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Lucas Schaefer

@lucaseschaefer

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Debut novel THE SLIP, winner of 2025 Kirkus Prize for fiction. Paperback 6/23/26 🥊

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In @nytbooks, Anthony Marra (!!) says of THE SLIP that he “wouldn’t wish it one page shorter or one character fewer” and that “you’re unlikely to read a more impressive first novel this year.” Grateful to have the book read and written about with this level of thoughtfulness and generosity 🥊🥊🥊 by @lucaseschaefer

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a year ago

Hugely grateful to see THE SLIP win the 2025 Kirkus Prize in Fiction. Thank you to @kirkus_reviews, and to everyone in my corner: @timothypatrickoconnell, @crsripley, everyone at @simonbooks, @greg_from_a_leg obvi, and the many writers, editors and teachers who helped me make this book the truest version of itself. A tremendous honor to be included in the company of the other fiction finalists. by @lucaseschaefer

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a year ago

In @washingtonpost, Ron Charles calls THE SLIP “a sweaty masterpiece.” After many years working on THE SLIP, it feels very special to be read this closely and this generously.

“I spent most of the week not just reading this story but cheering it on in a state of unhinged excitement… Honestly, I haven’t felt quite like this about a book since Jonathan Franzen’s THE CORRECTIONS almost 25 years ago… ‘The world is not static,’ Schaefer writes. ‘People don’t go to boxing gyms to stay the same.’ People don’t read great novels to stay the same either. Lace up—get in there.” by @lucaseschaefer

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a year ago

Excited to join @boernebookfestival at 2pm Saturday 10/3 for @writersleagueoftexas Obsessed with Texas panel. The panel also features @drew.buxton and @jesscannonwrites, moderated by @jameswadewriter. Hope to see you there! by @lucaseschaefer

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5 days ago

10 years eek! by @lucaseschaefer

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6 days ago

Galleys for the UK edition of THE SLIP have arrived! Coming January 2027 from Hamish Hamilton @penguinukbooks. If you’re a reviewer, podcaster, or general Books Person, very much hope you’ll check it out! 🥊 by @lucaseschaefer

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8 days ago

Cover for ÚNIK (“Escape”), the Czech edition of THE SLIP, translated by @jan.robot and coming in October from @knihybeta 🥊🥊🥊 by @lucaseschaefer

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13 days ago

Happy to see THE SLIP on the longlist for the 2027 Crook’s Corner Book Prize alongside these amazing titles and authors. Thanks, @crooksbookprize! by @lucaseschaefer

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a month ago

Happy/delighted/stoked to be visiting in the English Dept at Southwestern this year. Fall I’ll be teaching an intro creative writing workshop and a course on Literary Transformation. The syllabus pleases me! by @lucaseschaefer

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a month ago

A very happy pub week to my pal @teaobreht who came all the way from Ireland to talk about her brilliant novel SUNRISE @firstlightbooks. If you’re on the west coast she’s headed your way next. Don’t miss her!❤️🌄 by @lucaseschaefer

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2 months ago

Thanks to @sebastianlangdell from @secretly.sporty for talking to me for @liberalartsut Life & Letters. We talked about my love of @lordsboxinggym, the first time I went to @texasbookfest, and the three places every newcomer to Austin should check out. 🥊 by @lucaseschaefer

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2 months ago

🔖 B O O K R E V I E W🔖
📖 The Slip
✍️ @lucaseschaefer
Fiction, Historical fiction, Queer, Mystery, LitFic
📄: 496 pages
🗓️: June 3, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @simonbooks for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! #SimonBooksBuddy

In the summer of 1998, 16-year-old Nathaniel Rothstein is sent to live with his uncle in Austin after acting out at school. He’s never quite felt comfortable in his own skin, that is until he’s taken under the wing of Haitian-born ex boxer David Dalice. He starts to grow happier, more confident, even more tan. But then he disappears one night without a trace, leaving a city confused and a family grieving. Meanwhile, Charles Rex, who now goes by “X,” is trolling a phone sex hotline looking for an outlet for a body that never felt right. A decade later, new evidence comes to light, with interwoven stories and plenty of time in the ring.

This is one of those books that you finish and just have to sit with your thoughts for 2-4 business days. Much like the cover, and the description, and even the title, there’s so much depth to the characters but also the sociohistoric context in which the story takes place. @lucaseschaefer peels back the layers of race and gender in ways that, although set in 1998, feel like they could’ve happened in today’s world. It’s complex with many characters and a rotating POV to push the story forward, and truly there’s no other way this story could have been told. The prose is beautiful, and the story is just as jaw-dropping. It’s a story I’ve never seen told, and in a way I could’ve never done; all in a debut novel. Don’t let this one ~slip~ away, I can’t recommend it enough!

Reviewed as part of an #ARC from the publisher.
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Read this book if you:
🔍 loved shows like True Detective or Yellow Jackets (but less scary)
❄️ will never forget the iconic movie Cool Runnings
🥊 love a good boxing plot
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📸: @vince.visits taken in Austin, Texas by @lucaseschaefer

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2 months ago