iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Car’s in the shop today (in this economy!). Stuck waiting since 8:30, I spent the last few hours writing something I find beautiful (an early draft rarity for me). I’ll take it. #amwriting

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Proof of (published) life! Thanks to the San Pedro River Review for giving this piece a home.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Writing a book is stupid and hard and why do I hate myself this much and ok I’ll get back to writing…maybe a second cup of coffee is a good idea… This post is brought to you by impending deadlines and the letter y.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Waking up to an acceptance was a nice reminder (to me) that I’m still here, still writing, still hoping. Thank you, San Pedro River Review.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

A scene from writing today: The Pet Shop Boys’ “Always In My Mind” plays. Simultaneously, a poodle, shaved to naked save white fur leg warmers, trots by in exact unison with the opening rhythm, high kneed and flopping its head back and forth in time. Gonna be a productive day!

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Once more: my story “Age In” is out and already splitting readers on which character they should be most upset with. Give it a read and cast your vote!

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

In case you missed it, you have reading to do. Link in the op.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Stoked to see my latest short story is live at Hidden Peak. Age In is a divinely human aftermath to loss. Imperfection in a perfect tribute. Inevitability in our frailties. Or maybe it’s just about a tattoo so brilliant it’s wrong. Give it a read here: hiddenpeakpress.com/2026/05/26/a...

hiddenpeakpress.com

Age In

KELLY LOOKED AT THE DARK BLACK SHADOWS swirling along the inside of his right forearm, repulsed by their symmetry. Wisps of gray shading traced the sharpest lines, adding dimension and depth and… d…

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Professional Post: Looking for help with words? A story to tell? Ad copy that gets response? Messaging to get right? A project to move from idea to reality? Know someone else who does? Let's make it happen. Reach out: www.michaeldeanclark.com. PC: Andrew Neel on Unsplash

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

And a happy Monday to me! Coming soon, my short story about the tragic mistake of getting exactly what you’re supposed to want.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Working on my book and a story of mine I haven’t thought of in a long time came up in a few of my letters to students. If you missed it back in the day, here’s my story of a heroin-addicted pastor with OCD trying to hold it together to perform a funeral. www.foreshadowmagazine.com/magazine/no-...

foreshadowmagazine.com

No One Sees It Yet

'No One Sees It Yet' by Michael Dean Clark

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

A little news I’ve been sitting on. As of last week, I am officially under contract with One Subject Press for a collection of essays on writing and living built around the more than half million words worth of letters I’ve written my students over the years. 1/3

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Reposted by Michael Dean Clark

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance. And you know why? Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

It has recently come to my attention (today) that I actually grew up in the 50s rather than the 80s…Behold, 12 year old me playing the game I love. Swipe to check the form up close.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Been writing and subbing short stories and essays for close to 20 years now. In the last week I’ve subbed to Guernica and Paris Review for the first time…No, YOU’RE drowning in impostor syndrome!

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Keezy Young🌼 @keezyyoung.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

welp, this destroyed me first thing upon waking up

But Liam was scared and frequently asked what they had done wrong, where they were and what happened to the little blue knit hat he wore the day he was detained, Conejo said.

There wasn’t much he could say to his son, “except hug him and tell him everything would be OK,” Conejo said.

Worried about further upsetting his son, Conejo said, he was forced to bite back his own tears.

Liam has since been reunited with his hat and continues to wear it, even inside the house, his dad said Thursday. Asked how he might one day explain to Liam everything that has happened, Conejo said he would tell his son that he had become the face of hope and change.

"He was the global figure who did all this so that the voices of the people demanding freedom would be heard, especially those of the children who are still locked up," Conejo said. “I would tell him he was very brave and that I am very proud of him.”

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Ever thought, "I wonder what Michael thinks about AI and creative writing...?" I know, a burning concern. And yet...here you go! I was asked to elucidate on the notion of AI and human creativity for a book on the subject and said book is out now. Check it out here: www.amazon.com/AI-Creative-...

amazon.com

AI and Creative Writing

Amazon.com: AI and Creative Writing: 9783031991004: Harper, Graeme: Books

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

For the record and forever: no part of the proposal process feels as manufactured and self-aggrandizing as picking comps.

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Reposted by Michael Dean Clark

noam @noamchompers.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Merry Explaining How the Academic Job Market Is Going to Non-Academic Family Members Eve to all who celebrate!

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

"On the end of a journal I loved" Woke up this morning to the news that Drunk Monkeys is closing its doors. To be fair, I had a bit of a heads from a friend on the staff who let me know it was coming. That foreknowledge actually made the news a little sadder. (1/10)

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Just a quick note of thanks. My series about being on the market ended Wednesday was mostly a set of musings in narrative form, not advice or complaint. So I am grateful for such a consistent group reading along. Here's the whole series in one shot: michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/on-th...

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Though the world is heavy, I am thankful. May we use today to refocus: more giving and less taking.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Part 17: In which this series—though not my job search—comes to an end.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

On the Market: Part 17 in a series On closing this series (for now) A note on the exit door: I’m not so much ending this series with this entry, as I’m still on the market after all… I may add some thoughts from time to time. Then again, I may not. Not all—or most—of life needs to be content.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

On the Market: Part 16 in a series When you parallel the path of your students who just graduated… One of the oddest sensations of my job search has come from the way it’s mirrored that of my former students who graduated *with* me at the end of the spring term.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Weekly roundup. Next week is the last of the series. Entry 13: Jobs in the Shell… michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/jobs-... Entry 14: Telling Your Story to People Who Don’t Get It michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/telli... Entry 15: Career Transitions of a Certain Age michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/caree...

michaeldeanclark.com

Jobs in the shell… — Michael Dean Clark

You take the time to personalize your materials, market yourself to their specific needs, and scrub your copy is clean. Then you pitch it into the void, left simply to assume it got swallowed.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Part 15: In which I contend with *career advice* that advises me I will likely never have a career again.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Hot streak alert!🚨 Five journal rejections in 28 hours. #ama

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

On the Market: Part 15 in a series Career Transitions of a Certain Age There’s a social media genre in *professional advice* circles with which my algorithm has made me very familiar.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Ended the day on a tiered rejection, which feels like breaking up but staying friends.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Part 14: In which I try to sell myself to an audience that came for someone else.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

On the Market: Part 14 in a series Telling Your Story to People Who Don’t Get It When the academic jobs I interviewed for failed to materialize, I shifted to thinking about how I needed to go about applying for work in the larger pond outside of academia.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Part 13: In which I turn to the apps and get ghosted...professionally, of course...

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

On the Market: Part 13 in a series Jobs in the shell On the topic of being ghosted—see my earlier thread for the connection here—the silence of the job market is awful.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

For weekend readers: Last week's entries about being on the market. Blog 10: Near Misses (In New Fields) michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/near-... Blog 11: Submissions on to of Applications michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/submi... Blog 12: Funemployment? Sure thing, Jan. michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/funem...

michaeldeanclark.com

Near misses (in new fields) — Michael Dean Clark

I found myself asked into a couple of interview processes outside the academic world in the early summer. As I prepared for both, I lectured myself on not getting too hopeful.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

On the Market: Part 12 in a series Funemployment? Sure thing, Jan Somewhere in the middle of August, I stumbled on a TikTok video of a woman also looking for work. I expected a set of tips on using AI to make applying easier or things to avoid putting on a resume.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Quick note: I'm still on the market and, as such, available for contract writing, editing, story coaching, or instructional work. I'm an expert at making the complex accessible and the average eloquent. Find out more at michaeldeanclark.com.

michaeldeanclark.com

Michael Dean Clark

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Reading "Blood in the Machine" today and felt the need to talk about some findings in the post. There are quite a few elements worth parsing, but I'll stick to the part that intersects with my thinking most directly. For context, check it out here: www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/what-the-h...

bloodinthemachine.com

What’s really going on with AI and jobs?

Record-breaking layoff reports, Amazon's mass firings, and a slump in entry level employment. Is AI behind it all?

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Part 11: In which I wonder why I like rejections so much that I have job applications, journal submissions, a novel in front of potential agents, and cold calls for my consulting work all happening at once.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

On the Market: Part 11 in a series Submissions on Top of Applications As if ending up on the job market hasn’t generated enough rejection, the timing of my job search has me navigating another period of being told no in my professional endeavors. Submission season.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Part 10: In which I have my welcome to the market moment(s).

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

On the Market: Part 10 in a series Near Misses (in new fields) On the heels of my near misses in higher ed, I found myself asked into a couple of interview processes outside the academic world in the early summer. As I prepared for both, I lectured myself on not getting too hopeful.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Round up of last weeks posts for weekend readers: Blog Seven: The State of (Your) Industry michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/the-s... Blog Eight: Zombie Work michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/zombi... Blog Nine: Leaving People You Actually Like michaeldeanclark.com/blog-1/leavi...

michaeldeanclark.com

The State of (Your) Industry — Michael Dean Clark

I don’t know what that means, because I don’t know what that future looks like. And I’m don’t believe the people who made that pronouncement know either.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Part Nine: In which I think about the cost of saying goodbye.

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Michael Dean Clark @mdeanclark.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

On the Market: Part 9 in a series Leaving people you actually like… I came to the university I was just ejected from at their request, I was teaching at another school—on the water in San Diego of all places—and they came calling. My alma mater.

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