Drew Coles

Sad about the Wiseman news. The Monrovia, Indiana documentary was a partial catalyst for my interest in regional/rural representation during grad school.

‼️ Well, as embarrassing as it is to say, I'll need to speak with the rest of the team. Thank you for forwarding!

Hi, Elizabeth! It is down for me as well. Whenever I've seen this, and it does happen every now and then, the only thing is wait it out. Usually its fixed within 24 hours. A bummer, but Oleada is a labor of love so I can't complain too much.

Give it a read: reckonreview.com/bolinas-fict...

Im always drawn to a strong sense of place, which to me means that the setting of story is so integral to the characters and events that it couldn't happen anywhere else. Today's story by @wilsonkoewing.bsky.social is an excellent example of that. 📚

#litfic

A hot month ahead for @reckonreview.bsky.social

#litfic

The cover of the novel "Flesh" by David Szalay. An apple core on a black background eaten in such a way the negative space around the core resembles two faces in profile.

Finished this while waiting for the power to go out.

Here's a link to our submissions page: reckonreview.com/submissions/

Would love to see y'all there.

Things I'm excited to see in the pile:
Gritty stories with hopeful endings.
Trust in the reader.
A strong sense of place.

Here are a few things that are (or make something) a hard sell:
Sci-fi/Romance/Any genre outside our flavor.
"Twists" where the narrator withholds pivotal information until the final sentence.
Dialect pushed to the point of caricature.

Grit Lit, Crime, and Noir are all shorthand descriptors for what we publish, but nothing will get me more excited than finding something that moves beyond those boundaries. We're proud of our rural roots and working-class stories of perseverance.

In case you missed it, Reckon Review (@reckonreview.bsky.social) is open for submissions. 📚
The best way to tell if your work is a good fit is to read the magazine. Buuuuuuttttttttt if you're really looking for guidelines....🔽 #gritlit #amwriting #litmag

New fiction for you today. Head over to Reckon to read "Raven Complaint" by Scott T. Hutchinson.

Thrilled to have you! Hell of a story 🔥

We're starting 2026 with a bang.
Head over to Reckon to read "We're in an Emergency" by the brilliant @eaaymar.bsky.social

We back at it, folks. On the docket from the fiction side — small-town murders, car-slinging crushes, and tricky corvids.

#amreading #litmags

Yes. This is about Stranger Things 5.

To be clear, the cliffhangers themselves aren't really the issue, its opening the next episode with the release of all that build-up. It feels incredibly disjointed.

I don't know folks, maybe if your audience sticks with you after an extended years-long hiatus and fractured release schedule in the age of binge streaming, there's enough loyalty to end episodes on concluding beats instead of really annoying cliffhangers?

Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it worked 62% of the time Hacking the planet with florid verse.

A bunch of systems built by techbros can't handle an AB rhyme scheme and tortured metaphor? Color me shocked.

www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...

We are so honored that Eileen, Holly, Mary Ann, and Summer trusted us with their incredible work, and SO very proud to nominate them for the Best of the Net this year.

Read their stories here:
reckonreview.com/award-nomina...

Before Knives Out, there was Brick: Rian Johnson’s alluring, hard-boiled debut Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a teen detective in a world of high school drug rings and two-bit thugs, Johnson’s first film is a fine showcase of his now-trademark thrills, chills and twists

Nice to see Brick getting some love. Terrific film

August reads

What Meagan said.

MIDWEST CITIES by Eric Morris Every Quik Lube Midwest city has its own dead kid, a We Buy Gold & Coins billboard assaulting oncoming traffic, a manmade lake even the locals don’t want to talk about. The dead kid is twenty years…

“Every Midwest city is a battle cry in need of a battle. Every dead kid is a lighthouse without a harbor or water…”

New from Eric Morris!
https://www.havehashad.com/2o4sx

Finished this is a single sitting. Immediate reaction was a feeling of instability.

Have a new column out today if you’d like to read it.

Duke Energy's helpful tips for reducing your energy bill during a heat wave.

Use less electricity.

Here's what I want to see in my query inbox! I want stories with unique characters taking on unique and specific stakes, conflicts that they have created from their past, problems they can't escape, with no easy solutions, and no choice but to involve the ones they love.

Really pleased that my words appear in the latest @bathflashaward.bsky.social flash anthology. I mean, look at that cover!