Barn Gothic author @penofryandennis.bsky.social says the proposed 2026 farm bill weakens state oversight and accelerates the consolidation that leaves small farms behind. A better path? Supply control, fair price floors, and “green” payments to support family agriculture. Read more:
The proposed #farmbill will only accelerate the decline of #familyfarms.
Here's my quick thoughts on a what a meaningful farm bill would actually look like...
islandpress.medium.com/what-farmers...
I'm proud of what Samantha Rogers, Alma Antón, Madelyn Pendry and I put together. There are some amazing rural voices in this collection.
Some of these stories and essays are going to stay with you for a long time.
Get a copy here:
www.themilkhouse.org/product/2026...
Rules I live by:
1). Never miss a Super Bowl
2). Never miss a chance to talk ag policy
progressive.org/op-eds/how-t...
It somewhat surprises me how many people point out the valedictorian speech. I guess having that "cringy" moment in our past is universal. For me, part of it was it fit into the thematics of the book (I think), and probably part of it was to get it out of my system...
Thanks for all of that, Janet. I really appreciate it. It's unfortunate that we don't get to meet more often, but I'm glad for when it does happen. And I'm grateful for how supportive your parents were of me. I was really happy to get to see Aunt Lydie last December.
Many thanks to @themilkhouse.bsky.social and @penofryandennis.bsky.social for the shoutout!
The @dailyyonder.bsky.social allowed me to share a little bit about where #BarnGothic came from. A big thanks to Claire Carlson for asking interesting questions.
dailyyonder.com/qa-ryan-denn...
What a great night at @kennysbookshop.bsky.social Friday. It was fun getting to share #BarnGothic with both friends and strangers.
With such a robust crowd, it was probably my best chance to try crowd surfing.
I didn't, though, and I regret it.
It's great to see that the readers of @barnraiser.bsky.social listed Barn Gothic as one of their favorite books of 2025! Barn Raiser is a great source of news for Rural America.
barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
An excellent book. I hope it was a good birthday!
It was our pleasure to get to bring an audience to your work!
Thanks to @agriland.bsky.social for letting me share a little bit about Barn Gothic. The American dairy industry is a cautionary tale for the EU.
www.agriland.ie/farming-news...
Thanks to @dailyyonder.bsky.social for publishing the finalists of the #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Vote for overall winner on The Milk House's contest page.
Read the judge's choice for Best Short Story, "The Escapee's Lover" by Dennis McFadden:
dailyyonder.com/2025-rural-w...
Thanks to @tschlichenmeyer.bsky.social and the Goshen News for sharing a little about #BarnGothic!
Thanks to Barn Raiser for sharing a little bit of my memoir #BarnGothic, about the loss of family dairy farms in the US.
What a great publication for those in rural areas...
For those in Europe, @kennysbookshop.bsky.social
has the fastest shipping: bit.ly/3WXfh7I
It's publication day! #BarnGothic has been released into the wild.
You know that you can never get someone else's story perfectly right, but I hope it's close enough that my family, my community, and family farmers everywhere can see themselves in it.
bit.ly/4pd1JRM
Every so many years I stumble onto a poetry collection that makes me excited about the possibilities of language again.
#ThisMuchVery by @hiramlarew.bsky.social has surprising turns, a unique voice, and is a celebration without a hint of sentimentality.
Highly recommended.
I'm really glad to be a part of this project and bring some excellent #ruralwriting to as many shelves as possible!
It's great to see that #BarnGothic, my upcoming memoir about the dairy industry (November 13th), is listed in @foodtank.bsky.social's Fall Recommended Reads!
foodtank.com/news/2025/10...
Two months left to enter the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest!
In partnership with @dailyyonder.bsky.social and judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social, the #writingcontest is accepting fiction and nonfiction under 7,000 words.
Deadline: September 15th
To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest
Recently we concluded our 10-day creatives retreat in Doolin, Ireland with 28 participants from the US and Canada. We had tracts in writing, art and photography.
And most of all, we had a good time.
DM me if interested in the Irish retreat for Summer 2026.
#writingretreat
The Milk House is excited to announce the 3rd annual #BestinRuralWriting Contest, judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social.
Fiction and nonfiction.
Deadline: Sept 15th, 2025.
Prize pool: $700.
Finalists published in the 2026 Best in Rural Writing print anthology.
To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest
After five years of sweat, tears and elbow grease, I'm happy to announce that my memoir, #BarnGothic, will be published by @islandpress.bsky.social on November 13th, 2025.
It's a book that I owed my family and other farmers like them.
Certainly a publisher worth supporting!
This week on The Milk House: Billie Pritchett explores the implications of growing among the rural poor.
Read his essay "Dirty Laundry."
www.themilkhouse.org/dirty-laundr...
It's this Sunday! Significantly improve your dialogue by learning these simple but essential edits.
Sunday, April 13th, 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST
Sign up here: www.themilkhouse.org/product/bett...
#writingclasses #writingdialogue #onlinewritingclasses
