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Bethany Crowe Powell

@bethanypowell.bsky.social
447 followers 345 following 402 posts

Speculative poet and YA novelist. Bookseller at Odyssey Bookshop. She/her. bethanypowell.com

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Reposted by Bethany Crowe Powell
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 06/10/2026
The Trump administration is still ripping migrant families apart — now, with a quieter tactic. It is a deception that hinges upon one word: “unaccompanied”
motherjones.com
“You kidnapped my son”
ICE is now separating children from their parents and deeming them “unaccompanied.”
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Darcie Little Badger @littlebadger.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Tis the night before BOOK BIRTHDAY, which means there’s still a few hours to preorder Children of Owl … (and enter to win a beaded medallion, link here) docs.google.com/forms/d/19LblRy-CU_aNFBadGutlUSvbxH7F9EBhh0t0yL1iuVE
Several copies of the book Children of Owl stacked on top of each other in a display
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Tordotcom Publishing @tordotcompub.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Behold the cover of the short story "Wicker" by Ursula Wills! Available as an ebook TOMORROW, 10/6 🧺 A comedic fable about sex, marriage, & the absurdities of social convention. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Alexander Skarsgård & Olivia Colman! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
A graphic featuring the ebook cover for "Wicker" by Ursula Wills, which features the washerwoman and the wicker husband embracing and text that says: "Now a Major Motion Picture Starring Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman."
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K.B. Wagers @kbwagers.com · 05/10/2026
Reminder for Colorado Voters. 💙
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Got an updated T&C email from Meetups - I thought we all agreed you were dead? But I’ve still got to worry about your privacy policies??
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R.B. Lemberg. Yes, still in Kansas @rblemberg.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Mutual aid alert. Siobhán Kirchstein, whom I've known for many years, is a trans woman who works as a janitor at KU and has been targeted for using a bathroom. Her case has been profiled in many venues, including by M. Gessen at the NYT. I've talked to her at length recently.
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Sophia Babai @swingingstorm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is what real solidarity looks like: being willing to sacrifice opportunities and to relentlessly recenter what actually matters.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
So many cute journals’ potential snuffed by being wide ruled
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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 05/09/2026
Also I LOVED THIS THREAD! One of my favourite things at the plant where I used to work was that you would see the same train cars quite often, so I had my particular favourites. This was one of my faves. :D
a grayish-brown train car painted with some word graffiti and a drawing of a person in a baseball cap, with a piece of barley or wheat between their teeth, holding something tied to their finger with several black-and-white strings. the person is rendered in soft, loose strokes of white and red.
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John Wiswell @wiswell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It is my birthday! So I have an audiobook giveaway for the good children of the land.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
In terms of plotpoints, there is quite a bit that happens in Saints of Steel that impacts Daggerbound. OTOH, you’re going to reread them all anyway, right? 😄 I think there’s good enough summaries in Daggerbound to catch up without comprehensive “spoilers”…
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Britain is having its hottest summer on record, but one place has remained green. Brits in Holnicote have put rivers back onto their floodplains, restored wetlands, and released beavers that now build ponds and maintain the wetlands themselves. Countryfile buff.ly/CchGxpW #ShareGoodNewsToo
countryfile.com
Drought has ravaged the UK but this one nature site has been left untouched – this is how | Countryfile.com
Allowing nature to do its own thing could be the simplest solution to the UK's drought problem.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Sometimes you think about being in jail yourself if you go there, so I was thinking about how bad it would be without fermented foods for my gut which naturally led to thoughts of prison pickling Illicit fermentation but for kraut is 100% the way I’d get sent to the SHU (or die of botulism)
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Yesterday’s sickest line wasn’t in a poem but one of the writers talking about hers saying “I pursue my recovery like I pursued drugs”
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Or I guess now I’ve mentioned it?? poets.org/poem/sandwich
poets.org
Sandwich
I wanted to go to the qabarstan with a sandwich and have a picnic.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A struggle I have in building new prompts for class is closing tabs of poems that spoke to me but didn’t lend themselves. The only solution I’ve found is sharing them on Tumblr, haha.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
hahahaha wait do I get stuck in books with POV switches because of my IRL issue with transitions?? BRO
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
what is it with the ADHD mains in my life and the precarious towers of dishes in the dish drain? 🤣
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Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A Tiny™ Concert for the No-Name King by Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social "I didn’t know if this was transformation gone too far, or the usual way magic blotted out identity in a monarch so they could truly stand in for their people." Link ⬇️ strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Fiction
Strange Horizons S H logo 

17 August 2026 

Quote 
Instead of a face, a transcendent halo emerged from a uniform collar, the depths of light suggesting the frame of curling hair. Maybe the posture, gloved hand on hip, a slight angle to the glow in place of a head. I didn’t know if this was transformation gone too far, or the usual way magic blotted out identity in a monarch so they could truly stand in for their people.
end Quote 

A Tiny™ Concert for the No-Name King
by Crowe Powell
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Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
To the Reader by Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social "his deeds but paper deeds slender as river reeds." Link ⬇️ strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
To the Reader
by Mary Soon Lee

Quote 
his deeds but paper deeds
slender as river reeds.
end Quote

17 August 2026
POETRY 
Strange Horizons S H logo
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Hannah Bowman @hannahnpbowman.com · 18/08/2026
All this talk of promoting books is reminding me that you can pre-order my book at 30% off with code BOWMAN30 here: www.fortresspress.com/store/produc...
fortresspress.com
Abolition Ecclesiology: A Spatial Theology for a Church Against Prisons
In Abolition Ecclesiology, Hannah Bowman offers a spatial analysis of theological beliefs that contribute to society's enormous reliance on incarceration and punishment. The book presents an alternati...
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Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 19/08/2026
Oh crap! Uh! I wrote this thing! It comes out next week! It has romance and giant pillbug scholars! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
us.macmillan.com
Daggerbound
DELUXE EDITION—a beautiful hardcover featuring bright pink sprayed edges, a foil case stamp and endpapers.New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher r...
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Renan Bernardo @renanbernardo.com · 18/08/2026
I wrote some perspective on a piece I published at @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social back in 2022 and it's now out in the Climate Fiction Writers League page! How it was to write utopian fiction while Brazilian democracy was under threat and how it changed. substack.com/inbox/post/2...
substack.com
Writing Utopian Science Fiction in a Dystopia
by Brazilian sci-fi author Renan Bernardo
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I can’t tell you if the mental image that kicked it off was a composite of different Pinterest portraits or a Tumblr fantasy artist but I can say that it was unusually vivid visually for me
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I went through some of the art I’ve shared recently to see if I could find any that vibed for the story and found this which isn’t INaccurate strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
A crop of Maxfield Parrish’s The Young King—figure in dark clothes on a glowing white throne, face hidden in an arm resting on a blocky armrest, a large glowing circular art piece hanging behind him
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
😰
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I did (I think) Duke of Buckingham in a callback for an all-woman production of Richard III which was very fun and for which I was grossly unqualified! Fun to genderbend tho even tho I had no idea how to be in a crowd scene haha
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Thrilled to share this! Read for a short moment being restored by music, erased by fame…or let me know what it’s about after you read it? strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
strangehorizons.com
A Tiny™ Concert for the No-Name King
Building this setlist had been terrifying. Of course we’d debated our Tiny™ Concert set over the years, but never pictured this.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Genuinely obsessed with this novella. Pretty sure I got it on sale like this, too!
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Yesterday my whole Tumblr dash was saying we could only read There Will Come Soft Rains on the day TODAY and I’m here to reveal it is equally satisfying to read this morning www.libraryofshortstories.com/onlinereader...
libraryofshortstories.com
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
“Today is Mr. Featherstone’s birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita’s marriage. Insurance is payable, as are the water, gas, and light bills.”
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s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 04/08/2026
I did NOT realize that many supermarket sushi counters are actually run as franchises within stores, & that the working conditions are horrendously abusive. Journalism like this surfacing these issues is so important, so if you like this, please donate to @prismreports.org so they can keep doing it!
prismreports.org
The hidden cost of America's supermarket sushi boom
Myanmar refugees face exploitative working conditions as the backbone of the grocery store sushi industry, according to a lawsuit
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A fantastic read about community, and the difference between harm and discomfort with unpleasant people.
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Sirens @sirensconference.org · 03/08/2026
It’s hot! We ought! To read a book out on the beach! It’s summer! Hey, hey, it’s summer! And in summer 2027, Sirens is back, friends. Bring your rage, find your joy, and let's build a revolution.
A summer-colored popsicle graphic with the words: "Read. Learn. Hope. Change the World. Sirens: The Summer Vacation Edit. New Haven, CT -|- July 28-August 1, 2027 -|- sirensconference.org"
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
If I knew how to figure out the feet of a poem’s meter I’d have an opinion but as it is, I feel both have merits!
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
To be fair to me, MC left the boat she lived on the first page and it’s only as I’m drafting that it’s come up CONSTANTLY She’s like a horse girl but its her parents’ houseboat
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Realizing I’ve made a huge error—it’s page 133 and I’m just now realizing this boat needs a *name*
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
If you see this, quote skeet a pic of yourself in sunglasses.
Bethany is wearing both her own cycling sunglasses and her niece’s tiny pink ones on top of her headBethany mugs while wearing her brother’s nice sunglasses
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
the lovely frisson in a tech support conversation as the support person goes “Hmm…” in an interested way
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
(adding a tag for @gregoryawilson.com whose handle I didn't have pop up in time!)
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Thinking about this topic and reading on it has reminded me that books are one of the few ways many kids can find the vocabulary of autonomy and personhood they need. And making reading fun is SO crucial to keeping that pathway open.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Some resources for learning/reading more: www.ala.org/bbooks pen.org/topic/banned... www.bookweb.org/american-boo...
ala.org
Banned & Challenged Books
ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Some FUN things to check out: Little Free Library Map with Banned Book Hot Spots bannedbooksweek.org/interactive-... One story of removed banned books in FL being redistributed: www.autostraddle.com/this-booksto...
bannedbooksweek.org
Interactive Map Reveals Book Ban Hotspots and Nearby Little Free Library Locations | Banned Books Week
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
@jamsternazzy.bsky.social was a fantastic facilitator for this conversation and made sure to fold in this range of perspectives. Also, they made sure we touched on both national threats looming in legislation, and that voting in local elections is key to protecting librarians' agency, as did Jessica
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
@allandyenshapiro.bsky.social spoke to the problem that he sees where literacy and enjoyment of books is being suppressed effectively enough in FL that book bans seem redundant. Only extracts or short stories are read in HS, for the purpose of test prep, so youth aren't reading for fun.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Many of the challenges are from outside agitator groups. Also requires the book to be taken as a whole for the challenge, not just a pull quote. In my reading before the panel I came across a bill that's been rejected already once in New Hampshire doing the opposite thing: neanh.org/about-nea-nh...
neanh.org
PRESS RELEASE: New Hampshire House Committee Advances Sweeping Censorship Bill | NEA-NH
Advocates call on New Hampshire Representatives to reject SB 434 and protect kids’ freedom to read and learn
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
We heard about the national picture from Deborah, who is still active in advocacy. The successful Freedom to Read MA bill that passed from Jessica. The latter requires parents from the school district to personally challenge materials, and gives other parents the chance to oppose it. Key because:
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
A powerhouse panel with Deborah Caldwell-Stone (former long-time director of ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom), Naseem Jamnia & Jessica Levai (leaders in different chapters of Authors Against Book Bans), & frontline FL teacher Allan Dyen-Shapiro. (I'm a bookseller who reads industry emails.)
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Fighting for the Freedom To Read was a cool counterpoint to the Rules chat. It was more informational and included more specific expertise! I also did a lot more research for this panel that is half of why I started this thread, haha.
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
My final question was: in times when legal protest is quashed and laws are being changed to harm citizens (not just in the US tho notably here), what changes for us about reading or writing stories of revolution? We do collaborate so nicely under the social contract of a con panel!
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Bethany Crowe Powell @bethanypowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
While Lord of the Flies is undermined by real world stories (I recommend Blair Braverman's work on You're Wrong About and her new podcast What to Carry, What to Burn) but I also had to point out that at the time of that piece, the horrific colonial projects of the culture in question.
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