Laura Nagle
@lauralnagle.bsky.social
🙋♀️: translator, fiction writer, high school language teacher, cat paparazzo, fun aunt
🗣️: English, français, español, Gaeilge
✍️: recently in The Common, North American Review, Latin American Literature Today
🔗: https://lnlanguage.com
🗣️: English, français, español, Gaeilge
✍️: recently in The Common, North American Review, Latin American Literature Today
🔗: https://lnlanguage.com
Resting up in anticipation of a snowy weekend. (All the neighbors going outside to clear off their cars? That’s must-see Kitty TV.)
November 28, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Resting up in anticipation of a snowy weekend. (All the neighbors going outside to clear off their cars? That’s must-see Kitty TV.)
Reposted by Laura Nagle
Not doing Black Friday because I'm against the creeping Americanisation of Irish life and can't afford to as a small artist, but WILL be doing Vengeful Hag Friday where for every piece of art you purchase from www.ciaraioch.com/artprints I will fervently wish bad cess to your enemies
November 28, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Not doing Black Friday because I'm against the creeping Americanisation of Irish life and can't afford to as a small artist, but WILL be doing Vengeful Hag Friday where for every piece of art you purchase from www.ciaraioch.com/artprints I will fervently wish bad cess to your enemies
Reposted by Laura Nagle
⏱️ Emerging translators! Time's running out: Don't miss your chance to work 1-on-1 with a translation mentor next year. Apply to the 2026 ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program! 13 mentorships are available (at no cost to the emerging translator).
Apply by this Sunday, 11/30: buff.ly/EQW9BRV
Apply by this Sunday, 11/30: buff.ly/EQW9BRV
American Literary Translators Association Submission Manager
The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes literary translation and translators.ALTA awards six major prizes at the annual ALTA…
buff.ly
November 28, 2025 at 3:30 PM
⏱️ Emerging translators! Time's running out: Don't miss your chance to work 1-on-1 with a translation mentor next year. Apply to the 2026 ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program! 13 mentorships are available (at no cost to the emerging translator).
Apply by this Sunday, 11/30: buff.ly/EQW9BRV
Apply by this Sunday, 11/30: buff.ly/EQW9BRV
Reposted by Laura Nagle
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Reposted by Laura Nagle
The felines are ever closer... 🐈🐈⬛
FIVE days until submissions open for our themed pop-up call.
Give us your cat flash - 100 to 1000 words - any genre.
Give us great STORY and VOICE
Issue published early January before the trash cats reclaim the bin 🦝
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
FIVE days until submissions open for our themed pop-up call.
Give us your cat flash - 100 to 1000 words - any genre.
Give us great STORY and VOICE
Issue published early January before the trash cats reclaim the bin 🦝
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
a black and white cat is peeking out from behind a curtain .
ALT: a black and white cat is peeking out from behind a curtain .
media.tenor.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The felines are ever closer... 🐈🐈⬛
FIVE days until submissions open for our themed pop-up call.
Give us your cat flash - 100 to 1000 words - any genre.
Give us great STORY and VOICE
Issue published early January before the trash cats reclaim the bin 🦝
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
FIVE days until submissions open for our themed pop-up call.
Give us your cat flash - 100 to 1000 words - any genre.
Give us great STORY and VOICE
Issue published early January before the trash cats reclaim the bin 🦝
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
If you’re looking for a picture of a cat plotting a sneak attack on his sister, you are in the wrong place. This is a picture of a cat tree. There are no visible cats in this photo. If any cat was present at the moment this picture was taken, he was fully hidden.
November 26, 2025 at 5:29 PM
If you’re looking for a picture of a cat plotting a sneak attack on his sister, you are in the wrong place. This is a picture of a cat tree. There are no visible cats in this photo. If any cat was present at the moment this picture was taken, he was fully hidden.
Reposted by Laura Nagle
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that one of the main impacts of LLMs is to disrupt thinking: to make it so that far too many people never properly learn how to do it, and then to control the output so there are thoughts that people never learn how to think.
November 24, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that one of the main impacts of LLMs is to disrupt thinking: to make it so that far too many people never properly learn how to do it, and then to control the output so there are thoughts that people never learn how to think.
Reposted by Laura Nagle
Impossible how good reading is. You mean I just point my face at the paper for a bit and it does a whole update on my brain?
November 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Impossible how good reading is. You mean I just point my face at the paper for a bit and it does a whole update on my brain?
Reposted by Laura Nagle
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository
www.animal-photo-references.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
❤️
November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
❤️
Reposted by Laura Nagle
On 22 Dec at 5pm CET, I will run a small online event on how to use my lit mag rankings for submitting to journals. This event is for those: (i) new to submitting; and/or (ii) not comfortable with spreadsheets.
The event will be FREE but there are only 10 spots - sign up below!
The event will be FREE but there are only 10 spots - sign up below!
November 21, 2025 at 11:02 AM
On 22 Dec at 5pm CET, I will run a small online event on how to use my lit mag rankings for submitting to journals. This event is for those: (i) new to submitting; and/or (ii) not comfortable with spreadsheets.
The event will be FREE but there are only 10 spots - sign up below!
The event will be FREE but there are only 10 spots - sign up below!
Last one of these for the year! Something for everyone: writing news, a cover reveal, good TV, adorable cats... open.substack.com/pub/lauranag...
November 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Last one of these for the year! Something for everyone: writing news, a cover reveal, good TV, adorable cats... open.substack.com/pub/lauranag...
Thrilled to share my new story in @thesunlightpress.bsky.social! I started it in @mauricenow.bsky.social’s workshop this summer @kenyonreview.bsky.social and expanded it in @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness. Thanks to workshop friends for encouragement and to @kelliborges2.bsky.social for choosing it!
Resistance - The Sunlight Press
We close the week with the third place winner in our 2025 Fall Flash Fiction Contest - "Resistance" by Laura Nagle.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Thrilled to share my new story in @thesunlightpress.bsky.social! I started it in @mauricenow.bsky.social’s workshop this summer @kenyonreview.bsky.social and expanded it in @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness. Thanks to workshop friends for encouragement and to @kelliborges2.bsky.social for choosing it!
Reposted by Laura Nagle
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
Over the moon about this! Thank you, @kelliborges2.bsky.social, for your kind words. Can’t wait to share this piece with you all later in the week!
Our judge Kelli Borges shares her insights on all the winning stories. Find out our 2025 Flash Fiction Contest second and third place winners.
Special thanks to Kelli and our readers, Susan Pohlman and Elizabeth Spencer!
bit.ly/47ZNYyG
Special thanks to Kelli and our readers, Susan Pohlman and Elizabeth Spencer!
bit.ly/47ZNYyG
November 18, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Over the moon about this! Thank you, @kelliborges2.bsky.social, for your kind words. Can’t wait to share this piece with you all later in the week!
Reposted by Laura Nagle
It's coming...
The feline takeover is almost upon us.
We want your cat flash - between 100 and 1000 words - for our call. Any genre. Deadline is 14th December.
All the info and image prompts here:
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
The feline takeover is almost upon us.
We want your cat flash - between 100 and 1000 words - for our call. Any genre. Deadline is 14th December.
All the info and image prompts here:
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
November 18, 2025 at 11:46 AM
It's coming...
The feline takeover is almost upon us.
We want your cat flash - between 100 and 1000 words - for our call. Any genre. Deadline is 14th December.
All the info and image prompts here:
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
The feline takeover is almost upon us.
We want your cat flash - between 100 and 1000 words - for our call. Any genre. Deadline is 14th December.
All the info and image prompts here:
trashcatlit.com/call-for-cat...
Reposted by Laura Nagle
We are accepting applications for our four-month long Developmental Editing Fellowship for Emerging Writers. The Fellowship involves one-on-one mentorship by an experienced editor on the KR team. Find application guidelines and previous fellows at the link:
kenyonreview.org/fellowship/d...
kenyonreview.org/fellowship/d...
November 16, 2025 at 7:39 PM
We are accepting applications for our four-month long Developmental Editing Fellowship for Emerging Writers. The Fellowship involves one-on-one mentorship by an experienced editor on the KR team. Find application guidelines and previous fellows at the link:
kenyonreview.org/fellowship/d...
kenyonreview.org/fellowship/d...
Reposted by Laura Nagle
Throwback to when a Japanese publisher sent me endorsements of Yamamoto and Dilemmas to use in pitching the collection, and included DeepL AI translations of them for my convenience.
I, uh, decided to translate them myself instead
I, uh, decided to translate them myself instead
![[Original]:
田辺聖子Seiko Tanabe
天衣無縫。天馬空を行く。文章にリズムがあって、現代の匂いがぷんぷんしていて面白い。スカスカと読めるが、底の岩盤、つまり人生と人間の洞察力はガッチリしている。それが文学的な肺活量を大きくしている。これは大人が楽しめる短編集だ。
[AI/DeepL]:
This is artlessness and loveliness, and the Creator’s flying horse! The writing has a rhythm, and it's interesting, with a whiff of modernity. It reads scuzzy, but the bedrock at the bottom - the insight into life and humanity - is stout. It makes for a great literary lung capacity. This is a real short story collection for adults to enjoy.
[Me]:
What artless beauty! What clarity of vision! The rhythm of the sentences couldn’t be more modern, or fascinating. Even when describing shabby realities, the bedrock beneath the writing—its deep understanding of the human condition—is so solid. This is work that broadens what literature can do, a collection of stories truly made for an adult readership.
Seiko Tanabe, prizewinning author of Sentimental Journey and Flowergathering
[Original]:
黒岩重吾 Jugo Kuroiwa
山本文緒の「プラナリア」を読み、その新鮮さに眼が洗われるような思いがした。蝶もいれば毒虫もいる。ガラスの破片があれば、本物の玉もある。登場人物たちが何度もセックスしても気にならないし、若い女性が公園で寝ていても、不潔な感じがしない。人間を影裏な刃物で抉りながらも、小気味がよい。時には詩的でさえもある。しかも、どの短編も新鮮だから、感心したという以外にない。
[AI/DeepL]:
When I read this collection, I felt as if my eyes were being washed clean by its freshness. There are butterflies and there are poisonous insects. There are shards of glass and there are real diamonds. It doesn't bother me when the characters have sex repeatedly, nor do I feel unclean when the young women sleep in the park. It is small and creepy, even while gouging out human beings with shadowy blades. At times, it is even poetic. Moreover, each short story is fresh, and I can only say that I am impressed.
[Me]:
The freshness of this collection made me feel as if my eyes were being washed clean as I read it. It contains both beautiful butterflies and stinging, venomous bugs; both real gems and glittering shards of glass. The characters have sex again and again, lovelessly; one young woman spends her nights sleeping in…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:25a4w47mlwtx3vexjg2khyym/bafkreifyb4sp2ayr7w4d4y67adhjtddwukcv42aop5qymvub5tjbqfgmve@jpeg)
![[Original]:
林真理子 Mariko Hayashi
恋愛小説を書く作家にとって、山本文緒の出現は驚きだった。作家は普通、恋愛というゴールに向かって、さまざまな仕掛けをする。美男美女でなくても、登場人物はそれなりの魅力を持たせようと苦労する。いわゆる「説得力」だ。ところが、山本の小説は、最初からそういうことを放棄している。男も女も、これといって美点を持たない。「嫌ではなかった」という理由で、女と男は関係を持つ。このずれ方が、実に現代的で、面白い。今までの恋愛小説に出てくる、恋や仕事に前向きな女性という理想像に、山本は大きなバツ印をつけたような気がする。後半の、居酒屋の主人を主人公にした短編は、作者の著しい成長がわかる。山本の受賞は、我が事のように嬉しい。
[AI / DeepL]:
For writers of romance novels, the emergence of Fumio Yamamoto was a big surprise. Writers usually rely on a variety of tricks to achieve the goal of romance. Even if the characters are not beautiful man and woman, we take pains to make them attractive in their own way. This is what is called "persuasiveness.” However, in Yamamoto's novels, she abandons this from the very beginning. Neither the men nor the women have any particular beauty. The woman and the man enter into a relationship because “I didn't dislike him.” This displacement is very modern and interesting. It is as if Yamamoto has put a big cross on the ideal image of a woman who is positive about love and work that has appeared in romance novels up to now. The short story featuring a tavern owner, shows the author's remarkable growth. I am very happy as if it were my own that Yamamoto won this Naoki award.
[Me]:
Yamamoto’s emergence has really shaken up the world of romance literature. Writers of romance usually rely on a series of well-worn devices to propel their stories toward love. They work to demonstrate their characters’ attractiveness to the reader even if they aren’t conventionally attractive. This is thought to constitute a romance’s “believability.” But Yamamoto throws this conventional wisdom out entirely. Neither her men nor her women are presented with an eye to their attractiveness. They’re shown falling into relationships simply because they “don’t hate” each other. This destabilizes the reader, and constitutes the stories’ interest, their modern flair. It’s as if Yamamoto looked at the typical heroine of romance literature—the ideal worki…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:25a4w47mlwtx3vexjg2khyym/bafkreihm2kucc6wjbsayyimhm2ia7znw7jdhaciiybgjsh2tpjyenajj5e@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Throwback to when a Japanese publisher sent me endorsements of Yamamoto and Dilemmas to use in pitching the collection, and included DeepL AI translations of them for my convenience.
I, uh, decided to translate them myself instead
I, uh, decided to translate them myself instead
Reposted by Laura Nagle
Happy HAD Friday! 2 submission windows today for those who make some kind of donation to a cause! Link will work from 10-11am and 7-8pm Eastern. Where are you donating? havehashad.submittable.com/submit/34166...
November 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Happy HAD Friday! 2 submission windows today for those who make some kind of donation to a cause! Link will work from 10-11am and 7-8pm Eastern. Where are you donating? havehashad.submittable.com/submit/34166...
Delighted to be on this list and in such great company! 🤩
Congratulations to our 2025 Flash Fiction Contest Long List Nominees! Stay tuned for the winner on Monday!
November 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Delighted to be on this list and in such great company! 🤩
The day after my cats came home, I found out I got an ALTA travel fellowship. I told David some humans thought I was a good translator, and he looked at me adoringly, like he’d always believed in me.
I came home today and said I got a story accepted. Apparently, this type of thing is now old news.
I came home today and said I got a story accepted. Apparently, this type of thing is now old news.
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The day after my cats came home, I found out I got an ALTA travel fellowship. I told David some humans thought I was a good translator, and he looked at me adoringly, like he’d always believed in me.
I came home today and said I got a story accepted. Apparently, this type of thing is now old news.
I came home today and said I got a story accepted. Apparently, this type of thing is now old news.
Reposted by Laura Nagle
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
Reposted by Laura Nagle
RIP Baudrillard you would have loved this shit
New uncanny valley unlocked: inflatable corn maze for urban fall fests.
November 9, 2025 at 4:25 AM
RIP Baudrillard you would have loved this shit
Playing Wordle at midnight to distract myself from the stressful baseball game I was using to distract myself from other stressful stuff
November 2, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Playing Wordle at midnight to distract myself from the stressful baseball game I was using to distract myself from other stressful stuff
Reposted by Laura Nagle
I’m enjoying the games and the drama, but I honestly believe if I was a real fan of either of these teams I’d be dead from a coronary.
November 2, 2025 at 3:27 AM
I’m enjoying the games and the drama, but I honestly believe if I was a real fan of either of these teams I’d be dead from a coronary.