Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
@kleonardphd.bsky.social
Librettist, lyricist, poet, scholar, teacher. Writing operas abt the Jane Collective, ending rape culture, & climate change. Runs the Silent Film Sound & Music Archive (sfsma.org). Autistic. Disabled. kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Cambridge’s #Archaeology journals are publishing an increasing amount of #openaccess (OA) #research. Read the latest articles here: ▶️ https://cup.org/3We1oBR
@antiquity.ac.uk @saa-aap.bsky.social @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social @prehistoricsociety.bsky.social
@antiquity.ac.uk @saa-aap.bsky.social @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social @prehistoricsociety.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Cambridge’s #Archaeology journals are publishing an increasing amount of #openaccess (OA) #research. Read the latest articles here: ▶️ https://cup.org/3We1oBR
@antiquity.ac.uk @saa-aap.bsky.social @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social @prehistoricsociety.bsky.social
@antiquity.ac.uk @saa-aap.bsky.social @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social @prehistoricsociety.bsky.social
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 15:
Don’t be a control freak. Give your characters agency. If they can surprise you, ambush you, knock you off balance, it means you’ve made them come to life. Follow them. See what they do.
Don’t be a control freak. Give your characters agency. If they can surprise you, ambush you, knock you off balance, it means you’ve made them come to life. Follow them. See what they do.
November 26, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 15:
Don’t be a control freak. Give your characters agency. If they can surprise you, ambush you, knock you off balance, it means you’ve made them come to life. Follow them. See what they do.
Don’t be a control freak. Give your characters agency. If they can surprise you, ambush you, knock you off balance, it means you’ve made them come to life. Follow them. See what they do.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
Sign up for NetGalley! I probably get c. 85% of my books there these days.
My genuine advice to people who want new releases fresh from the oven is become a reviewer and get arcs. Then you get to be ahead of everybody.
You do kinda have to get along with authors for this to work the best that it can tho.
You do kinda have to get along with authors for this to work the best that it can tho.
"I have to pirate because I'm on a fixed income, otherwise I am ALIENATED FROM POP CULTURE."
stg I feel like I'm having a stroke with this app, I gotta put Freedom back up and pretend it doesn't exist.
Is this a thing? Do people need to all engage with the same entertainment at the same time?
stg I feel like I'm having a stroke with this app, I gotta put Freedom back up and pretend it doesn't exist.
Is this a thing? Do people need to all engage with the same entertainment at the same time?
November 26, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Sign up for NetGalley! I probably get c. 85% of my books there these days.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Btw I still have a few slots open if anyone else wants to learn nerdy music stuff! It’s fine if you’re not interested in music theory, we can find other stuff to nerd out about 😆
Besides theory and composition, I also teach music production, film and game scoring, Wwise, FMOD, lots of things!!!
Besides theory and composition, I also teach music production, film and game scoring, Wwise, FMOD, lots of things!!!
I'm really happy to be teaching music composition lessons again. I'm essentially getting paid to nerd out about music theory for an hour with someone who is equally excited about it. Very good imo
November 26, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Btw I still have a few slots open if anyone else wants to learn nerdy music stuff! It’s fine if you’re not interested in music theory, we can find other stuff to nerd out about 😆
Besides theory and composition, I also teach music production, film and game scoring, Wwise, FMOD, lots of things!!!
Besides theory and composition, I also teach music production, film and game scoring, Wwise, FMOD, lots of things!!!
Something beautiful
Oh my goodness, I almost missed that today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #HangingAround, birds at unusual angles. 'Apapane are superb at Bird Yoga, as this young one is showing, sipping Pukiawe flowers. 🦉🌿📷
November 26, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Something beautiful
Especially relevant rn when lots of us have to deal with forced social/family functions
Tl;dr many ND people develop systems to cope with their challenges, and when the systems work they don't notice the challenges anymore, but maintaining the systems can be exhausting and when they break down the functions they were supporting break down too.
November 26, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Especially relevant rn when lots of us have to deal with forced social/family functions
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
2 ongoing convos are dovetailing rn:
1. a holiday shopping $ blackout aimed at big business;
2. worry over small presses closing or paring down.
Let's talk direct action: YOU CAN DO BOTH😀
IT'S VITAL TO SUPPORT indie pubs that encourage risk & diversity. Here's a 🧵 of em you can support directly:
1. a holiday shopping $ blackout aimed at big business;
2. worry over small presses closing or paring down.
Let's talk direct action: YOU CAN DO BOTH😀
IT'S VITAL TO SUPPORT indie pubs that encourage risk & diversity. Here's a 🧵 of em you can support directly:
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
2 ongoing convos are dovetailing rn:
1. a holiday shopping $ blackout aimed at big business;
2. worry over small presses closing or paring down.
Let's talk direct action: YOU CAN DO BOTH😀
IT'S VITAL TO SUPPORT indie pubs that encourage risk & diversity. Here's a 🧵 of em you can support directly:
1. a holiday shopping $ blackout aimed at big business;
2. worry over small presses closing or paring down.
Let's talk direct action: YOU CAN DO BOTH😀
IT'S VITAL TO SUPPORT indie pubs that encourage risk & diversity. Here's a 🧵 of em you can support directly:
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
You talking about my books, or the books of any author you love, goes exponentially further than that author talking about their own books, especially on social media where your posts can go viral
I mean. Remember Bigolas Dickolas?
I mean. Remember Bigolas Dickolas?
FWIW: Mention books you like or you think others might like. You never know what'll happen:
I saw The Sad Bastard Cookbook here so I mentioned it on Masto (in a "in case you need this" sense). It kinda went viral (1K shares). It jumped to a high ranking on Amazon and then they got media attention.
I saw The Sad Bastard Cookbook here so I mentioned it on Masto (in a "in case you need this" sense). It kinda went viral (1K shares). It jumped to a high ranking on Amazon and then they got media attention.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 26, 2025 at 3:40 AM
You talking about my books, or the books of any author you love, goes exponentially further than that author talking about their own books, especially on social media where your posts can go viral
I mean. Remember Bigolas Dickolas?
I mean. Remember Bigolas Dickolas?
Natural History by Brandon Kilbourne. A stunning, imaginative, compelling poetry collecting built on history and the need for reconciliation and restitution.
Repost with the last book you enjoyed, and we’ll enter you in a drawing for one of our new fall poetry titles! 🍂📚💙
We are thankful for our readers ❤️
riverriverbooks.org/store/
We are thankful for our readers ❤️
riverriverbooks.org/store/
November 26, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Natural History by Brandon Kilbourne. A stunning, imaginative, compelling poetry collecting built on history and the need for reconciliation and restitution.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program
Books Not Bars 2025 Holiday Campaign
BOOKS NOT BARS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Haymarket Books is committed to making our books available for free to people who are incarcerated.
In an effort to support those inside who are dealing with the imm...
haymarketbooks.app.neoncrm.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
People need to understand how deeply eugenicist this is.
They’re insinuating that if you “take care of yourself” you will be healthy and should get affordable healthcare.
Disabled people can’t “healthy living” their way out of being disabled.
It’s not a moral failing.
We need healthcare too
They’re insinuating that if you “take care of yourself” you will be healthy and should get affordable healthcare.
Disabled people can’t “healthy living” their way out of being disabled.
It’s not a moral failing.
We need healthcare too
Markwayne Mullin on healthcare: "What the president would like to do is say, hey, if you take care of yourself -- you don't smoke, you don't dip, you're not drinking, you're not overweight, you're working out -- then you should pay less than the guy that obviously is not taking care of himself."
November 25, 2025 at 9:28 PM
People need to understand how deeply eugenicist this is.
They’re insinuating that if you “take care of yourself” you will be healthy and should get affordable healthcare.
Disabled people can’t “healthy living” their way out of being disabled.
It’s not a moral failing.
We need healthcare too
They’re insinuating that if you “take care of yourself” you will be healthy and should get affordable healthcare.
Disabled people can’t “healthy living” their way out of being disabled.
It’s not a moral failing.
We need healthcare too
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
A special episode! An interview with Sarah Hall about her splendid new novel Helm: www.buzzsprout.com/1728150/epis... Amazing facts about this unique - hurricane force! - wind and the inspiration it provided for Sarah.
125. Sarah Hall, "Helm" - Across the Pond
The wonderful writer Sarah Hall returns to the podcast, this time to talk about her latest novel Helm, in which the Helm Wind of Cumbria, England's Eden Valley has her own puckish point of view about ...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:51 PM
A special episode! An interview with Sarah Hall about her splendid new novel Helm: www.buzzsprout.com/1728150/epis... Amazing facts about this unique - hurricane force! - wind and the inspiration it provided for Sarah.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
IT'S LIVE YOU CAN BUY IT :D
THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST is up on @libro.fm and probably other sites idk I'm too excited
This has been a long time coming!
Step into the forest and don't lose your nerve...
THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST is up on @libro.fm and probably other sites idk I'm too excited
This has been a long time coming!
Step into the forest and don't lose your nerve...
The Butcher of the Forest Audiobook on Libro.fm
A world-weary woman races against the clock to survive a deadly forest in this dark, otherworldly fairytale from Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author Premee Mohamed.At the northern edge of a ...
libro.fm
November 25, 2025 at 5:37 PM
IT'S LIVE YOU CAN BUY IT :D
THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST is up on @libro.fm and probably other sites idk I'm too excited
This has been a long time coming!
Step into the forest and don't lose your nerve...
THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST is up on @libro.fm and probably other sites idk I'm too excited
This has been a long time coming!
Step into the forest and don't lose your nerve...
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
We're reprinting another Bitch mag classic today and celebrating @scarleteen.com, the internet's best sex-ed site.
Red Letter Day
The enduring legacy of Scarleteen, the internet’s best sex-ed site.
the-flytrap.ghost.io
November 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
We're reprinting another Bitch mag classic today and celebrating @scarleteen.com, the internet's best sex-ed site.
Appalling
1. In Tennessee, public libraries have closed for up to a week to facilitate a Trump-inspired book purge.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge
One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes…
popular.info
November 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Appalling
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
So many retellings by me, all in one place!
Includes were-mollusks, rampaging pumpkins, and sneaky perfumiers!
Includes were-mollusks, rampaging pumpkins, and sneaky perfumiers!
🎉It's my book day!🎉
SHELLS FOR HEARTS is available wherever you get ebooks! Can also be suggested to your library!
Full of short fiction and poetry retellings!
books2read.com/u/b6EDMA
devan-barlow.itch.io/shells-for-h...
SHELLS FOR HEARTS is available wherever you get ebooks! Can also be suggested to your library!
Full of short fiction and poetry retellings!
books2read.com/u/b6EDMA
devan-barlow.itch.io/shells-for-h...
November 24, 2025 at 8:01 PM
So many retellings by me, all in one place!
Includes were-mollusks, rampaging pumpkins, and sneaky perfumiers!
Includes were-mollusks, rampaging pumpkins, and sneaky perfumiers!
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Une nécropole antique découverte lors de fouilles archéologiques à Hyères (Var). #Archéologie
actu.fr/histoire-pat...
actu.fr/histoire-pat...
Une nécropole antique découverte lors de fouilles archéologiques dans cette ville du sud de la France
À quelques pas du rivage, à Hyères (Var), l'Inrap (l’Institut national de recherches archéologiques) a mis au jour une vaste aire funéraire romaine.
actu.fr
November 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Une nécropole antique découverte lors de fouilles archéologiques à Hyères (Var). #Archéologie
actu.fr/histoire-pat...
actu.fr/histoire-pat...
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
In addition to being a fascinating (if horrific) insight into a mostly-unknown period of European prehistory, this includes a BANGER of a quote: "I can see why all these people without heads wouldn’t be good for a community, and might be a cause for abandonment."
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished
Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture
www.science.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
In addition to being a fascinating (if horrific) insight into a mostly-unknown period of European prehistory, this includes a BANGER of a quote: "I can see why all these people without heads wouldn’t be good for a community, and might be a cause for abandonment."
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
did you know you could log into your library app RIGHT NOW and borrow Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man in eBook? you should try it.
November 23, 2025 at 4:42 AM
did you know you could log into your library app RIGHT NOW and borrow Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man in eBook? you should try it.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Viola Ford Fletcher, who as one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma spent her later years seeking justice for the deadly attack by a white mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as a child, has died. She was 111. https://to.pbs.org/43OHYaQ
Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at age 111
Fletcher spent her later years seeking justice for the deadly attack by a white mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as a child.
www.pbs.org
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Viola Ford Fletcher, who as one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma spent her later years seeking justice for the deadly attack by a white mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as a child, has died. She was 111. https://to.pbs.org/43OHYaQ
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Rest in power.
Breaking: Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died. She was 111 years old
Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died
Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died. She was 111 years old.
www.whatimreading.net
November 24, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Rest in power.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Do not steal books, I beg. Borrow from a library. Libraries lend e-books!
November 24, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Do not steal books, I beg. Borrow from a library. Libraries lend e-books!
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...