Fiction
A Novel About Renting Your Body to the Wealthy
In her debut novel, Ramos depicts a circle of women optimized to serve as surrogates for the super-rich.
When Is an Alternate History Entertaining, and When Is It Harmful?
The genre can shed light on less-acknowledged truths—it can also whitewash historical facts.
PS Picks: 'Sour Heart,' a Book of Short Stories Exploring Race, Class, and Identity
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Stranger Than Fiction
We know literary fiction can make us more empathetic. Can it also be used to raise geopolitical awareness?
The Magic of the Annual Harry Potter Conference
Behind the scenes at the only recurring academic event devoted to J.K. Rowling's beloved novels.
Who Are the Fiction Writers Taking on Poverty and Inequality Today?
Seventy-five years after its first publication date, The Grapes of Wrath is still a staple in most American classrooms. Is that because we haven’t yet written anything that does a better job of portraying the devastation of not having enough?
Study: Reading Literary Fiction Can Make You Less Racist
New research finds a compelling narrative can help us sidestep stereotypes.
Kindle Worlds' Strange New Terrain: How Amazon Is Changing Fan Fiction
Silo Saga and Peace in Amber author Hugh Howey talks about Amazon's revolutionary new imprint, and fan fiction's rapidly shifting landscape.
What's Real in an Alternate Reality Game?
In Chicago, high school students went searching for an imaginary girl's father. After a while, they started looking for the real one.
Romance Readers Are Unusually Good at Sensing What Others Are Feeling
New research finds people who read romantic fiction are good at picking up subtle facial clues revealing a person’s emotional state.
Do Television Shows Like 'CSI' Deter Cybercrime?
The curious case of the “inverse CSI effect.”
Study: Reading Fiction Makes People Comfortable With Ambiguity
New Canadian research finds reading a literary short story increases one’s comfort with ambiguity.