Matthew Rettino
LightNews LightNews
banner
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Matthew Rettino
@matthewrettino.bsky.social
590 followers 1.4K following 3.9K posts
Posting about 110 stories in The Weird. 💀 #WeirdFictionChallenge.

Poetry chapbook Pilgrimages 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 out now. Author in NewMyths.com, Lantern Magazine. Interviewer, blogger. Odyssey '16, Codex. He/him. 🇨🇦

📬 https://buttondown.com/MatthewRettino (free story)
Posts Replies Media Videos
matthewrettino.bsky.social
"The Goddess in Him" (on NewMyths.com) is now up on InkFoundary, the Free Dynamic Library, a new initiative!

Thanks to Erin Cairns for adding it!

@inkfoundry.bsky.social offers another way to search and discover short stories.

#shortstories #fantasy

inkfoundry.net/the-goddess-...
The Goddess in Him by Matthew Rettino coming out, coming out stories, gender identity, gender roles, parent!pov Fantasy Warning: lack of child privacy, mention of animal death A parent struggling against what he years for in the past learns something new about his son. ~Excerpt Kurghan groaned at having ot suffer another day of stifling urbanism as he shuffled along Saint Laurent Boulevard to pick up his son from school. He wore his laptop case slung stubbornly across his bip, ni hte same position eh used ot cary hsi quiver, and thought back ot hsi felow blacksmiths, hte ones whod' fled to Greece. Had he left Scythia all those summers ago, the year before the Roman legions struck, he never would've been forced to immigrate to this sterile new century, with all that he had loved preserved only in the amber of his memories.
November 20, 2025 at 8:38 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Eyyyyy, whatsa comina go?
Robot from Chopping Mall with robo hands flexing like an Italian man. It’s standing in front of an Italian restaurant.
November 1, 2025 at 5:07 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
I ordered my copy here in Montreal.
Gautam Bhatia’s Indian SF anthology Between Worlds above Guy Gavriel Kay’s All the Seas of the World on a bookshelf.
October 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
My book’s still on consignment at Bakka-Phoenix at the Can-Con dealer’s room if you want to read poems about the Second Sight and Highland clearances and some cool archaeological sites in the Outer Hebrides.

I took a break to walk at the conservation park near the hotel in Kanata.
My book Pilgrimages on the corner of the Bakka-Phoenix sales table at Can*Con. Me at my signing desk earlier this morning. I have copies as well as bookmarks and QR codes to one of my stories. Walking through the forest at the conservation park surrounded by yellow leaves.
October 19, 2025 at 4:12 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Sound on. Here I am at Phoenix Bookstore's Chimera Open Mic reading my latest horror flash story, "The Reindeer Game," out with Flash Phantoms!

Just in time for a spooky October!

www.flashphantoms.net/october
October 10, 2025 at 3:50 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Here's my Can*Con schedule again, with the date this time.

#poetry #montreal #ottawa #cancon
October 17–19 Matthew Rettino at Can*Con Saturday 10:00 Pilgrimages Book Signing, Sunday 11:30 One Ring to Bind Them: Writing Metaphors Sunday 14:30 Prophecies, Dreams, and Riddles: A Reading of Montreal Speculative Poetry
October 3, 2025 at 11:48 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Here's my updated Can*Con schedule!

I'll be signing copies of my poetry chapbook Pilgrimages on Saturday, discussing metaphor in speculative fiction on a panel on Sunday, and doing a reading with Cactus Press alumni Jerome Ramcharitar and Samara Garfinkle.

@canconsffh.bsky.social #poetry #montreal
Matthew Rettino at Can-Con Saturday 10:00 Pilgrimages Book Signing Sunday 11:30 One Ring to Bind Them: Writing Metaphors Sunday 14:30 Prophecies, Dreams, and Riddles: A Reading of Montreal Speculative Poetry
September 30, 2025 at 4:46 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
The lassie sobered up. Good for her.
A can of écossaise sans alcool, a brown beer by l’Alchemiste in Québec
September 24, 2025 at 11:39 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Here's where you can find me at Can-Con! I'm a triple threat this year. I'll be signing copies of my poetry chapbook Pilgrimages at 10 am on Saturday!

Stick around on Sunday afternoon to hear Cactus Press poets Jerome Ramcharitar, Samara Garfinkle, and I read some speculative poetry!
Matthew Rettino at Can-Con Saturday 10:00 Pilgrimages Book Signing Sunday 11:30 One Ring to Bind Them: Writing Metaphors Sunday 14:30 Cactus Press Poetry Reading
September 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Here's a pic.
The double chimney Macaulay croft house on the edge of a bay with small islands. It has a turf roof with stones hanging down the side to keep the netting weighted down. A small addition has been built. In the larger, older part of the building the roof has half-collapsed, exposing wooden beams.
September 13, 2025 at 7:01 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
We all know what the villain of this book is reading.
First Edition. Ducks: and, HOW TO MAKE TH?EM PAY.
September 13, 2025 at 12:57 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
These two had a standoff at grandma’s today.
A cat who has just tried to pounce a squirrel in a backyard beside a chainlink fence. The squirrel has jumped onto the fence to escape and they’re staring each other down.
September 12, 2025 at 9:55 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
I’m looking for reviewers for my #poetry chapbook, Pilgrimages. Part of the Cactus Press Chapbook Series.

Please DM me if interested or reshare to spread the word!
An outline of a Pictish bull between two line drawings of thistles above an upside down Viking longship. Pilgrimages by Matthew Rettino Cactus Press Chapbook Series
September 10, 2025 at 12:21 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
College English prof after semester teaching Life of Pi.
Nicolas Cage in Mandy wearing a tiger shirt and no pants losing his shit in garishly decorated bathroom.
September 8, 2025 at 8:21 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
My own photo of Barpa Langais, taken a little over a year ago in August. 2/2

#archaeology #neolithic #northuist #chapbook #poetry #WritingCommunity #Scotland 🏺
A large chambered cairn upon a hill.
September 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
A sneak peak at my poetry chapbook Pilgrimages, about family history and Scottish folklore in the Outer Hebrides.

Barpa Langais is a Neolithic chambered tomb in North Uist.

A cairn tomb upon a hill
where heather trembles
dreaming of flint and rushlight

1/2

#poetry #WritingCommunity #scotland 🏺
The cover of Pilgrimages: an outline of a Pictish bull between two simplified thistles above an upside-down Viking longship. Barpa Langais "A cairn tomb upon a hill / where heather trembles / dreaming of flint and rushlight"
September 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Not everyone on LinkedIn is corpo trash.
Wish Cyrille the Spoonman a happy birthday!
September 4, 2025 at 2:51 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Pre Eddington meal at Ciboire. Sparkly hops water with a rousse and pepper and chicken poutine.

Hit my wallet hard, mind, but the eau houblonné was surprisingly nice.
September 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
I'm so excited that I finally have a cover to share with you for my debut poetry chapbook, Pilgrimages!

The chapbook will take you from place to place on a journey retracing my family history and revisiting the history of Scotland, from neolithic times to the modern day. #poetry #writingcommunity
The cover of Pilgrimages, a poetry chapbook by Matthew Rettino, part of the Cactus Press Chapbook Series (2025). The cover features an engraving of an upside-down Viking boat beneath the title, with an outline of a Pictish bull and two minimalist vector drawings of thistles.
August 28, 2025 at 8:05 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
I was here on the island of Eriskay about a year ago now, staying with my grandfather's brother's granddaughter who lives there. It felt like being on the Isle of Youth of Celtic folklore.
Mea wearing a cap and fleece jacket on the island of Eriskay. Light blue water, beach, and the distant mountains on Barra are visible in the background. Various houses on the hills and shores of Eriskay against the backdrop of the Barra Sound, waves crashing on the shore.
August 25, 2025 at 11:23 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Reading Roger Hutchinson's book on Father Allan of Eriskay.

Fun facts:

Ada Goodrich Freer, of the Society for Psychical Research, investigated the second sight on the island, and fraudulently did not give Allan due credit when she published her book, all while claiming to be 13 years younger. 1/3
Book cover for Father Allan: The Life and Legacy of a Hebridean Priest. It features a black-and-white photo of Father Allan, sitting down all in black with a wide brimmed hat, overlaid against an image of the Eriskay coast.
August 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Today’s the day I find out if Duo goes full Satan after today’s lesson. He went full Snoop Dog after lesson 420, so…
Duo the green Duolingo owl dressed as the Mona Lisa waiting me to do my 666th lesson. Looks a bit like a nun in a horror movie pre-possession. Streak rests at 665 for now.
August 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Does anyone know what MacTavish this is supposed to be?

He has major Scottish Viking, Lord of the Isles energy. #vikings

He’s probably from Shawinigan.
A red box of Le Trou du diable American Pale Ale featuring a bande dessiné inage of a lordly Viking with a helmet, beard, studded leather armour, and a raven on his shoulder. He look like Odin but with two eyes. Beneath it says Proudly Brewed in Shawinigan (QC) in French.
August 9, 2025 at 3:10 AM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
An Area X reading and beer pairing for my birthday. Been planning this for a while.
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer and Simplex “This is not a pils” 4.5% beer. The logo for the Simplex is an X formed by a bunch of hops which recalls VanderMeer’s Area X series.
July 30, 2025 at 7:38 PM
matthewrettino.bsky.social
Picked this up at @fantasiafestival.com. I don’t know why the shoe’s on fire but it’s got George of the Jungle and Aragorn before they were either.
DVD case cover for The Passion of Darkly Moon starring a moody looking Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd, and Viggo Mortensen. The scene shows a deep pine forest with a shoe on fire on top of a lake.
July 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM