception, reduce complexity, erode nuance, and ultimately make people easier to control or direct. When the nervous system is overwhelmed, the mind becomes reactive: you don’t ask careful questions, you share the outrage and help polarize the masses.

Before engaging, ask yourself: If this content achieves nothing else, what emotion does it leave me with? And why might someone want me to feel that way?

5. A Personal Practice: Limiting Screen Time & Refusing a Spirit of Fear

When I feel scarcity or fear creeping in—not safe, not enough time, not enough money, not enough (fill in the blank) —I pray or meditate against it.

Things are frightening at times, but living inside that space is not an option for me. I’m not always mentally strong enough to outthink the noise, but prayer or meditation consistently recenters my heart. I also have a healthy understanding of how fear shows up, corroding the spirit; I call it out loud every time I feel fear in my heart. And I ask for help to imagine what love looks like in that space instead. Love and Gratitude are guiding lights in that respect, they expand and what fear contracts.

“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

— Frank Herbert, Dune (1965)

Here’s the thing: no one gets out of this life alive.

That truth isn’t meant to be morbid—it’s meant to clarify. We are here to experience, to love, to grow, to create and contribute; not to shrink ourselves into silence or paralysis, or fizzle out in rage.

Sincerely, NJ. Simat

Creative Director & Editor of PHIL LIT

Be fearless. Stay human.

The MetaStory:

Astral Academy is the next novel in the world of Club Daze & The Subtle Realm—a speculative, metaphysical, science-bent series that explores consciousness and power of the mind. Astral Academy is written as a stand alone, so there’s no need to read the first book in the series to enjoy the world.

SYNOPSIS

Astral Academy, by N.J. Simat

When Natasha Price inherits ChudaPharma after her father’s death, she also inherits his unfinished obsession: proving the existence of the Astral Plane. With investors pulling out and the company’s ruthless CFO pushing a profit-driven DMT project, Natasha secretly launches Astral Academy, a covert program designed to train gifted teens to explore the hidden realm her father never lived to validate.

Working with a team of scientists, dream researchers, and skeptics, Natasha prepares her recruits to enter altered states and unlock extraordinary abilities—lucid projection, universal knowledge access, and deep interspecies communication. But one student, the brilliant and volatile Devin, turns toward darker astral practices, aligning himself with Natasha’s corporate rival and threatening to sabotage the entire mission.

As pressure mounts and resources vanish, Natasha must secure definitive proof of the Astral Plane before her enemies dismantle everything. What her team discovers will reshape ChudaPharma—and the limits of human consciousness—forever.

How the Serialization Will Work

The novel is structured into 45 chapters that are arranged into four parts; each chapter will roll out in serialized episodes.

Here’s the reading model:

• Each Episode (chapter) is released weekly, on Sunday

• Each PART is completely free while it’s being serialized. Roughly 3 months.

• When all four parts are finished, I’ll be releasing the paperback version. Paid subscribers will receive the free ebook.

Where It Lives

The serialization will live in its own dedicated Substack publication (so you can opt in just for the fiction). Only the episodes/chapters will be sent to your inbox for a streamlined reading experience.

If you want the chapters delivered straight to your inbox, you’ll need to subscribe specifically to the Astral Academy publication. (I’ll also include the sign-up link in every episode)

OPT IN TO ASTRAL ACADEMY

Why I’m Doing It This Way

I’ve always loved the intimacy of episodic storytelling—the shared rhythm, the anticipation, the sense of reading a world together. This format lets me share the book as a living experience, while eventually giving it a proper home in print.

I do hope you’ll come along for the ride.

—N.J. Simat

We talk a lot about writer’s block and minimizing distractions, but there’s another barrier to creative flow that’s less discussed: the cognitive-context transition—otherwise known as the 15-Minute Drift.

Similar to the 20-minute metabolic switch from carbs to fat on the treadmill, knowing what’s happening inside your body and brain can help ease the frustration of getting into a flow state. If you understand that it’s not just “poor focus” or “lack of motivation,” you can shed the guilt and get real about your brain chemistry.

Your brain isn’t a light switch. It can’t instantly leap from answering emails, watching t.v., or texting a friend into deep narrative flow. Research suggests it takes the average person around 15 minutes to mentally shift from one context to another. That’s the transition time—the gray zone where your brain is unloading one mode and booting up another.

For writers, that window can feel like resistance, self-doubt, or fogginess. But it’s not a failure, it’s just science—Physics to be specific—Cognitive Physics to be annoyingly specific. During this shift, the resistance you feel isn’t proof that you’re lazy or not cut out to be a best selling author; it’s not personal. Well, it’s deeply internally personal, sure, but it isn’t shameful and it doesn’t mean you should give up. It’s not you being unmotivated, it’s a trust the process moment.

So again for the skimmers, what is cognitive-context transition time?

It’s the mental lag between leaving one task (say, work meetings or chores) and being ready to immerse in a new one…like writing! Your brain has to:

• Disengage from the previous mental context

• Reactivate your creative circuits

• Reconstruct the story world, logic threads, or emotional tone

• Quiet residual thoughts and distractions

And that shift takes time—on average, 10–25 minutes, depending on how deep the new task is and how scattered the old one was.

What happens if you ignore it?

Well most of us might sit down to write and instead end up doom-scrolling on our phones, checking email, rewriting the same sentence nine times; or sometimes it’s just judging your reflection in the the laptop’s sleep screen for not being good enough. Sound familiar? That’s the cost of skipping the transition.

How to use it

1. Ritualize your entry
Train your brain with a pre-writing ritual: light a candle, play a specific playlist (This is Stephen King’s preferred choice), drink the same tea. One really effective method is—same place, same time. A ritual builds recognition and lowers the threshold to “Oh right, it’s writing time now.”

2. Time it!
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Your only job during that window is to try to get in the zone, by writing. We’re not demanding brilliance, just waiting on the bus to arrive.

3. Buffer with low-stakes writing
This could technically be 2a. but ease in with freewriting about your book for fifteen minutes, or with a quick journal entry about your day. You can also reread (or my personal favorite—relisten) to the last page you wrote. This is letting your brain stretch and warm up before it starts lifting anything heavy or sprinting.

4. Lower the barrier, and Start Small try any of these:

a. Describe one room in vivid detail

b. Write one character’s backstory

c. Sketch the next scene in bullet points

d. (One of my favorites) Rapid-fire a list of questions you have about your plot, worldbuilding, characters, etc.

5. Protect the window!
Interruptions reset the clock, and so does task-switching. That early window is sacred, so we have to protect it. The only goal is to keep writing. This means, no email, no social, no “just a quick snack” if you can help it.

So hopefully you gathered the nuance between writer’s block and a drift, enough to tell them apart. The fix is about accepting your brain’s quirks and working with them. We aren’t bodies with a spirit tacked on—we’re conscious beings working within a remarkable machine, a holy instrument. Give yourself time and space to tune in.

Question for you:
What’s your ritual or favorite tool for switching into writing mode? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to see what’s working (or not) for you.

Thanks for reading,

NJ.

VIEW AUTHOR WEBSITE

FURTHER READING:

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(and That’s a Good Thing)

Before a reader ever meets your prose, your work runs a gauntlet of gatekeepers: first agents, then acquiring editors and sales, then the brick-and-mortar genre shelf, then the front cover, jacket copy, etc.

And if—after all that—someone turns to your first page, you’ve earned a prized moment of attention. So, that page must quietly answer the following core questions so masterfully it looks like it took no time at all.

Below is a checklist you can use on your opening page(s) before you hit “publish,” or enter a contest, or submit a query. Hit all of these, and your first page becomes a promise the rest of the book keeps.

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Hopefully a few of you are laughing at this point, I think we all go through this stage.

The Original Book Cover, 2021 (canary agency)

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Specifically, those little stars we hand out like candy—or like darts, depending on our mood. I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, because I think the 5-star system is due for a gentle, loving takedown renovation. Or at least, a retake.

Unless otherwise noted, all artwork is by the author. Visuals vary by post, but are typically created using a mix of original photography, commercially licensed Canva assets, Midjourney elements, Adobe Photoshop, and freehand design.

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A Peek Inside Franklin the Frog! Franklin is bringing his big heart and little webbed feet to a new home. This delightful story follows Franklin, a very special frog, on his heartfelt journey toward adoption, celebrating themes of love, individuality, and the joy of belonging.

We're thrilled to announce that Franklin the Frog will be published by Canary Agency.

GET YOUR COPY HERE

Franklin Finds a Home

Image: Amora and Amina Bryant, Authors Nieces.

Special Paid Subscriber Benefits:

• Founding Members: As a heartfelt thank you, all founding subscribers will automatically receive a signed copy of Franklin the Frog. Please ensure your address is updated HERE

• Paid Subscribers: Please enjoy permanent pre-order pricing as a special acknowledgment of your ongoing support.

Whether you’re a grownup frog-lover or a little reader with a big imagination, we hope these pages hop right into your heart.

More soon from Franklin’s corner of the pond!

With lily-pad love,
NJ SIMAT & T. CHENNELL

Q: So…can it be both? Can’t you create tension and world-build or reveal character or deepen the theme—all in one breath?

A: Yes. Yes you can. And when you do, you get beautiful and layered scenes.

Dialogue without tension is a weak heartbeat. Tension is what gives dialogue its quick-pulse—the undercurrent that keeps a reader leaning in, even when no one is shouting, or throwing things. Tension can be overt, subtle, even contradictory—and it doesn’t always come from conflict! Sometimes the most electric scenes light up a page with what’s not being said.

So how do you build that charge?

Below are 20 types of tension you can weave into your dialogue to keep it tight, dynamic, and layered. The key is that something is always at stake—emotionally, psychologically, narratively.

1. Suspicion – One character doubts the other’s motives or truthfulness.

2. Attraction/Flirting – There’s a current of chemistry, welcomed or resisted.

3. Conflict of Interest – They want different things, and only one can be realized.

4. Omission – One character is holding something back. The silence speaks.

5. Distraction – One character is avoiding the real subject or issue.

6. Hatred/Loathing – Barely veiled contempt adds bite to even polite conversation.

7. Jealousy – Romantic or otherwise, from a position of power, or submissive.

8. Power Struggle – Who gets the last word? Who’s really in control here?

9. Miscommunication – Thinking they’re talking about the same thing—they’re not. Or poor communication skills works well here too.

10. Hidden Agenda – One character’s words are a mask, a misdirection.

11. Emotional Restraint – Holding back tears, rage, or confession.

12. Cultural Clash – Subtle or stark, values collide and can be completely innocent.

13. Threat (Veiled or Overt) – Can be mutual, or one-sided. How the threatened character receives the threat is characterization.

14. Urgency – Time is running out. Stakes are rising. Especially if one character is unbothered, or aloof to the risk.

15. Shared History – Old wounds resurface in new words.

16. Unbalanced Knowledge – One character knows something the other doesn’t, or the reader knows something the characters don’t.

17. Manipulation – Words used to twist, tempt, or control.

18. Fear – Of consequences, of rejection, of the truth.

19. Double Meaning or Irony – Dialogue that reads one way but means another, or ends in an unexpected way.

20. Ideological Clash – They see the world differently.

1. Attraction / Flirting
   Cameron: “You always look like that when you lie?”
   Ari: “Like what?”
   Cameron: “Like you want me to catch you.”

2. Conflict of Interest
   Ari: “We agreed—no press until after the deal.”
   Cameron: “I didn’t agree. I just didn’t stop you.”

3. Omission
   Cameron: “Anything happen while I was gone?”
   Ari: “Nothing worth mentioning.”
   (Ari’s knuckles are bruised.)

4. Distraction
   Ari: “Why won’t you answer the question?”
   Cameron: “Did you change your hair?”
   Ari: “Cameron.”

5. Hatred / Loathing
   Cameron: “You’ve gotten better at lying.”
   Ari: “And you’ve gotten worse at hiding your disgust.”

6. Jealousy
   Ari: “You two looked cozy last night.”
   Cameron: “We were just talking.”
   Ari: “With your hand on her knee?”

7. Power Struggle
   Cameron: “I’ll decide when we leave.”
   Ari: “You think you will.”

8. Miscommunication
   Ari: “I’m not ready.”
   Cameron: “To forgive me?”
   Ari: “To lose you.”

9. Hidden Agenda
   Cameron: “Let’s take a drive. Somewhere quiet.”
   Ari: “That’s not ominous at all.”

10. Emotional Restraint
    Ari: “Just say it.”
    Cameron: “It wouldn’t help.”
    Ari: “Maybe not. Say it anyway.”

11. Cultural Clash
    Cameron: “We don’t air family business in public.”
    Ari: “We confront it, or it poisons the house.”

12. Threat (Veiled or Overt)
    Ari: “You tell anyone about this—”
    Cameron: “Relax. I’m not suicidal.”

13. Urgency
    Cameron: “We don’t have time to argue.”
    Ari: “Then shut up.”

14. Shared History
    Ari: “You always do this.”
    Cameron: “That was ten years ago.”
    Ari: “Still hurts like yesterday.”

15. Unbalanced Knowledge
    Cameron: “You really don’t know, do you?”
    Ari: “Know what?”
    Cameron: smiles “Forget it.”

16. Manipulation
    Ari: “You owe me.”
    Cameron: “Oh, now that’s love.”

17. Fear
    Cameron: “If we walk in there, we don’t come out the same.”
    Ari: “I’m still going.”

18. Irony
    Ari: “You really trust him?”
    Cameron: “I trust he’ll do what he always does.”
    Ari: “Which is?”
    Cameron: “Exactly what I need—ruin everything.”

19. Ideological Clash
    Cameron: “Some things are just right or wrong.”
    Ari: “Who made you God?”

Also here’s a quick look at dialogue building tension and doing something else.

1. Tension + Characterization

Cameron: “You always talk like you’re two steps ahead.”
Ari: “Only when I’m three.”

We learn Ari’s personality.

2. Tension + Setting

Ari: “You really want to do this here? With a camera on every streetlamp?”
Cameron: “That’s why I’m whispering.”

Suddenly we know this world is under surveillance. Without exposition.

3. Tension + Theme

Cameron: “You think survival makes you moral?”
Ari: “No. It just keeps me breathing.”

Now we’re circling the book’s core question.

4. Tension + Exposition

Ari: “She’s not my sister. Not anymore. Not since the fire.”
Cameron: “Then why do you still wear her necklace?”

Backstory revealed, stakes added.

The next time a scene feels flat, ask what’s at stake beneath the surface of the dialogue. Which types of tension do you find yourself writing most? Which do you avoid? Drop it in the comments. Do it now. Or else.

Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed this post please tap a heart onto it. It’s a cute metric, but it helps my work travel further, and in turn, me grow as a writer.

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Why Fresh Language Matters

Great poetry or prose colors the page; it’s filled with fresh language. It defamiliarizes (i.e., it makes familiar phrases strange again—new—causing us to slow down, and reviving their impact). This freshness, this linguistic surprise, shakes readers awake, forcing them to see the ordinary anew.

If your writing feels like it’s lost its pulse, you may be drifting in linguistic autopilot. Our brains are efficient. Our minds are wired to conserve ene…

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This week’s Live explored a simple but powerful idea: sound affects physical matter, and more importantly it affects our bodies, brains, and heart? Joined by Kim, we have a philosophical conversation on how vibration, frequency, and sound shape not only our nervous systems but also our writing practice.

We opened with the science of infrasound—frequencies too low to hear but deeply felt in the body. They have been used in studies to induce stress and linked to everything from anxiety to ghostly sensations. Then we explored Solfeggio frequencies, like 528 Hz, which some believe support DNA repair, calm, and emotional clarity.

From there, we moved into the brain.

Sound, it turns out, rewires us—remaps our neurological landscapes. Chanting and repetition—especially in meditation—initiates neuroplastic actions. At the same time, conditions like misophonia remind us how sound can provoke extreme …

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