iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

BOMB Magazine @bombmag.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Interwoven stories of four matrilineal generations form a splintered chronology in Valeria Luiselli’s “Beginning Middle End” ( @aaknopf.bsky.social, 2026), reviewed by @nsahmed99.bsky.social in our Summer 2026 issue.

bit.ly

BOMB Magazine | Valeria Luiselli’s Beginning Middle End

A mother and daughter’s journey through Europe, family history, and literature itself.

041

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Ladies and gents, we might be reviving the Bluesky account✌🏽

020

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Had a dream and now I'm about to make a huge change to the novel that will, in essence, alter its entire nature, to the point that its name will be changed too, but it feels like the right thing to do and I'm excited at its new potential

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

My top 14 books of this year, may it serve your ever-growing TBR pile well✌🏽

010

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

For BOMB Magazine, I got to write in Tahrir Square about the great @therakha.net upcoming novel The Dissenters (Graywolf), & how the novel ties in with the long lineage of using storytelling as a revolutionary form. Last piece of the year, and hopefully a banger! bombmagazine.org/articles/202...

0107

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Real question rmthat we're all thinking about is... why did Jenzo have to cook so much with this piece?!?!

010

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

jenzo duque-french @jenzo.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

bombmagazine.org/articles/nel... didn’t do a lot of creating this tough year but as I was slowly healing, I managed to put together this Editor’s Choice on Pepe, a truly unique film, one perfect for those who love to see the medium pushed to its limits. and for hippo enthusiasts aka me

bombmagazine.org

BOMB Magazine | Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias’s Pepe

A film on the entanglements of animals and humans narrated by a descendant of one of Pablo Escobar’s hippos.

153

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

0107

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

A small little sneak peak of my BOMB Mag reflection on The Dissenters, @therakha.net beautifully haunting novel that has possessed me over this summer, this autumn, and perhaps this lifetime, physical copies of the reflection should be out, and the online review is out in the coming days✌🏽

062

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Azabekya Garden night book haul before returning to NY in a few days, led by the eternal literary master @therakha.net

141

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I got a gut feeling that when I'm finished with this novel draft & find the right agent for it, we're really going to stir up the game, & then when I tell said agent about the next two novels already in the works & how wild they get, they'll seriously see something very little seen.

000

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

Deena @itsdeenasaur.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

here is a comic i made about cairo some time ago, because cities with long memories remind me all we live through is just the blink of an eye (1/6)

Three panels showing different parts of Cairo. The narration reads: “There are some places jn Cairo… not the new ones, maybe (and not Madinet Nasr, definitely.)”

85329

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Thinking about monster reborning this account, still deciding...

010

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

Ash Huang @ashsmash.bsky.social · 23/09/2023

‘We know you’re in there, we saw what you did.’ Reading this piece is like finding a gorgeous little morel. So action packed yet atmospheric?? @nsahmed99.bsky.social in Passages North www.passagesnorth.com/passagesnort...

passagesnorth.com

The Birdcatcher of Rockers Avenue by N.S. Ahmed — Passages North

131

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 22/09/2023

New piece about birds and dystopia and noir is out at Passages North, really grateful for this one since it was initially written for a contest about flight, and it ended up making its way here! Hope you read it, and if you see a bird, feed it some crumbs!! www.passagesnorth.com/passagesnort...

021

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 09/09/2023

VICTORY SCREEECHHHH!!! We got a new piece accepted in Passages North babyyyyy!!! It's a little piece about birds and government and dystopia and a hint of old-fashioned noir, a bit of a new style for little old me, so looking forward to sharing it with y'all soon enough!

040

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 05/09/2023

Just did the KGB reading with the peripal crew tonight, first one ever since I came back, and while it was an... interesting night... I did get to debut read the dog story!!!

020

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 03/09/2023

Genuinely one of the most life-changing literary opportunities that I am deeply proud to be a part of. From the mentorship to dear friends to the non-stop growth, I ~HIGHLY~ recommend you ~APPLY~ to it!!! Happy to offer insights to any prospective applicants! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

PERIPLUS: An FAQ

PERIPLUS: AN FAQ Updated September 2023 Apply here, by 10/27, for the 2024 Periplus Fellowship! Hi! Thanks for your interest in PERIPLUS, a mentorship collective serving U.S. writers who are Black, ...

051

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 19/08/2023

Imagine my surprise when I got the email that my little dog story was longlisted to the top seven out of 500 subs, eternally grateful to the folks who read my piece for this contest and let it reach this far! And hey, if you want the piece for your pub, it's still up for grabs!!!

020

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 18/08/2023

Now when I go back to the US, what's about to happen? Will I (a) be speaking to folks in Arabic by impulse or (b) try and price negotiate the poor folks at Barnes and Nobles or (c) look sadly upon all the imported mangoes hanging out unEgyptianly in the fruit aisle? Dear reader, I don't know...

010

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 14/08/2023

Dream come true y'all, one that I held since high-school when I decided to pursue writing. Found the ahwa that Mahfouz and the Harafish would sit and write and talk and smoke and drink in, and I was able to write a bit of the novel in it! But damn did it take me a moment to find!

010

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 13/08/2023

"Why is forgetfulness the plague of our alley?" --Naguib Mahfouz, Children of the Alley

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 11/08/2023

10 days left. And you know who I'm going to miss a lot, the cook at my regular shawarma joint down the block, like he took the effort to memorize my order during the time I spent here and we brewed up so many dialogues, legendary with his food chops and such an amazing person

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 08/08/2023

The Arabic language went off with نور الحياة and يا روحي

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 07/08/2023

Don't know if y'all think this too, but I truly think a full stomach hurts the productivity of a good writing sesh. Like I need to be hungry to semi hungry to retain and assure a strong pen game, while distancing myself from the lethargy a good meal can quickly induce

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 06/08/2023

Genuinely, the novel has been getting stronger and stronger: the characters, the 3 narratives, the setting, the fantastical, the familiar, the unfamiliar, the tones, the sounds, the structure, the voices, the (un)linearity, the past, the present, Brooklyn, Cairo, and everything in between...

020

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 05/08/2023

Only in Cairo will you find a store called Mickey Mouse but find nothing Disney inside

010

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 04/08/2023

Y'all see yb sitting on the carpeted floor here, well decades ago, my folks wedding ceremony was in this very spot, in this very masjid, 24 yrs later, I finally got to visit for the first time. Just bearing witness to the personal and historical in this one space has been so surreal.

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 01/08/2023

THREAD of my favorite fiction openers (all amazing recs!): "His story, as the story of every one of us, started long before we were born." Yiyun Li, Immortality "Even in death the boys were trouble." Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys "124 was spiteful." Toni Morrison, Beloved

100

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 25/07/2023

One great piece of writing advice I've received in Cairo: "You're role is that of an observer, so travel silently to the alleys & souqs & ahwas, & pay attention to the voices of the people. Listen to how we joke, grieve, curse, laugh, cry, & brood. If you wish to write about us, hear us close."

241

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 23/07/2023

Well since double features are the new trendy wave, whose trying to drop a book at the same time with me?! Come on let's do it down the road when we're ready, readers won't know what hit them! An authorial double whammy from the dynamic debut duo! 😝

010

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

benedict nguyễn @xbennyboo.bsky.social · 13/07/2023

DEBUT NOVEL LFGGGGG!!? ☄️🏐 I wrote a satire called HOT GIRLS WITH BALLS because SPORTS and w/ my agent Cody Caetano we made a deal w/ editor Alicia Kroell @Catapult.co ☄️🏐 more balls soon!

ID: atop background of purple, green, and red circles, with paired emojis of volleyballs and hands, a screenshot from Publisher’s Marketplace Dancer, creative producer, Lambda Fellow, and Periplus Fellow Benedict Nguyễn’s 2023 PEN/Bellwether Prize Finalist HOT GIRLS WITH BALLS, a satire in which the two titular indoor volleyball superstars juggle the unspoken resentments in their romantic relationship ahead of their rival teams' first rematch in a year, all while under the gaze of a growing mass of horny fans and haters enraptured by these gorgeous Asian American trans women playing for the men's league, to Alicia Kroell at Catapult, by Cody Caetano at CookeMcDermid (NA).

53914

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 11/07/2023

The road taken for my night run, primordial sky blues✌🏽

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 10/07/2023

Does a ghost of internet past ever visit you monthly in the brutal depths of night and whisper in your ear... "How's it been?"

000

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 10/07/2023

Ayyyyy we got the Fulbright affiliation before going to Egypt babyyyyyyyy!!!!!

020

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

jenzo duque-french @jenzo.bsky.social · 08/07/2023

too hot to do shit in nyc i went to the dentist hungover and made it back wet but alive i touched concrete please clap

261

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 09/07/2023

Just did the (I believe!) first in person Periplus Collect reading, and it was so fun seeing folks join for this dope lineup of readers! And y'all, full house! Packed to the brim! For folks who I wasn't able to chat or that I missed afterwards, my bad! But feel free to hit me up!

050

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 07/07/2023

Okay y'all, last go around promoting this, but if you happen to be in the NY/Brooklyn area tomorrow, I'll be reading with some of the dopest writers around (game changers in the making!) at Unnameable books at 7pm! Hope to see y'all there for a night of mingling and verse! #author #authors

052

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 07/07/2023

For those curious, these are the books I'll be reading as I head to Egypt to work on the novel: White Teeth The Ministry of Utmost Happiness The Fortune Men The Great Believers In Other Rooms, Other Wonders I Am My Country Fasting, Feasting Open to picking up any other recs on these last few days!

020

N.S. Ahmed @nsahmed99.bsky.social · 06/07/2023

Come on, I know Blue Sky also reminds you of that one teacher who passive aggressively encourages you to socialize with the other new kids on the first day of middle school

010

Reposted by N.S. Ahmed

jenzo duque-french @jenzo.bsky.social · 05/07/2023

looking for friends! rising fictionist whose writing’s appeared in various mags, outlets, most notably the Best American Short Stories 2021. peep “Cartagena, 2002” in VQR; got new flash coming this summer! #authors & readers come hang with yb? www.vqronline.org/fiction/2023/01/c…

161