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kara oakleaf

@karaoakleaf.bsky.social
1K followers 507 following 125 posts

reader of all the things, writer of a few things. assistant professor and wrangler of other bookish things in the dmv. words at karaoakleaf.com

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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 8h
anne carson!! ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
love @kathyfish.bsky.social ‘s newsletter and get a bit of a thrill seeing my name in there alongside so many favorites ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
very excited to have this story on the wigleaf top 50 longlist this year! 😊
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Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 27/06/2026
Happy Lottery Day!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
excited to see this little book of love from @wwph.bsky.social out in the world, and to have a story in here alongside some of my favorite dc writers ♥️
book titled “capital love” edited by caroline bock and jona colson
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
“Kevin and I laughed at our feral little animal, this creature who was loud and determined and afraid of nothing.” @emilyrinkema.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social with this total knockout of an apocalypse story in cutleaf 💔
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...
404media.co
'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
i didn’t get a lot of photos, but i heard good stories, hugged a lot of people i adore, and brought home some gorgeous books. til next year, friends. ♥️ #awp26
photo of “awp26 bookfair banner” at baltimore convention center photo of george mason’s booth at the awp bookfairphoto of poster board with handwritten comments about “what you love about poetry daily”image of 8 books - first kicking then not by hannah grieco, audition by katie kitamura, governing bodies by sangamithra iyer, my heresies by alina stefanescu, the snow collectors by tina may hall, the baby on the fire escape by julie phillips, esquire ball by lisa slage robinson, and the earth room by dana diehl
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
so much fun to read at the 804 lit salon this weekend - huge thanks to @andrewbertaina.bsky.social for including me with this absurdly talented group of writers ♥️ @margarethutton.bsky.social @janinalapapita.bsky.social @ambersparks.bsky.social @danilabotha.bsky.social @tmcallister.bsky.social
group photo of five women and one man
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
lots of bookish things up for auction to support minnesota (and just a good list of resources that could use your donations if you aren’t bidding on anything here) ❤️‍🩹 www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
32auctions.com
Publishing for Minnesota
Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
congrats sudha!! 🎉 so exciting!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
matt this is such a compliment 😊 thank you so much for reading it!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
thank you sudha! 😊
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New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed) @nffr.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
We will be open for submissions 1 to 15 Jan. For inspiration, read our winning stories from last issue by @karaoakleaf.bsky.social @emilyrinkema.bsky.social @belindarowe.bsky.social @jaimegill.bsky.social @theodora.bsky.social @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social newflashfiction.com/issue-39/
newflashfiction.com
Issue 39: 2025 New Flash Fiction Prize | New Flash Fiction Review
Featuring new work by Belinda Rowe, Jaime Gill, Emily Rinkema, Theodora Sutcliffe, Kara Oakleaf, Leigh Ann Ruggiero, Kathryn Silver-Hajo, Brigid M. Hughes, and Jess Richards
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
“I asked Dad once, What goes on in Olive’s head? He said, Believe whatever thing seems nicest.” leigh ann ruggiero’s “iron shoes” in @nffr.bsky.social 🤍 newflashfiction.com/iron-shoes/
newflashfiction.com
Iron Shoes | Issue #39
My parents, Olive, and I arrive at Uncle Don’s Memorial cookout after a day spent laying flowers at graves.
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Claudia Monpere @claudiamonpere.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
The long hallways of my arms, where sometimes, I swear I can feel their footsteps, where I look down and expect to see the skin rise up, something pushing against me from the inside." Brilliant unforgettable winning story@karaoakleaf.bsky.social @nffr.bsky.social newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
thank you so much for this claudia! 🥰
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James Montgomery @jamesmontgomery.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
‘…knowing they were safe, that they were surrounded only by their own histories.’ Beautiful, heartbreaking framing to this prize-winning @nffr.bsky.social story from @karaoakleaf.bsky.social 🏠 newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
newflashfiction.com
Body as a Single-Family Home | Issue #39
My ribcage must be the foyer, all high ceilings and wasted space and a place for the air to circulate. Small voices echoing off the walls of my lungs.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
james! thank you so much for reading 😊
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
“My Uncle Louie beat a man to death with his bare hands, the same hands that now hold my baby in the living room of my newly dead grandmother’s house.” been reading through the @nffr.bsky.social issue this week and man, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social’s piece is a stunner. ♥️
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Meg Pillow @megpillow.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
This is one of the most damning arguments against AI and one of the most damning indictments of the university admins who gleefully jumped on this bandwagon without once thinking about the long-term damage it might cause. Everyone should read this.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
thank you so much for this! ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
thanks for reading josh!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
thank you belinda! so glad to be in your company in this issue 😊
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
thanks nadia! 😊
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
emily! thank you so much 😊 slowly making my way through the issue and wow that opening line in yours (and the way it comes back)… it’s such a good story. ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
huge thanks to the editors and @gfaulknerwriter.bsky.social for selecting this story, and to the @smokelong.bsky.social summer for helping me get this piece started ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
very surprised and grateful to see this little story win the 2025 new flash fiction review prize! the whole @nffr.bsky.social issue is phenomenal and i’m so glad to be in such good company 🥰 newflashfiction.com/body-as-a-si...
nffr.bsky.social
New Flash Fiction Review (subs closed) (@nffr.bsky.social)
New Flash Fiction Review is an online magazine devoted to flash fiction. Read more: https://newflashfiction.com
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
“This is precisely how it is every Tuesday. The egg. The soldiers. Mrs White in a fluster.” beautiful story from @mattkendrick.bsky.social in milk candy review 💔
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
"In cutting literature programs, universities...are dismantling the intellectual infrastructure that enables young people, and particularly the least advantaged, to become critical subjects capable of engaging with the all-too-many systems of power around them." lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
lareviewofbooks.org
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
virginia. 💙💙💙
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
look at this little piece of wonderful news in the midst of all the mess. ♥️
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
another i love and use in class is “sea air” by matt sailor but i can’t find it anymore - will come back with a link if i can track it down!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
loving this whole thread… here’s one of mine: booth.butler.edu/2020/02/07/r...
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
“She laughs and her short red hair is an inkblot in the starlight, and you love her and miss her more than you thought was possible, all your feelings driven by this new wild blood. Was this yours, this brain full of such fierce fire?” @ambersparks.bsky.social in short story long 💜
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Free DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
This is what democracy looks like! A people united will never be defeated. We want federal forces out of DC NOW! #WeAreAllDC #FreeDC
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
“Because the taste of mangoes clings to your teeth like a hymn. Because the boy on the bus folded his laughter into a paper crane & left it on your seat.” an absolutely perfect tiny story in @trampset.bsky.social ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 trampset.org/reasons-to-s...
trampset.org
Reasons to Stay Alive When the World Burns
by Oladosu Michael Emerald
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
oh, that’s only one option! writers could also “empower a house of worship,” “foster a skilled trade job,” or “make dc safe and beautiful.” so many opportunities for art!!
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️
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Free DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Last night DC neighbors showed up at a police checkpoint at 14th & V ST. NW with handwritten signs warning drivers to avoid the block. After realizing that the community was successfully diverting all traffic, agents packed up the checkpoint and left. #WeKeepUsSafe
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Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 27/06/2025
"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." Happy Lottery day to you and yours.
a stone
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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Thanks to the generous sponsors for my stair climb challenge, I have free spots for low-income writers on all my upcoming #WriteBeyondTheLightbulb courses. Details about the courses: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/courses-work... Sign up to the "lottery": docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
A background of lightbulbs. White text reads "#WriteBeyondTheLightbulb"
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
“in this big house full of small suites, the loneliness of motherhood dissipates, mostly, and the safety net needed to create art becomes visible, connective.” @amiesouzareilly.bsky.social w/a perfect mother’s day essay about isolation, creativity, & the small moments of community we all need. ♥️
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 09/05/2025
Every book published in the United States is sent to the Library of Congress. Also, if you are under 16 you cannot use the reading room or order books.
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Karen Carpenter’s Halloween @kellylink.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Dr. Carla Hayden has more sense of American history, better bureaucratic understanding & capability, and a stronger sense of justice in her little pinky finger than everyone in the Trump administration & all those aiding and abetting that administration.
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Amy Stuber @amystuber.com · 09/05/2025
Shocked & grateful (thank you Stillhouse Press for giving my book a chance ❤️)
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kara oakleaf @karaoakleaf.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
all i can think is chicago pope, thursdays on nbc.
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Poetry Daily @poetrydaily.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Meet our new managing editor, @elenamacdonald.bsky.social ! Elena Macdonald (they/she) is a writer from Virginia. Their work has been featured or is forthcoming in The Ekphrastic Review, Kitchen Table Quarterly, and Twin Bird Review. Elena is grateful and excited to be taking on this role.
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Lauren Beukes @laurenbeukes.com · 29/04/2025
So many, many bargains still on the Genre Creators for Trans Rights charity auction, including a just-added-this-minute signed Patrick Rothfuss, as well as handcrafted gems. www.32auctions.com/genrefortrans And here's a statement from our South African beneficary, @triangleprojectngo.bsky.social.
Rainbow pride triangles form a top border over a yellow background.  In the centre is an upside down pink triangle with a scribble of the outline of Table Mountain over it and the words "triangle project.". The header text reads: The Genre Creators for Trans Rights Charity Auction http://bit.ly/genrefortrans is proud to support our South African beneficiary.  It's followed by a quote: “This generous donation is not just financial support, it’s a statement of solidarity in a world where trans rights are under constant threat. 

In the face of international funding cuts and global pressures, this contribution ensures we can continue our vital work in South Africa, advocating for policy changes, providing crucial support services, and fighting against the growing wave of discrimination” 
- Ling Sheperd, TRIANGLE.ORG.ZA
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