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Bud Smith

@budsmith.bsky.social

I wrote the novels Teenager (Vintage) and Mighty (forthcoming from Knopf) among others, and work heavy construction in the boilermakers union. coolgoodluck.com

620 Followers  |  299 Following  |  157 Posts  |  Joined: 09.08.2023  |  1.4846

Latest posts by budsmith.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Natural Selectors (short story)

Here is a new short story called, Natural Selectors. In it, a man looks back at his parent's generation and recounts the atrocities of the gang they had in their youth.
nicetrybudsmith.substack.com/p/natural-se...

29.12.2025 12:58 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

thank you so much! that's very kind of you to write to me about it. I hope it's been a great winter for you, happy new years

29.12.2025 12:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Here is an essay I wrote for @parisreview.bsky.social about building a desk for a pickup truck
t.co/3Pf4Nl1WrN

31.10.2025 18:33 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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ESSAY: Summer’s Over It’s raining and the cars driving by our apartment sound like waves again. I’m on the couch, writing on a little yellow cart that doubles as a rolling coffee table. She’s on the other side of the pink...

I wrote an essay called β€œSummer’s Over” for Zona Motel. Topics covered: art making, impending demolition, an innocent mistake

open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...

29.09.2025 14:41 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Sergiu Ciochina

25.09.2025 10:40 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Just remembered a dream I had last night where I was in a recording studio w/Tom Petty. He was dead, a skeleton, but up & about & sounding great on guitar. He was recording β€œYou Don’t Know How It Feels” & wanted me to sing the vocals. I explained that was bad idea & eventually he came around. Whew!

24.09.2025 04:52 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It’s in the print issue or behind the paywall at this link β€” but, hit me up in a DM if I can help you read it other ways ❀️

23.09.2025 23:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Have a new story called β€œSkyhawksβ€œ in the fall issue of the Paris Review. t.co/LFMR359iCc

23.09.2025 23:54 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Vlad Mag #6 (Part Two): β€œBummer Summer,” edited by Brian Alan Ellis, is OUT NOW on the website! New work by @eyerarat.bsky.social (@filthyloot.bsky.social), @malsmart.bsky.social (@maudlinhouse.bsky.social), @budsmith.bsky.social, @formermissnj.bsky.social and others 🦩

11.08.2025 16:55 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Sitting here listening to Bat Out of Hell, as always.

10.08.2025 15:50 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Join us on Friday, 7/11, to celebrate the release of our latest issue, β€œPlayer Haters.” We’ll be at the Francis Kite Club on the LES for an evening of drinks, dancing, and good sportsmanship. Featuring DJs Jamison Lung and Paula Martinez.

25.06.2025 22:51 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I’ve got a new short story up at Joyland today. This one is called β€œShades” t.co/9FXFxW2ApU

17.06.2025 17:54 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

How do you build a writing group? Who knows. A great place to start looking is your local reading series. Go to that. Talk to the organizers. Read the work of your 'neighbors' --zines, or online magazines, or anything. See who lives around you. Find your people. Make something cool w/ a few of them

16.06.2025 19:07 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I meet people all the time, bummed because they only make art sporadically. I say that's great. Who cares about volume? Just make one thing you love this year. One thing. But then again, if you baked in deadlines, face-to-face meetups, fun, constructive arguments ... the thing usually glows gold

16.06.2025 19:04 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Other night I met a person in publishing, who misses the writing workshop group they had in grad school. Haven't written much since then. I said, Well you can change that, find 3 gifted people, w/ same goals (a novel/story collection) and be the leader, drive the thing, do it, meet in person monthly

16.06.2025 19:00 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

saw a young dog walk by with the face of Skeletor

16.06.2025 18:51 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
subscribe

FENCE subscription is here:

fenceportal.org/subscribe/

16.06.2025 18:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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INQUE Editions β€” Issue 3

you can pick up the UK magazine, INQUE here: www.inquemag.com/issue-3/

16.06.2025 18:46 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh and I forgot, I've got a new story called "Our Father" in a UK magazine ... the story is about a son who disappointed his father by not becoming a surgeon but then the terminally ill father keeps dying, resurrecting, dying, resurrecting, and so the son decides to cut him open to see what's wrong

16.06.2025 18:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I've got some new short stories--the most recent issue of FENCE has one called "Nightsky", tomorrow I'll share a link to one coming out in Joyland called "Shades." This fall I've got one coming into print again at The Paris Review

16.06.2025 18:42 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Changing Lanes | Dave Denison How long can bowling endure the vulture capitalists buying up alleys around the country?

How bout a little #sports chat on here? Where are the BlueSky bowlers? #bowling #tenpins
thebaffler.com/salvos/chang...

06.06.2025 13:53 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

just got this in the mail and it's πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯

03.04.2025 15:11 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It is Disney canon that Huey, Dewey, and Louie moved in with Donald Duck after killing their biological father by putting fireworks under his chair and lighting them while he was sitting in it.

06.04.2025 17:10 β€” πŸ‘ 41    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ¦ŒπŸŽοΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ’‹

01.04.2025 19:59 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chipper | Bud Smith He’d seen her do incredible things to dull people.

I have a new short story in The Baffler, called β€œChipper” thebaffler.com/stories/chip...

01.04.2025 07:03 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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AFTER PASSAIC - Farewell Transmission By Bud Smith Last night I broke a rib kicking a balloon. I went flying like Home Alone, Marv and Harry, landed on my side and damn it hurt. Sometime around sunset the following day I was at Miriam’s 8...

Here’s a new short story called β€œAfter Passaic” @farewelltransmiss.bsky.social
farewelltransmission.net/2025/04/afte...

01.04.2025 19:27 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chipper | Bud Smith He’d seen her do incredible things to dull people.

I have a new short story in The Baffler, called β€œChipper” thebaffler.com/stories/chip...

01.04.2025 07:03 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Never let your enemies give you a ride to the mall on the handlebars of their bike

30.03.2025 02:59 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0

been working 14 hour night shifts for the past five weeks, sometimes with Sunday off, but it’s almost over, just another few weeks, and then I can return to my real life again, as a semi-professional doer of nothing

16.03.2025 23:25 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Flyer for a reading featuring photo of cat trying to eat a Christmas light. List of readers names + importantly location and timing: Wed, 2/26, 7 PM, Tattooed Mom in Philly

Flyer for a reading featuring photo of cat trying to eat a Christmas light. List of readers names + importantly location and timing: Wed, 2/26, 7 PM, Tattooed Mom in Philly

Hope some Philly folks will stop by Tattooed Mom on Wed for readings by the extremely talented and cool Rutgees Camden MFA 2nd year students (I will also be there)

23.02.2025 21:48 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

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