"imagine if we allowed people to engage w poetry the way we expect people to engage w music. Nobody plays you a song they love or sends you a playlist & then says, get back to me w meanings of all of these songs." @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social on our 50th episode of This Mama Is Lit!

"After a throb of silence, we asked what was wrong. He turned to the screen and pointed to a seemingly endless list of flaws and catastrophes on you that we could neither recognize nor understand." from Michele Amoah Powponne's essay, "Dear Edith," in our Sept/Oct issue:

@amplifywithfemi.bsky.social is calling for contributions in our latest "Mama And" writing prompt: Share in the blog comments, on IG w the hashtag #MamaAnd, tagging us @literary_mama on FB, & Bluesky @literarymama.bsky.social. The prompt will remain active throughout the month.

"The translators’ skill is manifested by the diversity of voice, nuance, and tone they evoke in this assembly of twenty-four pieces by thirteen authors." ACS Bird reviews Amanat: Women’s Writing from Kazakhstan, edited and translated by Zaure Batayeva and Shelley Fairweather-Vega (Sept/Oct issue):

"I think that’s what motherhood is about—this small piece of hope that we carry around with us like a pebble. Hoping for the best for our kids as we white-knuckle the liminal time...between their constant presence and mourning their absence." @rudribhattpatel.bsky.social opens our new issue:

Submissions are open. Send us your best short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Before submitting, please review our guidelines at the link below: buff.ly/bqo8RXA #poetrycommunity

Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of Black Sabbath, died today, at 76. Osbourne—along with half of the musicians in Led Zeppelin and the key members of Judas Priest—was raised in the bombed-out ruins of the British Midlands. Read more: nyer.cm/iCI3UFJ

It's here! We hope you enjoy the abundance of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literary reflections, profiles, and reviews in our July/August issue!

We're looking for a senior editor to join our team! literarymama.com/opportunities

🎧 New episode 🎧 Check out our conversation with Alicia Elliott, author of “And Then She Fell,” about cultural creation stories, contemporary Indigenous life, and how a psychotic episode led to deeper understanding. Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts!

“Like a quilt, in which scattered pieces of fabric are used to create a new whole, Kiefer stitches together scenes...” Read Lori Rottenberg’s review of Abbie Kiefer’s Certain Shelter here: literarymama.com/articles/dep...

"Theirs could ignite harmonicas both in and out, making music in layers. One breath could extinguish a candle with a wish; another could feed the campfire." Frm "Breath" by Jessica Claire Haney. May/June @literarymama.bsky.social literarymama.com/articles/dep...

NEW ISSUE! Publicity manager @tinypoet.bsky.social opens our May/June issue: "In a world of endless words, the blank expanses between paragraphs and product images become sanctuaries, like designated natural areas separating deforested developments. White space allows us to breathe." Read on!

Exciting news!

Our latest episode of This Mama Is Lit! features TV producer & writer Sandra Chwialkowska on her first novel, The Ends of Things, screenwriting, & surviving a book launch with a newborn. @evalangston.bsky.social @hollyrizzutopal.bsky.social @ajfields.bsky.social

Hi folks! @literarymama.bsky.social is in the search of a social media co-editor. This is a volunteer position at a org dedicated to bringing mamas and mama supporters together through literature. Spread the word: literarymama.com/opportunities

"Adoption is one of the most unregulated businesses in the country. There is no federal regulation, so people can just do whatever. They can charge whatever, they can do whatever, and it's not regulated at all." Listen to @thesusanito.bsky.social in our latest episode of This Mama Is Lit!

The Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship for New Parents: $2000, a year of mentorship, and the opportunity to read online at a Pen Parentis Literary Salon. Deadline: April 17th @penparentis.bsky.social @mmdevoe.bsky.social penparentis.org/fellowship/

NEW ISSUE!!! Our March/April issue is here, ushered in by Managing Editor Lauren Reynolds: "The mothers I know downplay their wisdom. This issue reminds me of...how much pain and joy are present at every stage of mothering." literarymama.com/issues/march...

"And I think, Here he is. Today, for now, it is not my pain. I think, If anything ever happens to you, I would . . ." Read Nicole Desjardins Gowdy's poem, "Our Children," in our March/April issue:

The Naomi Shihab Nye Prize: Organizers invite Arab American and Arab Canadian writers to submit an English-language middle-grade manuscript directed to readers ages 8–12. Link to learn more: www.albustanseeds.org/naomi-shihab...

In our March/April issue, Heather Brown Barrett reviews Stacey May Fowles & @jensookfonglee.bsky.social's anthology, Good Mom on Paper: Writers on Creativity & Motherhood:

Nice review of GOOD MOM ON PAPER, with a mention of the funny/heartbreaking essay by Meaghan Strimas that features me in a minor role as an NPC.

NIH is likely cutting up to 25% of its workforce this week. NIH staff have substantial expertise, typically PhDs. And they really *believe* in the work. NIH's will not be able to meet its mission w/these cuts. The scientific threat is not just direct funding cuts www.statnews.com/2025/03/14/n...

So it appears DOGE has decreed that Social Security administration will no longer provide phone support. At all. This is in addition to shutting down a ton of local SSA offices. www.axios.com/2025/03/17/s...

Scheduling interviews with some amazing authors (with some very long, crazy journeys) for my new podcast THE LONG ROAD TO PUBLISHING. Follow me on Substack for updates along with all my usual #writing resources! #writingcommunity evalangston.substack.com

“We wire the sky for comfort; we thread it through our lungs for a perfect fit. We’ve arranged this calm, though it is constantly unraveling. Where does it go then, atmosphere suckered up an invisible flue? How can we know where it goes?” - Rita Dove

Such a great episode with the author of a fantastic #memoir that was named a @literarymama.bsky.social best book of the year! #writingcommunity #writermoms #authorinterview #bedrest

"she's in this environment, this milieu where people are starting to get involved in activism & she has a choice to make about what to do...you'll see that she's pulled in different directions." Listen to Nancy Johnson on This Mama Is Lit! literarymama.substack.com/p/nancy-john...

Too bad Uvalde Elementary didn’t sell Teslas.

Our newest #podcast episode is live! Jen Soriano, author of Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing talks about chronic pain, ancestral trauma, and finding joy and support through community. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

"Writers who have been told to trust their readers should move In My Boots to the top of their pile. Jaros not only tells us about developing self-trust — she invites us to lace up our own boots and cultivate it within our own journey." Thanks @hippocampusmag.bsky.social

We love @joankwonglass.bsky.social's work & are excited for her book tour! Here's one of her poems from 2021, "Making Frybread With My Son": literarymama.com/articles/dep...

"[The] Rodney King case...I remember that was my first real taste of activism. And so I think that's why I chose that particular time period for my secondary storyline..." Listen to Nancy Johnson, author of People of Means, on This Mama Is Lit! literarymama.substack.com/p/nancy-john...

It's here! In My Boots Publication Day! And what a journey it has been. Thank you to all the good, kind, generous, lovely folks who helped me get to this day. You know who you are. My gratitude is unending. tinyurl.com/2r22s5bt #bookrelease #appalachiantrail #hikeyourownhike #writingcommunity

**NEW EPISODE!!!** Listen to Nancy Johnson, author of The Kindest Lie & Emmy nominated journalist, talk about ancestral pride, Black excellence, and social reckoning with @hollyrizzutopal.bsky.social & @ajfields.bsky.social literarymama.substack.com/p/nancy-john...

A reminder that we have a wonderful anthology of LM staff writing that was published to celebrate over 20 years of online publication and honor mamas who've helped make it happen. Edited by @amandakjaros.bsky.social: literarymama.com/labor-of-lov...

"I am waiting for the inauguration of money. I am watching the rights I had growing up get stripped away from kids who know and understand and do better than we could ever have done as children." @ajfields.bsky.social opens our Jan/Feb issue: literarymama.com/articles/dep...

“I, too” by Langston Hughes

"In America I hear you get sedated for this, the doctor says." Read Sally Anderson Boström's poem, "Colonoscopy," in our Jan/Feb issue. literarymama.com/articles/dep...

"Government and employer come first, and we can have what’s left, as a treat...Speaking as a fox: fuck that." Read @margosteines.bsky.social incredible review of Jennifer Case's We Are Animals in our Jan/Feb issue. literarymama.com/articles/dep...

This is AMAZING news! Fuck Amazon www.salon.com/2025/01/28/b...

"The System—now in its second year of existence—is necessary. It meets a need." This story by @susanperabo.bsky.social in our Jan/Feb issue made our jaws drop. Are you feeling enraged about the treatment of women? This story's got you. literarymama.com/articles/dep...

Musk’s staffers fanned out across several agencies today, sending representatives to the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and meeting with the Labor Department to seek access to sensitive data.

"Carpal numbness, twisted joints" Read Claudia Wardle's poem, "Co-Sleeping," in our Jan/Feb issue. literarymama.com/articles/dep...

As we look back at Black History, Fall for the Book opens our archives and retrieves Alice Walker. Enjoy this C-Span video. www.c-span.org/program/book...