Nearly ONE YEAR after I wrote this little piece at 804’s Labor Day weekend writing retreat…it’s finally found a home! Coming out in Lover’s Eye Press first full print issue…so excited to see “Small Fortune” in print.

I am so grateful to Blue Mountain Review for picking up this story that was inspired by a sick, late night Instacart order. If you have 5 mins! t.co/suJ3SgFHcZ

Excited to be on this list! If you’re in the area and want to have oysters and drinks w/ a side of literature, this is calling your name…

In one week and day, I’m hosting this workshop at Kramers! There are still a handful of tickets left, so if you want to get creative on a Tuesday and meet with other local writers, come on out! www.kramers.com/events/27229...

A day filled with art and vintage shop hopping in Richmond.

I’m so grateful to @bulbculture.bsky.social for publishing a second piece of mine! This CNF piece is near and dear to me and this commentary about it has me 🥹🥹🥹🥹

Power naps with this dude are my favorite 😭

So, so, so thrilled to be hired as the editor for the second volume of Bowie State University's journal, Freedom - A Journal of Research in Africana Studies. The articles featured in there are fucking fantastic and interesting and I can't wait to dig in.

Every time someone admits they use any form of AI, I want to claw my eyes out. It’s becoming a knee jerk reaction at this point, my wincing and wtf-ing.

I guess I’m headed to France?! I’m absolutely flabbergasted. After years of following their page & pining from a distance & two almost-submitted applications, I finally just did the thing & applied this year. And my immediate response was “is this a joke?” WHY are we like this?!

My favorite weekend afternoons look like this

I love the energy when a storm is brewing.

My engagement on Twitter has been sucky for a while now after it took years & years to get the steady bit of interaction I did have. This place completely blows, I’m starting from scratch. Yelling down an empty hallway & all that. Plus no bookmarking feature to track announcements. C’est la vie 🫠

Andddd everything always hits at once. No more bombardments until the summer! I love this layout so much, I’m stupid excited to be in The Emerson Review with a vulnerable little flashback piece from when I was just a wee little immigrant child.

It's that time of year again. My mom's birthday is today and she's halfway around the world in Albania. I wrote this a few years back; it came out just in time for her birthday then. It's definitely a favorite of mine. 🎈 newflashfiction.com/nikoletta-gj...

If you missed this on Friday and want a quick read with your Sunday coffee, my story, “Radium Girl Dreams in Technicolor,” came out in @tinymolecules.bsky.social. The whole issue is fantastic, so have at it!

I’m SO excited to have this piece in @tinymolecules.bsky.social. Born out of a writing retreat with the 804 gang last year. I love this one. www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...

It’s the little things 🥲 I can’t wait for this issue! Being published alongside all these fabulous writers!

So excited to be in this lineup. So excited to be in L.A. in one week.

It’s no secret I’ve been doing editing and one-on-one workshop sessions for a while now, but as of late, I’ve been very keen on making it a more regular thing. Officially added info to my writer site. Read! Share! Reach out! I’m happy to answer questions. www.ngjoni.com

I spent much of today visiting my most favorite college professor and his wife. He still teaches at UMBC, she’s a curator at the Walters Art Museum—they’re ~cool.~ We had lunch and wine and caught up and it was a perfect way to spend a cold, dreary day. And also this! 👇🏻 🥹💖

Nothing beats a physical copy of a publication. Was feeling kind of low one day last year when I wrote this and was so pleasantly surprised when the excellent @laurelreview.bsky.social picked it up. Can’t wait to dig into this issue!

I’ve reached out to indie bookstores & art schools & community orgs & the MoCo library to pitch creative writing workshops for young writers, particularly ESL kiddos & maybe I’m naive but damn, I thought there would be more interest to get something going. But…crickets. Boo.

❄️on and on and on❄️

Two years ago today, my grandpa passed away in Albania. He was simply *the best.* I wrote this last year and was--and still am--so thrilled that @bendinggenres.bsky.social gave it a home. bendinggenres.com/on-summer-mo...

Another one down. When does it stop?! 2025 🥂

In 2025, I'm hoping to do even more artsy things that a) help fuel my creativity or b) relax me. I'd really like to begin piano lessons, for one. And Fri night, a friend wanted to do something crafty, so we did. And I REALLY ENJOYED STITCHING THIS LITTLE FOX. I want more.

I’m so excited to have one of my favorite previously published pieces accepted for publication. I love this little essay about visiting the Badlands and driving through South Dakota and being in a space that is so completely different from home. My third piece slated to come out in 2025 💫💫💫💫💫

Coffee mate

Friends talking about writing, life, holidays, family, shit. I love these two so incredibly much. And Indian food.

It’s a little baby under a monstera canopy

We love a statement coat

✨The only acceptable way to begin the week✨

Capping off a weekend of cooking and baking with…more cooking and baking. Leftover pie crust and leftover turkey calls for turkey pot pie. Even after 4 days off, I’m sitting here with the Sunday scaries. Go figure.

here's the prize-nominated story in question if you wanna check out something freaky & beautiful over @matchbooklitmag.bsky.social 🦇⚡

Did I have a slice of cake with my coffee this morning? Yes. Did I eat a random meal comprised entirely of leftovers at 2:30pm? Also yes. No rules apply in this narrow window of festive and gluttonous behavior.

This jerk swiped two uncooked Italian sausages off the counter last night and woke me up at 4am to run outside and handle business. I love him and am grateful for his companionship, even when he’s being a fiend and when I become hangry.

Grandma’s apron for Thanksgiving Eve baking

Being published alongside so many of the names in this issue is crazy business for me. I'm so excited to be in it and so grateful to have had @puneetdutt.bsky.social believe in this little story. If you have 5 mins on this Monday, give "The Quiet Room" a read. ex-puritan.ca

All I think about while watching horror movies is how fun it would be to be in one. Sigh.

The one thing that hasn't diminished with age is the the excitement of seeing the firsts snowfall of the season. And then squealing "IT'S SNOWING!"

Just got an AWP email that made me feel like I was about to take an exam for a class I had forgotten I had enrolled in 😂

I have a piece that comes out this Thursday in the Ex-Puritan & it's my first (FIRST!) paid pub for fiction & I'm so excited. There's a little body horror, a little isolation, a lot of disorientation. Can't wait for it to be out in the world.

It's depressing how many followers I've quickly lost on Twitter and this platform just feels like shouting in an empty hallway.

What am I supposed to do with the moon tonight?! Write another moon poem?! Ok, fine.

I have a prose poem about night, the woods, a dog, God, and the possibility that God is a protective dog. And I love it and I'm excited about it and that baby is going out on submission because I need a shot of something good in my arm.

I wrote a prose poem I really love and I'm entering the danger zone of wanting to submit it.

What are the chances that if I offered creative writing sessions and workshops for YOUNG writers (thinking primarily high schoolers, though open to other ages/grades), people might help spread the word? Make introductions? I’m hoping to make this into a real thing, a well oiled machine of sessions.

So many incredible readings last night at the 804 series. Art and friends and conversation are always good things.

Such a great event on Thursday with Layla Martinez at Politics and Prose—who flew in from SPAIN to be there for the opportunity. “The horror genre is political,” she said. Can’t wait to dig into this.