Ithaca Irrealist Liberation Front
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irrealist.bsky.social
Ithaca Irrealist Liberation Front
@irrealist.bsky.social
71 followers 18 following 53 posts
At war with reality. Ithaca Irrealist Reading Series and other revolutionary activities. https://irrealist.org
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irrealist.bsky.social
Fists up for the IILF! Big thanks to @donfoolery.com, @parkeriswriting.bsky.social, and everyone who came out for our September reading!
Don Pizarro and Parker M. O’Neill standing on stage under purple lighting with their fists up.
September 23, 2025 at 1:14 AM
irrealist.bsky.social
August Reader Spotlight: Edmundo Paz-Soldán read his moving short story “Artificial” from the anthology LATINX RISING (Ohio State University Press, 2020).
Edmundo Paz-Soldán sitting on a stage under purple lighting reading from a packet of papers.
September 21, 2025 at 10:09 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
August Reader Spotlight: @lilianacolanzi.bsky.social captivated the audience with two stories from her collection YOU GLOW IN THE DARK (tr. Chris Andrews for New Directions, 2024), “The Cave” and “The Greenest Eyes.”
Liliana Colanzi seated on stage under purple lighting, reading from her collection YOU GLOW IN THE DARK.
September 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
Irrealists: Our next reading will be on Monday, September 22nd from 7-9pm at Liquid State, featuring @donfoolery.com and @parkeriswriting.bsky.social! Join us for good fiction, good beer, and good company.
Ithaca Irrealist Readings A boozy reading series featuring authors of the fantastic, the surreal, the absurd, the speculative, and the odd. Don Pizarro Writer whose work has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Crossed Genres, Lakeside Circus, and other places online and in print. He is a graduate of the 2016 Viable Paradise Writing Workshop and can be found at donfoolery.com. Parker M. O'Neill Writer of fiction appearing or forthcoming in Apex Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, Radon Journal, and elsewhere. He is a recent winner of the Elegant Literature Award for New Writers and can be found at linktr.ee/parkermoneill. Liquid State Brewing Monday, September 22nd 7-9 PM irrealist.org
September 14, 2025 at 3:27 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
August reader spotlight: @spires.bsky.social (and her young assistant) gave the crowd an excerpt of her upcoming novella ELLIPSES, forthcoming from Infinivox, about a field biologist discovering life on an alien planet.
D.A. Xiaolin spires sitting on a stage, with her young daughter standing beside her, under purple lighting.
September 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
The Ithaca Irrealist Liberation Front has already stated our revolutionary position on the literary/genre discourse of the day.
Is this series for literary fiction or genre fiction? “Literary” is an adjective describing a relation to literature—the written word. “Genre” is Old French for “gender” and can, eccentrically, refer to which shelf a book is set down on for sale. We insist that any such inquiries be translated, e.g. “What is the gender of this book?” Those abusing these words will face the revolutionary justice of the IILF.
September 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
We had a great reading this week, featuring @spires.bsky.social, @lilianacolanzi.bsky.social, and Edmundo Paz-Soldán! Look forward to reader spotlights in the coming days. The IILF marches on!
Three people standing together and smiling on a stage under purple lighting: Edmundo Paz-Soldán, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, and Liliana Colanzi. Around thirty people watching the reading in rows of picnic style tables inside a brewery barrel room.
August 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
June reader spotlight: @mstevensonbooks.bsky.social read from her captivating story “To Make Her Eat” in Artifice & Access, an anthology of disability in fantasy.
M. Stevenson under purple light on a stage, holding a mic and a copy of the anthology Artifice & Access while addressing the audience.
August 8, 2025 at 7:46 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
June reader spotlight: @risawolf.bsky.social entertained with two stories featuring characters in unusual packages, with “Build Your Own Heart” (Translunar Travelers Lounge, February 2025) and “Respect the Hustle” (Plott Hound, Spring 2025).
Risa Wolf holding a mic during an animated reading on stage.
August 6, 2025 at 9:04 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
¡Adelante! IILF partisans rally for the next Ithaca Irrealist Reading at Liquid State Brewing on Monday, August 18th from 7–9PM. Featuring Liliana Colanzi, Edmundo Paz-Soldán, and @spires.bsky.social! Join us for good fiction, good beer, and good company.
Ithaca Irrealist Readings A boozy reading series featuring authors of the fantastic, the surreal, the absurd, the speculative, and the odd. Liliana Colanzi Writer and Professor of Latin American Literature at Cornell. Winner of the Zinklar Prize and Ribera del Duero Prize, and shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award. Author of three short fiction collections, including You Glow in the Dark. Edmundo Paz-Soldán Writer and Professor of Latin American Literature at Cornell. Winner of the Bolivian National Book Award and the Juan Rulfo Short Story Award. Author of fourteen novels and six books of short stories, with work translated into twelve languages. D.A. Xiaolin Spires Writer of speculative fiction and poetry, appearing in Clarkesworld, Analog, Strange Horizons, Nature, and others. Her poetry has been nominated for the Dwarf Star, Rhysling, Best of the Net, and Pushcart Awards. Author of the forthcoming novella Ellipses. Liquid State Brewing Monday, August 18th - 7 PM to 9 PM irrealist.org
August 5, 2025 at 4:04 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
June reader spotlight: @swpisciotta.bsky.social came all the way from Colorado to dazzle us with two short stories, “Transubstantiation” (Flash Fiction Online, May 2025) and “Rocket Boy” (Utopia Science Fiction, December 2024). Both were big hits!
Sam smiling and holding a mic on stage under purple lighting.
August 2, 2025 at 8:24 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
Thank you to our three Ithaca Irrealist Readers for June 2025—fists up for the IILF! @swpisciotta.bsky.social @risawolf.bsky.social & @mstevensonbooks.bsky.social dazzled the crowd with their imaginative fiction. Look out for coming reader spotlights, so you too can enjoy their great work!
Sam Pisciotta, Risa Wolf, and M. Stevenson standing on a violet-lit stage with their fists up for the IILF.
June 26, 2025 at 12:42 AM
irrealist.bsky.social
Book shops, coffee shops, wine shops, ice cream shops, community notice boards, derelict buildings—the IILF Propaganda Committee leaves no avenue unexploited to mobilize the people of Ithaca to our cause! Join us for the next Ithaca Irrealist Reading on Tuesday, June 24th from 7-9pm at Liquid State.
Photo of the Ithaca Irrealist Reading June 2025 poster (see prior posts) on a wooden board in a book store. Photo of the Ithaca Irrealist Reading June 2025 poster (see prior posts) on a pin board. Photo of the Ithaca Irrealist Reading June 2025 poster (see prior posts) on a cork board in an ice cream shop. Photo of the Ithaca Irrealist Reading June 2025 poster (see prior posts) on a glass window outside a coffee shop.
June 15, 2025 at 8:35 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
IILF partisans, to arms! Our next Ithaca Irrealist Reading will be Tuesday, June 24th from 7-9pm at Liquid State Brewing! Join @swpisciotta.bsky.social, @risawolf.bsky.social, and @mstevensonbooks.bsky.social for good fiction, good beer, and good company!
Ithaca Irrealist Readings A boozy reading series featuring authors of the fantastic, the surreal, the absurd, the speculative, and the odd. Sam Pisciotta Sam W. Pisciotta is an intrepid storyteller hurtling through spacetime on the power of morning coffee and late-night tea. Find his stories in Asimov’s, Analog, F&SF, Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed (forthcoming), and other fine publications. Risa Wolf Risa Wolf is a multi-gendered water elemental disguised as an ink-stained lycanthrope. (Don't tell their spouse or dogs; the disguise is working.) They mostly publish speculative short stories in magazines like Clarkesworld. M. Stevenson M. Stevenson is the author of Behooved, a romantasy novel published by Bramble in May 2025. An avid swing dancer and amateur naturalist, she’s often found dancing Lindy Hop or wandering the woods talking to birds and plants. Liquid State Brewing Tuesday, June 24th - 7 PM to 9 PM irrealist.org
June 13, 2025 at 4:31 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
May Reader Spotlight: @edashtonwriting.bsky.social closed us out with big laughs, reading a clone-filled excerpt of his novel MICKEY7, plus his short story “The Butterfly Effect” (Andromeda Spaceways #73), about ill-conceived tampering with the timeline. (Links below.)
Edward Ashton sitting on a high chair on a stage under blue light. He is holding a microphone and his cell phone is in his hand to read, but he’s looking up at the audience while speaking with a good-humored expression.
May 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
May Reader Spotlight: @daviddegraff.bsky.social, astronomer and science fiction writer, read an unpublished humor story about Lithium, as well as “My Girlfriend is a Nebula” (Lightspeed, Feb 2025), about a star-crossed romance between a librarian and an astronomer. (Link below.)
David standing on stage under a purplish light, one hand holding a mic and the other in his pocket, looking happily engaged in telling his story with his eyes on the audience.
May 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
May Reader Spotlight: @jenniferhudak.bsky.social, a Nebula Award Finalist speculative fiction writer, read her story “Written on the Subway Walls” (The Sunday Morning Transport, Feb 2025), about a new life for the tunnel that formerly housed the Erie Canal and Rochester city subway. (Link below.)
Jen standing on a stage under blue light, holding a microphone and using a high chair to hold her story manuscript, smiling at the camera.
May 16, 2025 at 2:40 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
LET THE WORLD SHAKE AT THE DEBUT OF THE ITHACA IRREALIST LIBERATION FRONT!

Many thanks to @jenniferhudak.bsky.social, @daviddegraff.bsky.social, @edashtonwriting.bsky.social, and everyone who came out for our inaugural reading!
Three fantastic writers standing in front of several wooden bar tables of attendees. There are 26 people in the room, with wooden barrels along one side. Three fantastic writers standing in front of several wooden bar tables of attendees. There are 26 people in the room, with wooden barrels along one side. In this shot, everyone’s fist is in the air.
May 14, 2025 at 2:54 AM
irrealist.bsky.social
Ithaca Irrealist Readings A boozy reading series featuring authors of the fantastic, the surreal, the absurd, the speculative, and the odd. Jennifer Hudak Speculative fiction writer with work in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and The Sunday Morning Transport. And current Nebula Award Finalist! David DeGraff Astronomer and science fiction writer whose work has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed Magazine, and others. Edward Ashton Author of Mickey7 (now a film directed by Bong Joon- ho & starring Robert Pattinson) and other novels, with fiction in Analog, Escape Pod, and the newsletter of an Italian sausage company. Liquid State Brewing Tuesday, May 13th - 7 PM to 9 PM irrealist.org
May 1, 2025 at 12:37 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
The Propaganda Committee is papering the town with flyers for our May 13th reading!
Photo of an Ithaca Irrealist Reading flyer in a coffee shop window. Photo of an Ithaca Irrealist Reading flyer on a library notice board. Photo of an Ithaca Irrealist Reading flyer on a bookstore wall. Photo of an Ithaca Irrealist Reading flyer on a wall.
May 1, 2025 at 12:36 PM
irrealist.bsky.social
Join us Tues, May 13th for the inaugural Ithaca Irrealist Reading at Liquid State Brewing! Featuring @jenniferhudak.bsky.social, @daviddegraff.bsky.social, and @edashtonwriting.bsky.social, with host @willmcmahon36.bsky.social. Wage war against reality with good beer, good fiction, and good company!
Ithaca Irrealist Readings A boozy reading series featuring authors of the fantastic, the surreal, the absurd, the speculative, and the odd. Jennifer Hudak Speculative fiction writer with work in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and The Sunday Morning Transport. And current Nebula Award Finalist! David DeGraff Astronomer and science fiction writer whose work has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed Magazine, and others. Edward Ashton Author of Mickey7 (now a film directed by Bong Joon- ho & starring Robert Pattinson) and other novels, with fiction in Analog, Escape Pod, and the newsletter of an Italian sausage company. Liquid State Brewing Tuesday, May 13th - 7 PM to 9 PM irrealist.org
April 30, 2025 at 1:29 AM