Summer Brennan
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
Award-winning writer and Orion Book Award finalist. American in Paris. Books: THE OYSTER WAR; HIGH HEEL. Next: THE PARISIAN SPHINX, A TRUE TALE OF ART & OBSESSION. Leonard Cohen blew me a kiss one time.
Substack: https://www.awritersnotebook.org/
Substack: https://www.awritersnotebook.org/
Reposted by Summer Brennan
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
The least you could do is tell me I look nice today.
November 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The least you could do is tell me I look nice today.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
My Xmas gift thank you Summer Brennan
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:43 AM
My Xmas gift thank you Summer Brennan
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
I renew my request that you all stop showing me the worst people in the world morning, noon, and night.
November 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I renew my request that you all stop showing me the worst people in the world morning, noon, and night.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
What happened then mattered then, and still does. Women still struggle to claim their own experiences and ability to write what they wish.
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 8:14 PM
What happened then mattered then, and still does. Women still struggle to claim their own experiences and ability to write what they wish.
"In 1931, Anaïs Nin opened the door to a Paris apartment, all cheekbones and cigarette smoke, and met Henry Miller, a hurricane disguised as a man." substack.com/home/post/p-...
Don’t Let Your Husband Stop You From Meeting Your Other Husband (Plus some Boyfriends and Lovers...)
Women in men's fields
substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
"In 1931, Anaïs Nin opened the door to a Paris apartment, all cheekbones and cigarette smoke, and met Henry Miller, a hurricane disguised as a man." substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:37 PM
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
@summerbrennan.bsky.social on “Cat Person” and discourses of yore (and ongoing projects to deny women as artists)
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
@summerbrennan.bsky.social on “Cat Person” and discourses of yore (and ongoing projects to deny women as artists)
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
November 23, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
Oh my god, they placed an adult content warning on this because it's a Bazille painting of nude bathers! Anyway, if you're a person with a few extra hundred thousand lying around and want to own a work by a truly great artist who was cut down even before his prime (LOVE Bazille), this is for you.
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et da... | enchères
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et daté 'F.Bazille 68' (en bas à gauche)huile sur toile Peint en 1868signed and dated 'F.Bazille 6...
drouot.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Oh my god, they placed an adult content warning on this because it's a Bazille painting of nude bathers! Anyway, if you're a person with a few extra hundred thousand lying around and want to own a work by a truly great artist who was cut down even before his prime (LOVE Bazille), this is for you.
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et da... | enchères
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et daté 'F.Bazille 68' (en bas à gauche)huile sur toile Peint en 1868signed and dated 'F.Bazille 6...
drouot.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
Reposted by Summer Brennan
The reason that magnolia flowers are more rigid and less soft compared to other flowers is because magnolia trees belong to one of the earliest lineages of flowering plants, and predate bees. They evolved to be pollinated by beetles, and still are
November 21, 2025 at 3:25 AM
The reason that magnolia flowers are more rigid and less soft compared to other flowers is because magnolia trees belong to one of the earliest lineages of flowering plants, and predate bees. They evolved to be pollinated by beetles, and still are
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
We've reached the end of another session of Essay Camp, but it's still okay to start late—quite a few people are just beginning—so feel free to work at your own pace. It's free and open to all. Thanks to those who joined xo www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Essay Camp Day 5
Enough talk. Let's make something.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 AM
We've reached the end of another session of Essay Camp, but it's still okay to start late—quite a few people are just beginning—so feel free to work at your own pace. It's free and open to all. Thanks to those who joined xo www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
It's Day 4 of Essay Camp, and we're talking about structure www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Essay Camp Day 4
Thinking about structure.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:22 PM
It's Day 4 of Essay Camp, and we're talking about structure www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Ok fine.
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Ok fine.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
I would prefer not to.
November 17, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I would prefer not to.
Essay Camp Day 3, ICYMI www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Essay Camp Day 3
Keep going.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Essay Camp Day 3, ICYMI www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Immer noch die beste Methode, um eine Ideensammlung anzulegen. Finde ich.
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
The Five Things Essay
An all-purpose writing prompt to help you find your voice, lose your voice, beat writer's block, or figure out what the hell you want to write about in the first place.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Immer noch die beste Methode, um eine Ideensammlung anzulegen. Finde ich.
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
The message for Day 3 is due in a few hours, but here's Day 2 of Essay Camp for those interested. I think the list of recommended essays is a good one. www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Essay Camp Day 2
Keep at it.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 17, 2025 at 3:12 AM
The message for Day 3 is due in a few hours, but here's Day 2 of Essay Camp for those interested. I think the list of recommended essays is a good one. www.awritersnotebook.org/p/essay-camp...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Oh this is LOVELY. Claire talking about her role in H is for Hawk. She is not only an astonishing actor but an extraordinarily accomplished natural hawk-handler, entirely in tune with the birds
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
November 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Oh this is LOVELY. Claire talking about her role in H is for Hawk. She is not only an astonishing actor but an extraordinarily accomplished natural hawk-handler, entirely in tune with the birds
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...