kara oakleaf
@karaoakleaf.bsky.social
reader of all the things, writer of a few things. assistant professor and wrangler of other bookish things in the dmv. words at karaoakleaf.com
very excited to have this story on the wigleaf top 50 longlist this year! 😊
New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed)@nffr.bsky.social · 2mo agoCongrats to @karaoakleaf.bsky.social for making the @wigleaf.bsky.social Top 50 LL for her winning story in issue 39, "Body as a Single-Family Home" newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
excited to see this little book of love from @wwph.bsky.social out in the world, and to have a story in here alongside some of my favorite dc writers ♥️
“Kevin and I laughed at our feral little animal, this creature who was loud and determined and afraid of nothing.” @emilyrinkema.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social with this total knockout of an apocalypse story in cutleaf 💔
Emily Rinkema@emilyrinkema.bsky.social · 4mo agoA sex tape, wolves, the end of the world...check out what @dawnsteffler.bsky.social and I did! My first ever collaboration, "Killing Robby Jenkins," is at Cutleaf today! To write with Dawn was amazing--we laughed, we cried, we howled...Hope you'll give it a read: cutleafjournal.com/content/kill...
I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...
'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
404media.co
i didn’t get a lot of photos, but i heard good stories, hugged a lot of people i adore, and brought home some gorgeous books. til next year, friends. ♥️ #awp26
so much fun to read at the 804 lit salon this weekend - huge thanks to @andrewbertaina.bsky.social for including me with this absurdly talented group of writers ♥️ @margarethutton.bsky.social @janinalapapita.bsky.social @ambersparks.bsky.social @danilabotha.bsky.social @tmcallister.bsky.social
lots of bookish things up for auction to support minnesota (and just a good list of resources that could use your donations if you aren’t bidding on anything here) ❤️🩹 www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
Publishing for Minnesota
Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.
32auctions.com
We will be open for submissions 1 to 15 Jan. For inspiration, read our winning stories from last issue by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social @emilyrinkema.bsky.social @belindarowe.bsky.social @jaimegill.bsky.social @theodora.bsky.social @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
Issue 39: 2025 New Flash Fiction Prize | New Flash Fiction Review
Featuring new work by Belinda Rowe, Jaime Gill, Emily Rinkema, Theodora Sutcliffe, Kara Oakleaf, Leigh Ann Ruggiero, Kathryn Silver-Hajo, Brigid M. Hughes, and Jess Richards
newflashfiction.com
“I asked Dad once, What goes on in Olive’s head? He said, Believe whatever thing seems nicest.” leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍 newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
Iron Shoes | Issue #39
My parents, Olive, and I arrive at Uncle Don’s Memorial cookout after a day spent laying flowers at graves.
newflashfiction.com
The long hallways of my arms, where sometimes, I swear I can feel their footsteps, where I look down and expect to see the skin rise up, something pushing against me from the inside." Brilliant unforgettable winning story@karaoakleaf.bsky.social @nffr.bsky.social newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
newflashfiction.com
‘…knowing they were safe, that they were surrounded only by their own histories.’ Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠 newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
newflashfiction.com
“My Uncle Louie beat a man to death with his bare hands, the same hands that now hold my baby in the living room of my newly dead grandmother’s house.” been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
Emily Rinkema@emilyrinkema.bsky.social · 9mo agoThrilled to have my story “Bare Hands” in @nffr.bsky.social! So many great stories by incredible writers in this issue. Honored to be among them! newflashfiction.com/bare-hands/
This is one of the most damning arguments against AI and one of the most damning indictments of the university admins who gleefully jumped on this bandwagon without once thinking about the long-term damage it might cause. Everyone should read this.
David Hull 胡大衛@hushuo.bsky.social · 9mo agoI finally got around to reading this. You should read it too. "We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice." www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
very surprised and grateful to see this little story win the 2025 new flash fiction review prize! the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰 newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed) (@nffr.bsky.social)
New Flash Fiction Review is an online magazine devoted to flash fiction. Read more: https://newflashfiction.com
nffr.bsky.social
“This is precisely how it is every Tuesday. The egg. The soldiers. Mrs White in a fluster.” beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
Matt Kendrick@mattkendrick.bsky.social · 10mo agoThrilled to have a new story out today with the wonderful Milk Candy Review that features eggs, soldiers, silence and absent suns. Hope you'll give it a read: milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/11/20/n...
"In cutting literature programs, universities...are dismantling the intellectual infrastructure that enables young people, and particularly the least advantaged, to become critical subjects capable of engaging with the all-too-many systems of power around them." lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
lareviewofbooks.org
look at this little piece of wonderful news in the midst of all the mess. ♥️
Literary Arts Fund@literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 11mo agoToday, a coalition of seven charitable foundations announced the launch of the Literary Arts Fund, a historic philanthropic investment of at least $50 million to strengthen the nonprofit literary arts field in the U.S.
“She laughs and her short red hair is an inkblot in the starlight, and you love her and miss her more than you thought was possible, all your feelings driven by this new wild blood. Was this yours, this brain full of such fierce fire?” @ambersparks.bsky.social in short story long 💜
Aaron Burch@aaronburch.bsky.social · 12mo agoNew Short Story, Long Day! New Amber Sparks Day! It's @ambersparks.bsky.social on SSL day! (w/ some new fave story art from @philmcandrew.bsky.social!)
This is what democracy looks like! A people united will never be defeated. We want federal forces out of DC NOW! #WeAreAllDC #FreeDC
“Because the taste of mangoes clings to your teeth like a hymn. Because the boy on the bus folded his laughter into a paper crane & left it on your seat.” an absolutely perfect tiny story in @trampset.bsky.social ❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹 trampset.org/reasons-to-s...
Reasons to Stay Alive When the World Burns
by Oladosu Michael Emerald
trampset.org
Last night DC neighbors showed up at a police checkpoint at 14th & V ST. NW with handwritten signs warning drivers to avoid the block. After realizing that the community was successfully diverting all traffic, agents packed up the checkpoint and left. #WeKeepUsSafe
Jen Bendery@jbendery.bsky.social · last yr.People cheer as some federal agents get in their cars and leave. NY plates on their cars.
"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." Happy Lottery day to you and yours.
Thanks to the generous sponsors for my stair climb challenge, I have free spots for low-income writers on all my upcoming #WriteBeyondTheLightbulb courses. Details about the courses: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/courses-work... Sign up to the "lottery": docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
“in this big house full of small suites, the loneliness of motherhood dissipates, mostly, and the safety net needed to create art becomes visible, connective.” @amiesouzareilly.bsky.social w/a perfect mother’s day essay about isolation, creativity, & the small moments of community we all need. ♥️
Amie Souza Reilly@amiesouzareilly.bsky.social · last yr.I wrote about art monsters and loneliness and motherhood for @literaryhub.bsky.social
Every book published in the United States is sent to the Library of Congress. Also, if you are under 16 you cannot use the reading room or order books.
Acyn@acyn.bsky.social · last yr.Reporter: The president fired the Librarian of Congress. Why? Leavitt: There were quite concerning things she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.
Dr. Carla Hayden has more sense of American history, better bureaucratic understanding & capability, and a stronger sense of justice in her little pinky finger than everyone in the Trump administration & all those aiding and abetting that administration.
