The classics are pretty popular. You can go into any bookstore and buy Tolstoy, Milton, Shakespeare, Jane Austen--that wouldn't be true if people weren't buying them.

<totters out onto porch> <settles into rocker> <thumps cane a few times> Let's talk about what the process of submitting short fiction used to look like, shall we? And about what it looks like now.

I cried.

I loved this short story by @naokan.bsky.social in @lightspeedmagazine.com. Sure, it left me a little depressed, but also maybe a little hopeful? www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/anti...

Mmmmm the cheerful fatalism and funweird of this! "Anti-Capitalism vs the Man of Flowers" by Naomi Kanakia @naokan.bsky.social www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/anti...

The Sunday Morning Transport retraces its steps today with a story from Naomi Kanakia (@naokan.bsky.social) that considers what it means for a life to be worth living. Free for everyone to read!

(1/5) 🌀 What if therapy isn’t the only answer? What if we’re full of insight but still stuck? Naomi Kanakia’s story exposes the quiet ache beneath modern life. 🔗 www.woman-of-letters.com/p/therapy-is... 📖 Let’s talk myth, meaning, and the mess of being human. @naokan.bsky.social

I highly recommend Nick as a teacher! He is the best writing instructor I've ever had.

I recently talked with @naokan.bsky.social about book reviews, pitching, and how to deal with editorial feedback for her newsletter, Woman of Letters: www.woman-of-letters.com/p/how-to-rev...

🗣️ SF BAY 🗣️ This is tomorrow!! 👇 See @aaantons.bsky.social and @naokan.bsky.social in a BAR discussing LITERATURE

Billionaires ke paas already sab kuchh hai. Ab, aapka time aageya. Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come.

A novella I self-published on my newsletter got a full write up in the New Yorker.

Has anyone read this Vivian Blaxell book? I am finding it tough going. Wondering whether to keep with it. www.littlepuss.net/shop/p/wote

Finally reading the Vivian Blaxsell book. Okay girls, are we gonna talk about her hate-on for Mackenzie Wark? This is wild, but it's sort of the perfect content, given the audience for this book is exclusively composed of people who have heard of Mackenzie Wark

Okay...WOODWORKING is shockingly good, no?

Am having trouble w STAG DANCE. The story seems quite sad, pathetic, painful. Have been stuck for weeks, forcing myself to read it.

Non-Business Newspapers: "The Unconventional Legal Strategy Trump is Using Against Harvard" Business Newspapers: "They're ASSAULTING lady liberty. They're SHOOTING the bald eagles. How much longer do we have to deal with these fucking MORONS"

METS is a fantastic resource--one that I actually use. I own several of their books and have consulted others. Truly unique in their democratic ethos and business model. I just donated $200.

Interesting read by @naokan.bsky.social, with a mention of our own John Pistelli --> www.woman-of-letters.com/p/a-writers-...

Might I remind!!! This is the first time I am actually getting to go on book tour EVER beyond topside tour 2014 and I am very excited to see you friends!

I believe the firings and the AI have the same purpose: to get humans out of the loop of evaluating contracts. To automate the process of spending government money. To rig up a computer that sends taxpayer dollars directly to the broligarchy.

I am followed by hundreds of trans women, most of whom are writers. It is fascinating that nobody is reading this book. Something we should think about, given those most writers I know aspire to be this author and get this kind of book deal.

The solution has to be a movement against cartelization and against Big Tech, which is seeking to plunder the noosphere--Meta's lawyers believe that if they license even a single book for AI, they cannot make fair use claims for any book. It's all or nothing to them. 10/

Is anyone out there reading STAG DANCE? I'm really liking it!

Never liked Newsom but always at least thought he was smart. How could he have possibly thought this was the right move?

I fear we're rapidly reaching the point where "fight" means little more than "survive." The speed with which this regime is literally erasing knowledge, and shutting down the means of pursuing it, both in the humanities and sciences, suggests a new Dark Age is the goal.

All these centrists sitting around six weeks into a dictatorship blaming the woke left for Trump's victory are unbelievably tedious. Who is this for? Who's the audience for these reams of verbiage on how trans rights are somehow the reason we have a dictatorship now?

Many Democrats have shown a lot of character by refusing to throw trans people under the bus. I hope they get rewarded for that. Was very impressed by that video of Bill Keating and by the Senate's refusal to pass the trans sports bill

I'm also really grateful for my friend and colleague, Representative Sherry Essman (R - Billings), who stood up and said it's time to "stop these crazy bills." May her courage be contagious, and may it lead to more Republicans standing up against these bills.

The world's richest man is cutting social security. How are democrats unable to capitalize on that?

What is going through the heads of people who didn't vote for Kamala but are upset about Trump. Walk me through it. All year I heard actually both are equally bad. Well, are they equally bad or aren't they?

Meanwhile, in the literary world of sleazefucks and shitbags.

We are delighted to announce a new Six-Week Workshop scholarship for Trans writers. The Sea Star Scholarship, an annual full-tuition scholarship for the Six-Week Workshop, has been offered by an anonymous donor and will be available for the first time this year.

Do you all have strong Mark Twain thoughts? I've been listening to ROUGHING IT, which is incredible. Are any of his other travelogues any good?

For the third of our five shortlists today, we’ve got your top votes for the Author of the Year 2024 award! Congratulations to front-runners @badambulist.bsky.social, @devi.bsky.social, @understatesmen.bsky.social, and @naokan.bsky.social for making the shortlist 🩷

Wow great review here of my latest :)

You're telling me in 1998 a pair of Gen X parents named their kid Luigi?

My Substack post today is about the purpose of criticism. It's not to show off your intelligence, it's to guide people who want a direct experience of beauty. www.woman-of-letters.com/p/credibilit...

I see that I've passively accumulated a fair number of followers here lately. I mostly post on Substack these days, though. Yesterday I wrote about how the New Yorker has an online form that get 50k story submissions a year and they have NEVER taken one. substack.com/@naomik/note...

This article is a little long, but very well-written. I assume most people most of these things, but if people know them, then why do they hate homeless people so much? www.esquire.com/news-politic...

Today I'm contacting critics I think will be interested in this crazily smart & ambitious novel Belt is publishing in April. If you are such a critic, feel free request a galley! (DM or email)