Dawn Tasaka Steffler
@dawnsteffler.bsky.social
Bath Flash Fiction Winner • Smokelong Fellow • Storyknife • Wigleaf Top 50 LL • 2025 Best Small Fictions • words in Pithead Chapel, Flash Frog, Ghost Parachute, Fractured Lit, The Forge • dawntasakasteffler.com
Pinned
If you haven't read @dawnsteffler.bsky.social you don't know what you're missing.
I pulled together a whack of favourites in a post, including a few from a flash-fiction novel she's working on about parenting a transgender teenager.
Gorgeous, devastating and unforgettable stuff.
Links here:
I pulled together a whack of favourites in a post, including a few from a flash-fiction novel she's working on about parenting a transgender teenager.
Gorgeous, devastating and unforgettable stuff.
Links here:
Short stories by Dawn Tasaka Steffler - turn and work
I hate to admit that I almost skipped past the first Dawn Tasaka Steffler story I encountered. It wasn't until I saw her Bluesky post about "The Election Goes
www.turnandwork.com
This morning I woke up to the most incredible act of generosity. It's a dream come true for a writer to hear that their stories resonate with readers, and I'm honored that @turnandwork.com has published a feature on some of my recent flash stories. Hugh, thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
I notice a girl taller than the rest, her long, silky blonde hair pulled back and ribboned at the crown of her head. She kicks her knee up and spins around with her baton. Her smile shines. What if I could smile like her?
So much longing to belong @m-s-reagan.bsky.social @short-reads.org
So much longing to belong @m-s-reagan.bsky.social @short-reads.org
Twirl Girl
by M. S. Reagan | Following the music.
www.short-reads.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I notice a girl taller than the rest, her long, silky blonde hair pulled back and ribboned at the crown of her head. She kicks her knee up and spins around with her baton. Her smile shines. What if I could smile like her?
So much longing to belong @m-s-reagan.bsky.social @short-reads.org
So much longing to belong @m-s-reagan.bsky.social @short-reads.org
Huge thank you to @petermcallister.bsky.social and @katehorsleywriter.bsky.social over at @inkfishmagazine.bsky.social for this wonderful nomination. I so adore your gorgeous art-forward magazine!
And ICYMI here's the link to my story:
inkfishmag.com/what-moon-wo...
And ICYMI here's the link to my story:
inkfishmag.com/what-moon-wo...
Congratulations to our amazing authors - cheering you all on for this year's Pushcart Prize!
@juliabiggs.bsky.social @katrinanaomipoet.bsky.social
@dawnsteffler.bsky.social
@bsherm36.bsky.social
inkfishmag.com/awards/
@juliabiggs.bsky.social @katrinanaomipoet.bsky.social
@dawnsteffler.bsky.social
@bsherm36.bsky.social
inkfishmag.com/awards/
November 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Huge thank you to @petermcallister.bsky.social and @katehorsleywriter.bsky.social over at @inkfishmagazine.bsky.social for this wonderful nomination. I so adore your gorgeous art-forward magazine!
And ICYMI here's the link to my story:
inkfishmag.com/what-moon-wo...
And ICYMI here's the link to my story:
inkfishmag.com/what-moon-wo...
I was prepared to fight traffic and holiday shoppers for a huge craft fair in SF. But I could not find parking. As I always do re all things parking, I started talking to my dad. He led me away from Fort Mason to the Presidio Tunnel Tops. I’ve been meaning to come here. He always knows what I need.
November 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I was prepared to fight traffic and holiday shoppers for a huge craft fair in SF. But I could not find parking. As I always do re all things parking, I started talking to my dad. He led me away from Fort Mason to the Presidio Tunnel Tops. I’ve been meaning to come here. He always knows what I need.
I was the new girl, the girl with no father, the girl other girls’ mothers pretended not to recognize in the day-old food section at Walmart. I missed my father even though I wasn’t supposed to.
Congratulations on your 2nd place win, Dawn! @dawnwriter.bsky.social @thesunlightpress.bsky.social
Congratulations on your 2nd place win, Dawn! @dawnwriter.bsky.social @thesunlightpress.bsky.social
Thrilled to win Second Prize in @thesunlightpress.bsky.social Flash Fiction Contest! Thank you to the readers and judge @kelliborges2.bsky.social for this honour!❤️ #flash #flashfiction #flashlit #litmag #shortstory #writing
Our judge Kelli Borges shares her insights on all the winning stories. Find out our 2025 Flash Fiction Contest second and third place winners.
Special thanks to Kelli and our readers, Susan Pohlman and Elizabeth Spencer!
bit.ly/47ZNYyG
Special thanks to Kelli and our readers, Susan Pohlman and Elizabeth Spencer!
bit.ly/47ZNYyG
November 19, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I was the new girl, the girl with no father, the girl other girls’ mothers pretended not to recognize in the day-old food section at Walmart. I missed my father even though I wasn’t supposed to.
Congratulations on your 2nd place win, Dawn! @dawnwriter.bsky.social @thesunlightpress.bsky.social
Congratulations on your 2nd place win, Dawn! @dawnwriter.bsky.social @thesunlightpress.bsky.social
you find pictures of your younger selves and make posters with MISSING at the top and stick them to lampposts and walls and in the supermarket and think your younger selves will come back and make you kinda okay again, but nothing, nothing
🩵🩵🩵 @laurabesley.bsky.social @lit-namjooning.bsky.social
🩵🩵🩵 @laurabesley.bsky.social @lit-namjooning.bsky.social
“it’s just you, here and now, and the silence of your brain is strange-but-in-a-good-way”
A gentle reminder by @laurabesley.bsky.social in @lit-namjooning.bsky.social that we not only need to know who we are, but who we’ve been. A lovely read.
A gentle reminder by @laurabesley.bsky.social in @lit-namjooning.bsky.social that we not only need to know who we are, but who we’ve been. A lovely read.
"These Days You're Kinda Okay" by @laurabesley.bsky.social is a beautifully crafted, almost philosophical story about making peace with yourself, past and present. Read here: literarynamjooning.wixsite.com/litnam/post/...
#namjooning #namjooningbutliterary
#namjooning #namjooningbutliterary
November 17, 2025 at 4:18 PM
you find pictures of your younger selves and make posters with MISSING at the top and stick them to lampposts and walls and in the supermarket and think your younger selves will come back and make you kinda okay again, but nothing, nothing
🩵🩵🩵 @laurabesley.bsky.social @lit-namjooning.bsky.social
🩵🩵🩵 @laurabesley.bsky.social @lit-namjooning.bsky.social
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Such fantastic readings! @pleomorphic2.bsky.social and her kick ass recipe story, rollicking recitation of movie endings by @marioaliberto3.bsky.social, menopausal sisters from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social, not to mention the witches in Costco from @hughbehmsteinberg.bsky.social 😆 What a night!
Please join Meg Pokrass and me for the PROSE GARDEN, Sat. November 15, 2 PM EST.
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Such fantastic readings! @pleomorphic2.bsky.social and her kick ass recipe story, rollicking recitation of movie endings by @marioaliberto3.bsky.social, menopausal sisters from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social, not to mention the witches in Costco from @hughbehmsteinberg.bsky.social 😆 What a night!
A bit last minute but I'm SUPER EXCITED to be reading with an absolute all-star group of flash writers in just a couple more hours. It's not too late to register...
Please join Meg Pokrass and me for the PROSE GARDEN, Sat. November 15, 2 PM EST.
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 15, 2025 at 4:57 PM
A bit last minute but I'm SUPER EXCITED to be reading with an absolute all-star group of flash writers in just a couple more hours. It's not too late to register...
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Connie Glinsmann
November 14, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Connie Glinsmann
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
🚨 Come join us!!! @cbigs.bsky.social @dawnsteffler.bsky.social @csquareh.bsky.social @francinewitte.bsky.social
Please join Meg Pokrass and me for the PROSE GARDEN, Sat. November 15, 2 PM EST.
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Mario Aliberto III, Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Sumitra Singam, Coleman Bigelow, Keith J. Powell, Jeff Friedman, Christine H. Chen, Hugh Behm-Steinberg
Please register here for zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 11, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Thank you so much to EIC Steph Liberatore and *all* the staff at @inshortlit.bsky.social for this incredible nomination. This is an essay very close to my heart, and it's an honor to have it recognized like this.
inshortjournal.com/dawn-tasaka-...
inshortjournal.com/dawn-tasaka-...
Congrats to all our Best American Essays nominees!! Check out all their pieces at inshortjournal.com!
November 11, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Thank you so much to EIC Steph Liberatore and *all* the staff at @inshortlit.bsky.social for this incredible nomination. This is an essay very close to my heart, and it's an honor to have it recognized like this.
inshortjournal.com/dawn-tasaka-...
inshortjournal.com/dawn-tasaka-...
I grab his thumb like a phallus. So stoned. “No, no, honey. It’s down there.”
Amazing CNF by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social in @mrbullbull.bsky.social
Amazing CNF by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social in @mrbullbull.bsky.social
"Where’s the writers? The friends? The music? The beach bonfire? The laughter? But there is no party. I’m it. I’m the party." @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social mrbullbull.com/newbull/flas...
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I grab his thumb like a phallus. So stoned. “No, no, honey. It’s down there.”
Amazing CNF by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social in @mrbullbull.bsky.social
Amazing CNF by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social in @mrbullbull.bsky.social
Trust me, you don't want to miss the book launch for Melissa's Bitter Over Sweet! It's going to be 🔥
November 7, at 7pm EST. With Deesha Philyaw and Avitus Carle!! Holy moly! 🔥
Link to register ⬇️
November 7, at 7pm EST. With Deesha Philyaw and Avitus Carle!! Holy moly! 🔥
Link to register ⬇️
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Trust me, you don't want to miss the book launch for Melissa's Bitter Over Sweet! It's going to be 🔥
November 7, at 7pm EST. With Deesha Philyaw and Avitus Carle!! Holy moly! 🔥
Link to register ⬇️
November 7, at 7pm EST. With Deesha Philyaw and Avitus Carle!! Holy moly! 🔥
Link to register ⬇️
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
OMG, this triple shot from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social !! ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Sex In Public: A Triptych — Ghost Parachute
Hustling She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed. And he wallpapers the back of his many fish ...
ghostparachute.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:10 AM
OMG, this triple shot from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social !! ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
How could I forget “The dictionary defines intercourse as a waterway in Florida…”? These are all 🔥🔥🔥, Dawn!!! Absolute stunners!
November 2, 2025 at 12:52 AM
How could I forget “The dictionary defines intercourse as a waterway in Florida…”? These are all 🔥🔥🔥, Dawn!!! Absolute stunners!
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Just attended this fab online panel discussion led by the wonderful @mattkendrick.bsky.social.
So much to learn, so much to think about, my head is full. Big thanks to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for their generosity is sharing their processes/tips. I was fascinated! 🤩
So much to learn, so much to think about, my head is full. Big thanks to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for their generosity is sharing their processes/tips. I was fascinated! 🤩
Really looking forward to hosting this panel discussion on "Emotional Depths" with @claudiamonpere.bsky.social & @dawnsteffler.bsky.social. Should be such a great event. It's a week on Monday at 7pm GMT for anyone who'd like to sign up:
www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-worksho...
www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-worksho...
November 3, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Just attended this fab online panel discussion led by the wonderful @mattkendrick.bsky.social.
So much to learn, so much to think about, my head is full. Big thanks to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for their generosity is sharing their processes/tips. I was fascinated! 🤩
So much to learn, so much to think about, my head is full. Big thanks to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for their generosity is sharing their processes/tips. I was fascinated! 🤩
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Check out this marvelous triptych from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social !
ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Sex In Public: A Triptych — Ghost Parachute
Hustling She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed. And he wallpapers the back of his many fish ...
ghostparachute.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Check out this marvelous triptych from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social !
ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Thank you so much @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for your wonderful interview!!
@fracturedlit.bsky.social
@sfwp.bsky.social
@fracturedlit.bsky.social
@sfwp.bsky.social
In @dawnsteffler.bsky.social's interview w/ @lumchanmfa.bsky.social, they tackle how the title BITTER OVER SWEET came to be, how living in Japan influenced Melissa's writing, & more over on @fracturedlit.bsky.social! buff.ly/6xvbIOc
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
“I believe in flash, and I especially believe in microfiction”: An Interview with Melissa Llanes Brownlee | Fractured
by Fractured Lit | Oct 31, 2025
buff.ly
November 4, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Thank you so much @dawnsteffler.bsky.social for your wonderful interview!!
@fracturedlit.bsky.social
@sfwp.bsky.social
@fracturedlit.bsky.social
@sfwp.bsky.social
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
In @dawnsteffler.bsky.social's interview w/ @lumchanmfa.bsky.social, they tackle how the title BITTER OVER SWEET came to be, how living in Japan influenced Melissa's writing, & more over on @fracturedlit.bsky.social! buff.ly/6xvbIOc
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
“I believe in flash, and I especially believe in microfiction”: An Interview with Melissa Llanes Brownlee | Fractured
by Fractured Lit | Oct 31, 2025
buff.ly
November 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
In @dawnsteffler.bsky.social's interview w/ @lumchanmfa.bsky.social, they tackle how the title BITTER OVER SWEET came to be, how living in Japan influenced Melissa's writing, & more over on @fracturedlit.bsky.social! buff.ly/6xvbIOc
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
Get BITTER OVER SWEET: buff.ly/aVGstGt
@susanschulman.bsky.social
As soon as I wrote this one, I knew where to send it. Ghost Parachute Rules! Happy reading, everyone...
Also, a big thank you goes to @erinvachon.bsky.social who jiggled loose the seed of this triptych in their prose poem webinar. Seriously, what would I do without @smokelong.bsky.social ??
Also, a big thank you goes to @erinvachon.bsky.social who jiggled loose the seed of this triptych in their prose poem webinar. Seriously, what would I do without @smokelong.bsky.social ??
Read "Sex In Public: A Triptych" written by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social and illustrated by @courtneyb77.bsky.social.
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
Sex In Public: A Triptych — Ghost Parachute
Hustling She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed. And he wallpapers the back of his many fish ...
tinyurl.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
As soon as I wrote this one, I knew where to send it. Ghost Parachute Rules! Happy reading, everyone...
Also, a big thank you goes to @erinvachon.bsky.social who jiggled loose the seed of this triptych in their prose poem webinar. Seriously, what would I do without @smokelong.bsky.social ??
Also, a big thank you goes to @erinvachon.bsky.social who jiggled loose the seed of this triptych in their prose poem webinar. Seriously, what would I do without @smokelong.bsky.social ??
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Read "Sex In Public: A Triptych" written by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social and illustrated by @courtneyb77.bsky.social.
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
Sex In Public: A Triptych — Ghost Parachute
Hustling She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed. And he wallpapers the back of his many fish ...
tinyurl.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Read "Sex In Public: A Triptych" written by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social and illustrated by @courtneyb77.bsky.social.
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
"She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed."
tinyurl.com/5af9m2rw
she tells me even bear spray and bells, both of which she ordered for me and has already packed in the bottom of my bag, won’t scare them off once they smell me, tromping through the mountains like a bloody dumpling
Oh I love this so much! Congrats, Emily!!
Oh I love this so much! Congrats, Emily!!
What an honor! Check out my story, “Vagina First”
Congratulations Emily Rinkema! www.bathflashfictionaward.com/2025/10/2nd-...
November 1, 2025 at 3:00 AM
she tells me even bear spray and bells, both of which she ordered for me and has already packed in the bottom of my bag, won’t scare them off once they smell me, tromping through the mountains like a bloody dumpling
Oh I love this so much! Congrats, Emily!!
Oh I love this so much! Congrats, Emily!!
One Week Till Launch, People!!
Next Friday at 7pm EST over Zoom, we're celebrating the launch of @lumchanmfa.bsky.social's collection, BITTER OVER SWEET, with @deeshaphilyaw.bsky.social, and @avitusbcarle.bsky.social! buff.ly/t7sQV7L
BITTER OVER SWEET will be available in 4 DAYS! Preorder a copy right here: buff.ly/q27a4lT
BITTER OVER SWEET will be available in 4 DAYS! Preorder a copy right here: buff.ly/q27a4lT
November 1, 2025 at 2:41 AM
One Week Till Launch, People!!
Now *that's* a Halloween in 2025 micro!
Exited to share that my story "Just Another Halloween" was published by @bloodhoneylit.bsky.social today!
tinyurl.com/2jc87hre
tinyurl.com/2jc87hre
just another halloween — Blood+Honey
by Brett Pribble “If only they hadn’t dressed in garments that only Satan would admire, like when they dress as him, or pimps and prostitutes, or in skimpy police uniforms…If only they weren’t just ...
tinyurl.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Now *that's* a Halloween in 2025 micro!
Reposted by Dawn Tasaka Steffler
Check out my @fracturedlit.bsky.social interview by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social ❤️❤️❤️
Please enjoy this interview w Melissa Llanes Brownlee @lumchanmfa.bsky.social about her amazing new collection, Bitter Over Sweet, 2023 winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards. LINKS to her book and to her AMAZING launch on Nov 7 w Deesha Philyaw & Avitus Carle are in the interview.
“I believe in flash, and I especially believe in microfiction”: An Interview with Melissa Llanes Brownlee | Fractured
fracturedlit.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Check out my @fracturedlit.bsky.social interview by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social ❤️❤️❤️
Please enjoy this interview w Melissa Llanes Brownlee @lumchanmfa.bsky.social about her amazing new collection, Bitter Over Sweet, 2023 winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards. LINKS to her book and to her AMAZING launch on Nov 7 w Deesha Philyaw & Avitus Carle are in the interview.
“I believe in flash, and I especially believe in microfiction”: An Interview with Melissa Llanes Brownlee | Fractured
fracturedlit.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Please enjoy this interview w Melissa Llanes Brownlee @lumchanmfa.bsky.social about her amazing new collection, Bitter Over Sweet, 2023 winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards. LINKS to her book and to her AMAZING launch on Nov 7 w Deesha Philyaw & Avitus Carle are in the interview.