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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 7h

It's National Coming Out Day. My mom came out in 1979. Here's our story. longreads.com/2022/06/28/q...
#nationalcomingoutday @colage.bsky.social

Families Like Ours: A Reading List for the Children of Queer Parents - Longreads

Some of us got to stay with our moms or dads. Others did not.

longreads.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 2d

It's Banned Books Week. I wrote about this for @huffpost.com :

www.huffpost.com/entry/daisy-... #bannedbooks #bannedbooksweek #downsyndrome @bannedbooksweek.bsky.social @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social

I Wrote One Of The Few Tween Books About Down Syndrome. A Couple Of Sentences May Get It Banned.

"Because of a handful of sentences among 281 pages, adults are going to considerable lengths to make sure kids don’t read my newest book."

www.huffpost.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 2d

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month from my brother and me! @oregonduckfootball.bsky.social @universityoforegon.bsky.social #downsyndrome

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 3d

Right there with you, Tim Flach.

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Reposted by @WildMelissaHart

Amanda Hunt @thenextgenlib.bsky.social · 7d

It’s #DownSyndromeawareness Month! Celebrate with this #mg #nonfiction inspirational title: bookshop.org/a/102434/978... @wildmelissahart.bsky.social @sourcebooks.bsky.social

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 8d

My free October newsletter for creative writers is packed with excellent opportunities and inspiring articles; it has only a little to do with obese black cats. #creativewriting #writing
writingwithhart.substack.com/p/harness-th...

Harness the Power of Time- and News-Pegs to Sell your Stories

October 2025

writingwithhart.substack.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 9d

I think this publicist got some incorrect information about my newest book. Nevertheless, I'll be reaching out the Hallmark Channel today.

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 10d

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. To celebrate, purchase a copy of DOWN SYNDROME OUT LOUD: 20+ Stories of Disability & Determination for your library, school, bookclub, community center, Little Free Library, family member, or friend! #downsyndrome #disability #inclusion #teacher #librarian

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 16d

Thanks to the @dsrfcanada.bsky.social for featuring DOWN SYNDROME OUT LOUD on The LowDOWN and including insights from activists Karen Gaffney, Charlotte Woodward, and Zack Gottsagen!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWPZ... #downsyndrome #disabilityawareness #inclusion #reading #teacher #newrelease

The LowDOWN Podcast - Down Syndrome Out Loud (S11, Ep 3)

YouTube video by DSRFCANADA

www.youtube.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 19d

As I tell my creative writing students, it's just so important to read your work aloud to catch typos.

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 21d

"Just remember, no matter how bad your job is, even if you shovel crap for a living, at least you're not doing it naked, and with your mouth, and then eating it."--Ze Frank

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1zb... #nature #humor

True Facts About The Dung Beetle

YouTube video by Ze Frank

www.youtube.com

@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 25d

How wonderful to see DOWN SYNDROME OUT LOUD on display at the NYC Buddy Walk! #downsyndrome #mglit #disabilityawareness

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · 28d

Thanks to @drtlovesbooks.bsky.social for this lovely review of Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ Stories of Disability and Determination! www.middleweb.com/52613/listen... #mglit #middleschool #kidsbooks @unteragency.bsky.social

Introduce Middle Grades Readers to People with Down Syndrome

Melissa Hart's Down Syndrome Out Loud introduces middle graders to contemporary people with Down syndrome and to an overview of the condition and its effects.

www.middleweb.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 25

What's making me happy today is this school library photo from teacher Michael Holton, who's featured in my newest book Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ Stories of Disability & Determination. I hope every school librarian will order a copy of this inspiring and important book! #backtoschool #librarian

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 10

For the rest of this summer, please always carry a couple of dollars in cash and stop at kids' lemonade stands, even if you have to make a U-turn. We did this yesterday, and there was much rejoicing all around.

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 8

My latest story for Hidden Compass feels particularly relevant right now, as environmental activist groups raise concerns over the building of "Alligator Alcatraz" on vulnerable Florida wetlands.

hiddencompass.net/story/where-... #florida #nature #everglades

Where Greed Grows Wild - Hidden Compass

In dazzling blue waters shaped by a history of alligator wrestlers, escaping monkeys, and war, Melissa Hart considers Silver Springs State Park, Florida.

hiddencompass.net

@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 5

I feel weird and vulnerable publishing a link to my Substack newsletter here--is imposter syndrome after 25 years of writing professionally a thing? Apparently, it is.
writingwithhart.substack.com/p/immerse-yo... #creativewriting #writing #journalistm #author #writingtips

Immerse Yourself in Weirdness for the Sake of Creative Writing

Go on...take that Zumba class, lick a rock, and brew up a batch of backyard-weed tea.

writingwithhart.substack.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 1

I will make this happen later this year. Thank you for the inspiration!

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Aug 1

I get to teach a workshop on how to write social and political commentary at the Willamette Writers' Conference in Portland, Oregon tomorrow, and I am so very excited to empower people to get their stories out into the world! #creativewriting #politics #writer

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Jul 24

I adored this talk with Jessica Shaw about loneliness in Gen X women, inspired by my essay in @damemagazine.bsky.social . We discussed friendship benches, @roadscholarorg.bsky.social adventures & why you should attend Salamander Science Night at the pub. tinyurl.com/8nuusete #loneliness #friendship

Lonely But Not Alone: Why Gen X Women Are Feeling It More Than Ever

Podcast Episode · The Shaw Report with Jessica Shaw · 07/24/2025 · 24m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by @WildMelissaHart

Oregon State University Press @osupress.bsky.social · May 9

Thank you @opb.org for this amazing piece with Ellen Morris Bishop! OSU Press is excited for the new edition of "Living with Thunder" coming this October! 🗻

OPB @opb.org · May 4

That an ordinary-looking rock can reveal a 280-million-year-old story was no surprise to Bishop. “They have a superb story to tell if you listen to them with a great deal of patience and fortitude,” she said.

Geologist Ellen Morris Bishop unearths stories of Oregon’s ancient beginnings

Since the publication of her seminal “In Search of Ancient Oregon” in 2004, Morris Bishop has been a leading guide through Oregon’s geologic past.

www.opb.org

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Jul 8

Friends at #mswishlist , does anyone rep middle-grade memoirs written by adults with Down syndrome or other intellectual/developmental disabilities? Literally asking for a friend profiled in my newest book, Down Syndrome Out Loud. #books #downsyndrome #disabilityawareness @mswishlist.bsky.social

@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Jul 4

Should you need some distraction & creative writing tips/ opportunities, my July newsletter is out. Also, please read the new novel CLOSER by my friend Miriam Gershow . #creativewriting #fiction

open.substack.com/pub/writingw...

The Vital Importance of Coffee Dates with Friends, Family Members & Near-Strangers

Face-to-Face Conversations over a Cuppa Give Writers the Strength to Persist

open.substack.com

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Jul 3

I've been crying all day. As the sister of a man with Down syndrome, with several friends who have IDD, I'm devastated by the cruelty of this administration.

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@WildMelissaHart @wildmelissahart.bsky.social · Jul 3

Thank you for this--love Ologies and have never listened to these two episodes.