Happy Holidays

When Rachel Thompson writes about trauma, she knows firsthand the power of words to heal—but also to harm. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, she’s experienced how stories can evoke deep emotions, sometimes unexpectedly. That’s why she includes content warnings (also known as trigger warnings) in her books. “Books have the power to move, challenge, and heal,” she said. “But they can also evoke difficult emotions. Including a trigger warning is a way to extend care and consideration to our readers.”

My ALLi author guest this episode is Nellie Neeman, an author who writes international thrillers under her name and sweet, clean romances as Ellie Hartwood. She uses her thrillers to highlight Israel as a vibrant and resilient country and helps foster a community of writers through her mentorship and leadership.

As I write, the Supreme Court has just unanimously upheld the ban that would see TikTok disappear in the U.S. this Sunday. Over the week following the Supreme Court hearing, it has become clear that Justices of all stripes would actually be happy for the ban to come into force, as they seemed unconvinced that freedom of expression rights applied through the Chinese-owned app, and they also seemed assured that any switch-off could easily be reversed if the situation changed and ByteDance divested.