Marguerite Sheffer

Can't wait for this to host this workshop: been thinking a lot about writing as exploration rather than perfection!

(easier said than done)

Join us - link belo!

@cecordasco.bsky.social

Why you might not know that 2024 was America’s safest year since the 1960s An overwhelming majority of Americans, 64 percent, believe that crime increased across the country in 2024, according to a Gallup survey conducted late last year.

“New FBI data shows that both violent crime and property crime are at their lowest level since the 1960s” but the media disproportionately covers crime, so most Americans aren’t aware of the decrease. [popular.info]

Michelle Boxx told me: "they literally believe they're going to hell if they don't push this, and they believe everybody else is too... even if everybody goes underground, they're still gonna be training kids up... they're still going to be waiting for their moment again.

Read more below:

Don't forget!

Tomorrow is our part 2 of our book club, led by @mlensheffer.bsky.social !

We'll be at The Rink from 2 to 4 PM!

I've republished it here on Medium for those who won't go on Substack:

medium.com/@danny.cherr...

The queries have started about “What if I only used a little bit of AI for my story submission.”
The answer is, fuck AI. Uncanny Magazine doesn't want your story. There is no grey area here. Send us a story using AI for any aspect, it will be auto-rejected and you will be banned. Period.

"There were, of course, a few slight snags....Even the term “people” was up for debate. Who were these people? How could we make it clear they weren’t people in the way that we were people?"

Our Plan for Peace Was Simple: Kill Everyone We didn’t always have a straightforward strategy for peacekeeping. Our top brass spent day and night working it out. We ordered lunch for the offic...

"We decluttered the old ways of thinking. Scratched out the chalkboard full of ideas. The answer had been in front of our eyes the whole time. It was straightforward. Elegant. Like a perfect mathematical proof. Our plan for peace was simple: kill everyone."

scary

So thrilled to have this story out in the world, and in The Kenyon Review! Thank you, @kenyonreview.bsky.social!

Tomorrow! Bring something you are working on

And bring something (anything, in any state) to get some peer feedback on!

Don't forget about tomorrow!!

Part two of the book club for Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell is this Friday! There will be one more meeting after this one, so jump on board while you still can!

We will be discussing ✍️revising✍️😎

Space Unicorn!

PLEASE REPOST! WRITERS! Uncanny Magazine will be open to Short Story Submissions from August 25 to September 8! Uncanny Magazine will be open to Poetry Submissions from August 9 to August 26. WE WANT TO SEE YOUR SHINY WORDS! buff.ly/9AyStcb

I don't know how it got to be the end of summer but...

Hi! I'm the book content editor for Reactor Mag and I'm looking for 2026 sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and crossover speculative books! If you've got an adult or YA SFFH book publishing next year please share the link/info here!

Writers of New Orleans!

Our Fantasy Revision Workshop, hosted by Marguerite Sheffer ( @mlensheffer.bsky.social ), will be next Tuesday, August 5th, at 6 PM to 8 PM at BK House.

We hope to see you there!

Heads up, we're only accepting submissions for @aijiang.bsky.social over at @thecosmicbgr.bsky.social until next Thusday, August 7th. Competition is absurdly fierce (y'all are mad talented) so I'm making the executive decision to have two spots open for acceptance. Get writing.

TIL; So good to now have language to put to this phenomenon

pssssssst

this is what "checking LLM output" does too

editing bullshit *is* harder than getting it right the first time

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations following the passage of a federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill, which excludes funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades. For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services for Americans in every community. “Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down operations after loss of federal funding:

My Therapist Shows Me How to Write in the Affirmative or An Alternative to Writing “Don’t Kill Yourself” — The Headlight Review stay kin stay kin stay kin stay kin / stay kinder to myself stay kinder to myself stay kind stay alive / I want to stay kind I want to stay alive I want to stay kind I want to stay alive I want to / s...

Read my favorite poem from my forthcoming chapbook here:

www.theheadlightreview.com/pieces/volum...

I'm going to read a flash originally pubbed in the amazing @thecosmicbgr.bsky.social ! "How We Became Forest Creatures"

Just over an hour from now - 11 CT / 12 ET -- link for free RSVP below, with @swsworlds.bsky.social

www.thecosmicbackground.com/story-archiv...

Today! Link below

First Friday - Third Thursday QuickRead 6 authors * 8 minutes each - come find your next favorite read with us!

Join me today at #StrongWomenStrangeWorlds! 8 minute readings #horror #scifi #fiction
@swsworlds.bsky.social on Fri Aug 1, Noon EDT (free, zoom)

tinyurl.com/swswa1

with:
@authorterribruce.bsky.social
@mlensheffer.bsky.social
@marromasco.bsky.social
@nvhaskell.bsky.social

August 2025 05TUE - Revision Workshob: Fantasy& Fairy Tale 6 - 8 PM • BK HOUSE 08/08 Book Club: Refuse to Be Done2 -4 PM • THE RINK ON PRYTANIA 08/18 Get Lit Writing Series6 - 8 PM • MIEL BREWERY 08/29 Davtime Get Lit 11 - 1 PM • SPORTS DRINK CAFE

Our August calendar is here!

We hope to catch you at one of our events :)

Tomorrow!! Please join us by registering at StrongWomenStrangeWorlds.weebly.com . 8 minute readings with giveaways and you might discover your next favorite author? What’s not to like? @marromasco.bsky.social @mlensheffer.bsky.social #authorreading #strongwomenstrangeworlds #writerscommunity

We had to shuffle our lineup a bit, but you can still start August off right with our lunchtime Quick Reads! Register below to secure your free spot!

Strong Women - Strange Worlds Events - 7 Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite share.google/OCx8b1y2Csfa...

Congrats to all of @gambitweekly.bsky.social 40-under-40 luminaries, in particular to @deecherrywriter.bsky.social & @sprtsdrnk.bsky.social whom I follow and/or maintain equipment for their instrumental-ness in knitting together & maintaining the fabric of New Orleans.

Vote - The Ignyte Awards Public voting for the 2025 AWARDS IS NOW OPEN THRU AUG 15. GO VOTE OUTSTANDING NOVEL: ADULT for novel-length work (40k words) Works intended for an adult audience BLACKHEART MAN – Nalo Hopkinson (S&S/...

I'm very grateful and honored to the Ignyte jury to be nominated for a second time and a huge (belated) congratulations to all my fellow nominees!

You can vote for your preferred candidates at the link below. All you need is a valid email👇
ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/vote/