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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · 4d

New novel is officially out on sub! #fingerscrossed @jennaschmenna.bsky.social

a cartoon of spongebob squarepants with a hat on his head

ALT: a cartoon of spongebob squarepants with a hat on his head

media.tenor.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks for the shout out!

Turn and Work (Hugh) @turnandwork.com · 5d

The Shortlist for Oct 3:

Stories of life & death (& death):

Nonfiction:
Katrina Ralbag in @reckonreview.bsky.social

Fiction:
Wade Harris in @turnandwork.com
Kara Crawford @kara-c.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute
Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social in @flashfrog.bsky.social
(...cont'd)

The Shortlist for October 3, 2025 - Turn & Work

Nonfiction by Katrina Ralbag, and fiction from Kara Crawford, Daniel Abiva Hunt, Amy DeBellis, Brad Barkley, Kelli Short Borges, Trevor J. Houser, Robert Nazar Arjoyan, Wade Harris and Albert Rodrigue...

www.turnandwork.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · 9d

Very pleased to have my Work appear today in the amazing @flashfrog.bsky.social ! Thanks also to Ali for the beautiful artwork. ❤️

Flash Frog @flashfrog.bsky.social · 9d

NEW STORY⚡️🐸

“Sunday Nights” by @bradbarkley.bsky.social is now up!

Art by Ali McLafferty

flash-frog.com/2025/09/29/s...

Sunday Nights by Brad Barkley

That evening, Winston dropped off his granddaughter Claire at her dad’s house, Steven opening the door before they rang the bell. Grunted thanks, alcohol breath. Seven years of awkward, screendoor …

flash-frog.com

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Reposted by Brad Barkley

Jenna Satterthwaite @jennaschmenna.bsky.social · Aug 7

Soooo freaking thrilled about this! I could not put Brad's book down... brilliant social commentary, gorgeous writing, layered characters that felt incredibly real... not to mention it has Bots and we all know I'm a sucker for 'em. 😂 Lit fic editors WATCH OUT. 👀

@stormliterary.bsky.social

Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Aug 7

I’m thrilled to announce that I have signed with @stormliterary.bsky.social and the utterly awesome @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Happy to find such a smart, passionate partner! www.stormliteraryagency.com/brad-barkley...

Brad Barkley

Brad Barkley is the author of Money, Love and Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual , named among the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Library Journal . His short fiction has appeared...

www.stormliteraryagency.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Aug 7

I’m thrilled to announce that I have signed with @stormliterary.bsky.social and the utterly awesome @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Happy to find such a smart, passionate partner! www.stormliteraryagency.com/brad-barkley...

Brad Barkley

Brad Barkley is the author of Money, Love and Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual , named among the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Library Journal . His short fiction has appeared...

www.stormliteraryagency.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Aug 6

I wrote as a birthday celebration this blog post www.bradbarkley.com/post/advice-....

Advice to my younger writing self

We’re said to soften as we age, like bananas.Maybe, but don’t let aging soften you in your writing. Remember that a shift of perspective is not a softening of will.As you grow older, notice that shift...

www.bradbarkley.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Jul 5

TFW you get an acceptance from @flashfrog.bsky.social !

a man in front of a green chalkboard with the word yes on it

ALT: a man in front of a green chalkboard with the word yes on it

media.tenor.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Jun 16

🎬 Enter the reel life.
One year from today, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg hits shelves — a witty, wistful YA novel about grief, love, and 150 inflatable Godzillas.

Cover reveal later this summer.

📽️ Coming June 16, 2026, from Regal House Publishing. @regalhouse.bsky.social

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 23

“The novel you’re working on right now doesn’t know you’ve written other novels before.” —John Irving

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 22

When you write the first draft of a novel, all you’re doing is making clay. After that work is done, you now have a big lump of clay sitting in front of you on your desk. Here’s when the real work begins of sculpting it, shaping it, turning it into something. #amwriting

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 18

Writers, you can fix a bad page; you can’t fix a blank one.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 16

New blog post today. I hope you give it a look! www.bradbarkley.com/post/three-n...?

Three Novels, One Brain

I haven't blogged for a while. Here's why.Right now I’m working on three novels at once. Not in a vague, “ideas in the air” kind of way—these are real, active projects, all at different stages. One is...

www.bradbarkley.com

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 15

Write what you know” doesn’t mean limit yourself. It means pay attention. To how people talk. To what hurts. To the weird stuff you remember. Write what you know emotionally.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 12

If revising your novel isn’t hard, you’re not doing it right.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 10

Most writing advice is just disguised anxiety. Be OK with bad first drafts and and write often. You’ll be fine.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 9

The main thing a writer needs is practice. Not inspiration, not a special pen, not a cabin in the woods. Just hours. It’s unsexy, hard to romanticize, but it’s how the work gets done—one page, one bad sentence at a time.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 8

In writing fiction, don’t forget to look inward. Your weird little obsessions? Priceless. Mine them and dig deep.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 7

In non-genre fiction, ghosts aren’t dead people. They’re regrets, mistakes, missed chances.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 6

In fiction, as in life, too much clarity of detail is often a lie.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 5

Writing is mostly trying to sound like you’re not trying to sound like anything.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 4

“Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

— David Foster Wallace #SundaySentence

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · May 3

The old adage says, “every story is a love story,“ but really every story is a ghost story. Everyone’s haunted by something.

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Apr 29

My thesis advisor at Arkansas, and now we share the same publishing season at @regalhouse.bsky.social So happy about this.

Regal House Publishing @regalhouse.bsky.social · Apr 29

We are simply delighted to announce that we will be publishing Donald Hays' novel THE GREAT AWAKENING as part of our Summer 2026 Frontlist season. Welcome, Donald, to #teamregalhouse! regalhousepublishing.com/donald-hays/

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Apr 15

Teaser Trailer for THE REEL LIFE OF ZARA KEGG, coming June, 2026! Cover art reveal later this summer!

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Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social · Apr 6

“He had no dreams himself but from the careless and inexplicable rebuff they encountered on all sides, he could see that dreams, like the mockingbird, might have to be nourished on their own death.”

-Denis Johnson, Train Dreams #SundaySentence

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