Elise Blackwell
@eliseblackwell.bsky.social
Novelist interested in arts, sciences, curiosities.
I realize that 2026 probably won't make the stupid stop, but it's very pretty to think so.
December 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I realize that 2026 probably won't make the stupid stop, but it's very pretty to think so.
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
One citizen said that federal agents in Idaho pointed guns at her children, ages 6 and 8, and dragged her 14-year-old daughter out of a truck and zip-tied her.
The mother told investigators that an agent threatened to “fucking blow your head off.”
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
The mother told investigators that an agent threatened to “fucking blow your head off.”
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Immigration Agents Have Often Grabbed and Mistreated Citizens, Congressional Investigators Find
Prompted by ProPublica’s reporting, an investigation by Senate Democrats documented the experiences of nearly two dozen citizens wrongly detained by immigration agents, contradicting the Trump adminis...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 2:30 AM
One citizen said that federal agents in Idaho pointed guns at her children, ages 6 and 8, and dragged her 14-year-old daughter out of a truck and zip-tied her.
The mother told investigators that an agent threatened to “fucking blow your head off.”
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
The mother told investigators that an agent threatened to “fucking blow your head off.”
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
The right choice.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The right choice.
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
December 15, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
Unfollowing folks who share AI videos.
Sorry, y’all.
Sorry, y’all.
December 14, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Unfollowing folks who share AI videos.
Sorry, y’all.
Sorry, y’all.
This is such a rich list, featuring several novels in translation by excellent presses: necessaryfiction.com/reviews/reco...
Recommended Reading 2025 – Necessary Fiction
necessaryfiction.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:11 PM
This is such a rich list, featuring several novels in translation by excellent presses: necessaryfiction.com/reviews/reco...
Planning to start Richard Flanagan's Question 7 later. #FridayReads
December 12, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Planning to start Richard Flanagan's Question 7 later. #FridayReads
So happy to see this.
Honored that SHE'S UNDER HERE is on @npr.org's list of 2025 "Books We Love."
December 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
So happy to see this.
When I start a book, I write a mess of scenes and passages, by hand and on the computer, without any real order or structure. On the side I compile research. Then comes the day I open a file that starts on page one and will proceed to the end of the first full draft. Today is that day.
December 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
When I start a book, I write a mess of scenes and passages, by hand and on the computer, without any real order or structure. On the side I compile research. Then comes the day I open a file that starts on page one and will proceed to the end of the first full draft. Today is that day.
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
teaching a small press course for MFA students in spring, might give them an assignment to interview someone about their publish experience. If you're an editor and/or have published at least one small press book + would like to be included on the list of possible interview subjects, please lmk
December 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
teaching a small press course for MFA students in spring, might give them an assignment to interview someone about their publish experience. If you're an editor and/or have published at least one small press book + would like to be included on the list of possible interview subjects, please lmk
“We must teach ourselves to navigate the torrent that is replacing consensus reality.”
“In the new age of magic, when reality is labile and can be recoded by the power of signs, by narrative and memes and vibes and compelling images, art becomes a truly political technology. “ I wrote about AI slop, truth, politics, art and magic www.artforum.com/features/yea...
Slopocalypse Now
Hari Kunzru surveys the AI slop that dominates our feeds and likens the way it drowns out information to a new form of censorship.
www.artforum.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:47 PM
“We must teach ourselves to navigate the torrent that is replacing consensus reality.”
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
I had an interesting conversation about The Calculation of Volume at work yesterday that helped clarify why I fell out of love with it over the second book. When one person experiences the impossible, it is a philosophical conundrum. When two people experience it, it becomes a political conspiracy.
December 3, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I had an interesting conversation about The Calculation of Volume at work yesterday that helped clarify why I fell out of love with it over the second book. When one person experiences the impossible, it is a philosophical conundrum. When two people experience it, it becomes a political conspiracy.
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
Steve Cropper, perfect guitarist, RIP
December 4, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Steve Cropper, perfect guitarist, RIP
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
After a 2025 hiatus, I will be hosting another Monterey writing retreat in 2026. Treat yourself to four days of dedicated writing time to jump start your work. Details are posted here:
www.tothelighthouse.net/retreats
www.tothelighthouse.net/retreats
Retreats — To the Lighthouse
www.tothelighthouse.net
December 4, 2025 at 12:10 AM
After a 2025 hiatus, I will be hosting another Monterey writing retreat in 2026. Treat yourself to four days of dedicated writing time to jump start your work. Details are posted here:
www.tothelighthouse.net/retreats
www.tothelighthouse.net/retreats
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Fellowship
theonion.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Police knocked on my door tonight. Neighbors reported seeing someone get out of a car, put something under my car, and take off. Police found nothing but said private investigators sometimes plant trackers. Hoping not to make the news when I next start my car.
December 2, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Police knocked on my door tonight. Neighbors reported seeing someone get out of a car, put something under my car, and take off. Police found nothing but said private investigators sometimes plant trackers. Hoping not to make the news when I next start my car.
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
This is a thrilling list of books that deserve attention and love. Small press publication is thriving.
If you only look at one year-end "best of" books list, make it this thoughtful one of underrecognized gems from @literaryhub.bsky.social lithub.com/100-notable-...
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025
The idea of 100 Notable Small Press Books was born November 2024, after The New York Times’s annual 100 Notable Books list featured eighty-two books from the Big Five publishing houses (Pengu…
lithub.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
This is a thrilling list of books that deserve attention and love. Small press publication is thriving.
Sometimes all you want is some shelf-stable hurricane food and what you get are emails about the Seven Seals of Revelation.
November 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Sometimes all you want is some shelf-stable hurricane food and what you get are emails about the Seven Seals of Revelation.
Practicing that age-old Thanksgiving weekend ritual: writing rec letters.
November 26, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Practicing that age-old Thanksgiving weekend ritual: writing rec letters.
Girding my loins for the grocery store. (I'm hosting two Thanksgiving dinners this year--with one parent coming midday and the other in the evening. Grateful to be able to do, more or less.)
November 25, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Girding my loins for the grocery store. (I'm hosting two Thanksgiving dinners this year--with one parent coming midday and the other in the evening. Grateful to be able to do, more or less.)
Reposted by Elise Blackwell
Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program
Books Not Bars 2025 Holiday Campaign
BOOKS NOT BARS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Haymarket Books is committed to making our books available for free to people who are incarcerated.
In an effort to support those inside who are dealing with the imm...
haymarketbooks.app.neoncrm.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program
A movie that takes place where you’re from. (Bonus: a movie with a scene in the bar you tended to pay tuition.) www.sundance.org/blogs/how-se...
November 23, 2025 at 9:27 PM
A movie that takes place where you’re from. (Bonus: a movie with a scene in the bar you tended to pay tuition.) www.sundance.org/blogs/how-se...
Normally surrounded by people (and happily married), I fell into a solo date: Gamecock Women’s Basketball laps their opponents (121-49), followed by reading a book over a ridiculously caloric vegan sandwich. Columbia, SC—better than you might think.
November 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Normally surrounded by people (and happily married), I fell into a solo date: Gamecock Women’s Basketball laps their opponents (121-49), followed by reading a book over a ridiculously caloric vegan sandwich. Columbia, SC—better than you might think.
Beginning @danchaon.bsky.social's Ill Will this afternoon. #FridayReads
November 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Beginning @danchaon.bsky.social's Ill Will this afternoon. #FridayReads