Abigail Savitch-Lew

Friends!

Livonia Chow Mein has been out for one week, and I’m still overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you for your congratulatory messages, your book purchases, your spreading the word, and your standing chairless at Greenlight Bookstore. I still have many emails and texts to respond to, and look forward to doing so in the coming days.

Up next in May:

• Tickets for the Brownsville Book Party & Community Conversation on Black-Asian Solidarity are going fast! Black and Asian New Yorkers are especially encouraged to attend – and Mandarin-speaking family. Mandarin language speakers who require simultaneous interpretation can RSVP here.

•Change of date: Our event at The Word is Change Bookstore in Bed-Stuy has been moved to Wednesday May 27. Please RSVP here for Fiction as Millennial Cultural Critique: Two Debut Authors in Conversation. Daniel Pope, the debuting author of Go Help Yourself (May 5, 2026), and I will share the spotlight for a book talk exploring millennial angst, fiction as cultural and political critique, and craft strategy. Daniel, a fellow Rutgers-MFA alum, has written a book with delicious language and a voice that HOOKS! I’m so excited to be in conversation with him, and hope y’all can make it!

In case you missed it:

On Tuesday, I spoke on The Brian Lehrer Show about the world of Livonia Chow Mein.

On Thursday, Literary Hub published my essay on the craft challenges of writing political fiction. (Spoiler Alert.)

Here’s “Launch Week in Photos,” a slideshow on Instagram.

With love,

Abby