Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thank you for reading the story! @lorifontanes.bsky.social

LM “Gory” Fontanes 👻 @lorifontanes.bsky.social · Sep 4

@pegahouji.bsky.social! just discovered this 👏👏👏story

heartbreaking & lovely with the precision of craft I would expect from @smokelong.bsky.social fam!

emergeliteraryjournal.com/no-place-lik...

No Place Like a Kaleidoscope

by Pegah Ouji Unlike what neighbors say about ghosts, my brother, Hameed, does not follow me everywhere. I wish he would, his lanky legs tracing the curves of Kerman’s sidewalks, disappearing, when…

emergeliteraryjournal.com

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · Sep 2

@janeciab.bsky.social talks to Joan Silber: “I’ve never been a writer who knows what she’s doing before she sets out.”

Joan Silber on the Process of Discovery, Fiction About Friendship, and the Meaning of Mercy

Joan Silber is a contemporary genius at creating artful stories of a multitude of characters who ricochet in cunning ways, crossing generations and continents. I named her 2017 novel Improvement a …

buff.ly

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Lindz McLeod - THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET is out now! @lindzmcleod.bsky.social · Aug 25

I am so hyped for all you to see this book, I honestly can't wait

Stanchion @stanchion.bsky.social · Aug 25

First blurb is in for @lindzmcleod.bsky.social's collaborative craft writing book An Honour & A Privilege, from the great author & publisher Michael Wheaton of @autofocusbooks.bsky.social.

www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...

"Equal parts engaging and instructive, An Honour & A Privilege presents a theory and practice of collaborative fiction writing that will inspire deeper craft and community in your own work. A must read for any writer interested in the creative process."

— Michael Wheaton, publisher of Autofocus Books

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Aug 18

Received my contributor copy of @epochliterary.com latest issue with my story called Untouchables. Thanks to @jrobertlennon.com and other staff!

www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Aug 18

Received my contributor copy of @epochliterary.com latest issue with my story called Untouchables. Thanks to @jrobertlennon.com and other staff!

www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Aug 9

I have a new short story our in EPOCH magazine. Reverse immigration, cemetery lives and reading Harry Potter in Tehran. www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...

Featured Fiction — EPOCH

www.epochliterary.com

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

EPOCH @epochliterary.com · Aug 2

We are open for subs!

EPOCH @epochliterary.com · Jul 25

Volume 72, Issue 2 is out now! 192pp. Cover art is Transit, Acrylic gouache paint on paper, by David Pjecha. Stop by the shop for a print ($10) or PDF ($7) copy. Complete contributor list in the image alt. Subs for 73.1 open in a week! www.epochliterary.com/archive

Greg Ames, Aldo Amparan, Kristof Anetta, Brittany Atkinson, Remy Barnes, Danny Cassidy, Ariel Courage, Laine Derr, Renesha Dhanraj, Taylor Franson-Thiel, Elisa Gabbert, Lily Jarman-Reisch, Christopher Kennedy, Erin Malone, Cary Marcous, Michael Martin, Betsy Mitchell Martinez, Pegah Ouji, Weijia Pan, Micah Perks, David Pjecha, Bryan Price, Stephen Thomas Roberts, Bee Sacks, Gabriel Schicchi, Greg Sendi, Brandon Shimoda, Murzban F. Shroff, Ed Skoog, Lisa Russ Spaar, FM Stringer, Justin Taylor, Emma Cairns Watson, Korey Williams.

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Aug 9

I have a new short story our in EPOCH magazine. Reverse immigration, cemetery lives and reading Harry Potter in Tehran. www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...

Featured Fiction — EPOCH

www.epochliterary.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Jul 25

I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to benefit from this fellowship with PEN America. pen.org/press-releas...

Nine Writers Chosen as 2025 Emerging Voices Fellows from Record Applicant Pool - PEN America

For the fourth consecutive year, PEN America's Emerging Voices Fellowship received a record number of applicants.

pen.org

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Peatsmoke Journal @psmokejournal.bsky.social · Jun 6

Read
@pegahouji.bsky.social 's mind-reeling "Hayoula" on our site!
"She reads her daughter’s books twice, running her index finger along the edges, hoarding all the paper cuts for herself. She scours the pages for Hayoula claw prints..."

Art: “Llorando a Rodón en Butoh; 2” by Jorge Luna

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Apr 30

I have all that I know about flash from this warm and encouraging community at @smokelong.bsky.social and here you can read some pieces published by people in the workshop in April.

SmokeLong Quarterly @smokelong.bsky.social · Apr 30

We're so proud of our workshop participants. Help us celebrate the publications reported to us in April!
www.smokelong.com/smokelong-wo...

SmokeLong Workshop Celebration – April 2025 - SmokeLong Quarterly

Each month we celebrate our current and previous workshop participants’ publications reported to us through Submittable (The SmokeLong Workshop Prize). Each of the publications below is eligible to wi...

www.smokelong.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Apr 30

I have a new story up @jmwwjournal.bsky.social that was born in @smokelong.bsky.social jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/04/30/f...

Flash Fiction: Who Can Say? By Pegah Ouji

We had been searching, or maybe dreaming, mapping the geography of mailboxes and morning glories that sprawled like nebulas across sidewalks.

jmwwblog.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · Apr 21

"Unlike what neighbors say about ghosts, my brother, Hameed, does not follow me everywhere. I wish he would"

Beautiful capturing of emotion and moment in this flash from @pegahouji.bsky.social in @emergejournal.bsky.social

emergeliteraryjournal.com/no-place-lik...

No Place Like a Kaleidoscope

by Pegah Ouji Unlike what neighbors say about ghosts, my brother, Hameed, does not follow me everywhere. I wish he would, his lanky legs tracing the curves of Kerman’s sidewalks, disappearing, when…

emergeliteraryjournal.com

1 1

Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Claudia Monpere @claudiamonpere.bsky.social · Apr 26

"The fire has marked the women’s faces flushed. The girl with the paint spray calls out to Fatemeh, “Take off your Roosari! Join us!” Such a gripping story @pegahouji.bsky.social in @yourimpossiblevoice.com
www.yourimpossiblevoice.com/a-fire-of-he...

A fire of her own • Your Impossible Voice

By Pegah Ouji — "When Fatimah tugs at the peeling bark of a one-hundred-year-old eucalyptus tree, one jagged edge pierces her supple thumb, one drop of blood, red and round as Tehran’s setting sun str...

www.yourimpossiblevoice.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Apr 17

I have a new flash story in the wonderful @psmokejournal.bsky.social This story was born in a monster-themed workshop in @smokelong.bsky.social

Peatsmoke Journal @psmokejournal.bsky.social · Apr 15

Our Spring 2025 Issue is in bloom!
www.peatsmokejournal.com

FLASH
🌷 @fionamckay.bsky.social
🌷 @aniking.bsky.social
🌷 @pegahouji.bsky.social
🌷Stephen Mirabito
🌷J. Condra Smith

FICTION
🌷Jamey Gallagher
🌷@manateevanity.bsky.social
🌷Brian Lynch
🌷Alan Ackman
🌷Ea Anderson

Peatsmoke

Peatsmoke is a literary journal committed to publishing fresh and exciting poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

www.peatsmokejournal.com

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Your Impossible Voice @yourimpossiblevoice.com · Apr 15

It's #flashfiction Tuesday and we're delighted to share "A fire of her own" by Pegah Ouji!

A fire of her own • Your Impossible Voice

By Pegah Ouji — "When Fatimah tugs at the peeling bark of a one-hundred-year-old eucalyptus tree, one jagged edge pierces her supple thumb, one drop of blood, red and round as Tehran’s setting sun str...

www.yourimpossiblevoice.com

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Your Impossible Voice @yourimpossiblevoice.com · Apr 15

An excerpt from "A Fire of Her Own" by Pegah Ouji. "A fire: fed by shouts of women and their tossed Roosaris. Their hairs, naked, speckled with the pollution particles, ruffle under the remnants of the day’s last breeze. Perhaps twenty, fifty, one hundred women. More gather, shouting: ‘Women, life, freedom!’"

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Apr 15

thank you!!

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Apr 15

Grateful for have friends in @smokelong.bsky.social that have helped me along as I found what this story was trying to be!

LM “Gory” Fontanes 👻 @lorifontanes.bsky.social · Apr 15

omg i read a very early draft of this in @smokelong.bsky.social workshop & just want to say BRAVO @pegahouji.bsky.social for the fierce beauty displayed here & 🙏 @yourimpossiblevoice.com for sharing with the world!!!

www.yourimpossiblevoice.com/a-fire-of-he...

A fire of her own • Your Impossible Voice

By Pegah Ouji — "When Fatimah tugs at the peeling bark of a one-hundred-year-old eucalyptus tree, one jagged edge pierces her supple thumb, one drop of blood, red and round as Tehran’s setting sun str...

www.yourimpossiblevoice.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Mar 28

Thanks for including my story among such great selections!

Reposted by Pegah Ouji

Erin Vachon (they/them) 🍉 @erinvachon.bsky.social · Jan 25

Hello! I’m running this revision workshop through SmokeLong tomorrow and donating a portion of the proceeds to Crips for eSims for Gaza. Hope to see you.

chuffed.org/project/crip...

SmokeLong Quarterly @smokelong.bsky.social · Jan 22

Are you ready for some alchemy? Join SmokeLong and Erin Vachon on January 26, 6pm ET to transmute four flash into gold.
www.smokelong.com/product/revi...

Revision for Alchemists: Transmute Your Flash into Gold - SmokeLong Quarterly

Revision for Alchemists: Transmute Your Flash into Gold — with Erin Vachon Sometimes staring at an old draft feels like holding a lump of useless metal in our hands. The ancient philosophers believed ...

www.smokelong.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Jan 25

another flash piece born in @smokelong.bsky.social

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Jan 25

Thank you @aaww-nyc.bsky.social for giving this story a home and all your care and attention.

Asian American Writers' Workshop @aaww-nyc.bsky.social · Jan 24

"Do we need a man? I want to ask her, but her eyes are bright like poppies in summer heat."

We're so excited for the return of #FlashFictionFridays, starting with "The World According to My Grandmother" by
@pegahouji.bsky.social . 🌱

Read it in #TheMargins: aaww.org/the-world-ac...

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Reposted by Pegah Ouji

$fracturedlit.bsky.social$

Fractured Lit @fracturedlit.bsky.social · Dec 17

New Micro by @kristintenor.bsky.social "Mother Black Bear sits on her haunches under the heavy limbs of the crabapple tree in the backyard. She rubs her eyes, her long snout, and looks up at the stars and sighs..."
fracturedlit.com/familiar-talk/

Familiar Talk – Fractured

fracturedlit.com

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Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social · Jan 14

This is my first non-fiction flash piece and am grateful for its home. fourwayreview.com/i-am-sorry-t...

I AM SORRY THAT I NEVER SAID GOODBYE by Pegah Ouji

I was helping my roommates, hanging up a pumpkin balloon for Halloween, when I got your text message saying you were in town. This was my first American Halloween away from my parents, far from Far…

fourwayreview.com

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