Sign in

Katrina Kortright

@katrinakortright.bsky.social
1.1K followers 282 following 1.6K posts

Write|Art|Edit|Law, she/her; hopeful cynic; endlessly curious ally:🌈🏳️‍⚧️ KINDNESS & INTEGRITY ALWAYS

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Winter Papers @winterpapers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Last few days to apply for this residency - closing date is 30 Sept
032
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
DeRicki Johnson @derickijohnson.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Please don’t #frolic In the meadow Nor make out On Lover’s Lane There’s a Broken-hearted killer Who’s heart-break Made him insane Seeing happy lovers Pains him Like a stake Drove thru his brain This is just A friendly warning From the ghosts This madman’s slain… #vss365 #horror
static.klipy.com
Ezria Kiss in Car
ALT: Ezria Kiss in Car
44914
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
ellipsis zine @ellipsiszine.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
While I work on resurrecting the Ellipsis archive, let’s get the ball rolling… Web submissions are open, 6th-16th June. 1,000 words or fewer. The usual guidelines apply and can be found here: ellipsis-zine.com/submit
Submissions are open for Ellipsis Zine6th June - 16th June ellipsis-zine.com/submit
35137
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Bridport Prize @bridportprize.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
15 days to go. There’s still time to enter the Bridport Prize! Submit your Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction or Novel for the chance to win prizes, be published, and have your work read by leading writers and industry professionals. ✨ Open to writers worldwide Enter now: bridportprize.org.uk
01210
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
fionajanemack@bsky.social @fionajanemack.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
My latest Substack on the actress Gladys Cooper, whose photo graces the cover of my forthcoming historical novel, Ancestral Virgins. substack.com/@fionamackin...
Black and white photo of a young Dame Gladys Cooper holding flowers and wearing a white suit and a white hat with a long feather.
032
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
"The Desert is Metal" July Westhale #poetry
the desert is metal

Tonight at dusk the runtiest coyote stared me deadass in the eye and started limping. Oh no. Like all men, he regards me As a fucking idiot. That I know nothing about his band of friends crouched in the scrub, teeth wet, waiting for my give. He looks at me and believes in what he sees. And why not? Someone should get to move through this world powered by their sheer conviction in it. O, I do at times want to be this woman the animal thinks 1 am: urgent and champing for crucifixion, so sinless I heave with it, swollen for the want of salvation, so dumbly rich with almsgiving I seek the desert out, just to spend my supply.

Would that I was worthy. Would that the world warranted it.

July Westhale
050
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Paris Review @parisreview.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
“I work very hard in subsequent revisions to remove the writerly-ness from it.” —Toni Morrison
buff.ly
Toni Morrison, The Art of Fiction No. 134
On female friendships: “Hating, fighting one another, and joining men in their condemnation of ourselves [is] a typical example of what dominated people do.”
0113
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
And so it goes... Credit: We The Urban
No one talks about how so much of life is just... quiet grief.

Grieving the life you imagined, but never lived.

The versions of you that settled.

The childhood innocence you didn't get to keep.

Grieving what mistakes cost you.

Grieving people who are still alive.

People you wish were still with you.

Grieving the parts of you heartbreak changed...

Sending love to those feeling it all. Be patient with yourself.

WE THE URBAN
010
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Rosaleen Lynch @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
The clock is ticking! ⏰ Just 9 days to get those 100-300 words together & polished for the @freeflashfiction.bsky.social Competition Thirty-Three!
media.tenor.com
the number 9 is shown on a blue background
ALT: the number 9 is shown on a blue background
088
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Welkin Press @welkinpress.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
**WIN A FREE PLACE** on one of the Welkin workshops!! Quote post with "Welkin me up!" to put your name in the hat 5 names picked on Friday at noon BST 6 workshops to choose from. Sessions recorded if you can't make it live: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-workshops
mattkendrick.co.uk
WBTL Live Workshops
2236
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Nuala O'Connor @nualaoconnor.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Pushbike Prize for Flash Fiction A new flash prize and I'm judging! Crannóg Magazine is delighted to announce the inaugural Pushbike Prize for Flash Fiction judged by Nuala O'Connor. €1500 in prizes Subs open May 1st to 21st. www.wordsonthestreet.com/pod.html?fbc...
wordsonthestreet.com
pod.html
publisher of fiction and poetry
01712
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
fionajanemack@bsky.social @fionajanemack.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I started a Substack blog and mailing list! I hope you'll check it out and sign up for free!
Vintage Pan Am poster to illustrate my first Substack post.
042
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
fionajanemack@bsky.social @fionajanemack.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I'm delighted that my first ever novella-in-flash Beautiful for You about the life of Princess Diana has been highly commended in the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award! Many thanks to judge Jude Higgins, and congratulations to all the other winners. www.bathflashfictionaward.com/2026/02/judg...
bathflashfictionaward.com
Judge’s report for 2026 novella-in-flash award.
We had over eighty entries since July when the ninth yearly novella in flash award opened. Thank you to everyone who trusted their work to the competition. Many congratulations to the three winners…
9194
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Bridport Prize @bridportprize.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Flash Fiction £1,000 first prize. Up to 250 words. No minimum. Selected writers published in our anthology. Open to writers worldwide. What can you say in 250 words? Enter now → bridportprize.org.uk #BridportPrize #FlashFiction #WritingCompetition #WritersCommunity #AmWriting
0119
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
"Aspirin" Nin Andrews #poetry #prosepoem
Aspirin by Nin Andrews

The day I ate two bottles of St. Joseph's baby aspirin, my mother was out of town. My father had fallen asleep, watching football in the den. I climbed up on the sink in my par-ents' bathroom where the mirrors reflected back and forth, back and forth. I could see myself again and again to infinity. There were so many of me present, I called out Hello! to every one. No one answered. But when I ate the orange-flavored tablets, so did they. Orange, my favorite color. I ate slowly, singing and waving to the other girls. It was almost a party with so many of us present. I wanted to meet them all, break open the glass and set them free.

When my father discovered me holding the empty aspirin bottles, he didn't scream or spank. Instead he picked me up and carried me outside to his dark Buick. He drove with me in his arms, leaning me back against his chest. It was the way he held me against him, his prickly chin pressing against my head that I remember best. I wanted to be held like that forever. Sometimes, looking at a photograph of my father, I still taste the bitter-sweet orange of children's aspirin. Then I think of the other girls, so many others I might have been, if he'd held them too.
021
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Janus Literary @janusliterary.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Our site was down due to much-needed maintenance and a server upgrade. Apologies if you tried to visit us and could not get to the site. We are up and running. Thank you for your patience. We are still on a submissions hiatus, but that could change soon. Check back here or on our site for updates.
131
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people writing to me to ask about encrypted/secure/private tools for comms, collaboration, and organizing. So @lhn.bsky.social and I talked to experts and assembled this: the Wired guide to organizing in an age of surveillance. www.wired.com/story/how-to...
wired.com
How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance
From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.
2238155
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
"Animals" Frank O'Hara #poetry
Animals

By Frank O'Hara

Have you forgotten what we were like then when we were still first rate and the day came fat with an apple in its mouth

it's no use worrying about Time but we did have a few tricks up our sleeves and turned some sharp corners

the whole pasture looked like our meal we didn't need speedometers we could manage cocktails out of ice and water

I wouldn't want to be faster or greener than now if you were with me O you were the best of all my days
030
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
"A Girl and A Poem" Rashed Hussein #poetry
A Girl and A Poem

He promised to write me a poem Since then, every morning I say: Mother! I'll go to the news-stand.

My mother does not know that every morning I steal a piece of my brothers' food And with it buy a newspaper, Hoping to find the promised poem there.

It is now two months that I buy papers with food But the poem was never there.

Only today he phoned, and when I asked he answered: That he wrote the poem long ago: That the poem was written the moment he promised it

And that waiting for the poem, was the poem itself.

And now I feel empty! Now I don't want to go to the news-stand. Mother! Why did he phone this morning, and stop the poет?

Rashed Hussein

Translated by Naseer Aruri and Edmund Ghareeb
020
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
"Part of Eve's Discussion" Marie Howe #poetry
Part of Eve's Discussion

Marie Howe

It was like the moment when a bird decides not to eat from your hand, and flies, just before it flies, the moment the rivers seem to still and stop because a storm is coming, but there is no storm, as when a hundred starlings lift and bank together before they wheel and drop, very much like the moment, driving on bad ice, when it occurs to you your car could spin, just before it slowly begins to spin, like the moment just before you forgot what it was you were about to say, it was like that, and after that, it was still like that, only all the time.
041
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Jenny Gaitskell @jennygaitskell.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
You have a window installed in your chest so I can see what you mean. Peeping between ribs like blinds at your fist of a heart, pale- knuckled pounding. Wants to be free, you say. But my guess is, your heart is knocking for better luck than me. #vss365 (pale) #ThingsToWriteAbout (window)
27717
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
It would be worth your time to read more about this man and his too-short life, if you don't know anything about him.
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force.

Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease.

Against stupidity we are defenseless.

Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one's prejudgment simply need not be believed - in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical - and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.

For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one.

Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 - 1945)

"On Stupidity" - Letters and Papers from Prison
101
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Risking hyperbole, @wired.com and its journalists should be nominated for all the awards, along with @atrupar.com and @hcrichardson.bsky.social and probably others I've neglected to remember and acknowledge. Thank you all for your sustained courage, integrity, and commitment to the truth. 🙏🏻
010
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
The power of micro fiction.
120
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
"Sometimes it Happens" Brian Patten #poetry
Sometimes It Happens

Sometimes it happens that you are friends and then

You are not friends.

And friendship has passed.

And whole days are lost and among them A fountain empties itself.

And sometimes it happens that you are loved and then You are not loved, And love is past.

And whole days are lost and among them A fountain empties itself into the grass.

And sometimes you want to speak to her and then You do not want to speak,

Then the opportunity has passed.

Your dreams flare up, they suddenly vanish.

And also it happens that there is nowhere to go and then There is somewhere to go,

Then you have bypassed.

And the years flare up and are gone, Quicker than a minute.

So you have nothing.

You wonder if these things matter and then As soon you begin to wonder if these things matter They cease to matter, And caring is past.

And a fountain empties itself into the grass.

Brian Patten
020
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
"The Problem with Early Warnings" Charles Rafferty #poetry
CHARLES RAFFERTY

The Problem with Early Warnings

People don't like to leave a party unless the house is actually on fire. Even then, if the flames are far enough away to be pretty, they'll finish their drink, take one more pass at the hors d'oeuvres. How things happen has always been unclear. Hurricanes begin in a place where no one lives. Agents of the government start to wear masks. Fascism is a word my neighbors won't use yet. They are following the law, they say, and the sirens are coming for someone else.
041
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Christopher Citro @christophercitro.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Registration is open for my WINTER 2026 online poetry workshop! Join a great group of poets as we inspire one another this winter! See my website christophercitro DOT com for more info & to register. #Poetry #Writing #WritersLife #WritingCommunity
044
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
"Responsibility" Grace Paley #poetry
Responsibility

It is the responsibility of society to let the poet be a poet
It is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman
It is the responsibility of the poet to stand on street corners
               giving out poems and beautifully written leaflets
               also leaflets they can hardly bear to look at
               because of the screaming rhetoric
It is the responsibility of the poet to be lazy     to hang out and
               prophesy
It is the responsibility of the poet not to pay war taxes
It is the responsibility of the poet to go in and out of ivory
               towers and two-room apartments on Avenue C
               and buckwheat fields and army camps
It is the responsibility of the male poet to be a woman
It is the responsibility of the female poet to be a woman
It is the poet’s responsibility to speak truth to power as the
               Quakers say
It is the poet’s responsibility to learn the truth from the
               powerless
It is the responsibility of the poet to say many times: there is no
               freedom without justice and this means economic
               justice and love justice
It is the responsibility of the poet to sing this in all the original
               and traditional tunes of singing and telling poems
It is the responsibility of the poet to listen to gossip and pass it
               on in the way storytellers decant the story of life
There is no freedom without fear and bravery     there is no
               freedom unless
               earth and air and water continue and children
               also continue
It is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman     to keep an eye on
               this world and cry out like Cassandra, but be
               listened to this time
071
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Steve Edwards @the-big-quiet.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Next year’s flowers are under all this snow.
0273
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
000
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
"Riveted" Robyn Sarah #poetry
010
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
"Of the Empire" Mary Oliver #poetry
040
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Paris Review @parisreview.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Add literature to your life by signing up for our poetry newsletter to receive an archival poem to your inbox every weekday morning. buff.ly/SLF5dgT
022
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Christopher Citro @christophercitro.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Announcing my LATE FALL 2025 online poetry workshop! Registration just opened. "In the Landscape of Contemporary Poetry" meets on Zoom Weds 6-8 PM Eastern Time. It starts Dec 3 & runs for 6 classes (skipping Dec 24 and 31). See my website christophercitro DOT com for more info & to register.
043
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Jennifer Wortman @wrefinnej.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Here's a simple way to disable AI mode in Google. I just did it, and I feel like a new, freshly showered woman! www.engadget.com/big-tech/how...
engadget.com
How to turn off Google’s AI Overviews in web searches
If you find Google's AI Overview more irritating than helpful, here's now to turn it off in Chrome.
0134
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Jenny Gaitskell @jennygaitskell.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
'To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair.' Arundhati Roy, The Cost of Living #BookwormSat 🎨 Courtenay Kusitor
'There is a power in being courageous' by Courtenay Kusitor. Abstract painting. Overlapping blocks of poppy red, sunshine yellow, black, white and sky blur. White and black line geometric shapes draw the eye in an upwards arc.
17821
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
Important. Clear, concise, imperative. Please watch.
7427571351
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
there’s a popular digital guide written and used by police that recommends sharing links with URL tracking elements to capture people’s IPs. Linkumori is a browser extension that purifies URLs before trackers can log you.
441059507
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
The Paris Review @parisreview.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
“If I were talking to a young writer, I would recommend the cultivation of extreme indifference to both praise and blame because praise will lead you to vanity, and blame will lead you to self-pity, and both are bad for writers.” We’ve unlocked interview with John Berryman. buff.ly/bOWysA8
075
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Helen McClory @helenmcclory.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Ahead of a new story of mine on BBC radio four, you can listen (should you wish) to a couple of other pieces of mine. Together they'll make a loose folk horrorish trilogy. here's The Death of Wildflowers:
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Short Works, The Death of Wildflowers
A short story from Scottish writer Helen McClory marking the primal shift of the seasons.
12213
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
A gift, because at this point I have nothing else to give. www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/b...
nytimes.com
Ann Patchett, Amy Bloom, Min Jin Lee and Others on the Books That Bring Them Comfort (Published 2020)
161
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.

Thomas Paine
060
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
KM Elkes @kmelkes.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Very happy indeed to have a short story commissioned by the BBC! Broadcast 3.45pm July 11th, on Radio 4 and Sunday 13th at 11.45pm www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Short Works, Snowbirds and Coyotes by KM Elkes
After the death of her husband, Betty drives south from Ohio to the Arizona desert.
95310
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
WIRED @wired.com · 19/06/2025
Want to push back against the bigoted attacks targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people? Here are specific ways you can help—with your time, money, and everyday actions.
wired.com
How to Advocate for Trans Rights in Your Community
Want to push back against the bigoted attacks targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people? Here are specific ways you can help—with your time, money, and everyday actions.
5365144
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
WIRED @wired.com · 16/06/2025
Today, people—from students to federal workers, from immigrants to the LGBTQ+ community—find themselves forced to fight deportations, surveillance, and the drastic erosion of fundamental human rights. So, WIRED dedicated a whole issue on How To Win A Fight. Start ⬇️: www.wired.com/story/editor...
371308473
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Happy Bloomsday to my fellow Joyce fans. If you don't know what Bloomsday is, but would like to learn more, here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsday. Image Credit: Irish Times
060
Reposted by Katrina Kortright
Jeff Jackson @jeffjacksonnc.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Heads up: Buried in a 1,000-page bill is a section that would freeze every state’s ability to enforce A.I. laws for the next 10 years. That means no new protections from A.I. scams, deepfakes, or impersonation. Bad idea.
621374
Katrina Kortright @katrinakortright.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Credit: Ian Boothby and Pia Guerra (Mannequin on the Moon)
Cartoon drawing of minister delivering sermon at funeral next to closed casket + telling the mourners, "He died doing what he loved. Teasing bears."
020