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Electric Literature

@electricliterature.com

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Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 20m

Texas State University is the place to be to give yourself the gift of time and attention to pursue your writing under the guidance of dedicated, award-winning faculty. Apply by November 1 for Spring 2026 admission and February 15 for Fall 2026 admission. buff.ly/h4lN98z

MFA in Creative Writing

MFA faculty includes Tim O’Brien, Naomi Shihab Nye, a rotating Endowed Chair, and 9 full-time instructors who mentor students in completing book-length theses. Our student to faculty ratio is 6:1.

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 17h

Joshua Wheeler's novel "The High Heaven" is in bookstores today! Read this excerpt from the novel, about a 1960s rancher and young child who escapes from a cult, in our Recommended Reading

Gentleness Is Outdated in This Alien World - Electric Literature

An excerpt from THE HIGH HEAVEN by Joshua Wheeler, recommended by Claire Vaye Watkins

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 19h

"A name is powerful. It can place you and also undo who you think you are."

A Novel Exploring the Power Dynamics of Working at a Nail Salon - Electric Literature

Souvankham Thammavongsa’s “Pick a Color” follows salon owner Ning across a single day of work

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 21h

Waiting for my date’s shoes to put him on and carry him out the door.

Who Needs a Date When I've Got a Microwave - Electric Literature

"Hinge," a poem by Xinyue Huang

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 22h

Hamid Ismailov’s "We Computers: A Ghazal Novel," translated by Shelley Fairweather-Vega, is a finalist for this year's National Book Awards! Ready to dive in to see what all the buzz is about? Read an excerpt from the powerhouse novel in our Recommended Reading, now!

His Mystic Poetry Is Generating the Earliest AI - Electric Literature

An excerpt from WE COMPUTERS by Hamid Ismailov, translated and recommended by Shelley Fairweather-Vega

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 22h

Need more small presses in your literary diet? Oh do we have the list for you!

15 Small Press Books You Don’t Want to Miss This Fall - Electric Literature

These books ask what it means to belong, to stay or leave, or to exist in-between

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 23h

Electric Literature contributor Ethan Rutherford is a finalist for this year's National Book Awards! Read some of his brilliant writing in Recommended Reading as we try to contain our excitement! buff.ly/60U7VGN

A Fairytale Reading to Blow Up the Dinner Party - Electric Literature

fable-by-ethan-rutherford

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Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 23h

Rose Dommu on being trans at straight weddings, the possibilities of transition, and the necessity of intimacy and community for queer people.

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A Trans Rom-Com That Navigates the Very Gendered Dynamics of a Wedding - Electric Literature

“Best Wedding” author Rose Dommu on telling the kind of story that can only exist if the main character is trans

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Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 1d

“Why are we living in a world where this is even allowed?”

A Diary Detailing 45 Days Living Through Genocide in Palestine - Electric Literature

Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad wants her book “The Eyes of Gaza” to remind us that what she experienced is still happening in Gaza today

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 1d

“For readers who want to understand the human factor behind the news headlines about immigration, there are no better storytellers than immigrants (regardless of status) themselves.” (@cindyfazzi.bsky.social)

7 Powerful Novels About Undocumented Immigrants - Electric Literature

These books, primarily written by immigrants, offer poignancy and pathos you won’t find in the news

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 1d

These books center disabled people’s stories and experiences, advocating for the creation of a more caring world.

10 Books About the Diversity of Disabled Experiences - Electric Literature

Centering disabled people’s stories is the first step to creating a more caring world

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 1d

A story by Robyn Ryle about a lonely health department worker determined to run a new hot dog vendor out of town, recommended by Kiese Laymon.

Her Top Priority Is to Destroy the Hot Dog Guy - Electric Literature

“The Eloquence of Hot Dogs” from SEX OF THE MIDWEST by Robyn Ryle, recommended by Kiese Laymon

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 1d

With Augsburg’s two-year low residency Master of Fine Arts, elevate your creative writing through a program catered to your fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, or playwriting goals. Learn more: augsburg.edu/mfa

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 2d

There is something addictive about people who put their lives on display.

8 Books That Love Reality TV as Much as You Do - Electric Literature

Novels about fictionalized reality TV premises, and cultural analysis of the shows we can’t stop watching

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 2d

“As long as we live under capitalism, making art should be considered labor and as such be fairly compensated.”

Artists Shouldn’t Need to Become Content Creators to Get Fair Pay - Electric Literature

Under capitalism, those of us who want a career in the arts feel pressured to sell ourselves. But making art and marketing it are very different skills

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 3d

"'Is it my week?' my Sensible Fall Jacket will ask. 'Has it finally come?' 'It has, old friend,' I’ll say. 'What would you like to do with your one wild and precious week of Actual Fall?'" (via @mcsweeneys.net)

What I’ll Do with the One Week I Can Wear My Sensible Fall Jacket

When the Hunter’s Moon approaches… When the flowers begin to wilt with chill… When the coffee shops begin unveiling new and exciting lattes… That’s...

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 3d

“Then it hit me: Kendrick’s cutting the volume on a verse was not some ill-conceived decision. It was a bold artistic declaration.”

The Secret Writing Tips I Learned from Kendrick Lamar - Electric Literature

The first time I heard Kendrick Lamar’s song “Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst” was in 2012, on a Saturday spent sick inside my college dorm room. Thanks to a stranger who had decided to kiss me, I had…

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 3d

Souvankham Thammavongsa and Apoorva Bradshaw-Mittal discuss her forthcoming novel “Pick a Color,” the art of absence, making what is real fiction, and keeping the reader wanting for more.

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

"Once I’m in that hay-strewn trailer, anything goes. WHOOOOOO! FUCK SUMMER!" (via @mcsweeneys.net)

Nobody Loves Autumn More Than Me

I love this time of year. The leaves start to change, the air takes on a chill, and I erect scarecrows in my front yard, each representing one of m...

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

Always, always respect the dead.

8 Folklore-Inspired Horror Novels That Will Make Your Skin Crawl - Electric Literature

Prejudice, misogyny, and colonial violence are the real terror in these books that will make your blood run cold

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

“To read several Toews books back-to-back, I found, is to feel almost like a member of her family.”

The Question Every Writer Dreads - Electric Literature

In her memoir, "A Truce That Is Not Peace," Miriam Toews confronts why we write at all

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

“Start an affair with a brilliant person, I thought, and this would light a fuse. The situation could explode in either of two directions.”

Never Start an Affair with a Brilliant Person - Electric Literature

Either the affair stops, or you marry and become just another version of the wife—never seen as fellow artist at all

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

“Everyone needs an excuse to gather, a structured place to connect to both new and familiar faces offline."

Readings Might Be Turning Into America’s New Favorite Pastime - Electric Literature

Many people arrive looking to meet someone and enjoy a shared cultural experience

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 4d

Books that powerfully illuminate the lingering political and personal damage of national ruptures.

8 Books About (Literally) Divided Countries - Electric Literature

These stories powerfully illuminate the lingering personal and political damage of countries that have fractured

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 5d

Real