Author | Lightnews

Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 20h

And HUGE shout out to everyone who found the courage to submit to Bond; and to everyone fighting for better conditions in jails and prisons, for a more humane prison system.

Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 20h

We’d also like to thank our funders of this project (The Awesome Foundation). We wouldn’t have our first mailing address or the capacity to do this work without you 🥹!

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 20h

❓Did you know that if you are a currently incarcerated individual or an organization working with currently and previously incarcerated people that you can mail in your work to us?

Email us at [email protected] for more details and our address.

a purple mailbox with a red flag on a purple background .

Alt: a purple mailbox with a red flag on a purple background .

media.tenor.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 20h

Eeeeee! Nothing and we mean nothing could have prepared us for a mailbox OVERFLOWING with submissions for our forthcoming book #Bond — a publication that highlights the relationships of those currently and previously navigating our criminal justice system.

A bunch of mailed letters spread out on top of a few larger tan envelopes.

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 14d

The latest story from our newsroom @15west.org!

15 West @15west.org · 14d

Accessibility, at whose expense?

Riders have navigated a detour stemming from @chicagocta.bsky.social’s closure of the Austin station.

The updates are long overdue, but commuters relying on the Green Line have experienced lengthened daily trips since June.

Swipe ⬆️ for the TLDR.

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 19d

We’re so honored that students words’ can find a home at #LittleJefferson.

Head here, filter for 826NYC, and enjoy selected works and the publication: luckyjefferson.com/little-jeffe...

Little Jefferson Collection -

Read Little Jefferson × Read Little Jefferson Explore the worlds our young people create through writing. Featured Student Works Filter by Source All 826NYC Chicago Poetry Center School Partner Family...

luckyjefferson.com

Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 19d

“Fantasy writing is not just fiction, it’s fiction of an entirely different universe. You don’t have to be a human being, you can be a martian or a cyclops. From kingdoms to castles, you find a lot of detailed worlds.” - Jenna Barkan, age 10,
Foreword Writer

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · 19d

This one’s for anyone seeking softness, kindness in a world that grows more scary each day.

In collaboration with #826NYC, #MakingtheWorldSoft is an otherworldly fantasy anthology shaped by the minds of 9 young writers who dared to dream beyond the ordinary.

Who dared to create new worlds.

A student poses with Making the World Soft

Two students pose with Making the World Soft

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

15 West @15west.org · Sep 3

At La Cocina de Irma in Little Village, “Grandma Irma” feeds everyone—no matter what language they speak or how much money they have.

⬇️ Swipe for the TLDR or head here to read more: www.15west.org/grandma-irma...

Grandma Irma's Cocina Feeds Everyone

After 36 years as a waitress, Irma Ceballos opened her own Mexican restaurant in Little Village, where family recipes and unconditional hospitality have made her a neighborhood pillar.

www.15west.org

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

Keila (Freelance Editor and Suffering Enjoyer) @keilagc.bsky.social · Aug 26

It has been a pleasure working with Lucky Jefferson again for Estallido! I hope everyone takes some time to check out this issue full of inspirational pieces.

Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Aug 24

Starting off Sunday with the release of our second Latine issue, #Estallido!

#Estallido centers 6 Latin-American and Latin-identifying writers, poets, and artists, each of them inviting the radical act of protest into their work.

luckyjefferson.com/estallido

A crowd of people form with pots lifted above their heads. A person stands in front of them banging a pot above their head. The word “Estallido” is left aligned in the lower left corner of the image.

#Estallido is our second Latine-focused issue that centers 6 Latin-American and Latin-identifying writers, poets, and artists, each of them inviting the radical act of protest into their work.

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

Sophia Carroll @torpor-chamber.bsky.social · Sep 2

#poetryoftheday is my brilliant friend Disha Trivedi's "be here to mother me at the end of the world" in the latest issue of @luckyjefferson.com

"Weather-green, that book, the cover, like chutney, or the slick mint sari for a wedding I won’t have."

luckyjefferson.com/fissure/

#poetry

Fissure -

Fissure celebrates 14 writers and artists who dare to examine the cracks in our world, and within ourselves. Each contributor in this issue confronts the question: how do we find […]

luckyjefferson.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Aug 25

FREE WORKSHOP ALERT!

Join Lucky Jefferson and Jasmine Barnes on Saturday, September 6th, for a free 1.5-hour virtual writing workshop designed for writers interested in using poetry to explore our connections to others. ✍️📝💌

Register here: events.humanitix.com/letters-to-o...
jasbarnes.com

Letters to Our Ancestors: Epistle Poems as Connection

Join Lucky Jefferson and Jasmine Barnes for a free 1.5 hr virtual writing workshop for writers interested in using poetry to explore our connections.

events.humanitix.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Aug 24

Celebrate each of the issue’s six writers with us:

Madari Pendas
Ciara Alfaro
Marie Anne
Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés
Catalina Garza Onofre
Vic Xochitl Chavez

Enjoy the issue now by heading to luckyjefferson.com/estallido

Estallido -

Foráneo is Lucky Jefferson's first Halloween-themed issue that celebrates 9 Latin-American and Latin-identifying writers, poets, and artists, each of them inviting strangeness and fear of the unknown ...

luckyjefferson.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Aug 24

“Estallido aims to show that there is another option. There is more than helplessness.

Estallido tiene como objetivo mostrar que existe otra opción. Hay algo más allá del la amargura.”

— Keila Gallardo Cubas(@keilagc_), Editor

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Aug 24

Starting off Sunday with the release of our second Latine issue, #Estallido!

#Estallido centers 6 Latin-American and Latin-identifying writers, poets, and artists, each of them inviting the radical act of protest into their work.

luckyjefferson.com/estallido

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP) @clmporg.bsky.social · Jul 23

Read WILDFLOWER from @luckyjefferson.com for #DisabilityPrideMonth! This digital issue celebrating eight autistic BIPOC writers features writing by J. D. Harlock, Shel Moring, Greta McGee, and more: luckyjefferson.com/wildflower/

Wildflower -

Wildflower celebrates 8 BIPOC writers from across the country, each of them opening a window into our lives and journeys on and across the spectrum.

luckyjefferson.com

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

15 West @15west.org · Jul 22

👋🏽 We’re hosting media literacy workshops for anyone curious about misinformation and community journalism.

Over 3 weeks you’ll learn to:

• decode misinformation
• critically engage with media
• write your own narratives through hands-on training in digital publishing and community journalism

Learn

News for everyone

15west.org

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Jul 10

Still so grateful for IFF’s support! 🥹

This is our largest gift to date. And with everything going on in the world, it feels surreal to be included among this list of organizations fighting for the arts.

Learn more about our plans at the link below

A woman prepares a glue stick during a zine making workshop hosted by Chicago nonprofit arts publisher Lucky Jefferson

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Reposted by Lucky Jefferson (LJ)

NaBeela Washington @nabeelawashington.com · Jun 30

Man self-promo is tuff but here goes.

If you’re seeing this, I’ve started a newsroom called 15 West (@15West.org)!

This wouldn’t be possible without a grant from Cook County and @citybureau.bsky.social.

Writing for 15 West

15 West is short for 15 miles west. Berwyn and Cicero, where we're based, are located less than 15 miles west of downtown Chicago. When reaching out to us with story ideas, consider neighborhoods wes...

15west.org

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Jun 21

We launching a newsroom (@15west.org)!

Please support with a follow or share.

15 West @15west.org · Jun 21

Get ready for #news for everyone.

Who are we? #15West is a new volunteer-supported newsroom and a fiscally sponsored project of @luckyjefferson.com dedicated to connecting people mile by mile, block by block, throughout neighborhoods west of Chicago.

15 West is a fiscally sponsored, volunteer-supported newsroom dedicated to connecting people mile by mile, block by block, throughout neighborhoods west of Chicago.

Made possible by Cook County’s Digital Equity Impact Grant, we want to be one of the first news spaces to intentionally cater to readers of all needs, abilities, and competencies.

We aim to increase understanding of the news and diminish the likelihood that someone is misinformed about the world around them.

We’re neurodiverse first, getting news to people of all abilities.

Noticas para todos.

¿Quiénes somos?

15 West es una sala de prensa fiscalmente patrocinada y operada por voluntarios que se dedica a conectar a las personas a lo largo de los barrios del oeste de Chicago; milla por milla, cuadra por cuadra.

Gracias al aporte del condado de Cook para el Impacto en la Equidad Digital, queremos ser uno de los primeros espacios de noticias que sirva a lectores de todas las necesidades, habilidades y competencias.
Nuestro fin es aumentar la comprensión de noticias y disminuir la posibilidad de que alguien esté mal informado sobre el mundo a su alrededor.

Neurodiversidad antes que nada, llevando noticias a gente de todas las habilidades.

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · Jun 11

We have two FREE virtual workshops happening in July!

REGISTER here: luckyjefferson.com/programs/

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · May 28

Artwork designed by the ever fabulous Dana Ross! danarossportfolio.com/

Dana Ross

danarossportfolio.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · May 28

🍉 We're proud to be working with this year's judge Ahmad Almallah.

Almallah grew up in Palestine and currently lives in Philadelphia. His newest poetry collection, Wrong Winds, is out with Fonograf Editions (2025). He’s an artist in residence at @upenn.edu

luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose...

Poetry & Prose Contest -

The Book Worm Bookstore and Lucky Jefferson are excited to collaborate with Shauna Robinson author of The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks, to produce a collection of reimagined scenes from classic lit...

luckyjefferson.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · May 28

We'll also be selecting up to 20 finalists who will ALL be published in our 365 Collection.

Did we mention it’s free to enter.

Submit any original and unpublished poem or prose piece you want.

luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose...

Poetry & Prose Contest -

The Book Worm Bookstore and Lucky Jefferson are excited to collaborate with Shauna Robinson author of The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks, to produce a collection of reimagined scenes from classic lit...

luckyjefferson.com

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Lucky Jefferson (LJ) @luckyjefferson.com · May 28

Paying for #contests sucks. Sooo don't?

For the third year, we're calling all poetry and prose writers to submit to our summer contest!

Two finalists will win a cash prize and LJ swag pack.

Plus, it’s FREEE to enter.

More info: luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose...

Bright fruity colorful image with words poetry and prose contest, submit by August 17, this year’s judge is Ahmad Almallah

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