Who are the Fools of Literature?
There are no bad books, just bad reviewers. There are no bad writers, just bad readers.
Ever since there was the written word, there were writers, readers, and critics. From storytelling and performative art in the ancient wilderness to invention of writing in 3600 BCE to today’s digital age, humanity took part in the advent of new and old ideas. As these unfold, so too did fools find their place.
The Fools of Literature is part analytical, part critical, and all snarky fun run by a small team of writers and critics. We feature works of satire, parody, spoofs, and genuine criticisms focusing on the body of literary community, the participants, and their offerings.
Raison d'être
A satirical take on behaviors across social media and blogs enacted by badly behaving authors, entitled authors, newbie authors, and rabid fans of these particular authors.
Snarky humor in interacting with writing and reading communities at large.
Putting forth ideas and analysis on criticisms, reviewing, and reading.
Reporting on lit news including scandals, trademark trolling, review harassment, and more.
Mission Statement
“We’re on a mission to make sure all authors get five stars!” - Us, probably.
One. Reader driven & celebrating readers. We provide content for primarily adult readers.
Two. Humanity & literacy. We recognize readers as humans, with their own thoughts, opinions, ideals, and preferences. Likewise, we recognize writers as the same but hold them up to professional standards they rarely meet. We want to change the view that readers are just stars, ranks, votes, impressions, advertising demographic, and vanity strokes.
Three. Open conversation. We want to add to, if not reform, the literacy conversation, including the fact that snark is acceptable, criticism is vital, and selling books is also about sharing ideas without intent influence. We want a healthy reading and writing community.
You can read more about what we do here: Everything Readers Need: Commentary, Literary Tea, and Satire.
The FOLminating Team
fulminate (verb): to criticize strongly. (dictionary.cambridge.com)
fulminate (verb): to make criticisms or denunciations; rail. (dictionary.com)
Maura Bright
Writer, contributor, co-founder.
I’m Maura, sometimes Mo, sometimes the Space Cowboy if I’m feeling really lovey dovey. Lately, I prefer All-Maura due to the revival of my love for The Dark Crystal. Deeply introverted, I’m a Millennial homebody housewife in the valleys of Tennessee who is predisposed to reading space opera, romance, paranormal, and gothic works. In these dark woods, a dreamer can dream and that’s where I go with my pack of misfit hounds (all seven of them).
I’m a faithful mistress of #BadReaders, meaning that I believe anyone can be a reader in whichever way they choose to be. My hot topics are illiteracy, definition of happily ever after, reading accessibility, disability representation, the rise of indie and self publishing, review begging, and The Algorithm.
There is a lot of information out there and I aim to bring that into digestible snark.
I also look for deaf and cochlear implanted representation in blogs and books; give me something to relate to! I’m open to conversation with reviewers, bloggers, and authors who are deaf and/or write deaf representation.
Brigitte O'Riain
Editor-in-chief, contributor, co-founder.
Hi y’all. I’m Brigitte. You can find me at one of the many book stores in St. Louis, MO. I love books in any format, and any language I can read. No genre is sacred when it comes to reading. I will give practically anything a try. (Okay, there are like three subject matters I won’t read.) I have a great big service dog, and when I am not reading, I am gaming. I love games that are either story driven or casual click throughs that allow me to relax.
You'll see me reference my nephew a lot. He reads a lot as well. The questions I ask about books, are the same ones I ask him. You'll also see me talking about my mum and her thoughts. She is an avid reader, a hobbyist English scholar, and my hero that set me on this path.
What about me, I am just a reader who loves the art of the written word in all of its forms. Sophisticated, bawdy, smutty, filthy, intellectual, satirical, and humorous. Some of my favorite reads aren’t on best seller lists, and may have three 1-star reviews.
And just a little FYI, when I do read reviews, I read text-only 1 stars first. That is the best place to find out if the book contains content that I like.
How to Contact Us
You can email us at foolsofliterature@gmail.com and tweet us at @foolsliterature, @xoMauraBright, or @BrigitteRiain. We will answer questions and consider topics of interest.
Regarding guest posting
We are accepting the following:
Interviews
Reviews
News report
Public statements
Short stories
Opinion piece
Parodies
If you are interested in guest contribution, reach out to us and we will send a list of topics. The overall idea is that FoLs is a bad readers’ newsletter.
Regarding advertisement
Substack does not do paid ads, therefore neither will we.
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