Mallory Smart
@mallorysmart.bsky.social
Neurotic Chicago-based writer, editor-in-chief of Maudlin House, podcaster, and doer of many odd things.
https://mallorysmart.com/
https://mallorysmart.com/
My cat sleeping under the covers like she pays rent…
February 2, 2026 at 6:47 PM
My cat sleeping under the covers like she pays rent…
Starbuck kept me up all night because she randomly decided it was playtime.
Coffee is my personality until further notice...
Coffee is my personality until further notice...
January 30, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Starbuck kept me up all night because she randomly decided it was playtime.
Coffee is my personality until further notice...
Coffee is my personality until further notice...
ICYMI: I published a short story yesterday about Bates Motel, talking to someone who isn’t there, and pretending the TV is a kind of love.
It's up at @bulbregion.bsky.social
Reader discretion: Mother has opinions.
bulbregion.com/We-All-Go-a-...
It's up at @bulbregion.bsky.social
Reader discretion: Mother has opinions.
bulbregion.com/We-All-Go-a-...
January 28, 2026 at 8:35 PM
ICYMI: I published a short story yesterday about Bates Motel, talking to someone who isn’t there, and pretending the TV is a kind of love.
It's up at @bulbregion.bsky.social
Reader discretion: Mother has opinions.
bulbregion.com/We-All-Go-a-...
It's up at @bulbregion.bsky.social
Reader discretion: Mother has opinions.
bulbregion.com/We-All-Go-a-...
Something new has been unlocked from Hipster Poetry Vault.
2016 was a choice...
malsmart.substack.com/p/existentia...
2016 was a choice...
malsmart.substack.com/p/existentia...
January 27, 2026 at 5:11 AM
Something new has been unlocked from Hipster Poetry Vault.
2016 was a choice...
malsmart.substack.com/p/existentia...
2016 was a choice...
malsmart.substack.com/p/existentia...
Therapy quote of the whatever…
January 26, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Therapy quote of the whatever…
Tonight at The Midnight Realm…
January 24, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Tonight at The Midnight Realm…
So this is “when hell freezes over.”
January 23, 2026 at 7:43 AM
So this is “when hell freezes over.”
January 22, 2026 at 5:41 AM
If you’re wondering whether it’s acceptable to get bubble tea when it’s 15 degrees out: Yes. This is the Midwest…
January 20, 2026 at 7:27 PM
If you’re wondering whether it’s acceptable to get bubble tea when it’s 15 degrees out: Yes. This is the Midwest…
January 17, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Poetry behind a curtain at a neighborhood bar. Tarot by the fireplace. A room built for listening.
I wrote about it…
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
I wrote about it…
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
January 17, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Poetry behind a curtain at a neighborhood bar. Tarot by the fireplace. A room built for listening.
I wrote about it…
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
I wrote about it…
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
Tonite at The Midnight Realm…
January 17, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Tonite at The Midnight Realm…
Early internet writing was messy. That was the point.
January 15, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Early internet writing was messy. That was the point.
Season 4 finale.
Alexandra Naughton on fear, growth, internet eras, and why writing is still how we make sense of being alive.
Sometimes that’s enough. 🖤
Alexandra Naughton on fear, growth, internet eras, and why writing is still how we make sense of being alive.
Sometimes that’s enough. 🖤
January 13, 2026 at 4:39 AM
Season 4 finale.
Alexandra Naughton on fear, growth, internet eras, and why writing is still how we make sense of being alive.
Sometimes that’s enough. 🖤
Alexandra Naughton on fear, growth, internet eras, and why writing is still how we make sense of being alive.
Sometimes that’s enough. 🖤
Woke up to Starbuck staring at me like I owe her money and an explanation for capitalism…
January 12, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Woke up to Starbuck staring at me like I owe her money and an explanation for capitalism…
Tarot reading today. The Tower. Apparently it’s collapse season…
January 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Tarot reading today. The Tower. Apparently it’s collapse season…
Tonite at The Midnight Realm…
January 11, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Tonite at The Midnight Realm…
I’ve written a lot about Midwest rot as a feeling. This piece is about where that feeling came from.
open.substack.com/pub/malsmart...
open.substack.com/pub/malsmart...
January 10, 2026 at 10:26 PM
I’ve written a lot about Midwest rot as a feeling. This piece is about where that feeling came from.
open.substack.com/pub/malsmart...
open.substack.com/pub/malsmart...
January 10, 2026 at 9:14 PM
A few nights after Christmas, in that lawless week before January.
I wrote this as a dispatch from Gallery Cabaret.
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
I wrote this as a dispatch from Gallery Cabaret.
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
January 10, 2026 at 7:51 PM
A few nights after Christmas, in that lawless week before January.
I wrote this as a dispatch from Gallery Cabaret.
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
I wrote this as a dispatch from Gallery Cabaret.
open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
It’s live.
Lake Markham on writing, attention, and why certain choices only make sense while you’re inside them.
Listen now…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/4yiN...
Lake Markham on writing, attention, and why certain choices only make sense while you’re inside them.
Listen now…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/4yiN...
January 10, 2026 at 7:45 PM
It’s live.
Lake Markham on writing, attention, and why certain choices only make sense while you’re inside them.
Listen now…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/4yiN...
Lake Markham on writing, attention, and why certain choices only make sense while you’re inside them.
Listen now…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/4yiN...
“It was just this never-ending cycle of stupid 22-year-old decisions.”
Lake Markham on leaving, running out of money, and realizing later what that time actually gave him.
Lake Markham on leaving, running out of money, and realizing later what that time actually gave him.
January 8, 2026 at 3:57 AM
“It was just this never-ending cycle of stupid 22-year-old decisions.”
Lake Markham on leaving, running out of money, and realizing later what that time actually gave him.
Lake Markham on leaving, running out of money, and realizing later what that time actually gave him.
Lake Markham.
Second to last episode of Season 4 of Textual Healing.
Coming this Saturday…🎧
Second to last episode of Season 4 of Textual Healing.
Coming this Saturday…🎧
January 6, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Lake Markham.
Second to last episode of Season 4 of Textual Healing.
Coming this Saturday…🎧
Second to last episode of Season 4 of Textual Healing.
Coming this Saturday…🎧
New episode of Textual Healing is live.
Mike Corrao on yearning, design as invasion, and the moment before everything breaks…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/48o1...
Mike Corrao on yearning, design as invasion, and the moment before everything breaks…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/48o1...
January 3, 2026 at 8:14 PM
New episode of Textual Healing is live.
Mike Corrao on yearning, design as invasion, and the moment before everything breaks…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/48o1...
Mike Corrao on yearning, design as invasion, and the moment before everything breaks…🎧
open.spotify.com/episode/48o1...
January 2, 2026 at 6:11 PM