So pleased and excited to judge the 2026 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection! Congratulations to all these longlisters!

Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence.

“There is no place for political violence in this country” say the politicians using legislation and rhetoric to attack trans people, immigrants, women and BIPOC daily. Just because it’s done with a pen and not a gun doesn’t mean it’s not political violence. Hypocrites. Not that they care.

“Your uterus,” she announces, “is not happy.” “I know,” I admit. “I have been sensing its unhappiness.” New @kathyfish.bsky.social is always a delight. I love this one, especially the use of dialogue and humour. SO GOOD AS ALWAYS! A must read.

Wow so Earthlings. Read it in one sitting. I have to say I liked it leagues better than Convenience Store Woman, but I could see the thematic throughline between them easily.

This enormously pernicious and no one should still be on Substack - not just because of the Nazis, but for sheer practical business reasons.

"All Your Fragile History" by @sawers.bsky.social won second place in The Smokey in 2020, went on to be a finalist for Best of the Net and was included in Flash Fiction America. The 2025 Smokey deadline is May 10! www.smokelong.com/stories/all-...

For anyone aware of the tragedy at Vancouver Lapu Lapu festival, here's a thread of GoFundMe's available to help support the many victims. (copy pasted from my friend 'J' in the Vancouver Filipino community) 🧵

Long have the people cried out for this justice, “when, when, o god,” they ask “when will men be allowed to write books?”

Tomorrow, a certain online mega-retailer launches a book sale, just days before Indie Bookstore Day on 4/26. This is no coincidence; Bookstore Day is one of the largest revenue drivers for indies. Indies need our support to thrive & build community spaces for all...mega-retailers do not.

authorsguild.org/news/meta-li... A class action lawsuit is underway. If your work was pirated to train AI, you are included in the lawsuit without having to take any action.

Send a formal notice: If your books are in the LibGen dataset, send a letter to Meta and other AI companies stating they do not have the right to use your books. Here is a template you can use. actionnetwork.org/letters/auth...

Is your book on the LibGen list? Let us know.

Like so many others, my work has been illegally uploaded into Meta’s LibGen to train AI. Does anyone know if there has been a class action lawsuit filed yet? What can be done?

Like so many others, my work has been illegally uploaded into Meta’s LibGen to train AI. Does anyone know if there has been a class action lawsuit filed yet? What can be done?

Does anyone have any recommendations for speculative nonfiction books or essays?

The most horrifying slide from today’s National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) organization grant webinar, imo

When ordered by Nazis to give lists of disabled people by disability severity, some doctors sent back exaggerated data to protect patients from forced work They didn't know that the "most disabled" were to be killed first The moral here isn't to tell the truth It's to never co-operate with Nazis

Per the webinar today: the answer is there is no point in applying. They are rolling over for these extralegal anti-“D/E/I” measures and, what’s more, forcing any recipient to sign a contract promising not to engage in any D/E/I activities for decades.

Real talk: Is it worth applying to the NEA now? These processes are always so opaque but I wonder who’s in charge of reading apps and granting these awards now because if actual NEA people I bet my work is fine. If ultra conservative shitbags, then what’s the point of expending the energy to apply?

we are depriving generations of kids of the formative experience of stumbling upon some weird horny sci-fi or fantasy book that was absolutely not written for them, which is the kind of thing that makes reading feel exhilarating, like you are unlocking the grownup world’s fun secrets

I’ll never forget working in the library and having one kid spontaneously monologue to me about how great Wimpy Kid was. At the end he declared that all the kids who said they didn’t like books hadn’t read THIS book!That enthusiasm comes from getting to connect with stories on your own terms.

Every day I wake up and pretend I’m gonna get started writing before 10am

@sawers.bsky.social's collection The Anchored World is full of flash fairytales that pack an incredible punch

putting " -ai " at the end of every google search will get rid of google's AI Overview, even on your phone!

Speaking my intention into the either: I will have a novel manuscript to sell by the end of the year.

I can't remember if I shared this here! I wrote a 🏳️‍⚧️ revenge radioplay that was recorded and published by Matt Carney and Lauren Johnson, who had a lot of fun and it shows. I hope you'll check out The Rivening. clubchicxulub.com/club-chicxul...

I finished Room by Emma Donoghue. I’m looking for more trapped narratives, especially ones that feel especially claustrophobic. On the docket now are We Spread by Iain Reid and The Ear Trumpet by Leonora Carrington. Any recs?

Thanksgiving is always just me & Ben. This year I’m making duck, salmon because Ben is venturing into pescatarian waters, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and edamame. In terms of dessert: buttermilk pie, apple sharlotka, & a little frozen gf blueberry pie we found at the grocery store last night.

My book, THANKS FOR THIS RIOT, is a collection of 15 stories which are arranged by type of riot: external riots (threats and violence), internal riots (secrets and lies) and laugh riots (growing and trying). If sad/funny is your salty/sweet, you can order it here: bookshop.org/p/books/than...

I can’t afford to go to AWP LA but I’m already having FOMO for AWP LA.

It's all tied together and don't let them trick you into thinking it's for safety

This is how it’s done

Whenever we make ourselves smaller for them, they just shrink our box again.

Many new followers. Have some dog.

Tonight's winner is Buggery by Derek Berry. Highly recommend. www.bateaupress.com/store/p/bugg...

I've had a massive stack of chapbooks just sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust. Tonight, a switch went off in my brain that said, "we're getting through all these right now."

"Dad says I hate the fucking Nazis, you know we fought against the Nazis, and Mom says you never fought no Nazis, Jimmy, and Dad says well my dad did, but he was an asshole" Stunning story @aniking.bsky.social winner @smokelong.bsky.social summer fiction contest www.smokelong.com/stories/fami...

When applying for an arts grant, how personal should you be when it asks about your community/geographical area and how the money would help? And should you discuss your professional accomplishments? I find it bizarre to have this dry list of accomplishments & then a conversational tone for the rest

I won the BOA short fiction contest! 🎉🍾 Glad to find a good home for the book. When BOA publisher Peter Conners called me, he mentioned manuscript elements that fit with BOA's voice, and it was basically a list of what I admired in the catalogue & why I submitted. www.boaeditions.org/blogs/main/b...

Who even publishes novellas?

One time I was at a bbq populated by my partner's coworkers and a 2-y/o I didn't know took my hand, led me into the house (not hers) and took me to the living room to show me what was under the coffee table. What was under the coffee table? A hedgehog.

They've spent these last few years calling anyone who is LGBTQ a "groomer," women who believe in reproductive rights "whores," public health officials "murderers," and anyone who doesn't think cops should be able to shoot you with impunity an antifa boogeyman. Now their feelings are hurt?

feel like all you nerds have alerts so already read this anyway, but here's a nudge we got that new-new Kyle Seibel today "Says he’s gonna get surgery next week when he stays at his dad’s. They’re gonna replace it with a robot arm, he’s pretty sure." https://www.havehashad.com/bjmjp

Please do not ask nonbinary people to contribute to your women's anthogies.

Over on the ex-microblogging platform, a literary agent posted details of a query she liked the idea of but gave up after reading a few pages and publicly asked for a better writer to take the idea and pitch it to her instead. So that's a sign of a healthy industry, huh?

I think often about the fact that Ishiguro wrote the first draft in three weeks.

Stuck. There’s only one thing for it: reread The Remains of the Day.

Lambda has asked all incoming fellows for headshots in portrait orientation. What a way to learn all the ones I have are landscape.