I got to go on @texaspublicradio.bsky.social's Book Public, hosted by the unmatchable Yvette Benavides, and talk about my new book A History of Heartache.

Patrick Strickland, author of A History of Heartache, answered our My Reading Life Q&A so readers could get to know the books that shaped his life and influenced his writing! debutiful.net/2026/04/23/a... @melvillehouse.bsky.social

HAPPY PUB DAY to Director's Grant recipient Patrick Strickland @patrickobrienstrickland.com for the release of A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE through Melville House! @melvillehouse.bsky.social Learn more & order your copy: degrootfoundation.org/a-history-of...

“Through his vivid, voice-driven prose, Strickland mingles societal crises and systemic obstacles with his characters’ attempts at personal survival or redemption.” So grateful for this considerate and smart review of A History of Heartache: chapter16.org/ghosts-of-a-...

North Texas native Patrick Strickland will be at Deep Vellum Books this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss his new book. 🔗 https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts-culture/patrick-strickland-history-of-heartache-book-talk-dallas-40663681/

"But in A History of Heartache, a short-story collection that is his first work of fiction, he returns to Texas and peels back the mask of a worn-out suburbia to reveal stark human tragedy." I'm stoked as all heck to get this thoughtful and generous review of my book from the Dallas Morning News:

"Beyond the pain and the characters who bear it, this book is a commentary on the ways America abandons its people to fend for themselves." @tobyleblancauthor.bsky.social reviews A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE by Patrick Strickland. @melvillehouse.bsky.social southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/04/15/a...

Stoked that my new story collection, A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE, made this list of April's best southern books. It's out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social Pre-order: bookshop.org/a/121591/978...

I am downright stoked to get such a generous and positive review from Publishers Weekly for this story collection I’ve spent six, seven years chipping away at. ‘A History of Heartache’ is out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social — www.publishersweekly.com/9781685892357

I have a new piece up @tomdispatch.bsky.social about Trump’s promise to “help” Iranians, the brutal US-Israeli war on Iran, and the long history of imperial offers of aid that are so often deadly for the very people Washington says it wants to help: tomdispatch.com/why-donald-t...

I wrote a thing at @inkstickmedia.com: With Trump's war on Iran and anti-immigrant policy, Republicans are escalating Islamophobic incitement and Christian nationalist rhetoric.

By the time the US-Israeli war on Iran is said and done, the Christian nationalists around Donald Trump will be sad to learn that Armageddon, in fact, has not come. By: @patrickobrienstrickland.com inkstickmedia.com/from-the-us-...

As Trump's DHS fights to pull local police onto its side, an immigrant’s safety largely depends on how much their community stands up for them. By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/how-trumps-d...

At Inkstick, @moiralavelle.bsky.social reviews @mollycrabapple.bsky.social's 'Here Where We Live Is Our Country,' out next month.

A harrowing letter from Gaza: "For two years, I have not so much as turned on a heater. What would be the point? There is neither gas nor electricity. The only source of warmth are wood fires, and they are suffocating."

At Inkstick, @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social spoke to Behrooz Ghamari, a former political prisoner in Iran and author of the new book 'The Long War on Iran' (from @orbooks.bsky.social) "The interventionist policy only creates disasters," he said.

"When family members of the disappeared immigrants arrived, there was no sign of their loved ones. What they found instead were customized ace of spades playing cards that read 'ICE Denver Field Office.'" inkstickmedia.com/how-trump-is...

I am downright stoked to get such a generous and positive review from Publishers Weekly for this story collection I’ve spent six, seven years chipping away at. ‘A History of Heartache’ is out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social — www.publishersweekly.com/9781685892357

Important piece @inkstickmedia.com by @tylermcbrien.com on the ever-worsening drive to profit off deportation and immigrant incarceration in America.

At least five people are dead and another 20 are missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants capsized near Greece's Crete.

Tripoli is Lebanon’s medieval-era jewel by the sea. But decades of state neglect and poverty are coming to a head amid a deadly spate of collapsing buildings. inkstickmedia.com/lebanons-dea...

A Greek coast guard ship "collided with" a boat carrying refugees, killing 15. Now an autopsy shows that the Afghans who died in the incident perished because of head wounds rather than drowning.

This is a powerful and grim piece by Palestinian journalist Issam Adwan, a reflection on what it truly means to be a reporter in Gaza and how grave the risks are.

"Imperialism defines much of this country’s history, but the latest escalation comes at a time when ICE agents have also been deployed to grab immigrants off the streets and whisk them to detention centers. Meanwhile, Trump has continued to preach the jingoistic gospel of stopping new arrivals."

"In a world divided by borders, the US has a long tradition of blaming people fleeing the wars and violence it played a large part in fueling."

US Vice President JD Vance wants to use law enforcement to punish his critics — regardless of any proof of criminality. By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/with-defense...

3 yrs ago I started writing a book that is in stores TODAY. It's narrative nonfiction, anti-fascist spy thriller set in Trump era. It's timely as hell & I'm proud of it. A thread of what people are saying abt it & why I hope you'll help make it a bestseller www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Cat...

The great @patrickobrienstrickland.com wrote this absolute banger of a review for @inksters.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/on-surveilli...

In his new book 'The Long War on Iran,' former political prisoner and sociologist Behrooz Ghamari takes a scalpel to decades of misguided US policy toward Tehran. By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/once-a-priso...

I did a deep dive on @letsgomathias.bsky.social's very important, very timely, and very well-done new book, 'To Catch a Fascist,' out next week.

it's just so extremely cool to wake up one morning and find a writer you admire, @patrickobrienstrickland.com, do a close read of the book you've worked on for three years. via @inkstickmedia.com inkstickmedia.com/on-surveilli...

“For those tens of millions of people, borders don’t stop where one country ends and the next begins; they stalk and haunt across endless miles and years. Borders are both crime scenes and crimes, with nationalism the motive.” I’m in @thenation.com today: www.thenation.com/article/worl...

From TomDispatch last evening: The nightmare of immigration in the age of Donald Trump, up close and personal -- Patrick Strickland, "Immigration and the Invasion Story, Borders as Crime Scenes and Crimes" tomdispatch.com/immigration-...

"[B]orders don't stop where one country ends and the next begins; they stalk and haunt across endless miles and years." "Borders are both crime scenes and crimes, with nationalism the motive." #USA #Lebanon #Palestine #Israel #Greece #Military #Deportation #EthnicCleansing

In a world divided by borders, the US has a long tradition of blaming people fleeing the wars and violence it either waged or played a part in fueling. By: @patrickobrienstrickland.com with @tomdispatch.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/when-the-bor...

Pitch us at Inkstick. We're a nonprofit newsroom focused on endless war and all that it entails: the military industrial complex, growing authoritarianism, militarization of policing, borders everywhere, and human rights crises in the US and beyond. (We pay -- rates depend on scope of pieces, etc.)

Inkstick’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026 (So Far) Ft. - @jmhattem.bsky.social - @mollycrabapple.bsky.social - Robin Andersen - Lionel & Liz Morrison - @rozinaali.bsky.social - @reecejones.bsky.social & Greg Boos

Shelter from the Storm: How Climate Change Is Creating a New Era of Migration is out ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Pick up a copy from your local bookstore or wherever else you get books (but especially your local bookstore)

"People fleeing warzones may sometimes successfully outrun the bullets. But disasters do not stop at the border and often follow people into refugee camps." Read an excerpt of Julian Hattem’s new book, ‘Shelter from the Storm,’ which will be out tomorrow with @thenewpress.bsky.social

My debut fiction book, a short story collection called ‘A History of Heartache,’ comes out with @melvillehouse.bsky.social this April. It’s available for preorder now. It has 14 loosely linked stories connected to North Texas about coming up strange in a strange place. mhpbooks.com/books/a-hist...

Congratulations to our 2026 Best American Short Stories nominees: @coocoo4afropuffs.bsky.social @patrickobrienstrickland.com @danacann.bsky.social @aaronburch.bsky.social #GraceBallard #AnnLandi #LisAnna-Langston #DamienRoos doric-literary.com/nominations/

Here it is, the final regular #ScholarSunday thread of 2025, my 255th thread of great public scholarly writing, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

Tomorrow Doric Literary announces our nominations for the 2026 #BestAmericanShortStories anthology! 🎉 While you're waiting, why not read our most recent (& #Pushcart nominated) offerings: "Dallas, 1931" by @patrickobrienstrickland.com "The Skull Never Frowns" by Damien Roos doric-literary.com

@inkstickmedia.com's @patrickobrienstrickland.com on the long history of conspiracism and incitement behind Trump's "invasion" immigration rhetoric: inkstickmedia.com/the-long-oft...

🎉It's Award Season at Doric Literary.🍾 Pushcart & BOTN nominations have already been announced. Best American Short Story nominations come out December 23. We're announcing our nominations for Best Small Fictions on New Year's Eve! Read great short stories here: doric-literary.com/nominations/

I wrote @inkstickmedia.com about the long history of anti-immigrant propaganda portraying people crossing a border as an "invasion" & the violence that conspiracy theory fuels. With a lot of thanks to @mdelbosque.bsky.social, @reecejones.bsky.social, & @shaneburley.bsky.social for speaking to me.

The GOP was a dependable supporter of Israel for a long time. Now, its far-right wing is seeking to change that. By: @shaneburley.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/the-growing-...

Looking for some weekend reading? Every one of these stories is absolutely brilliant! Doric Literary's 2026 Pushcart Prize nominees. doric-literary.com/nominations/ #BarbaraEMiner @niamhmaccabe.bsky.social @patrickobrienstrickland.com #DamienRoos @danacann.bsky.social @writesloud.bsky.social

I wrote a long essay on the myth of Scottish exceptionalism for @inkstickmedia.com, featuring Braveheart, anti-immigration protests in Falkirk, rise of the saltire flags, Thatcher in Scotland and so on. Thanks to @patrickobrienstrickland.com for giving this essay a lovely home 👇🏾 tinyurl.com/4n8u5tsu