Ryan T. Pozzi
@ryantpozzi.bsky.social
Nonfiction writer. Author of The Mess That Made Them (Bloomsbury, 2026). | 🏠 Council Bluffs, IA (Omaha Metro Area) | Rep: Anderson Literary Agency
I’m taking this mess on tour. This fall, My Midwest Mess brings my debut book,The Mess That Made Them, to 18 (so far!) bookstores, libraries, festivals, campuses, and virtual gatherings across the Midwest. Find your stop, bring your questions, and come make a mess with me: ryantpozzi.com/tour
The PERCH is a creative arts journal with mental health themes focused on original voices. It's produced by the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health. They published my piece, Between Two Truths, in an edition earlier this year. Do you have a piece to submit for their next edition?
I’m taking this mess on tour. This fall, My Midwest Mess brings my debut book,The Mess That Made Them, to 18 (so far!) bookstores, libraries, festivals, campuses, and virtual gatherings across the Midwest. Find your stop, bring your questions, and come make a mess with me: ryantpozzi.com/tour
Shopping for South Loop (Chicago) condos. Are we moving to Chicago? Probably not. Am I agonizing over condo listings anyway? You bet!
Her: Some days I think you've got the easier job. Me: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! All that pressure to deliver greatness, agonizing over every word choice, not to mention the emotional vulnerability and the online abuse... Her: ... Me: What? Her: How was your nap today? Me: Okay, fair point.
We have a sick little one (pet, not child) who needs every four hour feedings, so I'm up at 6am these days. It's fine bc that's what he needs, but: 1. In defiance of stereotype, I really dislike early mornings. 2. By 10:30 I'm already feeling like it's been a long day at work.
I was lucky to reach Scott, who is decidedly out of reach of my modest profile, through a friend. His was the first endorsement to come in for the book, so we started on a high note! #booksky #nonfiction The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
Of all the folks I talked with prepublication, John Higgs was probably the friendliest. If you've read William Blake Vs the World then you'll know why I was annoyed that he could be both so talented AND so nice. The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
Has anybody pitched an Odessey plot line to the Simpson's yet, a la their prior Star Wars parodies? Fictional or not, they already have a Homer. 🤔
I don't have a book launch team, but I DO have a group of people who are tired of me asking them for bookish favors, so... #skywriters
Articles or blog posts you can probably look forward to me writing in the future: -The Ratio of Success to Increased Troll Activity in Publishing -How My Book Tour Grew Out of Control and Wrecked Me -How My Wife Felt About Driving Me All Over the Midwest -Why Writing the Book Was the Easy Part
Stephen read the book for me in spite of having no time in his schedule and while traveling internationally. Some creatives will always go above and beyond for those who come after them. #booksky The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
My friend and occassional mentor had this to say. I expected his endorsement to be lovely, but it's nice when your friends are willing to put it in writing - particularly when that friend is famous-er than you. 🙂 The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
Tickets for my Sept 3 book launch & tea pairing in Omaha don't OFFICIALLY go on sale until Tues, but I heard they started selling tickets to early callers today and are already creeping up on 20% full! For an event that hasn't even been announced yet! If you already know where it's being held... ☎️📞
These talented ladies are very much the target audience for this book - working creatives who know the ups and downs firsthand and sometimes need reminding that even legendary careers have their share of bad days. The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
These talented ladies are very much the target audience for this book - working creatives who know the ups and downs firsthand and sometimes need reminding that even legendary careers have their share of bad days. The book arrives September 3 from Bloomsbury. Preorder: bookshop.org/shop/ryantpo...
It's getting exciting now! It's time to start unveiling the completely measured, not exaggerated or influenced at all endorsements that will be appearing on the back cover of The Mess That Made Them. Actresses, musicians, poets, historians, psychologists...who DOESN'T love this book? #booksky
My father once blamed my therapist - of course that was AFTER he'd already called me a communist, a naive child who'd never make it in the world, an idiot who'd be poisoned by his mother, a disappointment, a failure, and the worst decision he'd ever made, so...
Meggie Z@nutmeggles.bsky.social · last wk.Another classic case of “sucks to suck”.
Also, why did they come for this author when The Let Them Theory has been a bestseller for roughly a million weeks amid substantial plagiarism allegations surrounding its core concept? #booksky
One of the complicated things about a high-profile hit piece like that is that I’d be entirely inconsolable if a legit publication came for me so baselessly. But if she wasn’t already headed for every bestseller list in the country, the piece also all but guaranteed it. Complicated. #booksky
On This Day in History: July 27, 1890 Vincent van Gogh paints Tree Roots, his final work. That evening, he returns to his room in Auvers-sur-Oise with a gunshot wound to the chest. Most believe the wound was self-inflicted, though an alternative theory involving an accidental shooting persists.
This week's edition of Life on the Midlist was about failure as a part of creative life and the specific way it was useful to me. Check it out: #skywriters mailchi.mp/b603254c52ca...
Meet our new friends Rachel and Monica - the owners and friends behind Two Friends Books in Bentonville, AR. There is no Phoebe. I checked. These less famous friends will be carrying this less famous author in-store this fall. Welcome to the family! #booksky
In case you need a small spot of good news: As an author who stays in touch with hundreds of independent bookstores in the US, I can tell you that many are currently hiring booksellers in spite of the uneven economic conditions. Keep reading. Growing bookstores are good for everyone! #booksky
Animated The Tick > Live Action The Tick Fight me, but I'll still be right.
