Take advantage of the presale pricing on my new collection of ghazals and golden shovels forthcoming in 2026 from Casa Urraca Press, a book which Brian Turner calls "gorgeous, nuanced, jeweled in the poet’s craft." casaurracapress.com/bookstore/p/...

I’m sorry, but it is disgraceful to be an academic who uses this technology to conduct research. It should be prohibited in all of our scholarly institutions, including universities and journals.

I talk about bear consciousness, bear context, bear longing, and bear consequences in I HAVE NOT CONSIDERED CONSEQUENCES with host and producer Kara Holsopple at The Allegheny Front, a great environmental show aired and streamed on WESA - 90.5 🐻 @autumnhouse.org @wesa.fm #booksky #flashfiction

Haha, this is exactly right, again from Elizabeth McCracken: “If you’re not afraid of failing as a writer, it means you haven't risked enough. Or you might be a sociopath. There are some good writers who are sociopaths.”

My little big Texas book tour for I HAVE NOT CONSIDERED CONSEQUENCES is done. Austin/San Antonio - yay! Big thanks to @thetwigbookshop.bsky.social and Bookwoman, @ramoreeves.bsky.social for organizing it all, and @andrewporter01.bsky.social for reading with me. 💜 🐻 @autumnhousepress.bsky.social

Congrats to @sioneile.bsky.social who won the Historical Fiction category!

Diane Seuss ♥️ from MODERN POETRY (Graywolf Press) Day 21 - #SealeyChallenge @dseuss.bsky.social @graywolfpress.bsky.social @sealeychallenge.bsky.social

Good morning from Nova Scotia. I hope you get outside and see something beautiful today.

Find joy, love your people, AND stay vigilant. They count on our complacency.

Thank you for this honor South 85 journal! The latest issue is wonderful and I hope many readers find it. www.south85journal.com

TBR: @loriostlund.bsky.social's new collection of stories that <explore class, identity, loneliness & the specter of violence that looms over women & the LGBTQ+ community.> And one was included in both BASS & O. Henry! www.workinprogressinprogress.com/2025/05/tbr-...

Tell me there’s a prettier planet. I won’t believe you.

Class … such an important topic. For anyone who has not read Caste: the Origin of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson, I highly recommend it. The film version, Origin, was released in 2023.

Pleased to have a super-short story in @okaydonkey.bsky.social: It’s not a game. I despise Janelle but it’s not like I truly want her to disappear. I pick up her racket, curving my fingers into the grip, touching the warm, worn leather where Janelle’s fingers were okaydonkeymag.com/2025/04/04/r...

There is no secret formula to writing other than simply finding your sweet spot. This for sure is mine. I hope you find yours this morning. #5amwritersclub #WritingCommunity

My heart breaks for the man sent to El Salvador and for the idea that we are now a country that ignores due process.

What can't be erased or taken away from artists and intellectuals (even as we're being attacked by this administration): curiosity, idealism, hope, passion for what we do. That's the unspoken agenda of all this disruption. To stop intellectual life. Don't stop. Just don't.

It was my pleasure to chat with Rus about his satirical novel set at the fictional Coors State University, where history professors work concession stands and the English department is banished to tents. It’s all there in his novel about the overemphasis of sports on college campuses.

You are worth the effort. Treat yourself with love.💕

I recklessly bought a big volume of high-end vanilla a while ago and was like, “This is silly, it would take me a long time to use this much high-end vanilla.” Now, I plan to use it to fund my retirement.

Austin today

The good news today: Wisconsin, Cory Booker, and rain for my Texas garden

Why I support Bookshop and indie bookstores: “While tech companies generally make decisions with the goals of maximizing profits and efficiency, Bookshop’s goal is to maximize the money that they can send to independent bookstores.” www.insidehook.com/books/booksh...

So they said they didn’t share any classified info in Signal … whew, that’s a relief.

I need to share some of my nature photos, and btw thanks for the likes and follows, I appreciate it. Here’s a robin and a great tit, hanging out on a branch #birds #robin #greattit #photography #britishbirds #smallbirds #britishnatureguide

weekly ukulele video 🥰❤️ I learned this song and recorded it in about an hour so it’s rough but I figured it’s perfect for this week! #AWP25 full on utube ❤️

Well, bless the freakin NYT for dropping the first shoe!

“Do the things you can see. They will show you what you cannot see.” — Isak Dinesen

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott Bird by Bird

Working on two pieces this week: the 1st one “lattice” (watercolor, acrylic and canvas paper; the technique is called “triaxial weaving”) & 2nd one “labyrinth” and its also watercolor — #painting #collage #watercolor #acrylic #march #california #bayarea #art #artaday #artchallenge

We’re living in a time when just about every satirical thing I can think to write is suddenly plausible.

I am accepting submissions for my emerging writer series at gay.submittable.com. You should have three publications or fewer and no book contract. Yes, this is a paid opportunity. Guidelines at the link. Plz follow the guidelines.

I feel like I’m in a Karate Kid movie lately: Tariff on, tariff off … tariff on, tariff off

Pete's excited to share episodes with these standout writers. @annelllopez.bsky.social, @jahmalmayfield.bsky.social, @knguyen.bsky.social, @jonvhickey.bsky.social, @literapynyc.bsky.social, @ladeziree.bsky.social, @alexanderchee.bsky.social, and @camilleuadams.bsky.social

My take: Bullies will always protect bullies.

Yes

Something good: This past week I read at TCU in Fort Worth as part of their Live Oak Reading series. I also spoke to a class of fiction students. I’m telling you both were such a treat! More than ever I’m convinced that community will save us.

Friends and foes! If you are a Goodreads type, we are in a THE SLIP giveaway situation happening now! Enter at the link below! 🥊🥊🥊

Windward Review is open for submissions and has a beautiful print journal and thoughtful editors. Consider submitting!

From “One of Us”—seems like a good anthem right now “Yeah, yeah, God is great Yeah, yeah, God is good Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus Trying to make His way home?” — lyrics by Alanis Morissette and Glenn Ballard

Demand your GOP congressman cut their budget and lay off some staff. Congress spends 6.4billion/year on their own operations.

Gotta say, it’s fun to discover new national and local places to shop and to remember old ones I used to frequent. Ace Hardware, Costco, Best Buy, H-E-B, People’s Pharmacy and a ton of other local businesses, here I come!

A huge thanks to ⁦‪Lamya H‬⁩ for generosity of time and spirit! Episode 272 is now up! Buy the stellar Hijab Butch Blues: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/695816... Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Meanwhile up early

Villifying civil servants and replacing them with loyalists, breaking up with Europe, and questioning if POTUS should listen to judges. Golly, what could go wrong?

Seriously, creative folks: Don't be afraid to let people know your stuff is out there for them, or worry that "now is not the time for that." People are stressed and freaked out and looking for the things that will give them a moment of rest and joy. It is EXACTLY the time for what we do. Tell them.