Kate Gehan

We are searching for submissions editors. Please read our guidelines before you apply. At the moment, we're considering only writers we've previously published, though we are open to making an exception to writers who are not from the United States. www.smokelong.com/work-with-us/

A heartfelt thank-you to our longtime nonfiction editor, @stateofkate.bsky.social, as she steps down from her role. We’re so grateful for all she has contributed and wish her all the best! At the same time, please join us in welcoming @dawnsteffler.bsky.social as our new nonfiction editor!

Our September issue is live! Art: Trevor Cunnington Fiction: @erinvachon.bsky.social @mpershan.bsky.social Lisa Beech Hartz @skoeplin.bsky.social Nonfiction: Shara Sinor Alexa Loftus Marin Smith Poetry: @Ediemeade.bsky.social pitheadchapel.com/volume-15-is...

"...until my son told me actually his finger didn’t hurt much anymore couldn’t we just put a Band-Aid on it and be more careful in the future,...." My lord, this is an extraordinary piece of writing (perfect last lines!) by @ediemeade.bsky.social in @pitheadchapel.bsky.social 💙💙💙

It was really nice to take a summer break, but it feels FANTASTIC to be reading submissions again! I love the back-to-school vibes of this time of year!

For no reason whatsoever, I checked my voter registration today, and if you are a US citizen I encourage you to do the same/update that voter registration if necessary/register to vote if you have not already done so: www.vote.org

Where are we sharing writer scams these days? 99% certain I’m being phished.

Why I’m a fan of the Oxford comma.

Thanks to @chillsubs.bsky.social for highlighting some literary magazines students in the MFA program at Emerson College can get involved with. If you'd like to know more about those publications, please feel free to contact me as the program director.

Did you know there’s a new lit mag making its debut this summer? In print! It’s called CHEEKS! And the launch party is at Yu & Me Books in NYC on July 31. I hope you will join me there! In the meantime, check out the 1st issue contributor list ⬇️

Allowing the President to appoint his cronies and remove at will those who do not pledge or show fealty to him to the Merit Systems Protection Board means that we will lose one of the core institutions that undergird functioning democracies - protected & indep. civil service employees.

we have a story by Rae Callahan ! it's about working on a fishing boat at night, looking for bluefish. great details, great mood <3 this is also the author's first published story ! always a happy thing to involved with. read it ! xraylitmag.com/night-blues-...

The way that @splitlipthemag.bsky.social shows up for its contributors and staffers, past and present, always—is so beautiful and special:

Look around and see how many people are learning to garden, moving away from social media and seeking community, training to survive with less and grow stronger. It’s instinctual and one of the most beautiful things. Change is coming and it’s coming fast. Not simple, not clean, but change.

My friend’s son took his life on Sunday. Monday was her birthday. This weekend is Mother’s Day, and on Monday she starts a new job after being laid off. May none of us have to summon the strength to move through days like this.

ONE WEEK AWAY.

It's all so clear

Rick Barot ♥️ A beautiful reminder of what poetry can do.

The richest man owns X. The second and third richest men control Google. The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post. And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros. See the problem here?

Know I’m not the only one channeling my fury into writing right now…there’s a call just for us!

This is a huge deal, and the number of people I see pooh-poohing this as just a loss to a supposedly elite group sucks. A) most of the jobs that disappeared were the working-class ones; B) bye bye not just to local coverage but to arts, sports, everything that’s not tech/biz/politics/opinion/advice

A detainee died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Indiana on Monday, with the cause of death under investigation, ICE said on Wednesday, marking at least the seventh death in 2026 in federal immigration custody. Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old Cambodian na... TAT: [Nationalism]

Rental Family with Brendan Fraser is sappy as hell and I loved it.

#writingcommunity

We asked people who lived in homeless encampments that were cleared out in city “sweeps” to write about what object was the hardest for them to lose. “They took my baby pictures and my moms obituaries,” a man in California wrote. (Published Dec. 2024)

A group of amazingly generous folks are 3D printing whistles and sending them (for free) to people across the country whose areas are under attack by ICE. They've sent almost a million. Want to help? Buy them filament 👇

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.

8/ For more on what kids are experiencing inside the Dilley detention center, read the full story by reporter @micarosenberg.bsky.social:

So excited that author copies have arrived! Big thank you to Jeff Bogle at @stanchion.bsky.social. Order your copy below!

Russia’s full-scale invasion began 4 years ago. It began in winter, and so this winter is the 5th. And, for civilians, the worst. Russia launches missiles and drones at energy infrastructure to force Ukrainians to endure the freezing cold. Here's how you can help snyder.substack.com/p/the-long-u...

Page One: @nytimes.com

Reminder than instead of Amazon, you can use bookshop.org, instead of Kindle you can use Kobo, and instead of Audible, you can use Libro.fm. And if you are lucky enough to have a local indie bookstore, please shop there!

The truth social Obamas post is an attempt to call his followers back to the fire. A racism rally is soothing and a distraction from proof of the unpalatable pedo stuff.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok. The chatbot still produces sexualized images — even when told the subjects don’t consent. even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation. even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse. www.reuters.com/business/des...

New Issue! Words: @dallonwrites.bsky.social , @alexmiller77.bsky.social , @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social ,CHRISTOPHER NEGRI, KIMBERLY BRYANT, @liamcarnahan.bsky.social , EMMA HEATH & EVAN MURPHY, DAVID MCARTHUR, PATRICIA CASPERS, ANNE DUNCAN, SPENCER ECKART pitheadchapel.com/2026/02/01/v...

thin-skin.com/flash-fictio... ❤️ Big thanks to @thin-skin.bsky.social for publishing my menopause flash (does that make it a hot flash???) that started out in @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness ❤️

Murdering dissenters & arresting journalists is what dictators do. Trump’s Justice Department arrested Don Lemon & Georgia Fort after 2 federal judges refused to approve warrants. Let’s be clear: we are amidst a constitutional crisis.

Things are not going well in Indiana. They’re passing laws to force trans folx into certain bathrooms, force local police to support ICE, force teachers to hang the 10 Commandments in all classrooms, and to allow people to sue abortion medication manufacturers.

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free