What Was Lost

Sharing a new project live today on Lit Hub

Sandy Allen
March 12, 2026

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth — written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hey all,

Just wanted to quickly share something I’ve been working on for the last several months that I’m pleased is finally live …

What Was Lost: A Queer Accounting of the NY Times Book Review, 2013-2022

“Goodbye, Pamela Paul,” was the headline of Andrea Long Chu’s now-iconic, recently ASME-nominated New York Magazine farewell to the former NY Times Book Review editor, when Paul left the paper two …

lithub.com/what-was-lost-a-queer-accounting-of-the-ny-times-book-review-2013-2022

In brief: We commissioned 13 reviews of books by LGBTQ authors that weren’t covered by the NYT book review between 2013 and 2022 … I’ve been co-editing this with the wonderful Maris Kreizman (whose book I highly recommend).

What’s Helping Today is the relief of having this project finally out there and the enthusiastic response it’s already getting online …

As I wrote in its intro:

❝

I hope this project won’t be perceived as anything except the start of a conversation—one I feel everyone with stakes in this must join us in having.

Wanted to reiterate here: Huge thanks to my co-conspirators, particularly Maris and Jonny Diamond at Lit Hub and everyone else there who’s helped make this dream a reality. Thanks to all the reviewers who wrote for us, and to everyone else who sent in their ideas.

Anyway, hope you’ll check it out and enjoy …

Take care,
Sandy

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today, a newsletter by me — author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen. If you were forwarded this message, WHT is free; you can subscribe here. If you like my work: Please consider tipping me via my Buy Me a Coffee. Your help in supporting what I do is greatly appreciated!