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Jen Benka

@jenbenka.bsky.social
878 followers 501 following 138 posts

Executive Director of the Literary Arts Fund.

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Reposted by Jen Benka
Brooklyn Book Festival @bkbookfest.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Join us for Bookends 📖🍎🗽 From September 20–28, the Brooklyn Book Festival brings exciting literary programs to all five boroughs and online organized by our wonderful #BKBF2026 partners. Find out what’s happening in your neighborhood 📚: brooklynbookfestival.org/event_type/bookend-events
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“It’s a moment to think about and really articulate and stand up for what we value in international literature [...] that connection to people and their writing and traditions and their thought processes from around the world.” —Elisabeth Jaquette www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
publishersweekly.com
Lost in Translation
Tech developers think automation will fundamentally reshape the work of literary translators, but not everyone is on board.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Remembering the comfort this poem by Polish poet Adam Zagajewski —selected by Alice Quinn to run in the New Yorker on Sept 17, 2001 —gave to so many. #NeverForget #September11 www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57095/...
poetryfoundation.org
Try to Praise the Mutilated World
Try to praise the mutilated world. Praise the mutilated world and the gray feather a thrush lost, and the gentle light that strays and vanishes and…
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"Her writing illuminates in ways big and small that she never stopped putting in the work. To the very end, she was — away from the cameras, the podiums and the marches — committed to reading deeply..." —Veronica Chambers www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/b...
nytimes.com
Gloria Steinem Deserves to Be Remembered as a Writer Too (Gift Article)
Her 1983 book “Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions” is a master class in grit, empathy, curiosity and hustle.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The light, painfully loved, that narrowed and darkened in their minds becomes again the sky. —Wendell Berry www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
nytimes.com
Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America’s Agrarian Past, Dies at 92 (Gift Article)
A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim.
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Reposted by Jen Benka
Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This morning, Kirkus Reviews announced the 18 finalists for the 2026 Kirkus Prize. buff.ly/EB697Jl
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Reposted by Jen Benka
American Library Association @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
ALA is heartbroken at the passing of country music legend and literacy champion Dolly Parton. Her Imagination Library initiative, inspired by her father's inability to read or write, has put millions of books into children's hands and was considered by her to be among her greatest achievements.
An ALA READ poster featuring Dolly Parton holding copies of "The Little Engine that Could" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
"One of his many achievements is that Max made an uncomfortable subject more visible—through levity, through gravity, and through beauty." —E.K. Schrader on poet sage Max Ritvo, marking 10 years since his passing, which seems impossible and yet here we are. Read his poems lithub.com/how-talking-...
lithub.com
How Talking About Death Helps Us Live a Fuller Life
The first time I realized I was going to die I was cutting out an obituary for a project for my 6th grade class. I was working on the living room floor, as my father slouched nearby on the brown co…
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"If we want reading to endure, tossing our smartphones into the nearest river will not be enough. Good readers are formed by a bookish culture, and it is this culture that we must try and rebuild." —Joel Halldorf lithub.com/did-smartpho...
lithub.com
Did Smartphones Really Kill Reading?
Did smartphones kill reading? In The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch laments that “The Age of Reading is Over.” We still, she observes, encounter many words, but increasingly find them in emails, text mes…
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
“I feel like for a small press you really need to, not just catch a break, but catch a break every time...” —Adam Levy. Great piece on nonprofit literary press Transit Books' success and the importance of publishing translated literature. @transitbooks.bsky.social www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
latimes.com
Forget New York, some of the most ambitious literature in America is happening in California
Free from the traditional New York publishing bubble, Transit Books and Unnamed Press are building creative, distinct — and flourishing — literary houses on the West Coast.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“Awards, with their rare power to grant credibility in a cacophonous world and their equal capacity to provoke conversation, remind us that subjectivity is part of the risk and value of consuming art.” —Radhika Jones www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Please Judge the Books I’m Reading
Literary awards get dismissed for elitism. But more than ever, we need passionate and idiosyncratic champions for the books most worth seeking out.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
"Thanks to Christopher Nolan’s film, sales of Homer’s epic rose 1,400% in the weeks around release – and it’s not alone. Poetry collections are once again sailing up the charts..." www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...
theguardian.com
It’s not just Homer: the new generation of poets enjoying epic success
Christopher Nolan’s film has made the Odyssey a bestselling book again, but a slew of new poets are breaking sales records, and have more in common with the ancient Greek than you might expect
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"She had a way of establishing intimacy between herself and the reader: you feel like she's right there, speaking to you, telling you what she sees and knows and wonders about. Much of her work has the tone of a love letter..." —Sigrid Nunez on Virginia Woolf www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
publishersweekly.com
Writers Talking Writers: Sigrid Nunez on Virginia Woolf and Keith Ridgway on Samuel Beckett
The National Book Award winner and Rooney Prize recipient discuss the enduring legacy of two boundary-pushing 20th century legends.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
If you're in or visiting NYC this summer, here's a walking tour of a few wonderful bookstores and bookish landmarks worth checking out as mapped by The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
How to Spend a Bookish Afternoon in Midtown Manhattan
This walking tour through the bustling heart of New York City includes bookstores, great reading spots and literary-themed snacks.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
“It seems to me that literary fiction will shift even further in the direction of the weird, the esoteric, while personalization takes hold of commercial fiction.” —Laura Brooke Robson www.wired.com/story/more-t...
wired.com
More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI ‘Literary Counterculture’
Novelists, journalists, and power LinkedIn posters are embracing first-person narratives and idiosyncrasies to avoid being mistaken for chat bots.
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Reposted by Jen Benka
The Booker Prizes @thebookerprizes.com · 28/07/2026
‘We are confident that our longlist of books has something for everyone’ We are delighted to reveal the Booker Prize 2026 longlist. Huge congratulations to the authors who make up this year's Booker Dozen. ➡️ Discover the full list: thebookerprizes.com/bp2026
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"But what...if the present were still swollen with all the forgotten and unrealized potential of the past? What if?" Ismail Muhammad on Colson Whitehead's body of work and new novel. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/m...
nytimes.com
How a Novelist of the American Past Recovered His Faith in Its Future (Gift Article)
Colson Whitehead’s Harlem trilogy turns away from the pessimism of his recent novels to offer a more hopeful vision for Black history.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
We readers have more work to do to encourage a ​broader return to literature and reading. There are a myriad of things we can do, including getting involved with & supporting the local library or literary arts nonprofit, & sharing the joy of reading with people in our lives. time.com/article/2026...
time.com
In Defense of Reading Books
Reading literature is a force of good for our health and communities, writes Jen Benka.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Good news for the arts in NYC: "My administration is proud to make a historic, record-level investment in NYC's arts and cultural organizations. Because we believe the people who make this city what it is should be able to build their lives here.” —Mayor Mamdani hyperallergic.com/nyc-mayor-ma...
hyperallergic.com
NYC Mayor Mamdani Approves Record $323M Funding for Culture
The overall city budget also establishes a "Cultural Stability Fund" for struggling arts organizations.
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Reposted by Jen Benka
Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · 26/06/2026
This month saw the launch of The Porter Square Review of Books. The store’s booksellers and writers-in-residence have begun publishing weekly book reviews on its website. www.niemanlab.org/2026/06/book...
niemanlab.org
Book reviews are an endangered species. So this independent bookstore decided to start publishing its own.
“We’re not just going to complain about it!”
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
"A lesson of this historic season is that one could love basketball all year, not just when the games are being projected on the sides of bodegas...Here’s what to read if you’re almost ready to commit to basketball." —Brittany Allen lithub.com/what-to-read...
lithub.com
What to read next if the Knicks win made you “basketball-curious.”
Today in New York, you can’t get to lower Manhattan because the streets are clogged with Knicks fans. My town is still on fire from their historic championship win last weekend. People who co…
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Reposted by Jen Benka
Forward Prizes for Poetry @forwardprizes.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Inspired by the encouragement of this year’s fantastic judging panel - Sarah Moss, Yomi Ṣode, Romalyn Ante, WN Herbert, & Michael Mullen - we’re delighted to be releasing our longlists for the very first time ahead of shortlist announcements in mid-July. Congratulations to all the longlisted poets!
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20/06/2026
Granta stops publishing short story award winners over AI controversy
theguardian.com
Granta stops publishing short story award winners over AI controversy
Literary magazine will no longer engage in ‘external publishing partnerships’ after Commonwealth prize furore The prominent literary magazine Granta will no longer publish the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth short story prize after one of this year’s winners drew widespread accusations of AI use. The magazine said it would no longer be involved in “external publishing partnerships” in which it had no editorial control. Continue reading...
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Here's a new stat that's makes plain the economic challenges authors face: they earn $10,000 annually on average. This amount has "declined about 42% since 2009" though "books are available in more formats..." More from the Authors Guild and Codex Group: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
publishersweekly.com
Authors Guild Looks at Why Author Incomes Are in Decline
A survey commissioned by the Guild found that only 25% of print books and e-books read in the past month were bought new or through a paid subscription, with readers increasingly turning to low- or no...
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
The Literary Arts Fund has launched a new grant opportunity to support innovation, the first of its kind for nonprofits supporting literature and writers. A total of $1 million will be awarded in what is anticipated to be a highly competitive process. The deadline is August 17, 2026. More info here:
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Reposted by Jen Benka
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 06/06/2026
Marjane Satrapi captured profound human emotions – and paved the way for a generation
theguardian.com
Marjane Satrapi captured profound human emotions – and paved the way for a generation
The graphic novelist had a remarkable gift for visual storytelling, in the phenomenon that was Persepolis and beyond. Many of us owe our careers to the space she created, says Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I'm honored to help share this news and shine a light on the important work being done by literary arts nonprofits to champion writers and reading.
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Griffin Poetry @griffinpoetryprize.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
✨We’re delighted to announce 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 (@aaknopf.bsky.social) by Kevin Young as the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize winner. ✨Young received C$130,000 in prize money, and the other finalists were each awarded C$10,000.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
There's a surge in the number of independent bookstores, which Kelley Hartnett of Double Dog Bookshop in Wentzville, Missouri attributes to people "craving connection, especially in-person connection." apnews.com/article/inde...
apnews.com
Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they're dying out
Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, often hears people express sympathy for her role, assuming bookstores are disappearing.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
It’s an important time to back books— especially those published by the dedicated staff at nonprofit literary presses, where adventurous literature lives.
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The Booker Prizes @thebookerprizes.com · 19/05/2026
‘It’s a captivating, slyly sophisticated novel’ We're delighted to announce the winner of the #InternationalBooker2026, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, is Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King. Discover the book: thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
An impossible assignment: name only 15 books "most vital" to American literature. Here's Publishers Weekly's take. What's missing? www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
publishersweekly.com
15 Essential Works of American Literature
In honor of America’s 250th birthday, we polled PW’s staffers and freelance reviewers, as well as members of the National Book Critics Circle, on the most essential books published in the U.S. since 1...
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
One of humanity’s great art forms, literature is a lot to lose. For too long, literature and writers, and the literary arts nonprofits that champion them both, have not been supported by philanthropy. There’s a huge opportunity to make a difference. May this be a moment of change.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
"...There is value in banding with the poets, and fighting for the value of being curious and trying to articulate the world with whatever tools are available to us." —Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, physicist www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/s...
nytimes.com
A Physicist Who Thinks in Poetry From the Cosmic Edge
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"I think of characters as ways for me to ask questions and explore ideas. I see them as instruments. At the same time, they gain lives of their own and gain, hopefully, a certain vitality on the page which exceeds what I’m able to consciously construct." —Megha Majumdar therumpus.net/2026/05/04/w...
therumpus.net
Who Deserves Your Compassion? A Conversation with Megha Majumdar - The Rumpus
“Kolkata is one of the cities in the world which is most severely affected by climate change. It has grown hotter. It is predicted to endure more storms, and more severe storms. How does it feel to re...
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Literary Arts Fund @literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The nonprofit literary arts field supports creative writers and contributes to literary culture in uniquely impactful ways.
Literary Arts Fund logo and text that reads:

The nonprofit literary arts field supports creative writers and contributes to literary culture in uniquely impactful ways. 

Here are just a few…

“The Nonprofit Literary Arts Field and its Unique Role in Arts & Culture,” Literary Arts Fund, 2026Literary Arts Fund logo and text that reads:

Literary arts nonprofits present writers at public events, including book festivals, author conversations, and reading series, promoting the benefits and joy of engaging with literature. 

“The Nonprofit Literary Arts Field and its Unique Role in Arts & Culture,” Literary Arts Fund, 2026
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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
The winners and nominated finalists of the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today by administrator Marjorie Miller. buff.ly/BD6yBad
lithub.com
Here are the 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners.
The winners and nominated finalists of the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today by administrator Marjorie Miller via remote video stream. The winners each take home $15,000 dollars and serious…
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
For poets and writers wondering what to do with your archives and how... The WashU Libraries’, with support from the Mellon Foundation, have created an incredibly helpful guide for you on digital preservation practices. library.washu.edu/research-sup...
library.washu.edu
Born-Digital Poetry - WashU Libraries
The WashU Libraries' Born-Digital Poetry project explores the discoverability, preservation, and use of born-digital poetry collections.
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Literary Arts Fund @literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
On Thursday, May 7 at 2 p.m. ET, join the Literary Arts Fund for an info session covering budget best practices. Free and online. Tips shared during this session may be useful to literary arts nonprofits interested in applying for a Literary Arts Fund grant. Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Text that reads: "Free, online information session. May 7, 2026 2 p.m. ET. Learn some best practices for preparing organizational and project budgets for nonprofits." Literary Arts Fund logo.
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
"Like the field, humans require periods of rest, of fallowness, because the fallow gives rise to the fertile. That before one can sing, one needs to understand the power of silence." —Lauren Groff lithub.com/lauren-groff...
lithub.com
Lauren Groff: There is No Such Thing as Boredom, Only Noticing
My soul is so full that we are here together tonight. Thank you, Hannah and Maribeth for your loving, clear and steady vision for One Story. I can’t believe it has been eighteen years since I had t…
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Literary Arts Fund @literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Happy Indie Bookstore Day! Independent bookstores help ensure a robust literary culture, offering spaces where writers’ work can find readers. Visit an indie bookstore near you: www.indiebound.org/independent-...
Text that reads "Let's celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday, April 25, 2026. One Day. Fifty States. 1600+ Bookstores."
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
"I believe in an old-fashioned virtue called Doing the Freakin’ Work. Read the book, not the summary. Write the piece, not the prompt. Suffer like the artist you are. It ain’t easy, but if it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing." —Colson Whitehead www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Don’t Use A.I. to Do This
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Guggenheim Foundation @guggfellows.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
We're thrilled to announce our 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows. Huge congratulations to these 223 exceptional individuals in the Creative Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and a range of interdisciplinary fields. You can find out more at www.gf.org. 🎉
gf.org
Guggenheim Fellowship: Supporting exceptional individuals in more than 50 fields — Guggenheim Fellowships: Supporting Artists, Scholars, & Scientists
Discover the Guggenheim Foundation, offering Fellowships to artists, scholars, writers, and scientists under the freest possible conditions.
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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 30/03/2026
Janklow & Nesbit has launched the David Bellos Translation Prize, “celebrating outstanding translations of fiction into English and championing global literary voices” 👇 #BookSky
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Janklow & Nesbit launches the David Bellos Translation Prize
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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
A new three part series about Charles Dickens “has been pitched as a come-up story, with emphasis on Dickens’s flâneur tendencies.”
buff.ly
A new series on Charles Dickens takes your favorite Victorian novelist to the streets.
This year, the United Kingdom has made books a special cause. The National Year of Reading is a twelve month, government-sponsored campaign to get the citizenry hyped about reading for pleasure. An…
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Summer Brennan @summerbrennan.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
It is almost impossible to make a living as an author from selling books alone. Less than 1% of authors do it.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 29/03/2026
‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books
theguardian.com
‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books
US release of horror novel Shy Girl cancelled and UK book discontinued after suspected AI use, as publishers feel ‘cold shiver’
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
A wonderful read...
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Literary Arts Fund @literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Join the Literary Arts Fund for a field scan exploring a segment of the U.S. nonprofit literary arts sector. Free and online. April 7, 2026, 2 pm ET. Register here: bit.ly/4t96yxd ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided. A recording will also be available on literaryartsfund.org.
Graphic that reads "Free, online information session 
April 7, 2026 2 p.m. ET

The Literary Arts Fund will present its field scan exploring a segment of the U.S. nonprofit literary arts sector"
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Jen Benka @jenbenka.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
"For authors, this is not just a technology, it’s a moral issue. Authors feel their work has been stolen." —Seth Fishman www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/b...
nytimes.com
A.I. Is Writing Fiction. Publishers Are Unprepared.
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