Have you heard the BIG NEWS?! SHINE is branching out to become SIPS (SHINE International Poetry Series) Press! Our aim is to publish writers who are socially engaged in their communities by providing support, advocacy, outreach, etc. Launching in 2027! More to come...

Neon & Smoke's Tips for Getting Published. (Please note: these statements have not been evaluated by a professional.)

These are all so deliciously good!!!

Some people ignore disrespect, others enact minor acts of revenge and petty villainy. "Coffee & Coke" published in @villaineralit.bsky.social

Villain origin stories don’t always start with betrayal. “Just Being Honest” published in @villaineralit.bsky.social

People assume you aren't sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways you're hurting. — Emm Roy #MaskingEffect #LifeAfterCancer #MS

My GrandP got a birthday poem about chicken. I got another long conversation about “boundaries” and “minding my business.” #InMyPoetEra

“Can You Hear Me Now?” begins like an intimate romance story and slowly reveals itself as a quiet psychological horror story about emotional overexposure. How much of yourself should remain yours alone? Published in @bloodhoneylit.bsky.social #MicroFiction #Relationships #Horror #BlurredLines

Round 1 of the thermostat war… who will win? I’m here to report the facts and let you decide.

Inside one questionably overheated home, a woman who “just needs air” has opened another window and a man wearing two hoodies indoors just looked at the thermostat like it called him ugly. @tapintopoetry Issue 20 #PoetSky #WriteSky

I'm equally thrilled to have my piece "‘Bridge Over Troubled Water (Show Choir 6TH Grade)" included in the 2026 National Flash Fiction Day anthology! #Bridges

The photograph I wrote about was taken on my 40th birthday, during a period where I finally felt beautiful in a way that didn't depend on outside validation or shrinking myself into an "acceptable" version of womanhood. #Photography #Reflections #Memories #WriteSky

Do you believe in performative grief? #PoetSky #WriteSky #Theater

New beginnings inspired by nature 🌻 #WriteSky #Poetry #Nature #Love #Blossom

WE USED TO BE… @shinepoetry.bsky.social

👃🏾 I don’t pick my nose. 🍯 My sister, Honey June, does. I’m not judging… just saying. My friends at @littlethoughtspress.com 💭have my report. 📝 You should read it. 👓 It deserves an award 🏆, an A+, and a treat or two!!! 🍬 ✨ #KidsLit #Poetry

10% of the open tabs in my head you can find on my Substack. Organization in progress. Subscribe please, it will be worth it.

I was expected to perform happiness on cue when I had breast cancer. A bad day or feeling sad about my diagnosis was unacceptable to people who needed my pain to be packaged neatly for their own comfort. Thank you Thistle & Thread for letting my pain speak honestly.

I’m honored to have my poem, “One Without the Other (Nikki Giovanni Tribute),” included in Volume I alongside so many thoughtful contributors. It means a great deal to be part of a project honoring a writer whose voice gave so many people permission to write honestly and without apology.

I recently started a Substack after realizing it’s one of the few places where all of my interests can actually exist together instead of feeling split apart across different platforms. A place to keep it all without word counts that give me a headache trying to navigate ✍🏽

No one could ever make me feel bad about having empathy & sympathy for someone I don’t know. That’s what’s wrong with this world right now. People don’t stop being people just because you don’t know them.

Thanks @kimwnolan.bsky.social for illustrating this very serious matter 👃🏾😂 #KidsLit #PoetryForKids @littlethoughtspress.com

#NationalPoetryMonth Issue 2 Poetry Spotlight THE TRUST-O-METER by @genesis-pearl.bsky.social “I built a Trust-o-Meter from cardboard and tape. It measures how trustworthy I am in excellent shape. It rises when I tell the truth about who ate the pie.” epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

A Love Letter to (or from) Poets available at Neonandsmoke.com featuring two emerging artists: Canton Mackan and Marcela Maldonado. Cover by Camellia Paul.

Checkout my very unserious poem, "A Very Serious Report on the Boogers in My Nose" in @littlethoughtspress.com Issue 13: Head, Shoulders, Spleen & Nose. #KidsLit #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #WriteSky

Runners Up: Manju Devi Christian Emecheta Jill Robinson Longlist: Bethany Bruno (www.bethanybrunowriter.com) Savannah Childress Creeann Jarman Nisha Kumari @genesis-pearl.bsky.social Heidi De Koker Pamela Vaccariello Jade Dove 2/2

Honored to be featured. Thanks Samantha and @shinepoetry.bsky.social

The inaugural issue of One Black Perch Review is an engaging assortment of writing. Check out my piece “Grieving Widow Glitter Gold at oneblackperchpublishing.com #WriteSky #Poetry #TheWorldIsAStage #OneBlackPerch

🩸When power masquerades as love, it rarely announces itself with cruelty. 🍯Warmth is not always kindness. 📝Read my micro-fiction piece, “Can You Hear Me Now”, in full at ➡️ www.bloodhoneylit.com/fiction/can-... and check out @bloodhoneylit.bsky.social for more unsettlingly creative content.

We are THRILLED to participate in even a small way in this important vengeance.

Check out my poem, “Thermostat Lies and Other Betrayals” in edition 20 of Tap into Poetry! #TapTapTapIn #Poetry #WriteSky

I entered my Villain Era today with a double dose of slightly petty villainy. Thanks @villaineralit.bsky.social. #Villainess #PettyOrNot #Maleficient #VillainEraLit #Poetry #Prose #ProsePoetry

Capitalists see poor people as a resource they can use to help them make more money. Poor people is anyone who doesn't have as much money as them. They don't recognize a middle class. You are either one of them or you are a means for them to get richer.

Many voices shape the future against a fool with power and his deranged sycophants. #wethepeople #poetry #nokings #writesky #writingcommunity

I wrote this after having breast cancer, when I realized how often people try to soften pain so they can sit with it more comfortably. Thank you Thistle & Thread Press for letting my words speak. #poetry #writesky #poetrycommunity #breastcancer www.thistleandthread.org/jessica-edmo...

The body remembers grief and trauma in physical ways. Simple things like a certain smell or day of the year can be triggers that bring you back to that moment in your body. Anecdotally I think it also remembers times, like noon, night, midnight etc. Remember to take deep breaths and drink water.

My parents were extremely strict growing up. My dad was a teacher and minister. My mom an artist and librarian. One thing they always let me do without restrictions was read… EVERYTHING! Imagine a 5th grader trying to explain The Bluest Eye for a book report. #ReadersWrite #WriteSky #Memories

“I step forward because I belong in the room.”#poem #blueskypoetry #poetrysky #poetrycommunity #poet #Blacksky #writingcommunity

MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.

CNF "Frankenstein" by Christie Page “I don’t give a damn about feminist think-pieces claiming breasts don’t define womanhood. I don’t want to hear about empowerment, or how we’re supposed to transcend our bodies. I care about my truth.” www.bloodhoneylit.com/cnf/frankens...

I stepped out of my comfort zone for this one. Thanks Tales From the Moonlit Path! #CreepMode #Poetry #WriteSky #BloodyValentines

1 yes after 2 no’s cancels out the no’s 😏 #GirlMath Thanks @bloodhoneylit.bsky.social! #WriteSky #Poetry #KeepWriting

Dress Code was inspired from a writing prompt where every sentence had to begin with “we used to” and the neon image below (I also take pics 📸). I’m an 80s baby… instant nostalgia when I started writing. Thanks @shinepoetry.bsky.social! #WriteSky #Poetry #80sBaby

Get your copy today! @nimblewitlit.bsky.social a.co/d/g45OIpg #KidLit #Poetry #WriteSky

remember that your mental health is a priority, your inner peace is essential & your self care is a necessity

Really pleased to share that my work appears in Nimblewit Lit and Four Tulips Cozy Anthology, with upcoming pieces in Shine Poetry Quarterly, Tales From the Moonlit Path, Thistle & Thread Press, SCOPE, Black Is, and Fragmentation Magazine. More soon. #writesky #poetry

Grateful to have my poem, "The Trust-o-Meter," included in Nimblewit Lit Issue 2: Trustworthy. #kidlit #poetry #writesky

The weirdest thing about Americans is how many of them think their laws apply to every person in the world. But they're certain other countries' laws don't apply to them.