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barrelhouse.bsky.social
Barrelhouse
@barrelhouse.bsky.social
6.2K followers 330 following 330 posts
Proudly independent literary magazine & small press, established in 2004. Books + print issues + online issues + conferences + writing retreats + other stuff.

https://barrelhousemag.com/
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barrelhouse.bsky.social
Pushcart nominees!
@dannycaine.com
@shimmer.bsky.social
@jasonjonesm.bsky.social
Poetry (2) "Burning Down the Waffle House" by Danny Caine "Grain" by Carolene Kurien Fiction (2) "Ruptures" by Ray Wise "Party Night" by Yusuf Poladin Nonfiction (2) "The Australian Job" by Steve Himmer "Leafing Through Jack Gilbert’s The Dance Most of All for Inspiration: An Essay of Marriage" by J. M. Jones
November 14, 2025 at 2:27 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Great essay by @ericarstern.bsky.social in @wsj.com

www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...
Giving birth a second time (and, years later, a third), didn’t take away any of my love for my oldest son. In fact, it allowed me to separate him from the experience of his birth. I could leave that trauma, or at least the power it wielded over me, behind. It had taken another round to figure out what should have been obvious: the child was not the birth. I hugged them close—children who had arrived in different ways, but who were both very much mine. [Family photo below]
October 24, 2025 at 3:10 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Mid-Atlantic writers, we are returning to American U on 4/18 for our annual Conversations & Connections conference. More details, full lineup, and registration coming soon.
Flyer for the conference with all the details in the post, plus a little alien guy and a funky spaceship
October 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Best of the Net nominees! Including @demisty.bsky.social @kcmeadbrewer.com @patrickcrerand.bsky.social @carrieconners.bsky.social @dsrandol.bsky.social & @jiksuncheung.bsky.social
Snappy lil graphic announcing our best of the net noms: fiction- Missippi June by DeMisty D. Bellinger & My Pretties by K.C. Mead-Brewer CNF: Lingerie Momeny by Rebecca Mental & Centerfold by Patrick Crerand Poetry: Wisconsin Sexy by Carrie Conners, a brief correlation between queer sex and U.S. manifest destiny by d.S. randol & People Also Ask by Quinn Franzen Artwork: Cover art by Jiksun Cheung
August 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Thanks to @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social for including FRONTIER on this list of 12 must reads for June!

chireviewofbooks.com/2025/06/02/1...
After unexpected pregnancy complications put Erica Stern on the threshold of life and death, she was able to identify the liminal space that connects her to generations of mothers before her. Frontier is a fascinating hybrid memoir that combines the author’s personal experience with pregnancy and motherhood and a Wild West ghost story about a mother who died in childbirth that roams her old homestead, tethered to the family she left behind. With its intricate and unique blend of memoir, fiction, and research, Frontier highlights how versatile and provocative the art form of writing can be when handled by a writer as talented as Erica Stern.
June 3, 2025 at 11:26 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Chicago! Join us for a FRONTIER launch party next week! @ericarstern.bsky.social & @finejuli.bsky.social at @volumesbooks.bsky.social, on 6/5
promotional flyer with essential info for this event -- 6/5, 6:30, Volumes Book Cafe
May 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Writers, get your submissions ready. Fiction always hits the cap (500) very fast, so don't delay. NF and poetry also have caps (500 & 800, respectively) though they don't typically fill up quite as fast. Don't be boring, that's the main tip
May 23, 2025 at 12:44 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Got some exciting news this week- Congrats to @ruthjoffre.bsky.social and thank you to Ofelia Montelongo for editing the issue!
Barrelhouse branded graphic noting that Ruth Joffre's student "A Girl Experiments With Being Human" has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2025
May 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Pretty rare copy of issue 20 found in the wild (at Inkwood books in Haddonfield, NJ)
April 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Scenes from our AWP reading this afternoon
March 28, 2025 at 10:31 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Hey the steps are inaccessible, take note of this new location right near the main entrance (also just look for us)
March 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Very limited supplies of Barrelhouse 25 and stickers available at AWP table 461!
Beautiful books and stickers!
March 27, 2025 at 4:29 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Reminder that even though we don't have an AWP table this year, we are still running one (barely) off-site event, Friday at noon on the convention center stairs. Take a break from the book fair and come hang with us
(we'll have a very limited supply of issue 25 with us too)
Flyer listing the readers for this event, with the same info as the post: 3/28 12 PM, Convention Center stairs
March 24, 2025 at 11:45 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Got a good group photo featuring three of our readers from last night (sorry @jasonjonesm.bsky.social, this was after you left) + a smattering of our editors and asst. editors
Honestly, exactly as described in the post. We look cool and fun and relatively young
March 20, 2025 at 3:49 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
More from tonight
Jason Jones reading Juliet Gelfman-Randazzo hosting Slightly different angle of Olivia Muenz reading, proving there were people in the audience
March 20, 2025 at 3:01 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Thanks to everyone who came out tonight! Especially all the young people who made us feel not so old. And thanks to our excellent readers. Issue 25 still available for all to order at barrelhousemag.com/shop
Danny Caine reading Olivia Muenz reading A bunch of people watching a reading Yusuf Poladin reading
March 20, 2025 at 2:40 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
DC pals, come on out Friday for a Barrelhouse poetry night, featuring @glitterature.bsky.social @wordperv.bsky.social, Tonee Mae Moll, and Amanda McCormick

Full details here: www.rhizomedc.org/new-events/2...
flyer for event at Rhizome DC (located at 6950 Maple St. NW) for event on 3/14. doors at 7, readings at 7:30. List of readers included
March 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Reminder that we are launching Issue 25 at Tattooed Mom in Philly in less than 2 weeks. Readings! Literary Community! Stickers! Pierogis!
Launch party flyer with key info being that it's March 19 at 7 PM at Tattooed Mom. Readers are Danny Caine, Yusuf Poladin, Olivia Muenz, and J.M. Jones. There's also a space cat situation happening in the image
March 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Cover reveal! Our newest book, FRONTIER, by Erica Stern, is both a memoir and a Wild West ghost story. Read more about it and pre-order here

www.barrelhousemag.com/books/fronti...
Cover of Erica Stern's book, FRONTIER, which i think looks pretty cool but don't feel my description would do it much justice
February 26, 2025 at 2:16 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
We won't have a table at AWP this year--travel logistics were a challenge-- but a couple of us will be floating around the convention center + we're sponsoring one reading that is just *barely* offsite
flyer for a reading on the LA convention center steps on 3/28 at 12 PM, featuring a whole lot of people who I promise will not read for a long time, I give you my solemn vow. It'll be fun
February 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
We've got some previews of Issue 25 (which you can pre-order now!) on our site. First up: "Burning Down the Waffle House" by @dannycaine.com

www.barrelhousemag.com/blog/issue-2...
The person at Waffle House drops my card and starts crying. She’s here alone until 2. It’s 2. Kind of hard to avoid the fact that I am part of the problem. With that in mind, how much of a tip is a good tip, and where is the line between a good tip and a messiah complex? Trying to quickly stop crying, she asks me, do you ever just get so tired? If she wants to burn down the Waffle House, I’ll go get some kerosene.
February 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
48 hours left to prove you are the Harry Crews of the modern age
it's Harry fuckin Crews
January 17, 2025 at 1:57 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
EMOTION INDUSTRY by Tracy Dimond ( @glitterature.bsky.social ) listed as one of the top books of 2024 by Johns Hopkins! Get your copy here: www.barrelhousemag.com/books/emotio...
Screenshot of an image showing Johns Hopkins University Scholars top book picks of 2024, including EMOTION INDUSTRY by Tracy Dimond and some other books that I presume are fine as well
December 19, 2024 at 3:56 AM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
All pieces have been accepted for issue 25! Finalizing layout and proofing and then we will have another new issue in hand early next year. Preview of cover art and contributors:
This one is kind of hard to describe but it's a cool psychedelic kinda painting of a water buffalo staring at a dude who is drawing the water buffalo (art by Roger Doyle) POETRY Fez Avery Danny Caine Sarah Grace Goolden Jeffrey Hermann Alisha Erin Hillam Emily Hockaday Patrick Kindig Carolene Kurien Karyna McGlynn Matthew Valades FICTION Meiko Ko Olivia Muenz Yusuf Poladin Meg Toth Ray Wise NONFICTION Will Hagle Steve Himmer J. M. Jones Matthue Roth COVER ART Roger Doyle
December 13, 2024 at 4:09 PM
barrelhouse.bsky.social
Pushcart nominees!
We've lost track of who's on here, so please tag them in the replies if they're anyone besides @emmabolden.bsky.social or @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
November 20, 2024 at 4:07 PM