Lila Shapiro Author Archive
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Lila Shapiro

Features Writer

Lila Shapiro is a features writer for New York Magazine. She has written about Hollywood controversies, literary mysteries, and political battles. She is the recipient of a 2022 Front Page award for her investigation into Joss Whedon.

  1. ya twitter
    Famous Authors Drag Student in Surreal YA Twitter ControversyBy Saturday afternoon, many of the authors involved had apologized.
  2. the politics of fiction
    Who Gave You the Right to Tell That Story?Ten authors on the most divisive question in fiction, and the times they wrote outside their own identities.
  3. as told tos
    How to Write Hercule Poirot in 2019Author Sophie Hannah on continuing Agatha Christie’s classic series — and why the detective definitely shouldn’t have a Twitter account.
  4. profile
    Andrea Long Chu Wants MoreThe 26-year-old critic argues for a new understanding of gender and desire in her debut book, Females.
  5. true crime
    How Unbelievable Tells a True Crime Story Without ‘Rape Porn’The showrunner of Netflix’s new drama turned a Pulitzer-winning investigation into propulsive and essential TV.
  6. fall preview 2019
    Carmen Maria Machado’s Emotional ExorcismThe author follows up her debut story collection with a memoir of abuse that dances between genres.
  7. publishing drama
    Around 800 Copies of Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale Sequel Got Sent Out Early“Good news!” read a note sent to some customers. “We’re able to get part of your order to you sooner than we originally promised.”
  8. encounter
    Cousin Greg Is Nobody’s FoolAn afternoon at the golf range with Nicholas Braun, Succession’s clumsiest power player.
  9. close reads
    What I Learned After Watching Eyes Wide Shut 100 TimesIf Stanley Kubrick’s film felt dated back in 1999, maybe that’s because we weren’t quite as savvy as we thought.
  10. profile
    ‘I Really Thought He Was Going to Kill Me and Bury My Body’Romance author Sherrilyn Kenyon accused her husband of poisoning her. Was it her wildest fiction yet?
  11. literary lunch
    Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Tom Perrotta Wrote Books About the Opposite Gender“I don’t think it’s a very useful rule for novels: ‘This is a woman’s story, so a woman should write it.’”
  12. my best pitch
    6 Queer Creators on the Dream Projects They Haven’t Been Able to Sell (Yet)Russian Doll’s Jamie Babbit, Tales of the City’s Silas Howard, Transparent’s Nisha Ganatra, and more have a few pitches they’d like you to hear.
  13. oral history
    An Oral History of Game of Thrones, As Told By Its Bit Players“Do you know how they keep cattle? That’s sort of how they keep us.”
  14. surveys
    How Do Hollywood Writers Feel About Leaving Their Agents? 8 Weigh In.“We’re just going to be floating, and people aren’t going to give a fuck. There are going to be casualties for sure.”
  15. literary lunch
    A Conversation With Marlon James and Victor LaValleThe versatile authors talk race, fantasy, and James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf over dumplings.
  16. metoo authors
    Long Before He Sued, Thirteen Reasons Why Author Jay Asher Made a Quiet DealThe origin of the YA novelist’s defamation suit was the kind of hush-hush agreement we no longer tolerate.
  17. chat room
    Sex Education’s Emma Mackey Doesn’t Mind Those ‘Weird’ Margot Robbie JokesThe breakout star of Netflix’s raunchy teen dramedy on Hollywood look-alikes, sex scenes, and her grandma’s love of the show.
  18. most anticipated 2019
    37 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2019From old favorites (Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith) to new favorites (Sally Rooney, Marlon James), plus sequels to Olive Kitteridge and The Handmaid’s Tale.
  19. choices
    Publishers Weekly Picks Trump Publishers as Persons of the YearInstead of picking the man himself, they opted to celebrate publishers cashing in on him.
  20. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Book Covers of 2018, Described by Their DesignersThe artists behind the year’s most eye-catching covers talk about their sometimes torturous process.
  21. year in culture 2018
    Book Publishing’s No Good, Very Good Year of TrumpIn 2018, publishers cried about the president all the way to the bank.
  22. 100 scares
    The Story Behind Scream’s 12-Minute, Still-Terrifying Opening Scare“I wanted it to be just long enough that the audience thinks she might survive it.”
  23. profile
    For Reigning Fantasy Queen N.K. Jemisin, There’s No Escape From Reality“I’m writing about dragons as a black woman, and it’s fucking political.”
  24. books
    The 69th National Book Awards Reminded Us It’s a Big World Out ThereWith awards to Isabel Allende and Sigrid Nunez and a revived translated-book prize.
  25. backstories
    The Story Behind The Horror of Dolores RoachYour perfect Halloween podcast.
  26. a long talk
    Bret Easton Ellis on Why He Named His First Book in a Decade White“The reader could either get very upset or annoyed by it, or take in the spirit in which it was offered.”
  27. profile
    Sarah Perry Hopes the Monster From Her New Novel Is Watching Harvey WeinsteinThe British author talks about her gothic third novel, Melmoth, on a visit to some downtown Manhattan churches.
  28. books
    Tana French on The Witch Elm, #MeToo, and the Divisive Ending of In the Woods“Some people hate it and I don’t blame them for being annoyed with it.”
  29. legends
    Dracul Sets Out to Prove That Count Dracula Really LivedThe new book attempts to reconstruct the missing hundred pages of the original manuscript.
  30. how mysterious!
    Mystery Writer Tana French’s Tips for Crafting a Red HerringHow the author of In the Woods and The Witch Elm leads the reader down the wrong trail.
  31. backstories
    The Stories Behind Haruki Murakami’s Most Iconic Book CoversA sense of “inimitable, cozy alienation” hangs over each of Kidd’s book covers — a description that also applies to Murakami’s best novels.
  32. encounters
    Inside the All Souls Convention With 400 Witches, Daemons, and Vampires“I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life.”
  33. backstories
    How The Hate U Give Book Cover Was Altered for the Movie“Fox was like, ‘We’re going to have to lighten your illustration, we’re going to have to change the hair.’”
  34. a long talk
    Marti Noxon on Sharp Objects, Joss Whedon, and Buffy’s Feminist Legacy“I think parts of it hold up really well, and other parts are a little rickety!”
  35. encounter
    Out to Sea With Neil Gaiman and Amanda PalmerThe King and Queen of the Mermaid Parade.
  36. Her Body and Other Parties Is in Development As a Black Mirror-esque SeriesGina Welch of The Terror is attached to write.
  37. profile
    Misogyny Is Boring As HellCarmen Maria Machado writes fantastical tales about the banal horrors of sexism. Lately, it’s her story about Junot Díaz that’s getting attention.
  38. How Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore Cover Came TogetherRevealed exclusively on Vulture.
  39. Wicomicon Founders on Their Pop-up Convention and the FanCon FalloutHow they pulled it off.
  40. The Story Behind FanCon’s Controversial CollapseThe first major FanCon dedicated to diversity was called a scam in the days since it abruptly fell apart. Here, its founders give their account.
  41. chat room
    Meg Wolitzer Doesn’t Want to Be Tied to a ‘Moment’“I’m drawn by the flame of what’s out there, but frightened by it, too.”
  42. Meet Justina Ireland, YA Twitter’s Leading WarriorHow the activist and author became the most controversial figure in young-adult literature, one tweet at a time.
  43. Watch the Book Trailer for Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and BonePlus, Adeyemi on the pressures of writing one of the most anticipated books of the year, and why she’s bored by Lord of the Rings.
  44. Can You Revise a Book to Make It More Woke?When a YA novel was criticized for racism prior to publication, the author attempted something radical — she pushed its release date and rewrote it.
  45. Ben Sinclair on Writing High Maintenance While Going Through a Breakup“The first day we were like, ‘Hey guys, we’re splitting up. This is a very strange situation. And we’re going to be super open about it.’”
  46. Governor Cuomo Calls to ‘Rescind’ New York Prisons’ Controversial Book Policy“Concerns from families need to be addressed, while we redouble efforts to fight prison contraband.”
  47. Will This New Policy Stop New York’s Inmates From Reading?“Why would you restrict access to this thing that’s universally considered a positive?”
  48. What the Job of a Sensitivity Reader Is Really LikeDhonielle Clayton explains.
  49. overnights
    Search Party Season-Finale Recap: Dory Is Going to Hell“Your friends are pointless, entitled, empty idiots.”
  50. overnights
    Search Party Recap: Those Hipster Kids Did It!Detective Joy is terribly close to cracking this case.
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