Happened to read two books recently with monstrous birds who are mentors and protectors of two young brothers, GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS and NORTH SUN. Though I'm not done with NORTH SUN yet so unsure how that will turn out...

Readercon is doing a final call for program item proposals for the forthcoming Readercon 35. Use our handy form to suggest panel ideas or people you think should be at Readercon: readercon.org/contribute Thank you, it's your suggestions that make Readercon wonderful.

life with a 3 month old: it's almost bedtime and I'm scuttling away to try to finish my "morning" pages

New Orleans, Jan 2nd, with @bookbanterbooks.bsky.social ! Any excuse for cider and books, I'm there. bookbanterbooks.wordpress.com/books-banter...

New Orleans, Jan 2nd, with @bookbanterbooks.bsky.social ! Any excuse for cider and books, I'm there. bookbanterbooks.wordpress.com/books-banter...

Best of 2025: @mlensheffer.bsky.social

REMINDER: I'll be discussing speculative fiction and magical realism with @mlensheffer.bsky.social @literarydesiree.bsky.social & @bryancamp.bsky.social on Friday @ 2 PM for the NOLA Words and Music festival!! Event description: www.eventbrite.com/e/suspend-al...

This sunday from 5 PM to 7 PM, we'll be hosting a Q & A with prolific horror writer, Philip Fracassi! We'll be talking all about the craft of writing horror, and Philip will read from his latest novel, the Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre!

This Nov you can find me at the Louisiana Book Fest (11/1 in Baton Rouge, @thirdlanternlit.bsky.social annual gala, @bookbanterbooks.bsky.social and Words & Music Fest! Details and links at www.margueritesheffer.com/events

Join us at Sports Drink Cafe for the Daytime Get Lit! We'll be there from 11 AM to 1 PM on Friday!

NEW: The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.

I think this is right on 🎯

This Thursday we will be hosting "A Producer's Guide To Writing A Novel" from 6-8PM at Courtyard Brewery! This workshop is perfect for writers who do not have a formal literature background or who are thinking about starting their 1st novel or memoir. Hope to see you there!

In honor of spooky month, come enjoy the spooky writing workshop! This is the first of the final cycle of Page to Stage events for the year, so don't miss it!

Y’all come through next month at the NOLA Words and Music Festival, and watch me, Bryan Camp, Desiree S. Evans, and Marguerite Sheffer discuss magical realism and speculative fiction! The panel will take place on 11/21/25 @ 2 PM! We hope to see you there :)

Forgot to tag them! @mlensheffer.bsky.social @literarydesiree.bsky.social @bryancamp.bsky.social

Excited to be joining the Words and Music Festival this year: "Suspend All Disbelief: Magical Realism and Speculative Fiction" www.eventbrite.com/e/suspend-al... With amazing authors @literarydesiree.bsky.social @bryancamp.bsky.social & @deecherrywriter.bsky.social 2 pm, Nov 21

EVENT NEXT MONTH: Folks, I'll be performing a reading on October 16th at 6 PM at 12 Mile Limit for the LMNL reading series! If you're in town, come and check me and the readers out :)

First event of the month will be our 5 Hour Writing Marathon, this Saturday at 12 Mile Limit! We'll be there from to 12 to 5 PM!

Our October event calendar is out! We hope to see y'all at one of our events! :)

Last September event!! We will be at Miel Brewery on 09/29 @ 6 to 8 PM! See you there :)

The turnout the other night was incredible! So were all of the performances! Thank you to all who came. Now, photo dump time!

Ted Chiang: "The task that generative A.I. has been most successful at is lowering our expectations, both of the things we read and of ourselves when we write [...]. It is a fundamentally dehumanizing technology because it treats us as less than what we are: creators and apprehenders of meaning."

I’ll be moderating the “Magical Realism and Speculative Fiction” panel at the NOLA Words & Music Festival this year! It’ll be Friday Nov. 21, at 3:15 pm at the Andre Callioux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice! Panelists are @mlensheffer.bsky.social & @literarydesiree.bsky.social 😬

Introducing the readers for the Fantasy & Fairy Tale Fiction Session! Come listen to these fabulous writers this Sunday at Big Couch at 7 PM!

The Fantasy & Fairy Tale readings for the next Fiction Sessions coming soon! ' We have some great readers, so stay tuned for the announcement!

Next Wednesday, (September 24th) will be the official Charras Book Launch for New Orleans at dba (pubbed by UNO Press and a reading of Charras by me. Music to follow by the amazing Los Guiros. Please come out and support live local readings! #Readings #Translation #NewOrleans #Unions #Activism

Last night's Literary Agent 101 presentation (led by @lizified.bsky.social ) was dope as hell! This is just one example of the programming that TLL offers at NO COST to attendees! If you like what we do, consider signing up for our newsletter :) thirdlanternlit.org/newsletter

Karen Attiah, a black woman, got fired for A: accurately quoting what Charlie Kirk said about Black women B: Accurately observing that most white Americans seem permissive of white violence. It's bullshit, but almost expected in this white supremacist country.

Former Washington Post opinion columnist Karen Attiah this morning on Bluesky: “I’ve been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.” (She made the mistake of quoting his own words.) [kottke.org]

Story Hour kicks off the spooky season a little early with stories from Marguerite Sheffer and Jennifer Brozek! So turn the lights off—or turn them up. Watch however suits you best! @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social @mlensheffer.bsky.social youtu.be/o2h8Sy-1kXk

this is status quo now. Teen Vogue is a serious news org committed to democracy and truth. NYT, WSJ are...not.

Last night was awesome! Thanks to everyone who could make it! :)

I don't know about you, but when the news is particularly fraught, I like horror fiction's ability to match my emotional state and then actually resolve (or at least end). It's weirdly calming. And we're in luck, because guess who's reading on Story Hour tonight!

Small Wonders will be open to original flash fiction submissions this Friday, September 12th. We'll be open through October 31st! We'll also be closing to reprint flash fiction on Friday, September 12th. Send us your weird, wild, wonderful little stories with big emotions!

It’s rare to have two Story Hour debuts on one night, but then, it feels silly to call either of these authors “debuts.” Join us for stories from Jennifer Brozek and Marguerite Sheffer! Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00 PDT! @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social @mlensheffer.bsky.social www.storyhour2020.com

(Reposting because I messed up.) Wednesday: I'm reading a couple of horror flash and then a visceral piece of horror on @storyhour.bsky.social 9 pm CST / 7 pm PST - Free! www.storyhour2020.com Hosts @pronouncedlahra.bsky.social @danmarcus.bsky.social , and and co-reader @mlensheffer.bsky.social

“A new volunteer-led organization called Grandparents for Vaccines launched Sunday on National Grandparents Day with a mission to share firsthand experiences of life before vaccines were widely available.” [kgw.com]

Weds 9/10 pm: I will be reading a werid horror story from THE MAN IN THE BANANA TREES on @storyhour.bsky.social 9 pm CST / 7 pm Pacific - Free! www.storyhour2020.com With hosts @pronouncedlahra.bsky.social @danmarcus.bsky.social and co-reader @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social ! 🦞

Uncanny Magazine closes to short story submissions TODAY! When September 8 is finished everywhere on the planet, the submission portal will be closed!

New this week: I wrote about how people seem to always perceive that crime is rising -- a problem that goes back at least a century -- and what I'm hoping to do about it. Check it out! jasher.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

Next event will be this Wednesday, 9/10 @ 6 to 8 PM! Want to learn the basics of obtaining your own agent? Then come check this out! We'll be at the BK House and Gardens!

Wednesday! I can't wait! I'll be reading a couple of horror flash and then a really visceral piece of horror that, weirdly, was inspired by a scene in Babylon 5. (But the story is horror, not SF.) Also, look at who I'm reading with!

I'm happy to announce that I'm the new associate editor of the sf section at @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. So I'm open to good review/essay pitches that fit LARB's audience. I've been quietly doing this for a few weeks and already commissioned some things I'm excited for you to read!

Weds 9/10 pm: I will be reading a werid horror story from THE MAN IN THE BANANA TREES on @storyhour.bsky.social 9 pm CST / 7 pm Pacific - Free! www.storyhour2020.com With hosts @pronouncedlahra.bsky.social @danmarcus.bsky.social and co-reader @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social ! 🦞

The thing is, I’m pretty sure these all majority black cities and I’m worried that Trump will eventually try to occupy them too at some point. The fact that they are in Republican-controlled states isn’t a gotcha so much as evidence of how they’ve been maligned by their state governments.

“Violent crime rates in America’s big cities have been falling over the last two years, and at an even greater rate over the last six months. The decrease in violence in America is unprecedented.”

update: half full (100)!

How Are You Supposed To Get The COVID Vaccine Now? An Explainer. “If you are not in one of the 16-ish states requiring a prescription for a COVID vaccine, you should be able to self-report a condition and receive your vaccine.” [defector.com]