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Mike Nagel

@misternagel.bsky.social
264 followers 131 following 44 posts

Bullshit essayist. Author of Duplex and Culdesac from Autofocus Books. Father of Costcocore. Dallas kid. www.michaelscottnagel.com

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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
😂❤️
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Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Literally JUST finished an interview where I raved about @misternagel.bsky.social & Duplex, saying it was why I wanted to work with @autofocusbooks.bsky.social, and reading it in one sitting on a long plane ride specifically inspired TACOMA's length and goal for what it would feel like to read.
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Chris Grebe 🎃 @chrisgescribe.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Love this essay from @misternagel.bsky.social on Dirt. That’s where it’s published, it’s not about dirt… #writersky
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Longreads @longreads.com · 03/12/2025
"It seems we've reached the point in our relationship with celebrities where we just want to throw stuff at them . . . Like sending a satellite through a blackhole or petting a squirrel. It just seems worth a try." — @misternagel.bsky.social for Dirt
dirt.fyi
Very Important People
Mike Nagel on not being famous.
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John Waddy Bullion @johnwaddy.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
D and/or FW folks: Join me and indie-lit superstar @misternagel.bsky.social for a TWWNROOS release party and reading at Fort Worth’s newest and best bookstore Recluse Books at 6pm on December 12th!
A poster for "an evening of literary conversation and celebration with local legends John Waddy Bullion and Mike Nagel, December 12, 6pm, @ your favorite local bookstore, 465 S. Main St. Suite 110, Recluse Books" taking place in Fort Worth
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Fun Book Person @alexmiller77.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
make @misternagel.bsky.social famous open.substack.com/pub/littleen...
open.substack.com
Very Important People
an essay by Mike Nagel
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Pat Foran @pdforan.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
“‘There’s a bobcat in my backyard,’ he said. ‘No there isn’t,’ the guy on the phone said. ‘*You’re* in the bobcat’s backyard. This is *their* territory, sir.’” @misternagel.bsky.social in @thehooghlyreview.bsky.social thehooghlyreview.com/man-vs-wild/
thehooghlyreview.com
Man Vs. Wild – THE HOOGHLY REVIEW
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Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
cover! synopsis! preorder! out in feb!! "Blending autofiction with fantasy, meta with magic, and earnestness with absurdity, 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘢 presents a recognizable but also magical world where we ask, if nothing is real, then why not have as much fun as possible?" autofocusbooks.com/store/p/tacoma
ABOUT THE BOOK

Inspired to “take a break from life” by the idyllic housesitting situation they were offered for the summer, Aaron and Amber find themselves in Aaron’s hometown of Tacoma, Washington. Amber works her remote job, Aaron tries to write and goes for runs along the waterfront, and they explore their temporary summer city on daily walks and regular excursions. Soon, noticing that the landscape seems to keep shifting around them, Aaron starts drawing a map of it all, attempting to document and make sense of the changes. When Tacoma starts to open up bigger and bigger with possibility and wonder, Tacoma starts to fold in on itself, becoming both more self-referential and more like the spontaneous, fantastical stories Aaron has been writing. A friend rides an orca to come visit. Pirates guard a wormhole in the forest. A secret doorway in the Tacoma Mall tunnels back to Aaron’s childhood bedroom. Blending autofiction with fantasy, meta with magic, and earnestness with absurdity, Tacoma presents a recognizable but also magical world where we ask, if nothing is real, then why not have as much fun as possible?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aaron Burch grew up in Tacoma, Washington.
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Got a little woo woo for the fine folks at @farewelltransmiss.bsky.social. farewelltransmission.net/2025/10/woo-...
farewelltransmission.net
WOO WOO - Farewell Transmission
By Mike Nagel My sister-in-law Molly grew up as a pastor’s daughter but at some point in her mid-thirties she became more of a witch. I thought that being a witch meant you invited the devil into your...
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The Rumpus @therumpus.net · 23/07/2025
“It wasn’t until I was falling asleep later that night that I wondered: If there hadn’t been a blood clot, what had they removed?” From “Orientaton,” a new original essay by @misternagel.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/TIOZvYa
The cited quote and information written in red and black against a white background. In the upper lefthand corner is a gray and blue burst of rays against a gray background.
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Théo @tlpavlich.gay · 21/07/2025
I'm so excited to share this essay by @misternagel.bsky.social for @therumpus.net with the world. I remember the first time I read it, I was delighted by how perfectly he captures the absurdity of the situation, amidst the mind-bending power of pre-emptive grief. It was an honor to edit.
therumpus.net
Orientation - The Rumpus
At the time, though, I couldn’t make much sense of anything. So I accepted everything with the detached nonchalance of a guy who has no idea what’s going on.
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Robbie Maakestad @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
I absolutely adore this @therumpus.net essay by @misternagel.bsky.social about the upside-down-ness caused by a family health emergency. #RumpusEssays therumpus.net/2025/07/17/o...
therumpus.net
Orientation - The Rumpus
At the time, though, I couldn’t make much sense of anything. So I accepted everything with the detached nonchalance of a guy who has no idea what’s going on.
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Stephanie Austin @stephanieaustin.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
"My father-in-law’s stroke, an event that has certainly turned our lives upside down, happened at a time in my life when I was feeling a little turned around to begin with." NEW MIKE NAGEL!
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Wrote about my father-in-law's stroke and the feeling of getting all turned around for one of my all-time favorite magazines @therumpus.net. 👇👇👇 therumpus.net/2025/07/17/o...
therumpus.net
Orientation - The Rumpus
At the time, though, I couldn’t make much sense of anything. So I accepted everything with the detached nonchalance of a guy who has no idea what’s going on.
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Listen to me and Aug yuck it up! We talk Vonnegut (obvs), touring, music, the whole deal. Very fun chat.
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CLASH Books @clashbooks.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Is Brian Allen Carr legally allowed back in Texas?
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Daniel Miller @danielmiller.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
It's rare that a book makes me laugh out loud, let alone to accomplish that nearly every page, let alone in a book that's as much about isolation and alcoholism and depression as it is about funny. These have become instant recs for CNF for me.
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Ben Niespodziany 📚🎪 @neonpajamas.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
two ridiculous, absurd, tender, laugh-out-loud slim books by Mike Nagel I finished (and loved) Duplex back in 2022 & I finished (and loved) Culdesac this morning @misternagel.bsky.social @autofocusbooks.bsky.social
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Claire Wahmanholm @cwahmanholm.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Hey gang, if you want a vibe, @misternagel.bsky.social has got your ideal surreal-dirtbag-sad-hilarious-grim pandemic-era-but-really-all-era essay collection right here! Out from @autofocusbooks.bsky.social! please get a copy and read it immediately!
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LJ Pemberton @ljabouttown.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
🤩
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Spencer (nervous) @splopenn.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Five excellent Southern books selected by this guy! @southrevbooks.bsky.social @paulluikart.bsky.social @misternagel.bsky.social Also featuring Ashleigh Bryant Phillips Charles Portis Ernest J. Gaines and the all time favorite Larry Brown southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/03/27/r...
southernreviewofbooks.com
Real Southern Lives
SRB Editor Spencer Pennington rounds up 6 books that embrace what makes the South special.
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Autofocus Books @autofocusbooks.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Consider supporting us today! We want to publish books for a very long time. You can help! In return, you’ll get access to a handful of digital artifacts (to start), find community around artful autobiographical writing, + save a little $$ at some point. autofocusbooks.com/memberships
Introducing the Autofocus Digital pass. As a founding member, you receive select full and partial ebooks and audiobooks + online community meetups + discounts. $34/year.
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Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
A pretty cool (THE coolest& best?) aspect of being an editor, and being one for so long, is falling in love with writers, being a small piece of championing them and helping them find more readers, seeing them get better and better, and watching other La become fans and fall in love too.
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Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
"They serve a dish there called “The Farmer’s Breakfast.” ... I’ve sometimes fantasized about being a farmer, even though nothing about it appeals to me. The only thing that appeals to me about being a farmer is the breakfast. I’ve sometimes fantasized, I guess I mean, about eating breakfast."
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kyle r. seibel @kylerseibel.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
money well spent
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Have you been waiting for an essay about Mr. Rogers, working at a suicide hotline, and a trip to Kansas City?? Boy do I have the perfect thing for you 🫶 www.littleengines.pub/p/another-be...
littleengines.pub
Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
a new essay by Mike Nagel from Issue Ten
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Been a huge fan of @passagesnorth.bsky.social for a v. long time. Stoked to have a new essay in their latest issue. Topics include: Plano, Texas, advertising, becoming an ordained minister, writing billboards... you get the idea. 😘✌️ www.passagesnorth.com/greetings-fr...
passagesnorth.com
Greetings from the City of Excellence! by Mike Nagel — Passages North
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ryanashleyanderson @femmeintheory.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
I am beyond proud to share our first publication!!! I fell in love with @emilylauracosta.bsky.social while reading GIRL ON GIRL (grab a copy via @rejectionlit.bsky.social!!) and am so thrilled to be able to break the Pool Party seal with such an epic piece 🔥
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Josiah Roberts @josiahroberts.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
just finished @misternagel.bsky.social Duplex. I read the 2nd book in this epic duology 1st which means I did it wrong I think. Oddly enough, I still don’t know exactly what BEEF HAM is. Apparently this book is not about BEEF HAM. Neither is the 2nd book. What I’m saying is you should check it out.
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Rejection Letters @rejectionlit.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
HAPPY MFING PUB DAY TO OUR VERY OWN SHORT STORY QUEEN, @emilylauracosta.bsky.social PRE-ORDERS OF GIRL ON GIRL WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SHORTLY!!!
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
If you like essays where people just kind of walk around and look at stuff, boy do I have one for you! www.nocontactmag.com/closing-time...
nocontactmag.com
The Descent of Man — NO CONTACT
by Mike Nagel My dad said that in the last weeks of his life, my grandfather went from eating solid food to eating baby food to eating nothing at all. A whole life in reverse. It reminded me of a po...
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Adam Voith @adamvoith.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
👀 the @misternagel.bsky.social sticker on the toddler’s toilet
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
I love Britt's new column. Smart as hell.
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Kevin Maloney @kevinmaloney.net · 21/11/2024
If you're like me, you're probably saying, "Wait, I'm already supposed to be motherfucking Xmas shopping?" Luckily @clashbooks.bsky.social & @rejectionlit.bsky.social have taken the guesswork out of Xmas. The "Story Collection 3x Pre-Order" is the perfect gift for mom, Nana & your weird nephew Timmy
Three book covers set against Christmas tree themed wrapping paper. Book covers are Girl on Girl by Emily Costa, Horse Girl Fever by Kevin Maloney, and Hey You Assholes by Kyle Seibel.
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LJ Pemberton @ljabouttown.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Humble suggestion to give my book, which the Independent Book Review called a must-read, to the disillusioned millennial in your life for Christmas / Yule / Winter Solstice! asterismbooks.com/product/stil...
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Mike Nagel @misternagel.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
I love this book. It will be an indie lit classic that endures, I'm sure of it.
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Maria Robinson @mariaaarobinson.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Best thing I’ve read today.
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Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
this is great. which, I mean, of course it is. nagel is so great. always. www.littleengines.pub/p/new-stroke
littleengines.pub
New Stroke
an essay by Mike Nagel
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Adam Shaw @adamshaw502.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
“When you take care of people it's called caregiving. When you take care of places it's called caretaking. ‘Which one am I?’ I think. ‘A giver or a taker?’” Always here for new Nagel. Dude writes banger after banger.
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