shane kowalski

A rejection letter from a prize committee being used as the cover for a book

That times piece on richard hell’s apt got me thinking about bill knott, who late in his life was mailing boxes of really excellent homemade books to mfa program directors. This is the cover of one of them, maybe the funniest book cover of all time

i have 3 very short pieces about different things in The Bulb Region

If you’re in Philly at the end of the month, this is going to be incredible.
@dieddisappointed.bsky.social

Local History by Shane Kowalski There is one Hessian who was never captured by Washington’s forces at Trenton. He retreated from battle. He made his own journey across the Delaware River, back into Pennsylvania, into the thick,…

"He never even wanted to be a soldier. He liked writing children’s stories, albeit of the insane variety. For example, a young child’s frostbitten toe detaches itself and wanders off to look for a whore..."

Shane Kowalski just one of the best at it rn

https://www.havehashad.com/jm21w

we love @futuretensebooks.bsky.social !!

To Be Frank, by Shane Kowalski We've recently updated our website to make signing in easier and more secure

“I have been here almost a year. I spend an afternoon transcribing agreements and I miss a comma. I know I have missed a comma, but I don’t go back to fix it. I like the missing comma. It gets me in the mood.” —Shane Kowalski ( @dieddisappointed.bsky.social )

To Be Frank, by Shane Kowalski We've recently updated our website to make signing in easier and more secure

“I never get to know the heads’ names, nor do I see the heads attached to actual bodies. For all I know, they are floating heads passing by Frank’s old office.”

From Are People Out There, by Shane Kowalski, which was published by @futuretensebooks.bsky.social.

the book cover for Shane Kowalski's Are People Out There

Shane Kowalski's short stories are like extended prose poems. Funny, perverse, quirky, and unique. Picture Diane Williams dancing the tango with Russell Edson. Highly recommended.

@dieddisappointed.bsky.social
@futuretensebooks.bsky.social

thanks, Aaron!

can confirm: i have a piece in the new issue of Harper's 👍

Imagine the tears of joy when you give someone the gift of @dieddisappointed.bsky.social 🎁
futuretensebooks.com

a book so good she only had to write the one

Just learned that my former professor, friend, and mentor Stephanie Vaughn, has died. For those unaware, Stephanie's book SWEET TALK is one of the greatest American story collections, up there with the likes of JESUS' SON. This is the justly famous intro of her story "Dog Heaven"

breaking and entering by joy williams

"Samuel, as a baby, seems, for now, happy. He doesn't worry much about anything, least of all concepts like the future. Which makes him somehow less human to me. He is full of uncanny absences like that. He knows no poverty or regret yet. He doesn't cycle endlessly through an embarrassing moment from earlier in the day, or from years earlier for that matter. To him, there is barely any concept of "day." He sits and poses in almost all the pictures with the same content feebleness that borders on regal."

small paperback on hardwood floor: Are People Out There by Shane Kowalski

seen a buncha people posting @dieddisappointed.bsky.social's book and wanted to join. only a few stories in, but it is (expectedly) great.

here's probably my fave paragraph so far:

thanks, Aaron! glad you're enjoying it!

BECKETTIAN by Shane Kowalski Murphy was visiting Malone. It had been a while since they had seen each other. Murphy being busy in the city, while Malone had lingered in the countryside. Murphy remembered those dark country roads,...

we have a story by Shane Kowalski @dieddisappointed.bsky.social !

in the story Murphy – a professional in the city whose life makes him feel so confused that at times he wonders if he’s had a stroke – visits his friend Malone.

a great story ! & a great ending

xraylitmag.com/beckettian-b...

new xmas story from the new collection:

SCAM LIKELY There’s never a bruise like childhood… The years go by like a single car driving down the road with its headlights off. All those calls and texts asking you if you’re you. No, sorry, haven’t been for a long time…

Shane Kowalski

@dieddisappointed.bsky.social
@futuretensebooks.bsky.social

NIGHT PIE Both of us are still up. Why can't we go to sleep? Who knows. But somebody made pie! Did you make the pie? Well, I didn't make the pie. I guess it's true what they say. Sometimes the night makes the pie.

This new @dieddisappointed.bsky.social book is astounding. Sorry it’s greasy, blame the snyders pretzel company

thanks, John! pretzels go very well with the book...

my book Are People Out There is officially out today. get it where books are sold, but especially at Future Tense Books: futuretensebooks.com/product/peop...

my book Are People Out There is out in two weeks. here are some blurbs by Ling Ma and Sebastian Castillo. you can still pre-order the book at Future Tense Books: futuretensebooks.com/product/peop...

yeah, i'm curious...will have to search them out.

the nyt obituary for charles webb, the author of the graduate, from 2020: archive.ph/RtA8Z

We can't wait to publish the new Shane Kowalski {@dieddisappointed.bsky.social} collection, Are People Out There. You can claim your October copy now!
futuretensebooks.com/product/peop...

You can now pre-order my new collection of stories, Are People Out There. It drops 10.31.25 via @futuretensebooks.bsky.social: futuretensebooks.com/product/peop...

Are People Out There.
Forthcoming October 31, 2025.
Future Tense Books.
Pre-orders start next week.
But here is a cover reveal 👀

Are People Out There - Cleveland Review of Books I decided to become my friend’s baby. My friend is someone I know from high school. We’ve been friends for years. Now she is married to a man, a CPA or MBA or CEO, and they have a baby.

i have a story up at Cleveland Review of Books. it's the title story of my forthcoming collection with @futuretensebooks.bsky.social. the story is about a baby.

new piece about a typical book review up at HAD today