Next time somebody tries to get me to justify the existence of the humanities, I’ll just point out how for the past two Super Bowls we’ve all jumped online and engaged in collective semiotics and hermeneutics of the half-time show as text.

It's February! Here is this month's writing prompt, inspired by Nikolai Gogol (by way of George Saunders). substack.com/home/post/p-...

My sanctuary.

A little sketch I made while students wrote to a prompt.

GOOD NEWS. My novel--a retelling of Hansel & Gretel in which the parents are addicted to opioids--originally titled Abandon & now titled A THOUSAND WAYS TO DISAPPEAR, will be published by Cornerstone Press (Univ. of Wisconsin) in February 2028.

Good morning from Massachusetts!

This is not a door.

Phone home... And tell everybody to pick up a copy of this extraterrestrial friendly book

I will have very good news to share soon. That's all I can say for now!

⚡️Fast Flash Review: Cheryl Pappas sparkling and surreal 2021 debut, A Clarity of Hunger published by Word West Press. @cherylpappas.bsky.social

Happy New Year! This month's writing prompt is up on From the Bookshelf. substack.com/home/post/p-...

thanks to Myna Chang @mynachang.bsky.social for featuring Cheryl Pappas's @cherylpappas.bsky.social "Innocence" in her December roundup !

OKD is open again for free subs until we reach our cap! Learn more about us and submit your best poetry or flash fiction: buff.ly/chQ4jpz Okay Donkey is always open for tip jar ($2.50) or expedited ($4.00) subs! Your contribution helps us pay our contributors and cover other mag-related expenses.

December Speculative Flash Roundup! Some truly phenomenal stories this month, and a bonus craft article!

I’d love one day to read The Great Gatsby on its slippery first-person POV only. These sentences would not make it through a workshop today, given he’s talking about Gatsby’s past here. I’m all for it, though. I’m in the dream of the novel and I just don’t care how he knows.

Love this creepy, sinuous flash by @cherylpappas.bsky.social in @hexliterary.bsky.social !!!

Thank you to editors Kate, Daniel, and Joe @hexliterary.bsky.social for publishing my flash "Innocence."

The 'kin' of ‘napkin’ means "little." ‘Nap’ comes from ‘nape,' which means “tablecloth.” So a napkin is a little tablecloth. 10/10, no notes.

It's novel manuscript submission morning! Let's go.

Ready for the final read before I start submitting!

“The wind had blown off, leaving a loud, bright night, with wings beating in the trees and a persistent organ sound as the full bellows of the earth blew the frogs full of life.” Nearly every sentence of The Great Gatsby is this rich and musical. I’m rereading my old, beat-up copy. Beautiful.

F*CK THIS MURDER’S Queer, curvy, neurodivergent, and chronically ill Maggie Livingston just wants a 5-star review for her new B & B, but dead bodies, a rogue alligator and accident-prone guests keep getting in the way. www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJZNMRF...

It’s the last #FridayReads before Christmas! Let’s share some books and boost all signals. Books are great gifts! Repost this and let us know what to repost for you. Here’s a piece of my soul that starts with a real event… www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316... bookshop.org/p/books/hous...

Ready to revise the last 7 pages early tomorrow morning, then send it off to beta readers. I’ll be submitting the book to publishers by December 31. I can’t believe it.

There are over 18,000 types of lichen in existence. My personal favourite is ‘village bench lichen’, which devotes its entire existence selflessly to gradually making communal public seating more furry and comfortable.

10 pages left of this novel revision. It's the hardest part, of course!

Love this so much! 💗

Creative writing teachers: Do you ever do the exercises you offer in class? I’m thinking about doing this as a way to try them out and also to be in tune with what the students are working with.

So much of rewriting is waking up your verbs, my God.

Me finishing this novel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSbb...

FYI: blacklawrencepress.submittable.com/submit/6678/...

I don't know why but in the last 2 days I've seen multiple people posting about my favorite shark the tasselled wobbegong and in case your timeline has not been similarly blessed I just think you should be aware that this is what it looks like

The @mbta absolutely needs a Communications Director. This morning’s commute on the Green Line has been frustratingly low on info the whole route through. The sign at Park St. doesn’t mention the Red Line, only the Orange and Green Lines. They need multiple sites of info, not just the website.

Revising my novel is like rolling up an air mattress and flattening out the air bubbles. I have been working on this book too long!

Frank Gehry, 1929–2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...

"I believe the world is beautiful and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone." #poetry #smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social

Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.

It's December 1, so this month's free writing prompt is up at From the Bookshelf. December's inspiration is from 13th-century poet Zhang Yuniang. cherylpappas.substack.com/p/from-the-b...

Set up the Christmas village to get in the spirit.

The most precious commodity you have is your attention. You don’t have to waste it on poor-faith debates or arguments with strangers if you don’t think they’ll be productive. You can prioritize the things that matter to you and make your life richer.

(Bursting through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man, frantically waving a copy of “Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism”)

In a few days, I’ll be 2/3 of the way done with this novel revision.

Almost ready…

Just in case you missed it! My interview by @mynachang.bsky.social!!

Managed to revise 12 pages of the novel and now to nap to mark the boundary between writing and Thanksgiving prep.

An excellent read.

Love seeing Caroline Hagood on the list! @carolinehagood.bsky.social @electricliterature.com

We’re hiring a web/senior editor and an engagement editor. See more here:

From my 15yo son, after hearing how much I make as a writer: "It's a bad business, Mom. You should get out of it."

So happy to be signing a contract for a flash to be published in a dream journal in the spring!