The most traffic downside to AI as a teacher--even greater than the erosion of imagination and critical thinking in students--is that I no longer get my yearly big laugh from reading the phrase "In the anals of history..."

My wife Roxanne has a new podcast TRAVEL CREATE REPEAT where she interviews artists in all different media about the intersection between creativity and travel. Check out her first interview w/ mixed-media artist Alea Bone! Like, subscribe, all that stuff. youtube.com/watch?v=RDOw...

I had a great time interviewing @jordanharper.bsky.social about A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE. Do you have a favorite crime writer? Chances are, they're raving about this book. Listen: on.soundcloud.com/E4TiKVSp1d9H... Watch: youtu.be/49o1IP9b7qc

Tbilisi

close friends who are aware of my bizarre, fucked-up personal situation have encouraged (bullied) me to create more of a clear-cut fundraising campaign to help with my upcoming move. if you can chip in, great! thank you! but please only do so if you can spare it. 💚 ko-fi.com/interrobangb...

Two books back out in the world. BIG MARIA earlier this month. THE UPPER HAND available for pre-orders and out in June. Five more to go.

In April, 2026, the Romantasy publisher Ever Amour Books was accused of using AI to create a large number of books on their list. Defiantly, they published their summer catalogue in defense, including the synopses of their upcoming books. I'll let you be the judge. www.patreon.com/tornpages

My Torn Pages project continues to plod forward. Just finished this comic page. For everyone who loves real pages from non-existent books. www.patreon.com/posts/157337082

My books are slowly returning back into print. First as ebooks. BIG MARIA first. With a foreword by the great Blake Crouch. Dig this fancy new cover.

It's a new era at Johnny Shaw HQ. For the 1st time since 2011, I have no books in print. Before you panic (which is the natural response) I will be releasing new editions in the months to come, starting with BIG MARIA in May, with a new cover and foreword by Blake Crouch. More to come. Excelsior!

In a world where a bunch of fake shit is being created from real writing, why not support a writer creating real writing from a bunch of fake shit. Or something like that. I just posted the 132nd Torn Page. The first 100 are FREE for anyone to read! www.patreon.com/tornpages

Coming soon!

Next week in my newsletter I’m debuting an in-depth author interview series in the spirit of the Paris Review interviews. The first few subjects include Michael Koryta, J. Todd Scott, Eli Cranor, and Lori Radar Day. Sign up now so you don’t miss anything! bryonquertermous.substack.com

I just hit 125 posts over at Torn Pages. If real pages of nonexistent books is your thing (and isn't it everybody's?) then head over there. Laughs abound. To make it even easier, the first 100 Torn Pages are free, free, free. Check it out here: www.patreon.com/c/tornpages

He’s coming, Heaven. He’s fucking coming.

Public service announcement: SHE RIDES SHOTGUN will hit VOD on August 26th. With everything from an electric performance by Ana Sophie Heger to one of the best car chases in recent memories, it's got something for everyone in your family/friend group/polycule. You probably want to pre-order it today

Real talk (reel talk?): BWDR recently lost a partnership that covered nearly half our operating budget, so things are suddenly very tough. If what we do has ever meant something to you, or you’ve ever thought about subscribing, now’s the time—it *truly* makes a difference.

Just realized I haven’t seen anyone post the Tom Lehrer-2 Chainz letter yet today.

Tickets for SHE RIDES SHOTGUN in the theater are live - go get some. www.lionsgate.com/movies/she-r...

Here's the trailer to SHE RIDES SHOTGUN, the movie based on my first novel. Polly and Nate are out there in these streets. Check it out. Buy the book; get hep in advance. youtu.be/U9OkHjOnQPg?...

Just wrote a little something about why I made YOU HAD TO BE THERE, and why everyone should make a zine of their own. It's free to read for everyone. No paywall. doveseason.medium.com/why-i-made-a...

Just a quick reminder of how cool and talented my wife Roxanne is. When I made BLOOD & TACOS way back when, she painted an original oil painting for every issue's cover. Just ran across these images without the cover text on them. Check out her other awesome work at www.etsy.com/shop/GummyEm...

Let's get dirty, y'all www.amazon.com/Dirtbags-Ery...

Comic timing with just the written word is such a tricky challenge. So much effort to make something look effortless. The absolute master is Jack Handey. Nobody has his timing.

This weekend, just $19 gets you a full year of access to BWDR, including our 12 year, 140 issue archive! Help support independent media, and all the writers, artists, & editors who contribute to each issue. Every subscription counts, and every subscriber helps make all of this possible. 🖤 🙏

According to the shipping & receiving dept at Wisconsin HQ (aka @ericaruthneubauer.bsky.social) the first printing of YOU HAD TO BE THERE is in the mail. Thanks for everyone who bought a copy. There's still time to order what everyone's calling "You made a what?" www.patreon.com/tornpages/sh...

Dug up this old LitReactor article about the history of Noir at the Bar. Includes interviews with its creator, Peter Rozovsky, as well as Todd Robinson, Jedidiah Ayres, Johnny Shaw, Eric Beetner, and more. Extra points to anyone who remembers the dude who wrote this. litreactor.com/columns/noir...

Remember, when you buy the inaugural issue of YOU HAD TO BE THERE, you don't just get one copy. You get two copies for the same price. One for you. And one to leave in your dentist's office. It's called marketing. Look it up. www.patreon.com/tornpages/sh...

This lawsuit is brutal. One of the exhibits is the letter Universal sent to Midjourney, including a quote from a 2022 Forbes interview that I bet midjourney regrets

The ACTUAL @bloodandtacos.bsky.social stopped by DoSomeDamage for an interview about his new bit of business YOU HAD TO BE THERE www.dosomedamage.com/2025/06/the-...

If you need some inanity and maybe a laugh or two, @jaystringer.bsky.social interviewed me over at Do Some Damage @dosomedamage.bsky.social. Not a single softball question thrown. I answered his hard balls with aplomb and a touch of whimsy. Enjoy! www.dosomedamage.com/2025/06/the-...

'Director Rowland adds, "Working on ‘She Rides Shotgun’ was about honoring Jordan Harper’s brutal, beautiful novel while finding a cinematic language that could carry both its savagery and its soul.' Sounds like you should probably buy the book now to be hep on opening day.

I'm going to be ringing this bell for the next couple weeks. It's the most densely funny and beautifully weird project I've put together. Huge thanks to @jaystringer.bsky.social @jordanharper.bsky.social @jesslourey.bsky.social D.M. Pulley & @ericaruthneubauer.bsky.social for their contributions.

Through the entire month of June, US readers can get the Kindle version of This Violent Heart for only $1.99! Celebrate Pride month with my queer romantic mystery! 🌈🫶

New patrons can jump on with our new lower prices, and existing members will see the cut next month. Any benefits from our Patreon goes to pay the writers. You know what Harlan said.

As the world stumbles toward the mediocre AI future it seems to desire, I did the logical thing. I made a staplebound zine with my human hands and the help of friends. @jordanharper.bsky.social @jesslourey.bsky.social @ericaruthneubauer.bsky.social In the mail soon. Be there, or don't be there.

Eryk Pruitt’s novel Something Bad Wrong isn’t based on a real case, but it’s built from the bones of the genre. It’s not interested in the whodunit so much as the why-we-keep-digging. www.deadendfollies.com/blog/book-re... #BookReview #BookReviews #BookSky #SummerReads

Just finished Christa Faust's THE GET OFF. Five stars. What a ride!

The good part of AI is that the only thing a writer can do to combat it is to become more human. Make your writing weirder, hornier, more violent, absurd, poetic, difficult, political, jagged, dreamlike, ironic, surreal, alive. You don't have any choice but to plumb the depths.

See also:

If you missed this, here it is again. I talk words.

Dig my wisdoms!

Back on my bullshit. #BookSky 📚🪓 www.bishopriderbooks.com

New newsletter just dropped! On aging, transformation and NYC, plus an invitation to the filthiest funeral ever, featuring me and @robwhart.bsky.social buttondown.com/christafaust...

4 DAYS LEFT TO SIGN UP: @rhppress.bsky.social presents: Writing Short Crime Fiction That Stands Out. Join instructor @steveweddle.bsky.social (Author of THE COUNTY LINE) for an online course May 10-24. Learn how to craft stories that grab editors and readers alike. More info: bit.ly/3Y7LTwy

Did somebody say Alcatraz? I know a lot of reasons not to reopen Alcatraz...