Delightful, moving, funny too! A cruise ship, break-up grief, a child’s spontaneity, oceanic imagery - @kristopherjansma.bsky.social interweaves all this and more into a beautiful short story, published by @onestorymag.bsky.social. Highly recommended!
Ooh, these stories are spooky and spiky! #MarianaEnriquez slaps you in the face, punches you in the gut and makes you want to leave the light on at night. Superb! Also: expertly translated from the Spanish by #MeganMcDowell
Not sure, but I think shame has a very basic social function, a way of ensuring you remain part of the group (being ostracised meant death in ancient times). So there wld have to be something at stake for the AI, and it wld have to know that. An off switch or a replacement or some such?
Had such fun reading this unpigeonholeable collection! Disappearing furniture, parallel universes, marriage woes, marriage delights, slomo disasters, unheard children, poetic justice and so much more. Highly recommended! @jrobertlennon.com #letmethink’
If you agree that it's absurd and distasteful to have representatives of the Iranian regime speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, then sign the petition. actionnetwork.org/petitions/di...
Re today's daf (Menachot 31) I am hoping to hear your rendition of:
You say Zeiri, I say Ze'era
I say Chinana, you say Chanina,
Zeiri, Ze'era, Chinana, Chanina,
Let's call the whole thing off!
How many lives does a reader of short stories live?! Currently enjoying J. Robert Lennon's collection: Let Me Think.
Part speculative dystopia, part morality tale. #GeorgePacker portrays a world in which traditional societal structures are replaced by radical egalitarianism and primitive tribalism, with terrifying consequences. Intriguing, thought-provoking, disturbing, highly recommended!
Made my day, thank you.
They do keep trying. Today's amazing spam email prize is a "Pittsburgh 225-Piece Tool Set". What is about me that makes these scammers think I need a toolset?
#writingplan: I reflected, decided and made a sensible writing plan. Then I did something else altogether. Perhaps, to get myself to act sensibly, I need to deliberately make a foolish plan, which will prompt me to ignore it and do the sensible thing. Worth a try?
Have you read James Tartaglia's Inner Space Philosophy? Innovative stuff!
Great news! Well done Brecht!
Delighted to announce my short story ‘Safe Hands’ has been published by the wonderful folks at Fiction Attic. fictionattic.substack.com/p/safe-hands
I haven't seen Hiddleston, but to your other point: I certainly don't think you don't know what 'being Jewish ' entails! I'm making a more 'Talmudic' point: better for a Jewish actor to play a Jewish character, but if a non-Jew is cast, it can also work. As long as it's not the cliché Jew.
People mistake Jews in US comedies for a complete catalogue of what ‘being Jewish’ entails. Any actor can do the Allen/Maisel/Seinfeld shrugs and Yiddish irony, they’re clichés. More ambiguous is when a character's Jewishness has real narrative relevance. E.g., I loved Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain.
circus marketing
Just finished reading this gem by @samantaschweblin.bsky.social. Short stories that take your breath away, astonish, frighten and delight in equal measure. Such an accomplished storyteller! Masterfully translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell. Highly recommended.
So this week my spam folder tells me I won a Kobalt tool set. Sadly, they have not specified which set. The brand name is super-rugged though, right? I looked up the etymology of cobalt, apparently it’s derived from a mischievous household elf. This is what Big Kobalt doesn’t want you to know.
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
I wrote this yesterday about what to tell young people who are worried about what work will be in the age of AI:
naomialderman.substack.com/p/preparing-...
Great piece! Appreciate the much-needed nuance you bring to the topic. I would add another skill to your list, which goes back far further than the Greeks, etc.: collaboration, relationships. Humans have survived this long because we know how to work and play together.
Saw Marc Ribot in concert last night. Consummate artist. A heckler tried to stop him playing Bella Ciao because Charlie Kirk’s assassin wrote the words on a bullet. Ribot refused to allow this classic anti-fascist anthem to be sullied and played on. www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Gv...
So reminiscent of Kante.
Great idea! I usually have fiction and non-fiction going on at the same time, fiction (at the moment mostly short stories and flash anthologies) before bed, and non-fiction audiobooks during cooking, ironing and workouts.
I am trying something in November. National novel-reading month, basically. It is the PERFECT month for reading (at least in the Western hemisphere).
naomialderman.substack.com/p/november-i...
Today, if my spam emails are to be believed, I have won an ‘AAA Car Emergency Kit’! Not knowing what this great gift entails, I have looked it up. Underwhelming, frankly. Apart from the transparent poncho, that is. The transparent poncho I want. Remain dry and stylish at the same time. Nice.
