Whether you’re looking for great reads or entertaining tweets, the Twitterati have something for everyone. From authors like Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Joyce Carol Oates, who all interact with fans (and detractors) through Twitter, to hilarious faux accounts like Edgar Allan Poe and Wit of Wilde, or books coverage from some of the greatest literary magazines out there, Twitter is a quick and convenient way to keep your literary savvy up to date.
We’ve gathered 20 accounts any avid reader should be following on Twitter right now. So click that Follow button to your heart’s content—and make sure to follow us on Twitter @need2read!
Alain de Botton
Love your children reliably and they'll outgrow you. Ignore them, and they'll be obsessed with you for life.
— Alain de Botton (@alaindebotton) September 27, 2015
The philosopher and author of The Art of Travel and The Architecture of Happiness shares useful articles from his website The Book of Life.
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The New Yorker Page-Turner
John Updike wrote this poem, "Coming Into New York", when he was twenty-one: http://t.co/nx8J77FIL9
— NYer Page-Turner (@pageturner) September 28, 2015
Keep up with all things related to books on The New Yorker through the Twitter account for their blog on books and reading, The Page Turner.
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Edgar Allan Poe
My favorite season is the one where everything withers & dies.
— Edgar Allan Poe (@Edgar_Allan_Poe) September 18, 2015
This faux-account imagines what everyone’s favorite maudlin poet would’ve tweeted in this day-and-age.
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Joyce Carol Oates
A dear friend has recently become a widow. I am asking widows (or widowers) to share their thoughts with her. Advice? Warnings? Consolation?
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) September 27, 2015
The prolific novelist Joyce Carol Oates somehow makes time in her busy schedule to curate a very entertaining Twitter feed.
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The Paris Review
“I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark.” —Toni Morrison http://t.co/ipRlhwlgke #NationalCoffeeDay
— The Paris Review (@parisreview) September 29, 2015
Literary quarterly The Paris Review was founded by George Plimpton in 1953. Still going strong, the Twitter feed includes quotes from the magazine’s famous interviews with writers.
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Vita Sackville-West
On the south side the choice is even larger–the fast growing Solanum crispum will reach to the eaves of the house pic.twitter.com/7eCsq8mUbG
— Vita Sackville-West (@thegardenvsw) September 29, 2015
This account is a breath of fresh air, tweeting out entries from the diaries of famous gardner (and poet) Vita Sackville West, accompanied by beautiful photographs of her garden at Sissinghurst Castle.
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Salman Rushdie
I have to say I'm thrilled by the early readers' responses to the new book. Thank you all! https://t.co/jvSL5IsR3E
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) September 29, 2015
Mega-author Salman Rushdie occasionally responds (!) to readers and reviewers through his Twitter account.
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Margaret Atwood
Hello… I'm baaaack… for the moment. Off on UK tour for #TheHeartGoesLast later today.
— Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) September 22, 2015
The author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood keeps up with her fan base through her Twitter account, where she posts upcoming events and reviews.
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Ruth Franklin
"If you don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree." Perfect response by SJ to a snippy letter from a reader. pic.twitter.com/Ri24h8MfoH
— Ruth Franklin (@ruth_franklin) August 28, 2015
Critic Ruth Franklin, who is hard at work on a biography of the writer Shirley Jackson, shares incredible finds from her research and interesting reads on the art of biography.
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The Millions
Six writers look back on their first novels: @alexanderchee, @EmilyMandel, and others. http://t.co/qghhE0RpOI
— The Millions (@The_Millions) September 29, 2015
Keep up with The Millions‘ excellent coverage of all things literary on their official Twitter account.
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Erik Larson
Thank you! I'm looking forward in particular to the movie score. I'm a sucker for good film music. https://t.co/e0oVCnwJKA
— Erik Larson (@exlarson) September 28, 2015
The author of The Devil in the White City describes himself as a “writer, tennis addict, lover of: red wine, Hendrick’s martinis, clear and spare prose,” on his Twitter bio.
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Electric Lit
"You’re hitting upon an uncomfortable truth—to be marginalized is probably good for yr fiction" Claire Vaye Watkins http://t.co/CKhDHy3bt2
— Electric Literature (@ElectricLit) September 29, 2015
This literary site claims to “save literature, one reader at a time,” and offers free, new short fiction every Wednesday.
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NYRB Classics
Did somebody say “grim winter reading”? (Our ears were burning) https://t.co/IzIRl8ZB8x
— NYRB Classics (@nyrbclassics) September 29, 2015
The New York Review Books Classics‘ Twitter handle loves to get involved in literary debates.
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Colson Whitehead
A short one? RT @jasonmcbride68: Don't think I've ever read a Colson Whitehead novel. What would be a good one to start with?
— colson whitehead (@colsonwhitehead) June 5, 2014
Novelist Colson Whitehead keeps things lively with his wickedly smart take pop culture and more on his Twitter account.
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Moby Dick at Sea
But Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope.
— Moby Dick (@MobyDickatSea) September 26, 2015
This Twitter account tweets out Herman Melville’s masterpiece Moby Dick, sentence by sentence.
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Maris Kreizman
Try to remind myself when writing that, though the people I follow on Twitter are the ones I wanna impress, they're not my target audience.
— Maris Kreizman (@mariskreizman) September 29, 2015
The woman behind the immensely popular Tumblr Slaughterhouse 90210 (which is also now a book!) is laugh-out-loud funny with her tweets on publishing culture.
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Wit of Wilde
You can never be overdressed or overeducated.
— Oscar Wilde (@Wit_of_Wilde) September 24, 2015
The wit of Oscar Wilde is alive and well on this scathingly funny account.
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Neil Gaiman
You are welcome. Um. https://t.co/gUbKM6CqEH
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) September 29, 2015
Writer Neil Gaiman manages his insane fan-base through Twitter, where he boasts 2.3 million followers.
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Phillip Gourevitch
This is a helluva note—a no exit clause on Hemingway’s WWII press accreditation from US War Department via @NYTimes: pic.twitter.com/6sgAuUWkbp
— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) September 28, 2015
The author of the critically-acclaimed book on the Rwandan genocide, Tomorrow We Wish to Inform You That We Will Be Killed With Our Families, tweets his insights on literature, politics, and more.
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Carolyn Kellogg
Just wondering: "fast-paced thriller." Redundant? Is any thriller ever billed as "slow-paced"? (contemporary, Highsmith excepted)
— Carolyn Kellogg (@paperhaus) September 22, 2015
The Los Angeles Times journalist who covers books and culture shares delightful tweets on reading and authors.
