iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A wonderful mix of @naomialderman.bsky.social trademark speculative imagination and very meta autofiction. An intense exploration of loss and mourning alongside a chronicle of the inexplicable effects of a new species appearing on Earth. Philosophical, funny, serious and tragic. Highly recommended!

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#Contrapposto by Dave Eggers: an artistically gifted individual, averse to the cynicism of the corporate art world, engages for a lifetime with the question of what to do with his talent. Beautifully crafted, deeply thoughtful. A fantastic read. The contemporary novel is alive and kicking.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I wrote a little something on Substack about a similarity between writing and composing. Enjoy! csplice.substack.com/p/listen-whe...

csplice.substack.com

Listen! Where Writing and Composing Overlap

Like many creative people, I don’t limit myself to one medium.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Very pleased to share that my flash fiction piece ‘Not a Chance’ has been published by #TheOrangeRoselitmag. Head over and read it, along with numerous other wonderful contributions to the latest edition. Enjoy! theorangeroselitmag.com/2026/08/22/n...

theorangeroselitmag.com

“Not a Chance” by David M. Herman

The island was famous for its spectacular waterfall, and Lorna’s therapist recommended communing with nature to recharge her batteries. Lorna’s AI companion, Misty, found this a wholly inapt metaph…

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Here's a piece I wrote on Substack called Writing the Wrong Foot First about the amazing Apple TV series Unconditional and reconextualization in #flashfiction csplice.substack.com/p/writing-th...

csplice.substack.com

Writing the Wrong Foot First

Apple TV's Unconditional and recontextualization in flash fiction.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Very pleased to announce that my flash fiction story “Not a Chance” has been accepted for the next edition of The Orange Rose literary magazine! More details to follow. theorangeroselitmag.com

theorangeroselitmag.com

The Orange Rose

A literary magazine publishing fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Thought I'd read everything by #etgarkeret then I stumbled on this (his first collection?). What a delight! Irreverent, imaginative, weird & wonderful. What an amazing writer, so inspiring for anyone writing short form stories!

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Just finished reading this wonderful collection. What a masterful storyteller #RaymondCarver was! His prose is so lean and effective, and I love the way he seamlessly transitions from the present to backstory and flashbacks. Inspiring!

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Who said this? (Spoiler: not me, I just put it on my corkboard to remind myself.)

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

A golden oldie. Originally from The Simpsons writers room, I believe.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Great piece of flash memoire by #TomCHunley at substack.com/home/post/p-... The punk spirit never dies!

substack.com

Violins/Violence

flash memoir by Tom C. Hunley

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

the BBC has agreed I can post some of the full interviews from my program, Human Intelligence. These interviews are so rich & fascinating, & we only get to use maybe 5 minutes out of an hour. Here is a brilliant one about Simone Weil and the power of attention. open.substack.com/pub/naomiald...

open.substack.com

Simone Weil's philosophy of attention is what we all need now

attention isn't supposed to feel good all the time. but a tiny amount of true attention, wholeheartedly given, can change who you are

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

I tend to agree with this take, even though it veers perilously close to 'the end justifies the means'. On the other hand, I'm not fond of the excessive moralising about AI either. Have you seen this @brechtdp.bsky.social?

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I got my author copies of OBSTETRIX! I loved this cover as soon as I saw it, but the hardcovers look even better in person than I imagined they would.

OBSTETRIX: a pink book that says OBSTETRIX / Naomi Kritzer and has a hypodermic syringe casting the shadow of a crost. In small letters it also says "O Lord, Deliver Us." The hardcover book is in front of a stack of other copies. In the background you can see some of my awards.

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Sandra Newman @sannewman.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Writing tip: Before submitting your manuscript, read it aloud to yourself from beginning to end. Then go to the refrigerator and open its door. If the manuscript is good, all the potatoes will have turned into birds who fly out singing your name.

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Sandra Newman @sannewman.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

January 17,200,345 B.C. Evolved into a crab again. Scuttled along the floors of silent seas all morning. Saw Andy in the p.m.. He'd just invented a "wheel" and could speak of nothing else. Didn't even mention my carcinization. I feel like I'm invisible even to close friends.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

#scatterbrainedwriter Came up with a much better title for a story I’d written and submitted. Oh well, there are other litmags out there. Submitted with new title. So pleased! Then discovered I left the old title in the footer.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Delightful, moving, funny too! A cruise ship, break-up grief, a child’s spontaneity, oceanic imagery - @kristopherjansma.bsky.social interweaves all this and more into a beautiful short story, published by @onestorymag.bsky.social. Highly recommended!

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Ooh, these stories are spooky and spiky! #MarianaEnriquez slaps you in the face, punches you in the gut and makes you want to leave the light on at night. Superb! Also: expertly translated from the Spanish by #MeganMcDowell

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Had such fun reading this unpigeonholeable collection! Disappearing furniture, parallel universes, marriage woes, marriage delights, slomo disasters, unheard children, poetic justice and so much more. Highly recommended! @jrobertlennon.com #letmethink’

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

If you agree that it's absurd and distasteful to have representatives of the Iranian regime speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, then sign the petition. actionnetwork.org/petitions/di...

actionnetwork.org

CAPTCHA check

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Part speculative dystopia, part morality tale. #GeorgePacker portrays a world in which traditional societal structures are replaced by radical egalitarianism and primitive tribalism, with terrifying consequences. Intriguing, thought-provoking, disturbing, highly recommended!

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

They do keep trying. Today's amazing spam email prize is a "Pittsburgh 225-Piece Tool Set". What is about me that makes these scammers think I need a toolset?

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

#writingplan: I reflected, decided and made a sensible writing plan. Then I did something else altogether. Perhaps, to get myself to act sensibly, I need to deliberately make a foolish plan, which will prompt me to ignore it and do the sensible thing. Worth a try?

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Delighted to announce my short story ‘Safe Hands’ has been published by the wonderful folks at Fiction Attic. fictionattic.substack.com/p/safe-hands

fictionattic.substack.com

Safe Hands

a short story by David M. Herman

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

circus marketing

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Just finished reading this gem by @samantaschweblin.bsky.social. Short stories that take your breath away, astonish, frighten and delight in equal measure. Such an accomplished storyteller! Masterfully translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell. Highly recommended.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

So this week my spam folder tells me I won a Kobalt tool set. Sadly, they have not specified which set. The brand name is super-rugged though, right? I looked up the etymology of cobalt, apparently it’s derived from a mischievous household elf. This is what Big Kobalt doesn’t want you to know.

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Brecht De Poortere @brechtdp.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I wrote this yesterday about what to tell young people who are worried about what work will be in the age of AI: naomialderman.substack.com/p/preparing-...

naomialderman.substack.com

preparing for the working world in the age of AI

or: seven things to tell your kids when they ask what they should study now, or what the point of studying is

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Saw Marc Ribot in concert last night. Consummate artist. A heckler tried to stop him playing Bella Ciao because Charlie Kirk’s assassin wrote the words on a bullet. Ribot refused to allow this classic anti-fascist anthem to be sullied and played on. www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Gv...

youtube.com

Marc Ribot - "Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful)" (feat. Tom Waits)

YouTube video by Pitchfork

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

I am trying something in November. National novel-reading month, basically. It is the PERFECT month for reading (at least in the Western hemisphere). naomialderman.substack.com/p/november-i...

naomialderman.substack.com

November is for reading

or: a month of sheer luxurious intellectual pleasure

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Today, if my spam emails are to be believed, I have won an ‘AAA Car Emergency Kit’! Not knowing what this great gift entails, I have looked it up. Underwhelming, frankly. Apart from the transparent poncho, that is. The transparent poncho I want. Remain dry and stylish at the same time. Nice.

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Today my spam email tells me I have won a '170 Piece Stanley Tool Set'. Sorely tempted, but after a moment's reflection... 170 pieces? I Google it. Nice, but no handsaw. I need a new handsaw. So, no thanks. Nice try.

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Reposted by Dave Herman

Serpent's Tail @serpents-tail.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

László Krasznahorkai, born in Hungary in 1954, has written 14 novels and won multiple awards including the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 and the 2015 International Booker Prize. Discover his work here: serpentstail.com/contributor/...

A photo of László Krasznahorkai next to a quote from him on his win of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 that reads ‘I am deeply glad that I have received the Nobel Prize — above all because this award proves that literature exists in itself, beyond various non-literary expectations, and that it is still being read. And for those who read it, it offers a certain hope that beauty, nobility, and the sublime still exist for their own sake. It may offer hope even to those in whom life itself only barely flickers. Trust — even if there seems to be no reason to’

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

I keep receiving spam email that really makes me smile. It tells me I have won a fire safety kit. This is such a pleasingly innocent attempt at a scam that I'm almost tempted to click on the link...

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Just finished reading a new novel by a celebrated French author in English translation. I don’t understand how @picadorbooks.bsky.social can release a paperback (i.e., not the first edition) featuring so many typos, missing words and syntax bloopers. Do they no longer employ proofreaders?

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Dave Herman @davidmherman.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

#Autocorrect is yet another mind-popping collection of short stories by #EtgarKeret. Exploring our era from totally novel points of view, leaping in and out of time and reality, but always concise, incisive, irreverent and funny. Highly recommended! Follow him on substack: etgarkeret.substack.com

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