Jalen Giovanni Jones
@jalengjones.bsky.social
Reliable narrator. Black + Filipino writer. From: LA (the city). Currently: LA (the state). Social Media Editor @electricliterature.com. Editorial Asst @ The Southern Review. LSU MFA.
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"I may have said some inflammatory statements that made you uncomfortable. Inflammatory statements about race — I know, I know, who talks about race in a creative writing MFA program?" (via @McSweeneys.net)
An Open Letter to White People in My MFA Program
Dear White People in My MFA Program, Over the last semester, I may have said some inflammatory statements that made you uncomfortable. Inflammatory...
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November 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"I may have said some inflammatory statements that made you uncomfortable. Inflammatory statements about race — I know, I know, who talks about race in a creative writing MFA program?" (via @McSweeneys.net)
Reposted by Jalen Giovanni Jones
The survival of literary magazines like Electric Lit—an independent, nonprofit publication that is completely free to read—is far from guaranteed. Help us meet our fundraising goal so that we can keep people reading!
Keep People Reading in 2026 - Electric Literature
Help EL remain a home for human stories in a country increasingly inhospitable to art
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November 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The survival of literary magazines like Electric Lit—an independent, nonprofit publication that is completely free to read—is far from guaranteed. Help us meet our fundraising goal so that we can keep people reading!
Me and SLIME LINE author Jake Maynard discussed humor that risks, the line between community and authority, and the significance of bears for The Southern Review 🧸Check it!
thesouthernreview.org/blog/a-write...
thesouthernreview.org/blog/a-write...
The Southern Review : Home
JGJ: Your deft sense of humor is delicately weaved into this portrait of a very difficult life. And yet that humor never felt ill-timed or inappropriate. What are your strategies for managing that balance between levity and seriousness in a story?
thesouthernreview.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Me and SLIME LINE author Jake Maynard discussed humor that risks, the line between community and authority, and the significance of bears for The Southern Review 🧸Check it!
thesouthernreview.org/blog/a-write...
thesouthernreview.org/blog/a-write...
Reposted by Jalen Giovanni Jones
National Book Award finalist and renowned middle child Alejandro Varela tells us about being gay while heartbroken (@drovarela.bsky.social)
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buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
This Epistolary Novel Plumbs the Anxious Depths of a Broken Heart - Electric Literature
Alejandro Varela’s “Middle Spoon” is an obsessive exploration of mental health, polyamory, and the desire for our pain to be witnessed
electricliterature.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM
National Book Award finalist and renowned middle child Alejandro Varela tells us about being gay while heartbroken (@drovarela.bsky.social)
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
buff.ly/oW5GR6Q
Submit to ussss !!!
Time to polish up your essays! 📝 ⚡ 💡 Electric Literature will open for submissions in ✨Personal Narrative✨ on Monday, December 1! All submissions will be accepted through our Submittable page. Portal closes at 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, December 14, or when we receive 500 submissions.
November 7, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Submit to ussss !!!
Interviewed Brandon Taylor for Electric Literature! 💡 Very fun very fast
electricliterature.com/brandon-tayl...
electricliterature.com/brandon-tayl...
Brandon Taylor Thinks Surrealists Should Grow Up - Electric Literature
The author of “Minor Black Figures” on tennis, the world’s worst adaptation of “Portrait of a Lady,” and one of his signature literary hot takes
electricliterature.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Interviewed Brandon Taylor for Electric Literature! 💡 Very fun very fast
electricliterature.com/brandon-tayl...
electricliterature.com/brandon-tayl...
Reposted by Jalen Giovanni Jones
Jalen Giovanni Jones (@jalengjones.bsky.social) interviews Brandon Taylor ahead of his latest novel, “Minor Black Figures,” where they discuss books with talking animals, the best and worst writing advice, and how more people need to realize when a novel should be a short story.
Brandon Taylor Thinks Surrealists Should Grow Up - Electric Literature
The author of “Minor Black Figures” on tennis, the world’s worst adaptation of “Portrait of a Lady,” and one of his signature literary hot takes
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October 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Jalen Giovanni Jones (@jalengjones.bsky.social) interviews Brandon Taylor ahead of his latest novel, “Minor Black Figures,” where they discuss books with talking animals, the best and worst writing advice, and how more people need to realize when a novel should be a short story.
My best friend just got a new poem published and it’s glorious :,) read it here! www.blush-lit.com/journal?fbcl...
journal — b l u s h
www.blush-lit.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:13 AM
My best friend just got a new poem published and it’s glorious :,) read it here! www.blush-lit.com/journal?fbcl...
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Halloween costume ideas for your favorite writer trio friend group 🎃 👻 ‼️ Who are you going as?
October 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Halloween costume ideas for your favorite writer trio friend group 🎃 👻 ‼️ Who are you going as?
This insane crossover of my worlds — Claire from UCI and Josh from LSU 🛸
A story by Joshua Wheeler about a New Mexico rancher in the 1960s who finds himself caring for a young child who seems to have escaped from a cult, recommended by Claire Vaye Watkins.
Gentleness Is Outdated in This Alien World - Electric Literature
An excerpt from THE HIGH HEAVEN by Joshua Wheeler, recommended by Claire Vaye Watkins
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September 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This insane crossover of my worlds — Claire from UCI and Josh from LSU 🛸
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The creator of this meme also writes short stories and shows no signs of stopping soon
September 26, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The creator of this meme also writes short stories and shows no signs of stopping soon
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Electric Lit as iconic summer albums past and present 💡 ⚡ 🌞 What album covers should we do next? 👀
September 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Electric Lit as iconic summer albums past and present 💡 ⚡ 🌞 What album covers should we do next? 👀
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There's kinda no better feeling tbh 🐬💖🌈
August 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
There's kinda no better feeling tbh 🐬💖🌈
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White passing and white presenting are mistakenly used interchangeably in modern parlance, when in fact historically there was a clear distinction. buff.ly/zcVG5oa
7 Books About Black People Who Pass as White - Electric Literature
Kuchenga Shenjé, author of "The Library Thief," recommends stories that delve into race and identity in the U.S. and U.K.
electricliterature.com
August 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
White passing and white presenting are mistakenly used interchangeably in modern parlance, when in fact historically there was a clear distinction. buff.ly/zcVG5oa
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These books know how to treat place as a character known and loved across time. (@riggstah.bsky.net)
These books know how to treat place as a character known and loved across time. (@riggstah.bsky.net)
7 Debut Collections About Knowing a Place Across Generations - Electric Literature
These authors capture the power and privilege of staying
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August 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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These books know how to treat place as a character known and loved across time. (@riggstah.bsky.net)
These books know how to treat place as a character known and loved across time. (@riggstah.bsky.net)
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“A time to recognize the literary translators whose intense, sustained work has led to the publication of these and other brilliant works of literature, which otherwise would remain unknown to a wider, international audience.” (@ilzeduarte.bsky.social)
7 Books from Around the World to Read for Women in Translation Month - Electric Literature
Don’t miss these translations by women authors writing in Arabic, Kannada, Latvian, and more
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August 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
“A time to recognize the literary translators whose intense, sustained work has led to the publication of these and other brilliant works of literature, which otherwise would remain unknown to a wider, international audience.” (@ilzeduarte.bsky.social)
www.npr.org/transcripts/...
Loved this
Loved this
A Mixed Race Take On What It Means To Be 'Free'
Danzy Senna's stories begin with the familiar, but quickly take subtle turns to reveal racial tensions lurking below the surface. As part of Tell Me More's Summer Blend Book Club series, host Michel M...
www.npr.org
August 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
www.npr.org/transcripts/...
Loved this
Loved this
Reposted by Jalen Giovanni Jones
Books that embrace a literary archive of shared colonial histories, currents of Black Atlantic world-making, and diasporic relations to the continent of Africa.
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7 African Novelists in Conversation With Their Literary Ancestors - Electric Literature
These authors pay homage to the African-Atlantic writers who came before them
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August 14, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Books that embrace a literary archive of shared colonial histories, currents of Black Atlantic world-making, and diasporic relations to the continent of Africa.
buff.ly/Pg0csAv
buff.ly/Pg0csAv
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“I can only take so many apologies, she often said. Once I give up on a person, there’s no turning back.” (@flaviamonteiro.bsky.social)
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If My Mom Was So Angry Around Me, I Must Have Been the Reason - Electric Literature
“Queen Bee” by Flavia R. Montiero
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August 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
“I can only take so many apologies, she often said. Once I give up on a person, there’s no turning back.” (@flaviamonteiro.bsky.social)
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Join us for the launch of the greatly anticipated "Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color," featuring editor Denne Michele Norris and contributors Denny Burhan, Edgar Gomez, and Meredith Talusan! ⚡💡
August 11, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Join us for the launch of the greatly anticipated "Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color," featuring editor Denne Michele Norris and contributors Denny Burhan, Edgar Gomez, and Meredith Talusan! ⚡💡
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Now on shelves wherever you buy books, Both/And is edited by Electric Lit’s own Denne Michele Norris, and features 17 eclectic essays by trans and gender non-conforming writers of color from all walks of life, sharing stories of joy, heartbreak, rage, and self-discovery.
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August 12, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Now on shelves wherever you buy books, Both/And is edited by Electric Lit’s own Denne Michele Norris, and features 17 eclectic essays by trans and gender non-conforming writers of color from all walks of life, sharing stories of joy, heartbreak, rage, and self-discovery.
buff.ly/pbjaYzn
buff.ly/pbjaYzn
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The anthology you’ve all been waiting for is almost here! Read Denne Michele Norris's (@thedennemichele.bsky.social) introduction to “Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color” — available for preorder now, and hitting shelves August 12th!
buff.ly/ectABao
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August 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
The anthology you’ve all been waiting for is almost here! Read Denne Michele Norris's (@thedennemichele.bsky.social) introduction to “Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color” — available for preorder now, and hitting shelves August 12th!
buff.ly/ectABao
buff.ly/ectABao
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We write to share the tragic news that Electric Literature's former Deputy Editor, Jo Lou, passed away on July 8, 2025. What she meant to our community cannot be measured. To memorialize Jo, we have gathered tributes from EL staff and contributors. Please join us in remembering her buff.ly/ZmOEUDR
August 2, 2025 at 2:01 PM
We write to share the tragic news that Electric Literature's former Deputy Editor, Jo Lou, passed away on July 8, 2025. What she meant to our community cannot be measured. To memorialize Jo, we have gathered tributes from EL staff and contributors. Please join us in remembering her buff.ly/ZmOEUDR
Reposted by Jalen Giovanni Jones
We're thrilled to announce our 2025 Tin House Summer Workshop NONFICTION scholars! We're proud to know them, and to be able to celebrate them. We can't wait to read whatever they write next!!! Please give these wonderful folks their flowers! #thsw 🥳🥳🥳
August 5, 2025 at 4:45 PM
We're thrilled to announce our 2025 Tin House Summer Workshop NONFICTION scholars! We're proud to know them, and to be able to celebrate them. We can't wait to read whatever they write next!!! Please give these wonderful folks their flowers! #thsw 🥳🥳🥳