iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Pretty excited to teach "Writing Horror & the Supernatural" at Heartland Book Fest this Saturday, Oct. 3. If you're in town, join me for this FREE creative writing class.* 🎃 I'm teaching stories by the incomparable Ray Bradbury and John Wiswell. * heartlandbookfest.org/brandon-allen

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Coyote vs. Acme was pretty wonderful. Smart script about way more than cartoons, without sacrificing one watt of the Looney Tunes lunacy I’ve always loved. 💥 Go support this high-concept, high-caliber entertainment before it leaves theaters.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Round two of Wright’s Chicago work: Unity Temple is a masterpiece. It opened nearly 120 years ago and the main room still feels woven out of light. The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio is its own little Welsh laboratory of architecture, by way of Japan.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright architecture for an upcoming project in Chicago this week. First up: the Robie House, the preeminent example of his Prairie style. Also pictured: Osaka Gardens, where Wright first encountered Japanese architecture, an influence that would permeate his life’s work.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Wildly excited about the opportunity to attend @sewaneewriters.bsky.social this July as a fiction participant. This conference is renowned for a reason: the faculty and visitors are top-tier. But I might be most excited to meet other writers who are as obsessed by narrative as I am. Can’t wait!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

@umkc.bsky.social , it’s been a blast. I received my MFA from the Creative Writing Program this weekend, and I’ve met some of the best people in this cohort, colleagues who’ve challenged me in the best ways. Friends past and future, I’m not leaving KC. This isn’t an ending, just the next chapter.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Checked in to Room 217 at The Stanley Hotel today. 🗝️🪓Setting is everything in fiction; no wonder Stephen King was inspired by this amazing hotel.

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Reposted by Brandon Allen

Respect MO Voters @respectmovoters.org · 25/02/2026

Meet Mo, the newest Respect MO Voters volunteer! youtu.be/21eope8B9vc

youtu.be

Meet Mo, the newest Respect MO Voters volunteer!

YouTube video by Respect Voters

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

2/21 at 6pm I’ll be reading along with my fellow @umkc.bsky.social MFA colleagues at @turnsolbooks.bsky.social ! It’s a Valentine’s Day/romance theme, so I’ll be sharing an excerpt from my story “The Hand Model.” Should be a blast!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

This. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Lock arms, people. They can’t take us all.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Got a chance to visit our library friends across the state line @jocolibrary.org today! Beautiful facility, and an entire genealogical section at the Central Resource Library for any of the Writers for Readers students who've taken my family history class.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Another @kclibrary.bsky.social creative writing class, another amazing cohort. So honored to teach these incredible writers in our community! ❤️

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

A pair of songs that made me weep (in the best way) this morning. This world is a disaster in so many ways, and an unmitigated miracle in so many others. I cannot shake the belief love holds it all together, and that is enough for now. 🌎

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Free creative writing classes begin again at @kclibrary.bsky.social next week, some taught by yours truly. I hope you can join me! You can find the full lineup here: kclibrary.org/news/2025-12...

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Visited the stellar folks at The Story House Bookstore in Springfield today, and added 2 books to my collection I’ve been after for a while. Brian and A.J. tell me there are some exciting plans in store for this space: a theater, workshops, partnerships with local universities & more!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Honored to be participating in this reading on January 10 at ArtsKC - Regional Arts Council . I’ll be reading a short fiction piece on grief but the main event is a book release by Brian Bulger. If you’re in the KC area come support this bevy of incredible artists! Tix at brianbulgermusic.com

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

I read 39 books this year (a record for me). 🍾 Some classics I’d never gotten to, some stellar nonfiction, and much literary love. ❤️ I’ve got some amazing books queued up for 2026 as well! Plus, I got to meet one of my literary heroes, the inimitable Karen Russell, courtesy of Rainy Day Books!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

A year ago I wrote a story that ended up in The Saturday Evening Post about my childhood memories of Christmas caroling. www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/03/divi... Leo and Margaret Porter were two of the kindest people I met as a child… Read the rest here: brandallen.substack.com/p/divinity

brandallen.substack.com

Divinity

A year ago I wrote a story that ended up in The Saturday Evening Post about my childhood memories of Christmas caroling.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Count me with the castoffs. New Substack post about the Nativity, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and outsiders. Happy holidays! brandallen.substack.com/p/count-me-w...

brandallen.substack.com

Count me with the Castoffs

Another view of the Nativity

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Y’all, the writers in KC are the best. 🌟 Yesterday I taught another roomful at @kclibrary.bsky.social and they once again showed me why stories and the hard work of creating them matters. ✍🏻 Happiest of holidays as you all continue your projects! 🎄

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Tonight at 6 pm! This Writers for Readers benefit with @candicemillard.bsky.social funds the free creative writing classes I help teach at the @kclibrary.bsky.social It’s always a good time. If you’re in the KC metro join us! kclibrary.org/donate/wfr

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Fantastic time—as always—teaching writing at @kclibrary.bsky.social today! Forgive the panoramic angle; there were too many students to fit in!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

A day trip to Hermann, MO for story research on a cloudless autumn day. 🍁 Bonus points for Oktoberfest! 🍺

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

An absolutely jam-packed writer’s room at my workshop today at @kclibrary.bsky.social . 🔥 The energy of other authors lights me up. 📚 Honored to take part in this year’s Heartland Book Fest and can’t wait for next year!

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

THE END 🖋️ Wrote those lines at the end of the latest draft of my novel yesterday in preparation for my final year at @umkc.bsky.social . Feels good, feels right. Even the weather cooled off to congratulate me. 😄 Bring it on, fall. 🍁

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Once again, the authors at my @kclibrary.bsky.social writing class knocked me out with their talent and insight. Grateful to be teaching here. ❤️ Visit kclibrary.org/wfr for full class list.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Honored to appear in @pleiadesmag.bsky.social this spring. This story has alternately bewitched and disturbed me. I hope you enjoy. 🙏🏻

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

I received the Crystal Field Poetry Scholarship from The Writer’s Place of KC. Part of that honor was a reading at their venue last week. 🙏 Thx to Dr. Bar’s grad workshop for the assist to my poetry skills. 😁 📸: @maritza4770.bsky.social @alextretbar.bsky.social @mrscboogie.bsky.social

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Last writing class of the semester at @kclibrary.bsky.social , and it was amazing! These writers inspired me with their stories. ✍🏻

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Writing fun @kclibrary.bsky.social this afternoon! Love helping others tell their stories! 📖

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

If you’re in KC on 4/17, don’t miss! (Free) RSVP required at link in OP.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Creative writing class at the @kclibrary.bsky.social with these amazing writers: the perfect way to spend Saturday afternoon. Join us next time! linktr.ee/writersforreaders

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

✏️Grateful for the chance to collaborate with these wonderful souls at KC Public Library & UMKC’s Writers for Readers classes today. You guys, there is almost no greater thrill for me than being in a room with 17 other writers and talking about narrative. Charges my creative batteries every time. ⚡️

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

My story “Divinity” appears in @satevepost.bsky.social today! Link in bio.

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Reposted by Brandon Allen

The Saturday Evening Post @satevepost.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

It’s a little Christmas in March with our latest #NewFictionFriday story, Brandon Allen’s “Divinity,” in which a young boy searches for a truth he believes his family is keeping from him.

saturdayeveningpost.com

Divinity | The Saturday Evening Post

Bly’s family has been hiding the truth about his grandfather, and he doesn’t understand why.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

An unexpected surprise coming here this Friday, 3/7/25.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Aaaand, we’re back! Free creative writing classes at @kclibrary.bsky.social all this semester (full schedule at link in bio). Love teaching others ways to tell their story. 📚

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Tucson, southern Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico, you stole part of my heart. Until next time… 🌵

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Past, present, and future. 🚂 Reading Steinbeck’s East of Eden in a Bisbee, AZ coffee shop. Bookmark from Commonplace Books in Edmond, OK, (our former hometown). Researching/dreaming of the novel I’m working on set in the borderlands. It’s good to be alive. ☀️ #bisbeeAZ #novelwriting

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Writing fiction is strange. You start with an idea, which leads to all kinds of unexpected places. I didn’t think a story about the runaway son of a Tucson dentist would lead me to a Love’s truck stop in Benson, AZ., but it did. #novel #novelwriting #novelresearch #tucson #southwest

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

¡Buenas tardes desde Nogales, Sonora, México! 🇲🇽 My friend Angel met me for a few hours across the border. Beautiful city, amazing food and people.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Chilly layover in Denver. Good thing I’m headed to Tucson. #novelresearch #novelwriting

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

My sister-in-law got me a scavenger hunt at a local bookstore for Christmas. My reward for finding all the books on this list was 2 books. Happiness can be bought! 😁📚

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Spent some quality literary (& feline) time at Ernest Hemingway‘s home. 🐾 The cats are descendants of a 6-toed cat Hemingway was given by a ship’s captain and some today have 6 toes.

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Brandon Allen @brandwrites.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

My short story, “Jordan,” has been accepted for publication by @pleiadesmag.bsky.social ! I couldn’t be more excited to debut in this superb literary journal. (Also 📸: Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, one of the story’s settings, which I had the privilege to visit a few weeks ago when it snowed.)

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