diff --git a/chat/eventlog/log.py b/chat/eventlog/log.py
index ad228da..66c5161 100644
--- a/chat/eventlog/log.py
+++ b/chat/eventlog/log.py
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
+import asyncio
 import json
+import logging
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Any, Iterator
-from sqlite3 import Connection
+from typing import Any, Callable, ContextManager, Iterator
+from sqlite3 import Connection, OperationalError
+
+
+_log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -63,6 +68,52 @@ def append_and_apply(
     return eid
 
 
+async def append_and_apply_with_retry(
+    conn_factory: Callable[[], ContextManager[Connection]],
+    *,
+    kind: str,
+    payload: dict[str, Any],
+    branch_id: int = 1,
+    attempts: int = 30,
+    base_sleep_s: float = 0.05,
+    max_sleep_s: float = 0.5,
+) -> int | None:
+    """Append-and-apply that retries on ``database is locked``.
+
+    Background workers (embedding indexer, significance scorer) write
+    events to the same SQLite file as the request handler. The chat
+    app sets a tight ``busy_timeout=100ms`` on every connection so a
+    contending worker can't freeze the request's asyncio event loop.
+    This helper restores durability for workers: it retries up to
+    ``attempts`` times with exponential backoff (capped at
+    ``max_sleep_s``) until the lock clears.
+
+    Returns the appended event's id, or ``None`` if all retries failed
+    (logged at WARNING). Each retry opens a fresh connection via
+    ``conn_factory`` because the failed write may have left the prior
+    connection in an unusable state.
+    """
+    sleep = base_sleep_s
+    for attempt in range(attempts):
+        try:
+            with conn_factory() as conn:
+                return append_and_apply(
+                    conn, kind=kind, payload=payload, branch_id=branch_id
+                )
+        except OperationalError as exc:
+            if "database is locked" not in str(exc).lower():
+                raise
+            if attempt == attempts - 1:
+                _log.warning(
+                    "append_and_apply_with_retry: gave up after %d attempts "
+                    "(kind=%s): %s",
+                    attempts, kind, exc,
+                )
+                return None
+            await asyncio.sleep(sleep)
+            sleep = min(sleep * 2, max_sleep_s)
+
+
 def read_events(conn: Connection, branch_id: int = 1, after_id: int = 0) -> Iterator[Event]:
     cur = conn.execute(
         "SELECT id, branch_id, ts, kind, payload_json, superseded_by, hidden "
diff --git a/chat/services/background.py b/chat/services/background.py
index 27eecaa..4a08f79 100644
--- a/chat/services/background.py
+++ b/chat/services/background.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ from typing import Callable
 
 from chat.config import Settings
 from chat.db.connection import open_db
-from chat.eventlog.log import append_and_apply
+from chat.eventlog.log import append_and_apply, append_and_apply_with_retry
 from chat.llm.client import LLMClient
 from chat.services.backup import (
     prune_backups,
@@ -169,16 +169,22 @@ class BackgroundWorker:
             narrative_text=job.narrative_text,
             prior_dialogue=job.prior_dialogue,
         )
-        with open_db(self._settings.db_path) as conn:
-            append_and_apply(
-                conn,
-                kind="memory_significance_set",
-                payload={
-                    "memory_id": job.memory_id,
-                    "significance": score,
-                },
-            )
-            if score >= 3:
+        # Retry-on-lock: see chat/eventlog/log.py's
+        # ``append_and_apply_with_retry`` docstring for why workers
+        # need to retry while the request handler's open transaction
+        # holds the WAL write lock briefly.
+        appended_id = await append_and_apply_with_retry(
+            lambda: open_db(self._settings.db_path),
+            kind="memory_significance_set",
+            payload={
+                "memory_id": job.memory_id,
+                "significance": score,
+            },
+        )
+        # Auto-pin requires a separate connection because retry-helper
+        # closed its own. Skip if the significance event itself failed.
+        if appended_id is not None and score >= 3:
+            with open_db(self._settings.db_path) as conn:
                 _auto_pin_with_cap(
                     conn,
                     owner_id=job.host_bot_id,
diff --git a/chat/services/embedding_worker.py b/chat/services/embedding_worker.py
index 80f87d8..5051ba4 100644
--- a/chat/services/embedding_worker.py
+++ b/chat/services/embedding_worker.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass
 from sqlite3 import Connection
 from typing import Callable
 
-from chat.eventlog.log import append_and_apply
+from chat.eventlog.log import append_and_apply_with_retry
 from chat.services.embeddings import (
     DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_DIM,
     DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_MODEL,
@@ -121,17 +121,22 @@ class EmbeddingWorker:
                 job.memory_id,
             )
             return
-        with self._conn_factory() as conn:
-            append_and_apply(
-                conn,
-                kind="embedding_indexed",
-                payload={
-                    "memory_id": job.memory_id,
-                    "model": result.model,
-                    "dim": result.dim,
-                    "vector": result.vector,
-                },
-            )
+        # Retry-on-lock: the request handler holds an open transaction
+        # for the duration of post_turn (a few seconds), so any worker
+        # write started during that window blocks. open_db's
+        # busy_timeout is 100ms (so the request path itself can't get
+        # stuck on a worker), so retry here with backoff. Each retry
+        # opens a fresh connection via ``conn_factory``.
+        await append_and_apply_with_retry(
+            self._conn_factory,
+            kind="embedding_indexed",
+            payload={
+                "memory_id": job.memory_id,
+                "model": result.model,
+                "dim": result.dim,
+                "vector": result.vector,
+            },
+        )
 
 
 __all__ = ["EmbeddingJob", "EmbeddingWorker"]