I just got my copies of Black Lily in the mail. I love the Goth protest vibe here. Thank you to Beth Gilstrap for including my story "Black Boots in the Rain." It's a Queer, Goth, Antifascist protest story that means a lot to me. And it's so cool to see my name with so many talented writers.

I have a review of Brian Trapp's fantastic Range of Motion (Acre, 2025) out in this issue of New Ohio Review. Also, check out this cover art by Ashura Lewis. And the writers and work in this issue are just brilliant. Dave Wanczyk knows how to put together a journal.

Hi! The students in my Editing and Publishing class are currently soliciting work for their student journal projects. We have journals focused on creative work, Feminist Film Critique, Business Technology, and Science. The deadline is November 7th. gannon.submittable.com/submit/33848...

In case you need a reminder. *found at work

My wonderful partner, Apoorva Bradshaw-Mittal interviewed Souvankham Thammavongsa for Electric Lit. electricliterature.com/a-novel-expl...

Nothing leads me to break my diet faster than whimsy and novelty.

For the Erie, PA folx: I'll at the Lake Erie LitFest on Saturday with the Gannon English Dept. tent. I'll be hosting a fiction workshop at 1 PM. Also, Gannon students will be reading their work at 4:15. Please come support them. Hope to see you there!

Somebody left the projector on in a classroom. It looked cool.

So close again. My story collection was a finalist for the Eastover Prize for a Debut Story Collection. Congrats to Kathleen McNamara. Also, it's cool knowing Manual Muñoz read my work.

Did some art museum things. Erie is such a literary and artsy place. Hard to believe the Moon Mammoths sometimes play a block over.

Jake Barnes, River Dog, says goodnight.

My story collection was a semifinalist for the Orison Prize in Fiction. Congrats to the winners in Fiction and Poetry, Lance Tukell and Craig Beaven. lnkd.in/e6MezUta

Hi! Welcome to the birth of my 40s, which is also the 1st day of Fall classes. I give you an awkward bisexual, nonbinary bathroom selfie. This year I remembered the obligatory finger guns after last year's social media uproar over the failure of their inclusion. My 30s are dead. Long live my 40s.

They called the game at the top of the 8th inning. The Moon Mammoths were up 4-3 and lightning struck over Lake Erie. This is how I imagined my 30s dying out. Rained on but not completely out. Up by just enough margin to hold out hope for tomorrow, when classes begin and my 40s are newly born.

Fuzz E. Mammoth puts on a show.

I am celebrating the death of my 30s at a minor league baseball game. The Erie Seahawks are temporarily rebranded as the Moon Mammoths for 4 games this season, courtesy of John Oliver. Let's hope we don't get rained out.

To celebrate the death of my 30s, I offer this self-portrait.

Another semester begins, and the view from my office remains spectacular.

Summer sunsets over Lake Erie make Pennsnowlvaniapocolypses worth it.

My story collection made the finalist list of the Grace Paley Prize with a fantastic batch of writers. Keeping my fingers crossed for the final result. awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Cont...

A reminder for poets local to Erie, PA: We will be hosting a poetry workshop the first Saturday of every month beginning this Saturday, August 2nd. These take place in Room 219 of the Blasco Library from 1:30–3:00 PM. We would love to see you there. events.erielibrary.org/event/14966144

Jake Barnes, River Dog, waits dutifully for parent #2 to return.

Today starts the last month of my 30s, and I feel like I am starting to get my life together. Anyway, is there some sort of bucket list I'm supposed be crossing items off of? *photo credit: Chuck Joy

I cleaned and reorganized my writing space yesterday. It's such a lovely feeling. At least until a few days from now when I am buried in half-finished syllabi and fur shed by Jake Barnes, River Dog, and printed manuscripts in need of the 32nd rewrite. But for now, I am happy.

Best of the Net is now accepting nominations for the 2026 anthology! Submissions must come from the editor of the publication, or, if the work is self-published, it may be sent by the author. The deadline is September 30th, 2025. For full submission guidelines, please visit bestofthenetanthology.com

There is just something so intensely vulnerable about using a massage chair between the Terminal C slot machines in the Reno airport as people just off their flights walk by, trying very hard to not make eye contact as the knots in your back crack apart like fireworks.

A long enough layover in Dallas allowed me time to say hi to my first love: 6 AM Whataburger.

This book is so good.

Goodbye, Community of Writers. This was an amazing workshop. My toolbag as a writer, editor, and teacher is greatly expanded. I'll definitely be back.

Last day of Community of Writers before heading back to PA. I've never been sad about a workshop ending before. This is a great program, and my workshop group was absolutely brilliant.

Not getting tired of this view. I am disappointed I haven't met a bear yet. But there's always tomorrow.

Had the afternoon off from writer panels and writer readings and other writer things, so I went on a hike.

The most punk rock bird I have ever seen joined us for workshop today. Their name is Gareth, and they are working on a novel about anthropomorphic pecans.

Morning comes three hours later here than home, but it is gorgeous.

Semi-mandatory morning mountain pic.

Deadline is 7/15. And you get to hang out with some friendly sheep and cool sheepdogs. Free, fresh chicken and duck eggs in the mornings. The residency farm is so quiet and without distraction. An amazing space to write. Plus $500.

Evening stroll pics.

Good morning from Sierra Nevada.

Sitting at the Reno combo airport/casino getting some writing done.

Sunset over Dallas last night. As wonderfully pink and purple as sunsets are in Erie, I might the brimstone of Texas skies. I'm in Reno now, on my way to Community of Writers.

I will have a goth protest story in the upcoming issue of Black Lily, out later this summer.

Jake Barnes, River Dog, doing river dog things at the vet.

On a whim, I became a cliché and wrote a poem while sitting on the beach. Also, I think the local cult left an artifact behind last night.

Hey everyone! I am moderating a panel and a workshop at the NeMLA Convention in Pittsburgh next year. I would love for you submit creative work and pedagogical practices to this event. Pittsburgh is wonderful, and NeMLA is a fantastic conference. Link to submit abstracts in the comments.

Absolutely thrilled to have a chupacabra prose poem in this issue of Lost Pilots. And I count myself very lucky to have work in the company of so many incredible poets.

Of all the novels I've read about women sexually attracted to airplanes, this was the best one. And the only one. And maybe one of the best novels I've ever read. It's funny, heartbreaking, suspenseful, and so very human, even if the narrator's love interests are not.

I walked around Knoxville for a couple of hours last night. Such a gorgeous city.

A reminder.

Making friends on the Farm.