Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Aug 21

“Poor Historian” by @rriekki.bsky.social haunts long after the read.

ANMLY @anmlymag.bsky.social · Aug 21

"I mean that they would tie us to fences

and there were so many fences
because it was a military base
where they were practicing the art of borders"

—Ron Riekki

anmly.org/ap40/ron-rie...

Ron Riekki – ANMLY

anmly.org

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jul 23

New remote classes starting this week with David Ryan: Studies in Shadow Form (starts tomorrow, Thursday, 7/24) and Irrealism: Surrealism and the Lyric Essay (starts Sunday, 7/27). His classes are so inspiring and generative! More info and signup here:

curiovox.com/185-2/

CurioVox offers education and consulting services from writer David Ryan, author of the forthcoming collection, Alligator (C4G Books). His earlier, Animals in Motion: Stories (Roundabout Press), Kirkus reviewed as “A debut collection of stories—one of the best in recent memory…. Ryan has plainly been honing his craft, because the 13 tales here are the work of a writer who knows exactly what he’s doing—and challenges the reader to figure out how he’s doing it…”

curiovox.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jul 9

Whose head is in the box?

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Reposted by T E Rossi (she/her)

Barbara Lock @barbaralockmd.bsky.social · Jul 9

What's in the box?

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jul 9

@variantlit.bsky.social’s own @barbaralockmd.bsky.social Her story’s sunlit-subtle menace will have you looking over your shoulder in a literary way!

Victor LaValle @victorlavalle.bsky.social · Jun 27

It was my great honor to guest edit the Summer 2025 issue of Ploughshares.

It’s got so much great writing, I can’t wait for you all to see.

To celebrate, we’re having a reading in Boston on July 16.

You will love hearing Nadia, Carolyn, and Barbara read. I promise you.

Register now!

Ploughshares Literary Journal @pshares.bsky.social · Jun 27

Celebrate Halloween early with Ploughshares! Join us at 6pm on July 16th at Trident Booksellers in Boston, MA, for the launch of our sinister Summer 2025 issue, guest-edited by Victor LaValle and filled with werewolves, monsters, and more. Register here: https://pshr.us/sinistersummerlaunch

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Emily Rinkema @emilyrinkema.bsky.social · Jun 30

What an honor! Thanks @variantlit.bsky.social for seeing something in this story!

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 30

Congratulations to the Variant writers on the Wigleaf Top 50 2025 Longlist!

@danbillyc.bsky.social "Kilter" (Spring 2024)

@courtludwick.bsky.social "Quarter" (Spring 2024)

@emilyrinkema.bsky.social "The Interview" (Fall 2024)

@sarahroth.bsky.social "Postnatural" (Winter 2024)

Wigleaf @wigleaf.bsky.social · Jun 28

new on our mainpage: THE WIGLEAF TOP 50 VERY SHORT FICTIONS 2025 (selecting editor @samanito.bsky.social )

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Tori Walters @victoriaceann.bsky.social · Jul 2

A delightful and tender piece that I could read over and over and over again.

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 18

Is Harry Styles bagging groceries at a Trader Joe's in Indiana? Read this funny, tender story by Andrew Graham Martin to find out.

"My Teenage Daughter" variantlit.com/my-teenage-d...

My Teenage Daughter

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 30

It was my pleasure! Glad to home your words @variantlit.bsky.social!

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 30

Congratulations Dan!

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 28

Congratulations Elijah! In case you missed it, read this @wigleaf.bsky.social Top 50 here:

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 28

We're so excited to see "The Proposed" by Elijah Sparkman in The @wigleaf.bsky.social Top 50! Read it here: variantlit.com/the-proposed/

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Reposted by T E Rossi (she/her)

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 23

"The mouse in the grass gains confidence, and it is harder and harder to keep track of her. She runs around and starts to remember herself, the part of her that ran through grasses in past lives."

Read "Red White Fur" by Sonny Fillmore, about a snake, a mouse, a boy

variantlit.com/red-white-fur/

Red White Fur

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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Reposted by T E Rossi (she/her)

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 20

"She presses her glossy lips together over a folded white napkin. When she pulls the paper from her mouth, there’s a perfect print of two coral lips—a Rorschach test: a butterfly. a boy. a blowfish. an ocean."

Read this Micro Series by Laci Mosier from issue 21

variantlit.com/micro-series/

Micro Series

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 19

Devastation in the details.

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 19

@derekshirae.bsky.social ‘s “Terminal” serves up strange snacks and an unlikely protagonist.

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 19

"He dabbed the keys with spit, rubbed each one clean, and tasted his fingers. Not always chocolate, but it would average out. His father had forbidden it, said Q could have all the chocolate he wanted in Heaven." Sit at the terminal in this story by Derek Shirae 🐛🍩

variantlit.com/terminal/

Terminal

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 19

Yikes. Wondering where we’ll be even a year from now on this front.

Bradley Busch @bradleybusch.bsky.social · Jun 18

New research from MIT found that those who used ChatGPT can’t remember any of the content of their essays.

Key takeaway: the product doesn’t suffer, but the process does. And when it comes to essays, the process *is* how they learn.

arxiv.org/pdf/2506.088...

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Reposted by T E Rossi (she/her)

Matt Jakubowski (he/him) @mattjakubowski.bsky.social · Jun 15

“It’s kind of exhausting maintaining everything I have going on, which isn’t that much, but even without ambitions you still have to go and be whoever it is you’ve been for however long you’ve been alive.”

So excited to have this new #flashfiction in Variant Lit.
variantlit.com/sparrows-wor...

Sparrow’s Work Song

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 15

One urgent care visit takes an unexpected turn in @beebs44120.bsky.social ‘s “Nothing Dead in Your Ear.” Read it in Issue 21 from @variantlit.bsky.social here: variantlit.com/nothing-dead...

Nothing Dead in Your Ear

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 15

Cannot recommend David Ryan’s classes strongly enough! His revision course is 🔥, the craft classes so generative! Check out the what’s starting soon along with other opportunities here: curiovox.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 14

Prose, lighthearted and somber—little somethings for everyone in Summer Issue 21!

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 13

Issue 21 Prose

variantlit.com/issue-twenty...

List of Variant issue 21 prose contributors: Nicole Desjardins Gowdy, Angela Townsend, Matthew Jakubowski, Rachel Salguero Kowalsky, Andrew Graham Martin, Derek Shirae, Laci Mosier, Sonny Fillmore, Matthew Wood, and J.M. Vesper

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 14

This one catches you midsteam and pulls you under. If only it didn’t hit so close to home. 🧚

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 14

"The ad for the job caught my eye in the Sunday paper, wedged between a posting for a home health aide and one for a house cleaner. Wanted: Tooth Fairy."

Read this surprising story from our Summer issue! 🦷 by
Nicole Desjardins Gowdy

variantlit.com/holes/

Holes

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 13

Wonderful work in this issue, check it out!

Variant Literature @variantlit.bsky.social · Jun 12

Issue 21 is here! ✨️

variantlit.com/issue-twenty...

ISSUE TWENTY-ONE

Visit the post for more.

variantlit.com

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · Jun 3

A bit late to the party, but wow! Whoa! What a way to kick off summer reading.

Image of Maylis de Kerangal’s Eastbound, translated by Jessica Moore.

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Stanchion @stanchion.bsky.social · May 26

I've designed the cover already for Issue 19 & I've drafted an article explaining the several key changes to Stanchion Magazine.

All I need is your brilliant prose & poetry.

Who's gonna send in something on June 16th for Stanchion's first ever guest editor, @fbereaud.bsky.social, to read?

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · May 23

You are right. More than embarrassing—irresponsible in light of the damage it does to the environment, let alone critical thinking skills.

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T E Rossi (she/her) @trossiwriter.bsky.social · May 20

@onestorymag.bsky.social (3000-8000 words) and @cincinnatireview.bsky.social (up to 40 double-spaced pages) too!

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