Your hold is ready! (12. 28. 23)

December 28, 2023

Hello all, and welcome to the last post of 2023! I hope all of you who are in/work at school are having a good time off, and that your Hanukkahs, Christmases, Solstaces, and Kwanzaas are and have been meaningful. I also celebrated my birthday on Dec. 19 (by going, as I have for the last decade, to Barnes and Noble) and am glad to have this chance to pause, visit home, and be just a little cozier than normal.

Of course, really, things aren’t normal: the genocide of Palestinians is ongoing, with targeted devastation seemingly tailored to wreak havoc on Christmas, and continuing a longstanding trend of targeting cultural and religious locations and artifacts for destruction. This tactic is a hallmark of genocide, even when no individuals happen to be killed. Remember, genocide is not only about decimating a population, but their culture, faith, memory, and means of connection across space and time. Do not look away.

I will continue mentioning Palestine in each newsletter, and offering links to relevant works in each category, for the foreseeable future, and encourage you to do the same when recommending media to others. Here is one of my favorite antizionist pieces I read this past month: take a moment from this newsletter, read it, and come back for the rest. Then, read Palestinian poetry. Keep seeking out news, creative work, and more.

In other this-year news: things have changed. A lot. And some other things have stayed the same. I passed my qualifying exams and began my dissertation; I started new teaching jobs that I love, as well as a whole new magazine. I have experienced, for the first time, the editorial process for getting a novel manuscript from acceptance to publication-ready. I visited Hungary, Serbia, and Germany each for the first time. I bought my first car. I moved into my own one-bedroom apartment. I even ran my first (and not my last, somehow) 5k!

I can’t say I’m hopeful about 2024 on an existential level (they write from a Connecticut that’s 50º in December). But these moments of joy, hope, and development in my own life, and in my relationships with others and what I do, are a much-needed balm in a world that seems so doomed.

A few other year-end/year-beginning notes:

I recently ran the first (of many?) 24-hour feedback submission periods for manywor(l)ds. It went really, really well — better than I expected! We got a huge number of excellent submissions, and we’re still open for more! Submit now through Jan. 31, 2024 –– I can’t promise 24 hour feedback, but our average response time is about two weeks (often less), and I think that’s pretty good. manywor(l)ds has truly been a joy to curate after significant changes in my literary life this year, and I’m honored to provide a space for work grounded in queercrip /// transMad method, thought, and subjectivity.

I’m also guest editing a special issue of Sinister Wisdom called Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds, and submissions are open now.

If you want an idea of what magazine issues I’ve guest-edited are like, you can check out my most recent — part two of my TRANS IS THE FUTURE / THE FUTURE IS TRANS folio in beestung magazine — here.

Lastly (for now): I’m so excited to be leading a workshop at Sundress’s Survival and Healing Retreat this coming March (applications are open until Jan 15!). It’s called “Speculative F(r)iction: Writing Mad, Unruly Trauma-Truths” and it’s going to rock. Fee waivers are available. I can’t wait to see you there!

Now, onto the last recommendations of 2023.

Today’s Recs:

Books:

Audio:

Poetry & Prose & In-Between:

Essays and Articles:

My Recent Work: