A CALL FOR MINNESOTA WRITERS: SEEKING STORIES & POEMS IN RESPONSE TO THE 2026 MINNESOTA ICE OCCUPATION

WHAT WE WANT: GENRE: FICTION, PROSE POETRY & CREATIVE NONFICTION THEME: RESILIENCE, STRENGTH, JOY, GRIEF, AND HEALING IN RESPONSE TO THE MN ICE OCCUPATION WORD LIMIT: UP TO 400 WORDS, MAX DEADLINE: APRIL 30 PAYMENT: $50 PER PIECE + 2 COPIES OF THE CHAPBOOK

WHO CAN SUBMIT: - MUST BE BASED WITHIN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA - ANYONE AGE 14 OR OLDER - WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE WORK FROM PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND OF IMMIGRANT AND NATIVE COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY ICE

Hey, Minnesota writers!

We're looking for stories & poems under 400 words in response to the ICE occupation of our state.

Send us your writings of resilience, strength, joy, grief, and healing.

Deadline is April 30! Submit & more info: bit.ly/MN-pride-zine

A CALL FOR MINNESOTA WRITERS: SEEKING STORIES & POEMS IN RESPONSE TO THE 2026 MINNESOTA ICE OCCUPATION

WHAT WE WANT: GENRE: FICTION, PROSE POETRY & CREATIVE NONFICTION THEME: RESILIENCE, STRENGTH, JOY, GRIEF, AND HEALING IN RESPONSE TO THE MN ICE OCCUPATION WORD LIMIT: UP TO 400 WORDS, MAX DEADLINE: APRIL 30 PAYMENT: $50 PER PIECE + 2 COPIES OF THE CHAPBOOK

WHO CAN SUBMIT: - MUST BE BASED WITHIN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA - ANYONE AGE 14 OR OLDER - WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE WORK FROM PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND OF IMMIGRANT AND NATIVE COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY ICE

Hey, Minnesota writers!

We're looking for stories & poems under 400 words in response to the ICE occupation of our state.

Send us your writings of resilience, strength, joy, grief, and healing.

Deadline is April 30! Submit & more info: bit.ly/MN-pride-zine

What we want: GENRE: FICTION, PROSE POETRY & CREATIVE NONFICTION THEME: RESILIENCE, STRENGTH, JOY, GRIEF, AND HEALING IN RESPONSE TO THE MN ICE OCCUPATION WORD LIMIT: UP TO 400 WORDS, MAX DEADLINE: APRIL 30 PAYMENT: $50 PER PIECE + 2 COPIES OF THE CHAPBOOK

Calling all Minnesota-based writers!

We're creating a chapbook of art and writing in response to the illegal ICE occupation of our state.

Send us your poems, stories and essays under 400 words — by April 30.

Submit & more info: bit.ly/MN-pride-zine

What we want: GENRE: FICTION, PROSE POETRY & CREATIVE NONFICTION THEME: RESILIENCE, STRENGTH, JOY, GRIEF, AND HEALING IN RESPONSE TO THE MN ICE OCCUPATION WORD LIMIT: UP TO 400 WORDS, MAX DEADLINE: APRIL 30 PAYMENT: $50 PER PIECE + 2 COPIES OF THE CHAPBOOK

Calling all Minnesota-based writers!

We're creating a chapbook of art and writing in response to the illegal ICE occupation of our state.

Send us your poems, stories and essays under 400 words — by April 30.

Submit & more info: bit.ly/MN-pride-zine

The new issue of Paranoid Tree, featuring the full unfolded zine alongside a small, folded copy tucked into an envelope.

A close-up on the artwork. A sleeping dog sits at the top of the page, in the 12:00 position.

Another close-up. A shadowy wolf sits at the bottom of the page in the 6:00 position.

This new micro does in 400 words what Grey's Anatomy barely accomplishes in 22 seasons.

Get your paws on "Between Dog & Wolf," a real-life, high-stakes medical drama by Lorraine Hanlon Comanor—paired perfectly with clocklike art by Eloise Koltun.

New issue out now 🐾 paranoidtree.com/read/vol-63

The new issue of Paranoid Tree, featuring the full unfolded zine alongside a small, folded copy tucked into an envelope.

A close-up on the artwork. A sleeping dog sits at the top of the page, in the 12:00 position.

Another close-up. A shadowy wolf sits at the bottom of the page in the 6:00 position.

This new micro does in 400 words what Grey's Anatomy barely accomplishes in 22 seasons.

Get your paws on "Between Dog & Wolf," a real-life, high-stakes medical drama by Lorraine Hanlon Comanor—paired perfectly with clocklike art by Eloise Koltun.

New issue out now 🐾 paranoidtree.com/read/vol-63

The story is titled "Between Dog & Wolf," written by Lorraine Hanlon Comanor, with art by Eloise Koltun.

A quote from the story: "Across the hall outside OR 13, world-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Shumway is already scrubbing. His assistant, but several years my senior, helps me steer, as I’m also juggling a ventilator and myriad IVs with cardiac meds. The anesthesiologist for this car-crash victim, I’m responsible for controlling his erratic pulse and blood pressure, keeping his heart in optimal shape until the moment of harvest, the moment it’s transferred from his brain-dead body into one whose life is hanging by a thread. Outside the OR entrance, the recipient’s wife clings to the arms of her chair. We’ve just rolled past her when my patient, unresponsive for over twenty-four hours, grabs my forearm. I jump, his lines spaghetti, his alarms howl."

The Pitt ✖️ werewolves 🟰 this month's micro.

When was the last time you were this riveted by a piece of creative nonfiction?

Thanks to Lorraine Hanlon Comanor and Eloise Koltun for keeping us on the edge of our seats. 🐺 🩻

Read the full story: paranoidtree.com/read/vol-63

Keep our neighbors safe from ICE! Donate $10 or more to a MN rent relief fund & get a free zine. Email your receipt to hello@paranoidtree.com by February 28.

Rent is due on Monday and many in our Twin Cities community are still trapped at home, meaning they can't work to pay rent.

Can you help us keep our neighbors housed?

Donate $10+ to one of these rent relief funds & we'll send you a free zine as thanks. 💌

Fund links: linktr.ee/paranoidtree

Keep our neighbors safe from ICE! Donate $10 or more to a MN rent relief fund & get a free zine. Email your receipt to hello@paranoidtree.com by February 28.

Rent is due on Monday and many in our Twin Cities community are still trapped at home, meaning they can't work to pay rent.

Can you help us keep our neighbors housed?

Donate $10+ to one of these rent relief funds & we'll send you a free zine as thanks. 💌

Fund links: linktr.ee/paranoidtree

Oh wow, how fab.

Ah!! What an honor to be nominated! <3 thank you so much

Oh, I haven’t had one of these in so long I hardly know what to do with it. 💕💕💕
Thanks @paranoidxtree.bsky.social and congrats to all.
Subscribe if you want a soul-saving zine in your mailbox!

Cc’ing @janstinchcomb.bsky.social & @heyhaylimay.bsky.social & @melissajorndwrites.bsky.social & @judepickledplum.bsky.social!

Best small fictions nominees: GANG OF BABIES by jan stinchcomb MULBERRIES & MOLTS by hayli cox THE CULLING OF THE FOREST, IN THREE PARTS by melissa jornd A PIRATE'S LOVE IS A RUM DO by jude potts

Cheers to our Best Small Fictions nominees! We're honored to be the home for each and every one of these stories. 💌 ⚡

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

❤️

brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis

I'm a resident of the Twin Cities. A small team and I spent 3 days sculpting this for a competition/festival in extremely cold temperatures. We were disqualified for political messaging and one of the organizers defaced it. I have no regrets and I have never been more proud to be Minnesotan. (cont)

We know what's happening here in the Twin Cities is happening across the entire US—and to a far greater extent, in Gaza too.

The support we've seen arise out of this moment inspires us to hope for a safer and more loving world for everyone, everywhere. Thank you for joining us in solidarity. ⚡💚

The amount of free time we used to dedicate to Paranoid Tree has whittled away since ICE invaded us in early December. We've been marching, delivering groceries to our neighbors, handing out hot soup, and watching each other's backs. And too many of our thoughts are occupied by grief and rage.

Paranoid Tree Press (@paranoidxtree.bsky.social) Friends, our community here in MN desperately needs help protecting against ICE. Please join us in donating directly to these orgs that provide food, safety & legal support to MN immigrants. And if…

Alternatively, consider joining Paranoid Tree in donating to these organizations that provide food, safety, and legal support to our communities across Minnesota.

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

Ask #2: If you have any spare change in your Venmo pockets, please consider donating to a community relief effort here in Minneapolis.

This is one of the most comprehensive resource lists out there: standwithminnesota.com

If you can't pick one, just close your eyes and point. You can't go wrong.

Also: We were so stoked that the SubClub newsletter gave us a shoutout the other week. It led to an influx of over 2x more submissions than we normally get in a month—and we are genuinely excited to read this wealth of writing!!

We are running behind, but we're gonna catch up ASAP, promise. 💕

Ask #1: If you are waiting on a response to a submission, please give us a little extra patience right now. 💌

Our team had planned to meet today to catch up on our queue. But due to the murder of Alex Pretti yesterday, mere blocks from our own homes, we need to take a beat to process and grieve.

Hi friends, just checking in from Minneapolis. Can we put out a couple asks for your support? 💕

Turns out, it's really hard to run a lit mag in your free time when the federal government has besieged your beloved city.

photo of march, signs for renee good and against ICe, crowded street.

this photo. minneapolis. 💜

📷️ Alex Kormann/Star Tribune

Going to throw a few more out here to add to Twin Cities Bookstores: Black Garnet is a newer bookstore in St Paul that specializes in BIPOC literature and has done a lot already to build a community space and there's also Louise Erdrich's Birchbark Books in Minneapolis

“Norman Rockwell Paints ‘Deterrence,” poem by Evan Wambeke, art by Laura Weiler

I think the bomb is / going to drop / any day now / it’s been sitting / up there raindrop-shaped / waiting / to whistle / like / a boy / loose-toothed / in church like an American / robin / tucked behind evergreen / needles / waiting / for the wind / to carry him / out. I think the bomb is going / to drop / real soon / here / you can feel / the air shifting—coming down / the streetlights / warming up / the sun is bound to disappear again we all are I think I love you Is it too late / to say / I always have?

Get the issue online and in print. The artwork features a collage image of a 1950s American town, ripped along the top and bottom edge. A collage bomb is falling from the sky, and a sea of red lies below.

Every once in a while, a poem lands with you at just the right time.

Thanks to @ewam72.bsky.social & @cutandplaced.bsky.social for sharing the beauty and pain of this imagined—but all too real—Rockwellian scene with us. 🩵❤️

Read the full issue: paranoidtree.com/read/vol-61

We’re donating 25% of our January profits to: Open Arms of Minnesota, Monarca Rapid Response, and Immigrant Law Center MN.

Friends, our community here in MN desperately needs help protecting against ICE.

Please join us in donating directly to these orgs that provide food, safety & legal support to MN immigrants.

And if you’ve been meaning to pick up a zine from our shop, there’s never been a better time. 💌

map with points for raids and other events

To organize local news events we are counting days since Dec. 2, regarded as the beginning of what fed authorities call “Operation Metro Surge.”
The “Twin Cities Metro Activity Dashboard” page shows updates re police activity. It has ~1300 data points.