Lo began writing A Scatter of Light in 2013, but only received an offer for the story in 2017, after Karre offered to buy the rights for it and Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Called A Scatter of Light, it tells the story of Aria Tang West, who is connected to the two main characters from Last Night at the Telegraph Club. In September 2021, Publishers Weekly reported the rights for a companion book had been acquired by Andrew Karre, to be published in 2022. In June 2020, Penguin Random House began advertising the release of the book, which was moved to January 19, 2021. The book was initially scheduled to be released in 2019.

The rights to the publication of Last Night at the Telegraph Club in North America were acquired by Dutton Books for Young Readers' editor Andrew Karre in early 2017, through Lo's agent Michael Bourret. Lo also mentions Rise of the Rocket Girls, by Nathalia Holt, and Wide-Open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965, by Nan Alamilla Boyd, as two books she was reading when writing the original short story, which influenced her writing. She was also inspired by Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians when deciding to use footnotes for occasions where Chinese words appear. Lo's book was influenced by Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet and Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt. The author also drew from her own experience going to lesbian bars to write some of the scenes.

During her research for the book, Lo visited the GLBT Historical Society. Lo came up with the idea for it when she heard about the lesbian bars that operated in North Beach, near San Francisco's Chinatown.

The story for Last Night at the Telegraph Club was first published by Malinda Lo in an anthology as a short story, named 'New Year'.

The novel was received positively, getting starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, and received the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It is set in 1950s San Francisco and tells the story of Lily Hu, a teenage daughter of Chinese immigrants as she begins to explore her sexuality. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a young adult historical novel written by Malinda Lo and published on January 19, 2021, by Dutton Books for Young Readers.

Last night telegraph club