iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 9h

Somehow skeeting this correct take 11 months ago did not cause it to happen?

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Preeti Chhibber @runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Make some good (or bad!!) art with your own brain today just bc you can ❤️

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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ok, you may not be thinking about holiday shopping but we sure are & shopping early is very helpful to small businesses. Sooooo, tell us about someone you're buying a book for this holiday season & we'll give you a recommendation!

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Office buddy looking extra sweet today

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Anecdotally: spouse and I got our covid shots (moderna) on Tuesday, and neither of us had any side effects. Post-vax chicken dance to prevent sore arms ftw

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Ivy @becauseivy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It's Thinking Thursday, delete your robots

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This issue also includes a writing prompt; a process prompt; a quote about research, time, and choice (plus book and documentary recs); stunning cover cosplay photos; and a Tarot reading to capture the energy you might carry with you through this season and into the next stage of your project.

thisistheeavesdrop.com

Issue 5: Research

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

In Issue 5 of The Eavesdrop, A-M McLemore, @exrpan.bsky.social, @ryansara.bsky.social, @novarensuma.bsky.social, and I are discussing RESEARCH: the rabbit holes down which we fall (deliberately & not), what we find there and how we use it, and signs it might be time to climb out & return to the page

thisistheeavesdrop.com

Issue 5: Research

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

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Sara Ryan @ryansara.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I always love our Eavesdrop conversations, and this issue, focused on RESEARCH, is most especially my jam! Read & subscribe for free!

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

thisistheeavesdrop.com

Issue 5: Research

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Writing to the music of his deep, gusty snores

A very good dog asleep beneath the desk.

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Lauren Morrill @laurenmorrill.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A book packager I wrote for (and do not own any portion of the copyright for the work produced) notified authors that they’d be providing a percentage of any settlement to authors “in recognition of their work” so it’s not all bleak in settlement world!

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jonny @misterbloat.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It’s about time we had a reckoning with the need so many writers feel to over-explain everything aspect of their stories, even in non Weird genres. Readers don’t need to be babied. Let us figure things out. Leave room for interpretation. Over-explanation makes writing worse.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Nothing, just balancing a hippo bowl on my head while cosplaying as Mr. Stricter from THE TEACHER'S PET for back-to-school book promo. You?

Selfie of the author in a mustard yellow cardigan, white collared button-down, and black bowtie, with a pencil behind her ear and a fishbowl with a plastic hippo in it balanced on top of her head.

Selfie of the author in the same outfit, with the same hippo bowl on her head, now holding a paperback of her and Zachariah OHora's picture book The Teacher's Pet, which shows a hippo in the classroom causing trouble, much to the alarm of the students and the delight of the teacher (who is wearing the same outfit as the author).

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Her voice, her lyrics, her heart, her wit, but also her AMBITION and how openly and unabashedly she shared that with us too. A gift.

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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

one time i was in the elevator going to my own event, next to a woman holding a stack of my books. i was like "we're going to the same place 😏" and she said "i'm so not a fan, but signed copies get more on ebay" and i said "i'm so sorry for what's about to happen"

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Been scrolling Bsky for a full seven minutes and it hasn't added a single word to my draft. RUDE.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

In my first NYC apt, the landlady let herself in once a month to retrieve our rent, which she wanted paid in cash left in the "secret compartment" of a calendar hung under the kitchen sink (I guess to hide it from anyone else letting herself into our apartment that day?)

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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

This @cantkill.bsky.social No Fences Review rec of my band's new album (full of songs I cowrote and on which I play fiddle) feels as great as a twirl on the dance floor. As Bob Wills would say: "ah-haa!" (And you really should click through to watch the Lydia Ricci dino video.)

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Thrilled to see one of the songs from Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves' new album, Bury Deep My Heart, on this playlist. (I cowrote all the songs and play fiddle throughout the record, which you can find in all the usual music-listening places.) Thanks, @glidemag.bsky.social!

Owen Lake and The Tragic Loves – “Wrong About Worse”
Bury Deep My Heart
Contemporary country has never immersed itself in tradition the way it does when Owen Lake and The Tragic Loves step into a recording booth, and their anticipated debut did not disappoint. Bury Deep My Heart pays a twangy homage to the past without directly mimicking it, as Lake and his band spin hypnotic twang into moving anthems for the heart to march to. “Wrong About Worse” throws caution to the wind with harmonies that flourish and lyrics that detail possible regret.

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Peter Kirn @pkirn.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Electro-country infused with original instruments -- Electrobass, Electrosteel, and Vocodec. Jeff Snyder (of Snyderphonics, Princeton U) and Anica Mrose Rissi remind us that digital can still go handmade and country -- and Lydia Ricci brings the whole thing to life with toy dinos.

cdm.link

Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves have the cutest dinosaur music video - CDM Create Digital Music

Owen Lake is back -- the alias of Jeff Snyder, who in these parts is best known for Snyderphonics, MPE innovator and Manta creator (of Princeton University). Here, we get twee-and-western, electro-cou...

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Laura Seay @texasinafrica.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

My 12th grade English teacher gave a brilliant piece of advice on our last day of school. She suggested that we read a book we had hated at some point in our education & see what we thought about it now. I try to do that every few years. It's amazing how age & perspective change opinions.

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nesaM Doom @fackindoom.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

@anicarissi.bsky.social found this today and been listening. The first one with the doll creeped me out in a weird way.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

If you, too, feel like dancing, come to my band's record release shows in NYC and Princeton! You can preview three tracks from our new album (and preorder it on vinyl, cd, or digital) here: owenlakeandthetragicloves.bandcamp.com/album/bury-d... I cowrote all the songs and play fiddle throughout

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

My electro-country band has a new album out in two weeks(!), and we're playing a release show in Brooklyn the night before. I'm super proud of this record, which is our second full-length album but the first of all songs that I wrote. Come dance and cry along! tickets.gallery198.app/events/90f9d...

Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves
Record Release Show
Gallery 198
Brooklyn, NY
July 23
7pm
(doors at 6)

Album cover (art and design by Angela Guyton)
Photo of Owen Lake holding an instrument he invented.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Can't wait to discuss the challenges & thrills of writing one's way through the middle of a manuscript (the murky, the magical, and everything in between) with @jverchwrites.bsky.social, @magpiewrites.bsky.social, and Amy Jo Burns. Join us for an evening of lively discussion & creative community 📚♥️

labyrinthbooks.com

The Second Installment of

Thurs 7/30 @ 6:00PMLabyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street Join acclaimed authors Amy Jo Burns (Wait for Me), Anica Mrose Rissi (Girl Reflected in Knife), John Vercher (Devil Is Fine), and Alexandra ...

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

labyrinthbooks.com

The Second Installment of

Thurs 7/30 @ 6:00PMLabyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street Join acclaimed authors Amy Jo Burns (Wait for Me), Anica Mrose Rissi (Girl Reflected in Knife), John Vercher (Devil Is Fine), and Alexandra ...

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Celeste Pewter @celestepewter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

ICYMI: my first book made its way into the world yesterday! You can buy it at any major retailer. Please let me know if you see it in the wild and/or if you request it of your library!

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

GULP! Zachariah OHora’s and my “very funny” (PW, ⭐️ review) picture book, THE TEACHER’S PET, is out in paperback today with a bendier, floppier, more hippo-tastic cover. It's “a guaranteed chuckle” (USA Today) that’s “perfect for classroom read-alouds” (SLJ) www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/anica...

Open-mouthed selfie of the author with the book.

Selfie of the author peeking out from behind the book, with the back cover shown. Text: "Mr. Stricture always wanted a pet. But when Bruno starts wreaking havoc in the classroom, it's up to the kids to solve one BIG problem!" Art of Bruno the hippo standing on a globe, balancing a plant on his nose, and a horrified kid watching him.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

If you like “wonderful and whimsical” (BookPage) picture books with “brilliant illustrations and silly hijinks” (BookRiot) “bound to make any child giggle” (Deseret News), I hope you’ll pick up a copy (or three!) and enjoy Zach’s and my “over-the-top sensibilities that mesh fantastically” (NYTimes)

Praise for The Teacher's Pet
"Very funny....Cut from Amelia Bedelia's cloth." --Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Wonderful and whimsical....Irresistible illustrations....There's nothing average about this madcap classroom adventure." --BookPage
"Highly recommended. Perfect for classroom read-alouds and lessons on problem-solving or pets." --School Library Journal
"Rissi, with her edge-of-grossout humor, and OHora, with his giant-headed, candy-colored people, have over-the-top sensibilities that mesh fantastically." --The New York Times Book Review.

A very good dog next to a paperback copy of the very good book The Teacher's Pet, written by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Zachariah OHora.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Fun fact: It was a complete surprise to me, the author of the book, when I saw Zachariah OHora's early sketches and learned what Bruno, the class tadpole, would grow up to be. My art note said only: “Whatever Bruno is, he’s most definitely not a frog,” and I absolutely love how Zach ran with that.

Left side of an interior spread from The Teacher's Pet, written by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Zachariah OHora. Text: "Our teacher was right. Bruno grew and grew. and grew. And grew." Art: The Mr. Rogers-like teacher at the front of the classroom, using an enormous hippo's side as a chalkboard. The kids in the foreground look appropriately alarmed.

Right side of that same interior spread from The Teacher's Pet. Text: "Everyone could see that Bruno was trouble. Everyone except Mr. Stricter." Art: Bruno the hippo crunches on the chair of a kid who is trying to pull it out of the hippo's mouth. Other kids in the foreground look dismayed.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

My favorite review of the book (a ⭐️ from PW) gave me way too much credit for that: “Rissi’s very funny text is a model of understatement and restraint (the word hippo never appears), allowing OHora to make the most of the story’s physical comedy in thickly painted scenes spiked with neon orange.”

hachettebookgroup.com

The Teacher’s Pet

This hilarious tale by debut picturebook author Anica Morse Rissi, brilliantly illustrated by Zachariah O'Hora, will keep kids giggling page after page as th...

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

As I tell my MFA students—and anyone else who asks—always leave space for the illustrator! After creating this book with Zach and seeing the incredible/hilarious ways he chose to tell the visual story that I *never* would have thought of, my art notes for future manuscripts got even sparser.

Zachariah OHora and Anica Mrose Rissi, grinning at a book festival that happened when they were babies (2018-ish).

Anica Mrose Rissi holding a copy of her and Zachariah OHora's picture book, The Teacher's Pet, which is out in paperback today with a fun new cover.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

What a list--including personal fave @willalex.bsky.social! Congrats, all.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The records are here! Excited to show off the wistful cover for Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves' BURY DEEP MY HEART, which comes out in vinyl, cd, and digital from Carrier Records on July 24. Album art & design by Angela Guyton, logo by Helen Lin owenlakeandthetragicloves.bandcamp.com/album/bury-d...

Resting on a Snyderphonics Electrosteel, the back cover of the Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves record Bury Deep My Heart. The back cover is an oil painting of Owen Lake and the band's fiddle player (me!) in light blue silhouette, on a dark red-blue-black background, plus full credits for the album.

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Jason Hussong @jasonhussong.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Absolutely love reading The Eavesdrop.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

One of the luckiest parts of my writing life is getting to be in regular conversation with A-M McLemore @exrpan.bsky.social @ryansara.bsky.social & @novarensuma.bsky.social. This season, we're talking about how we’re making space for creativity & adjusting to the unexpected in this particular moment

thisistheeavesdrop.com

Issue 4: Routines & Disruptions

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

thisistheeavesdrop.com

Issue 4: Routines & Disruptions

A quarterly conversation about process and craft with authors Anna-Marie McLemore, Emily X.R. Pan, Anica Mrose Rissi, Sara Ryan, and Nova Ren Suma.

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🎃HalloDeeny🎃 they/them @geraldinepiche.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

"Its swimsuit season", I whisper, eating another swimsuit

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

9 years ago today, Zachariah OHora's & my THE TEACHER’S PET hatched, smashed & rwarrrrred into the world to prove that a hippo does not make a good class pet. (Sorry, Bruno.) The hardcover is now a collector’s edition (out of print), but on July 7, it comes out in paperback with a fun new cover!

Selfie of the author holding the two editions of THE TEACHER'S PET while her face gets a lick from a very good dog.

Hardcover of The Teacher's Pet by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Zachariah OHora, showing the teacher, Mr. Stricter, holding a small aquarium, looking serene/oblivious, while the horrified kids notice chomps taking out of the teacher's desk, the chalkboard, and a book. Paperback of The Teacher's Pet showing the same concerned kids and a delighted teacher, who is petting/praising the enormous hippo who has his front legs up on the teacher's desk.

Zachariah OHora and Anica Mrose Rissi in Books of Wonder in 2017, showing case cover art from the hardcover of The Teacher's Pet (the front depicts Bruno the hippo with his mouth closed; the back depicts him with his mouth wide open).

Zachariah OHora and Anica Mrose Rissi at a school visit in 2017, talking with a gym full of kids, many of whom are raising their hands. On the screen behind them is the cover of The Teacher's Pet.

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Mo Ryan @moryan.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The boring but necessary solution to having cool art is affordable places to live, reasonably priced groceries, free health care & not weighing graduates down w backbreaking debt before they even graduate. People can be weird freaks & still create but we get less weird cool stuff if they can't eat

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I can only conclude that my inbox is broken.

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Anica Mrose Rissi @anicarissi.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

My friend can't come to dinner because her 9-year-old is emceeing a series of "TED Talks" by elementary schoolers and...for the first time in my life, I want to go hear a series of TED Talks.

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