Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Sep 4

My husband is going to Hanoi for ten days for work and it’s been (checks watch) 8 hours since I dropped him off at the airport and I’m already beside myself that he’s gone for so long

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Aug 7

Wild to me that we could get our NEA funding stripped and an Indie Next pick (and big national coverage, watch this space) in a 3 month span. All kudos to @katearden.bsky.social and @rainbowfish523.bsky.social--I truly think @hubcitypress.bsky.social is singular and punching way above our weight.

Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Aug 7

HOTHOUSE BLOOM is an Indie Next Pick!!! Extremely gratifying that this weird debut novel about apples is finding so many fans out in the world. I was obsessed from the jump. Thank you, booksellers! Only you could have pulled this off.

(Out on August 26, on the (highly competitive) September list.)

thank you booksellers graphic for HOTHOUSE BLOOM by Austyn Wohlers

austyn wohlers, author of hothouse bloom

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · Aug 22

Cover reveal for HOPE HOUSE by Joe Bond, out 5/5/26! Set in '80s Kentucky, this debut is told from inside a treatment home for teens, where lost boys become more than their pasts and discover the transformative power of hope. Design: @megireid.bsky.social / @katearden.bsky.social

book cover of HOPE HOUSE by Joe Bond. yellow hardcover featuring two distorted black and white pictures of a boy sitting down. pink text. Hub City press. May 5, 2026

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Jul 30

GROWTH! 💀🥴

Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Jul 30

Another publisher really screwed me over this week, and because I've grown a lot in the past few years, my plan is to not drag them publicly (I instead will embark on a multi-year campaign to tell every, single southern writer I know what they did to us). Growth!

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Jul 29

honestly a lack of research from a lawyer with a classics degree pretending to be a writer is so much less concerning than what i found out when i read the goodreads reviews. 90% of them are one star rage posts. HC must just print these books as literal rage bait. at least people are buying them...

Sascha Stronach🏳️‍⚧️, The Sunforge out now @understatesmen.bsky.social · Jul 29

i am begging you if you're doing greek mythology retellings to do literally any research at all

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules.

I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Jul 22

Once again, @hubcitypress.bsky.social is looking for experienced readers for paid manuscript reading this fall—both fiction & nonfiction. You'd be the first eyes on submissions and help us decide what requires a closer look. Email relevant experience to [email protected]. DM with questions.

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Jun 25

It's truly a bummer that PEN/Hemingway award moving to PEN/Faulkner foundation means they eliminated the submission fee waivers for publishers who have less than $2 million in sales. We spend thousands in prize submissions every year just to be considered for these things--it made a difference.

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Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · Jun 24

to call this a crime against humanity is true but inadequate — it’s a crime against all creation

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jun 24

The Trump administration said that it would open up 58 million acres of back country in national forests to road construction and development, removing protections that had been in place for a quarter century.

Trump Administration to End Protections for 58 Million Acres of National Forests

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Clinton-era rule barring road construction and logging was outdated and “absurd.”

trib.al

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Jun 18

And Rebecca Makkai!

Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Jun 18

When @katearden.bsky.social and I do our little professional talks, it's become our practice to answer the "Should I go get an MFA?" question with, "You could, but you also can just subscribe to Brandon Taylor's and @thelincoln.bsky.social's Substacks and that's pretty much as good?"

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · Jun 12

We offer an author-centered, boutique experience over here at Hub City Press. Or...whatever this is.

(@megireid.bsky.social and @katearden.bsky.social generating synopsis copy in an endless google sheet...)

Meg and Kate writing synopsis material for ritz of the bayou by nancy lemann in a google sheet first thing this am

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Lauren LeBlanc @laurenleblanc.bsky.social · Jun 12

Thanks, @megireid.bsky.social and @katearden.bsky.social! I am so excited that you are bringing THE RITZ OF THE BAYOU back into print. Looking forward to writing more about Nancy Lemann, Louisiana, New Orleans, and her entire body of work.

Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · Jun 12

We offer an author-centered, boutique experience over here at Hub City Press. Or...whatever this is.

(@megireid.bsky.social and @katearden.bsky.social generating synopsis copy in an endless google sheet...)

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Reposted by Kate Arden McMullen

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Jun 9

hey siri, does the military like it when they are subjected to open disrespect from civilian leaders?

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · Jun 9

State troops sent to Los Angeles by the Trump administration, without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were expected to sleep on floors or outdoors, a source told the Chronicle.

‘Wildly underprepared’: National Guard troops seen sleeping on floors in exclusive photos

State troops sent to Los Angeles by the Trump administration, without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were expected to sleep on floors or outdoors, a source told the Chronicle.

bit.ly

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Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · Jun 9

"...we don’t advocate for violence, but when they use brutal violence against our people—and kidnapping mothers and fathers from children is violent —when they do things like that, we have every right, every historic right, to defend our communities by any ways that we can."

Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · Jun 9

What sparked the chaos in Los Angeles this weekend? Community organizer Ron Gochez says ICE agents "kidnapping people" led to fierce resistance from local residents who are "sick and tired of these attacks that are dividing and separating our families."

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Jun 5

TRUTH BOMB 💣 this guy is a Pedophile. I also made him President

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Aram Shabanian @aramshabanian.bsky.social · Jun 5

Weird they're showing Swan Lake on Fox right now

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Jun 3

Robert's also got an essay in @southrevbooks.bsky.social on his journey to publication. A great read for anyone who has been through the submission ringer and needs some inspiration.

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/06/03/b...

Death and Ice Storms In and Around “Bodock”

Author Robert Busby writes about the making of his new short story collection, “Bodock.”

southernreviewofbooks.com

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · Jun 3

HAPPY PUB DAY TO BODOCK! Order your copy now with free shipping on our site. If you're in Memphis, head to Novel for Robert's launch tonight!
hubcity.org/bodock

Bodock: Stories | Fiction | Hub City Writers Project

In 1994, the real Mid-South Ice Storm strikes the fictitious town of Bodock in Claygardner County, Mississippi. In the wake of the storm, what is left unbroken, and what broken things can be rebuilt? ...

hubcity.org

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Kate Arden McMullen @katearden.bsky.social · May 19

niche post but i don't understand what kind of money these trade shows think small presses have

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · May 8

the extremely lapsed Catholic girls of Hub City getting emotional about new americapope (cc @katearden.bsky.social)

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · Apr 28

purple poetry fall at @hubcitypress.bsky.social

New poetry from Ashley Jones and Cloud Delfina Cardona

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · May 5

Today is @hubcitypress.bsky.social's 30th anniversary! It's been weird and difficult to have it land at such a terrible moment, spending it talking with arts allies to try to figure out advocacy steps around our terminated NEA funding.

But it's also a great moment to reflect on the anniversary. (🧵)

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · May 6

Well. Despite the NEA nonsense (more on this tomorrow), in good news, it's pub day for WORLD WITHOUT END: ESSAYS ON APOCALYPSE AND AFTER by Martha Park! We're so proud to be publishing this necessary book and hopeful book, something we think folks could use these days. hubcity.org/worldwithoutend

copy of WORLD WITHOUT END by Martha Park nicely placed in a bush with white/pink flowers

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · May 7

On Friday, we received, along with 40+ other independent publishers, a notice that our NEA grant had been terminated. Here's a brief video from Executive Director/Publisher @megireid.bsky.social on how the termination affects us and what you can do to help. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Be...

NEA Funding and Hub City Writers Project | Update from Meg Reid

YouTube video by Hub City Writers Project

www.youtube.com

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · May 3

Really hard to say what the worst part of this NEA grant termination letter is (sent at 10pm on a Friday!) but I think it's finding out the federal government's priority for arts funds is now "fostering AI competency" rather than funding literature.

This is to inform you that the above referenced National Endowment for the Arts award has been terminated, effective May 31, 2025.

The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities. The NEA will now prioritize projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities. Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda.

Your project, as noted below, unfortunately does not align with these priorities:
Purpose: To support the publication and promotion of books of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · Apr 23

Looking for some writing advice? Hub City Managing Editor @katearden.bsky.social has some tips! Read up on @pw.org: www.pw.org/agents_edito...

Kate McMullen of Hub City Press

“It doesn’t matter what degrees or fellowships or programs or journals have supported your work. Those things tell me about your network—but your book must connect with me as a reader.

www.pw.org

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