kara oakleaf
@karaoakleaf.bsky.social
reader of all the things, writer of a few things. assistant professor and wrangler of other bookish things in the dmv. words at karaoakleaf.com
Pinned
kara oakleaf
@karaoakleaf.bsky.social
· Dec 2
New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed) (@nffr.bsky.social)
New Flash Fiction Review is an online magazine devoted to flash fiction. Read more: https://newflashfiction.com
nffr.bsky.social
very surprised and grateful to see this little story win the 2025 new flash fiction review prize!
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
lots of bookish things up for auction to support minnesota (and just a good list of resources that could use your donations if you aren’t bidding on anything here) ❤️🩹
www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
Publishing for Minnesota
Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.
www.32auctions.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:42 PM
lots of bookish things up for auction to support minnesota (and just a good list of resources that could use your donations if you aren’t bidding on anything here) ❤️🩹
www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
congrats sudha!! 🎉 so exciting!
January 17, 2026 at 9:49 PM
congrats sudha!! 🎉 so exciting!
Reposted by kara oakleaf
Finally got a chance to read this prize-winning story by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social and it is absolutely phenomenal. I literally covered my mouth with my hands at the end & realized I was holding my breath.
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
newflashfiction.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:32 AM
Finally got a chance to read this prize-winning story by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social and it is absolutely phenomenal. I literally covered my mouth with my hands at the end & realized I was holding my breath.
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
matt this is such a compliment 😊 thank you so much for reading it!
January 9, 2026 at 3:39 AM
matt this is such a compliment 😊 thank you so much for reading it!
thank you sudha! 😊
December 27, 2025 at 5:59 PM
thank you sudha! 😊
Reposted by kara oakleaf
We will be open for submissions 1 to 15 Jan. For inspiration, read our winning stories from last issue by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social @emilyrinkema.bsky.social @belindarowe.bsky.social @jaimegill.bsky.social @theodora.bsky.social @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social
newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
Issue 39: 2025 New Flash Fiction Prize | New Flash Fiction Review
Featuring new work by Belinda Rowe, Jaime Gill, Emily Rinkema, Theodora Sutcliffe, Kara Oakleaf, Leigh Ann Ruggiero, Kathryn Silver-Hajo, Brigid M. Hughes, and Jess Richards
newflashfiction.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:24 PM
We will be open for submissions 1 to 15 Jan. For inspiration, read our winning stories from last issue by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social @emilyrinkema.bsky.social @belindarowe.bsky.social @jaimegill.bsky.social @theodora.bsky.social @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social
newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
“I asked Dad once, What goes on in Olive’s head? He said, Believe whatever thing seems nicest.”
leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍
newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍
newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
Iron Shoes | Issue #39
My parents, Olive, and I arrive at Uncle Don’s Memorial cookout after a day spent laying flowers at graves.
newflashfiction.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:05 PM
“I asked Dad once, What goes on in Olive’s head? He said, Believe whatever thing seems nicest.”
leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍
newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍
newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
Reposted by kara oakleaf
The long hallways of my arms, where sometimes, I swear I can feel their footsteps, where I look down and expect to see the skin rise up, something pushing against me from the inside." Brilliant unforgettable winning [email protected] @nffr.bsky.social
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
newflashfiction.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:40 AM
The long hallways of my arms, where sometimes, I swear I can feel their footsteps, where I look down and expect to see the skin rise up, something pushing against me from the inside." Brilliant unforgettable winning [email protected] @nffr.bsky.social
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
thank you so much for this claudia! 🥰
December 13, 2025 at 5:04 PM
thank you so much for this claudia! 🥰
Reposted by kara oakleaf
‘…knowing they were safe, that they were surrounded only by their own histories.’
Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
newflashfiction.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:57 PM
‘…knowing they were safe, that they were surrounded only by their own histories.’
Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
james! thank you so much for reading 😊
December 11, 2025 at 11:01 PM
james! thank you so much for reading 😊
“My Uncle Louie beat a man to death with his bare hands, the same hands that now hold my baby in the living room of my newly dead grandmother’s house.”
been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
Thrilled to have my story “Bare Hands” in @nffr.bsky.social! So many great stories by incredible writers in this issue. Honored to be among them! newflashfiction.com/bare-hands/
Bare Hands | Issue #39
My Uncle Louie beat a man to death with his bare hands, the same hands that now hold my baby in the living room of my newly dead grandmother’s house.
newflashfiction.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
“My Uncle Louie beat a man to death with his bare hands, the same hands that now hold my baby in the living room of my newly dead grandmother’s house.”
been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
Reposted by kara oakleaf
This is one of the most damning arguments against AI and one of the most damning indictments of the university admins who gleefully jumped on this bandwagon without once thinking about the long-term damage it might cause. Everyone should read this.
I finally got around to reading this. You should read it too.
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM
This is one of the most damning arguments against AI and one of the most damning indictments of the university admins who gleefully jumped on this bandwagon without once thinking about the long-term damage it might cause. Everyone should read this.
thank you so much for this! ♥️
December 4, 2025 at 7:52 PM
thank you so much for this! ♥️
thanks for reading josh!
December 4, 2025 at 7:51 PM
thanks for reading josh!
thank you belinda! so glad to be in your company in this issue 😊
December 2, 2025 at 11:39 PM
thank you belinda! so glad to be in your company in this issue 😊
emily! thank you so much 😊 slowly making my way through the issue and wow that opening line in yours (and the way it comes back)… it’s such a good story. ♥️
December 2, 2025 at 11:37 PM
emily! thank you so much 😊 slowly making my way through the issue and wow that opening line in yours (and the way it comes back)… it’s such a good story. ♥️
huge thanks to the editors and @gfaulknerwriter.bsky.social for selecting this story, and to the @smokelong.bsky.social summer for helping me get this piece started ♥️
December 2, 2025 at 1:12 AM
huge thanks to the editors and @gfaulknerwriter.bsky.social for selecting this story, and to the @smokelong.bsky.social summer for helping me get this piece started ♥️
very surprised and grateful to see this little story win the 2025 new flash fiction review prize!
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed) (@nffr.bsky.social)
New Flash Fiction Review is an online magazine devoted to flash fiction. Read more: https://newflashfiction.com
nffr.bsky.social
December 2, 2025 at 1:09 AM
very surprised and grateful to see this little story win the 2025 new flash fiction review prize!
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰
newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
“This is precisely how it is every Tuesday. The egg. The soldiers. Mrs White in a fluster.”
beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
Thrilled to have a new story out today with the wonderful Milk Candy Review that features eggs, soldiers, silence and absent suns. Hope you'll give it a read:
milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/11/20/n...
milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/11/20/n...
Nothing certain ~ by Matt Kendrick
The day the sun forgets to rise, Mr White sits down for breakfast at precisely twelve minutes past seven. This is in the dining room. It is Tuesday. His Tuesday breakfast is a soft-boiled egg opene…
milkcandyreview.home.blog
November 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
“This is precisely how it is every Tuesday. The egg. The soldiers. Mrs White in a fluster.”
beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
"In cutting literature programs, universities...are dismantling the intellectual infrastructure that enables young people, and particularly the least advantaged, to become critical subjects capable of engaging with the all-too-many systems of power around them."
lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
lareviewofbooks.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:45 PM
"In cutting literature programs, universities...are dismantling the intellectual infrastructure that enables young people, and particularly the least advantaged, to become critical subjects capable of engaging with the all-too-many systems of power around them."
lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
look at this little piece of wonderful news in the midst of all the mess. ♥️
Today, a coalition of seven charitable foundations announced the launch of the Literary Arts Fund, a historic philanthropic investment of at least $50 million to strengthen the nonprofit literary arts field in the U.S.
October 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
look at this little piece of wonderful news in the midst of all the mess. ♥️
another i love and use in class is “sea air” by matt sailor but i can’t find it anymore - will come back with a link if i can track it down!
September 20, 2025 at 1:16 AM
another i love and use in class is “sea air” by matt sailor but i can’t find it anymore - will come back with a link if i can track it down!