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Ellen Birkett Morris

@ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social
1.9K followers 918 following 77 posts

Author of Beware the Tall Grass: A Novel, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Prize selected by Lan Samantha Chang, Lost Girls: Short Stories, poetry chapbooks Abide and Surrender. www.ellenbirkettmorris.com, linktr.ee/ellenbirkettmorris

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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My debut novel Beware the Tall Grass tells the stories of a modern family trying to get to the bottom of their son’s disturbing memories of the Vietnam War and a soldier serving in Vietnam. #awardwinningfiction #pastlifestories #vietnamfiction
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 22/09/2026
If Trump can make immigrants disappear, who's next? apnews.com/article/ice-...
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15/09/2026
Ossoff: "We are witnessing people drunk with power who are utterly reckless, utterly corrupt, and obviously believe that they live with impunity. They believe they're untouchable. They believe they're invincible. Let's prove them wrong."
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What’s your favorite banned book?
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What’s your favorite banned book?
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Andy Beshear @andybeshearky.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My faith teaches me that no Kentuckian – no person – should ever have to worry where their next meal is coming from. Congress, restore full SNAP benefits. Do what's right.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 09/09/2026
The outrageous stories come so fast every day it's hard to keep up. But this one is especially outrageous. If Kansans re-elect this guy .... www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/u...
nytimes.com
Roger Marshall Sued 700 Patients for Debts; 81 Were Arrested. Now He’s a Senator. (Gift Article)
Patients sued by Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas were routinely charged 18 percent interest, The Times found. Some had bank accounts garnished.
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Essay Daily @essaydaily.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"I’m trying to remember the last time..." A new L*ST by @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social: www.essaydaily.org/2026/09/elle...
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Thanks to @essayingdaily for the chance to reflect on our times. www.essaydaily.org/2026/09/elle...
essaydaily.org
Ellen Birkett Morris, I'm Trying to Remember the Last Time | L*STS
* I'm Trying to Remember the Last Time Ellen Birkett Morris * L*STS: an Essay Daily Happening | About & Contents   Lists | Lasts | Losts ...
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
www.indcatholicnews.com/news/55673
indcatholicnews.com
USA: Retired Anglican priest detained by ICE | ICN
A 78-year-old Colorado priest has been in ICE detention for almost a year. He is now malnourished, in a wheelchair, has a persistent cough, and with chest pain. The only treatment he gets is cough med...
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Ray Beckerman @raybeckerman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Justice Department faces contempt threat as judge demands transparency on Epstein files: “The victims have a right to know.” www.freedomunited.org/news/doj-fac...
freedomunited.org
Justice Department faces contempt threat as judge demands transparency on Epstein files: “The victims have a right to know.”
A federal judge confronts the DOJ over the Epstein files, questioning redactions and transparency under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 09/08/2026
"The cure for absentee ownership of land is to put the land back into local hands. The cure for newspapers is the same. Rebuild Local News calls it replanting: helping local nonprofits and residents buy back the papers the chains have hollowed." kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/05/w...
kentuckylantern.com
When the last reporter leaves: Kentucky’s spreading news desert • Kentucky Lantern
In the late summer of 1974 somebody set fire to the Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg. It survived arson, it may not outlive the death of rural newspapers.
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Dan DeFreest @dandefreest.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Blanche was confirmed as AG. Just a reminder: The last time a president appointed an attorney he had personal ties to, was when Nixon appointed his law partner and campaign manager John Mitchell. Mitchell ended up disbarred and spent 2 yrs in prison for his role as AG protecting Nixon.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 04/08/2026
How the current Supreme Court threatens American democracy — and how to fix it. open.substack.com/pub/protectd...
open.substack.com
The two-branch doom loop
Eight ways to check the Supreme Court's role in the authoritarian project
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Erin Keane @erinkeane.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Writers with a manuscript! Today is the last day of @sarabandebooks.bsky.social 's Open Submission Period. Poetry, short fiction, hybrid, and nonfiction manuscripts; translation proposals, get them in before midnight! sarabandebooks.submittable.com/submit
sarabandebooks.submittable.com
Sarabande Books Submission Manager
Sarabande Books is an award-winning independent literary press headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Established in 1994 to champion poetry, fiction, and essay, we are committed to creating lasting e...
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 29/07/2026
Maybe this will get the Fox News demographic's attention. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/b...
nytimes.com
Trump Will End Subsidies for Medicare Drug Premiums
Millions of older Americans could pay more for their prescription drug coverage next year.
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Dear Donarrhea- Thought you might enjoy a few photos of Kaitlin Collins (the superb journalist who intimidates you on a routine basis)... SMILING. #AccountabilityIsComing11/3rd
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Sending ICE Agents to intimidate voters at polling places, declaring martial law to try to delay or cancel the election, seizing ballots-As he gets more desperate, there's nothing he won't do to try to save his pathetic orange ass. ALL states should preemptively prepare to defend Democracy! 🇺🇸 ✊
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
UGA Press is having a huge sale on all their titles. Link in comments.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 25/06/2026
Trump "bypassed competitive bidding processes to rush a renovation of the iconic Reflecting Pool ... Today, the Reflecting Pool is a fluorescent green swamp of algae, and the expensive blue sealant is already peeling off the bottom in sheets.” newrepublic.com/post/212284/... via @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com
Democratic Senator Demands Trump Pay for Reflecting Pool Disaster
The president should refund taxpayers out of his own pocket, Senator John Hickenlooper says.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 20/06/2026
"One hundred and sixty-one years after Juneteenth was established, we are in danger of losing the new nation that it celebrated—one that would honor the equality of all Americans." @hcrichardson.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
open.substack.com
June 19, 2026
Today is the federal holiday honoring Juneteenth, the celebration of the announcement in Texas on June 19th, 1865, that enslaved Americans were free.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 16/06/2026
"When ideological organizations are granted latitude to shape policy narratives while the voices of Kentucky citizens and institutional experts face constraints, policymaking can quickly become an echo chamber." www.kentucky.com/opinion/arti...
kentucky.com
Kentucky Cannot Build Good Higher Education Policy Through Echo Chambers | Opinion
This writer says the common people of Kentucky are not getting enough of a voice when it comes to shaping policy.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 13/06/2026
Trump is plotting to steal the mid-term elections. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/u...
nytimes.com
Postal Service Seeks to Block Mail Ballots in States Resisting Trump Demands
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 09/06/2026
How did America fall this far? open.substack.com/pub/reportin...
open.substack.com
Thank you, Darling.
By now we’ve all seen and heard the Meet the Press interview.
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
A must read.
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I’m glad to share this review of Ann Patchett’s beautiful novel Whistler. southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/06/02/w...
southernreviewofbooks.com
“Whistler”: A Story of Love and Impermanence
A review of Ann Patchett’s “Whistler.”
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Ryan Van Velzer @ryanvanvelzer.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
It’s Election Day in Kentucky! Local reporters have been hard at work to give y’all the facts. Here’s a thread of helpful primary information and stories from @kentuckypublicradio.org (Cat for visibility)
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Reminder that I always want you to tell me about your book! And so does everyone else on bluesky.
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Susan Perabo @susanperabo.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Order this book from your favorite independent bookstore!
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Aggeliki Pelekidis @aggeliki.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
First book up for 2025 is @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social Beware the Tall Grass winner of the Donald L. Jordan Literary Prize!
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
They had contracts for prison labor at these camps?? Before they even bought them? www.projectsaltbox.com/p/contracts-...
projectsaltbox.com
Contracts Show ICE Planned Detainee Labor at Warehouse Sites Slated as Short-Term Facilities
Contracts signed before the government owned either warehouse described years of detention operations, and a program to put detainees to work
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
“It was cliché to go into a bar on the same day her heart got broken but Gracie did it anyway.” Thanks to Leslie Pietrzyk and South 85 for including My story The Blues in their current issue. Link in comments.
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Brown Hound Press @brownhoundpress.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
We are open to submissions! Seeking short stories 1,000-3,000 words. We pay $25 per story. Full details at www.brownhoundpress.com/submit.
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
“It was cliché to go into a bar on the same day her heart got broken but Gracie did it anyway.” Thanks to Leslie Pietrzyk and South 85 for including My story The Blues in their current issue. Link in comments.
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
A few poems from Abide for National Poetry Month.
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Brown Hound Press @brownhoundpress.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Weirdo-approved by @chillsubs.bsky.social.
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Brown Hound Press @brownhoundpress.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Story of the Week: When we write the narrative of a disagreement, we’re right and the other person is wrong. Why is it so hard to realize the truth is more nuanced? In @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social's story both characters lack this nuanced perspective. www.brownhoundpress.com/stories/elle...
brownhoundpress.com
Ellen Birkett Morris - Baggage — Brown Hound Press
The first thing I did was remove the crucifixes. There were beautiful ones, the blue Murano glass etched with vines adorned with a silvery Jesus, and the brightly colored, hand-painted pinewood cross ...
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Brown Hound Press @brownhoundpress.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Have you read our story of the week yet? #weekendreads @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social www.brownhoundpress.com/stories/elle...
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Brown Hound Press @brownhoundpress.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Story Track: Patty Griffin’s “Shine a Different Way” is a song about releasing the urge to control the narrative–both for ourselves and for others. It’s about allowing people to be who they are. About breaking free from our mental ruts so we can “shine a different way tomorrow.”
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
bsky.app/profile/brow...
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The Doctor (Commissions open) @lucidillusions.in · 18/04/2026
Just got done with this story, and it's such a beautiful piece. gorgeous writing @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social!
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Looking back on the birth of Beware the Tall Grass with gratitude!
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Check out “Respite” short fiction for your Wednesday. www.thesunlightpress.com/2026/04/07/r...
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Once the hard work of writing is done, there is the challenge of finding a publisher. When you find the right home for your book and get a publication date then another kind of work begins. Your book will become one of many.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 07/07/2025
The United States has recorded its highest annual measles cases in 33 years. The milestone marks a public health reversal in defeating a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease as the anti-vaccine movement gains strength.
washingtonpost.com
U.S. measles cases reach 33-year record high as outbreaks spread
Johns Hopkins University data reflects the public health reversal in defeating the vaccine-preventable disease since measles was officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.
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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 04/07/2025
www.wired.com/story/trump-...
wired.com
Trump Officials Want to Prosecute Over the ICEBlock App. Lawyers Say That’s Unconstitutional
The platform, which allows users to anonymously share the locations of ICE agents, is currently the third-most-downloaded iPhone app.
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Ellen Birkett Morris @ellenbirkettmorris.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I’m so happy that Beware the Tall Grass is a @ugapress bestseller. Its every writer’s dream to find their readers.
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✨John Carpenter’s BOObies✨ @ourflagmeansbeth.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Good morning 🫡
A poster with a cat and the words: 

THE WRONG AMAZON
IS BURNING
THE WRONG ICE
Is MELTING
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 13/06/2025
The suggestion that Kristi Noem, a white woman, is the "delicate, beautiful, tiny" victim after a Latino man is physically dragged out of a room fits into the admin's pretext of criminality it attaches to people who are not white. Like Rep. LaMonica McIver.
motherjones.com
The "delicate, beautiful, tiny" fascism of Kristi Noem
The right thinks Noem is the victim of Sen. Padilla's assault. But what about Rep. McIver?
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 13/06/2025
An advance look at “On Parade,” David Plunkert’s cover for next week's issue. #NewYorkerCovers
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