LitHub Daily: December 7, 2016

• Kathleen Alcott, Garth Greenwell, Porochista Khakpour and others share secrets of their first drafts. | Literary Hub
• We need to figure out a better way to pay the poets: Amanda Nadelberg has some ideas. | Literary Hub
• Everyone should have the right to teach To Kill a Mockingbird, but maybe we should move on to some newer books? | Literary Hub
• The life cycle of American patriotism. | Literary Hub
• “Lost from his legacy are the political events that actually mattered to García Márquez: our blindspots.” On Gabriel García Márquez’s role as an accidental propagandist and often overlooked political beliefs. | The Baffler
• In related news, Fidel Castro “acted as unofficial copy editor” for García Márquez. | The Guardian
• “The black Southern experience has gained weight, heft, and substance, become a man, a woman, a child, shining with the life-giving blood of the narrative.” Jesmyn Ward on 2016’s “Southern renaissance.” | BuzzFeed Reader
• On the sexual liberation of the romance novel, a “genre uniquely responsive to the changing fortunes of American women.” | Jezebel
• Over 300 of the best books of 2016 (but with filters, so as to not completely overwhelm you). | NPR
• From the venerables to destination stores, Ann Patchett recommends pilgrimage-worthy bookstores. | The New York Times
• In response to news that Brooklyn’s beloved BookCourt will be closing, Emma Straub has announced her plan to open a new bookstore there. | Gothamist, Emma Straub

Also on Lit Hub: On the value of broad critical comparisons · Five books making news: Cephalopods! (And other stuff.) · From Michael Seidlinger’s new YA novel.