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Samara Rafert

@rafertess.bsky.social
794 followers 971 following 448 posts

University press publicist (Mad Creek Books), pottery class enthusiast. Columbus, Ohio.

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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
medium.com/prismnpen/go... @tuckerlieberman.com @ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social
medium.com
There Are Good Reasons for Trans Inclusion, but I Can’t Bottle-Feed Them to Anyone
On a new book: ‘J. K. Rowling and the Anti-Trans Panic’
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
After 30+ years of listening to "Heroin" by the VU, I finally realized it's "thank God that I'm not aware," not "thank God that I'm not all wet."
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Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
LOL, the gotcha part in the second paragraph is truly hilarious. Who will think of the straight white rightwing men in the literary world? WHO? WHO?
Last week, the longlists for the National Book Awards were announced. Among the 20 authors in the fiction and nonfiction categories, nearly all are straight white males. Most are also on the political right, some even on the far right. Remarkably, mainstream media outlets haven’t reported this, perhaps because they don’t think it’s noteworthy. It’s as if we were living in 1956 rather than 2026.

If you’re scratching your head at this “news,” well, it’s because I made it up. Or rather, I inverted the particulars about the authors’ identities and their political views to make a point: If today, as a reader, you recoil at the thought of a time in which minorities were systematically marginalized when it came to the literary world’s public honors (and so much else), shouldn’t you also recoil now that the tables have been almost completely turned? And if you object to the right’s efforts to politicize the arts, won’t you also object when the efforts come from the left?
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The Onion @theonion.com · 18/09/2026
Report Reveals Jesus Christ May Have Benefited From Father’s Influential Position To Gain High-Powered Role As Lord And Savior theonion.com/report-reveals-jesus-c…
Report Reveals Jesus Christ May Have Benefited From Father’s Influential Position To Gain High-Powered Role As Lord And Savior
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Amaro + The Weakerthans (new musical obsession)=bliss @dangearino.bsky.social
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Gina Gwenffrewi @ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Out now: my book, about the institutional and localized impact of anti-trans campaigns in the UK. C1 + 4 analyse the anti-trans outputs of JKR and R.Gervais; C2 + 3 about GC ideology and anti-trans campaigns on a uni campus; C5 about media; C6 about the beauty and magic of being trans in Edinburgh.
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
@ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social's JK ROWLING AND THE ANTI-TRANS PANIC, just published by Ohio State Press, is an @autostraddle.bsky.social most anticipated queer book for September! www.autostraddle.com/our-most-ant...
autostraddle.com
Our Most Anticipated Queer Books for September 2026
There's so much new queer poetry coming out this month.
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I've spent almost my entire adult life in the Midwest and they still got me (Delaware born and raised)
Screenshot of a dialect map indicating in from Philadelphia/New Jersey
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Gary Hornseth @garyhornseth.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Workers at the signage firm Spanjer Brothers, Newark, New Jersey, with giant wooden letters destined for the Singer Sewing Machine Co., 1897 Image: 1916 company catalog, Avery Library Architectural Trade Catalogs Collection via @archive.org; archive.org/details/cata...
A photograph of the Spanjer Bros. Wood Carving & Sign Work building, showing workers lined up in front and a horse-drawn delivery wagon. The two-story brick building features commercial signage advertising specialized services like wood turning and scroll sawing. Displayed across the facade at ground level and a second-story loading bay are five large wooden letters made for exterior signage.
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Michael Lowenthal's Place Envy featured in Word of the Day! @merriam-webster.com @jwi.bsky.social urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
Word of the Day: Divulge
Information divulged is typically secret, or known only to insiders, and it isn’t usually shouted from the rooftops. But when divulge first entered English in the 15th century, it did so as a synonym
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Gary Hornseth @garyhornseth.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Dense fog, Minneapolis 9th St. and LaSalle Ave. October 27, 1943 Image: Hennepin County Library; digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/coll...
A black-and-white photograph capturing a layer of fog blanketing a city street. Pale, low sun in the sky. A pedestrian walks down the sidewalk away from the camera, another just enters the scene from the left foreground. Cars from the are parked along the curb left and in a lot to the right. In the foreground, a street lamp stands on the left, while a parking sign with partial text is visible on the right. In the high background, outlines of large downtown buildings shrouded in the fog.
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John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This reminds me of Simon Armitage's brilliant entry in the book Mortification: Writers' Stories of their Public Shame.
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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Life and Death Contrasted, engraving from ca. 1770. Discover its male counterpart here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/l…
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
If I fits, I sits
A dilute calico cat, mostly gray with scattered peach patches and a white chest, sits placidly and perfectly centered on a rectangular computer bag on a navy and white rug, looking up at the camera.
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Dan Gearino @dangearino.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Rendered by the inimitable @cooljerk.bsky.social, here are all the new power plants that went online in the first half of the year, by state. Wow, Texas! That's a shit ton of batteries. Here's the accompanying story: insideclimatenews.org/news/1308202...
A chart showing Texas leading the country in new power plant capacity in the first half of 2026, followed by New Mexico, Arizona and others.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This cruelty has no need but cruelty. Haiti remains deeply dangerous; a country in the throes of anarchy. Hundreds of thousands of people are SAFE. They are safe. They are safe here and the nation has decided to make them unsafe. We are embarking on a tragedy and we cannot look away. We cannot.
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CLAYFACE: CELEBRITY DIRT #3 out now @judedoyle.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Really value my morning ritual of waking up, pouring myself a cup of coffee, making my way through the next few minutes in a dissociative fugue state, and pouring myself the same cup of coffee again
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I strongly disapprove of the decision to have an extremely loud rock band play in the middle of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a Sunday afternoon #getoffmylawn
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The two most satisfying moments so far on my trip home to Delaware: --Revealing to my high school friend that not everyone calls it "water ice" --Explaining to my Ohio children what scrapple is
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Liz Thornberry @lizthornberry.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I also did not want to cut my children’s sandwiches into star shapes, a problem for which there was an extremely straightforward solution
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I have definitely noticed an uptick in deep backlist sales from the OSU Press list. It's not the perpetual bestsellers but one-offs from decades ago that even I, after seven years at the press, have barely heard of. www.404media.co/ai-companies...
404media.co
AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop
ISBNdb, a company that sources printed books for AI companies to turn into training data, tells clients “the optics problem is real.”
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Natee (they/them) @himmapaan.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Original artwork available via everydayoriginal.com. Pachycephalosaurus Brown and graphite pencils on Hand Book Journal Company sketchbook paper, approximately 207 x 130 mm. Another small page of studies from c.2018. As with others from then, I would do things a little differently now. 1/2
Pencil drawing of the dome-headed dinosaur, Pachycephalosaurus, with two smaller head studies of 'Dracorex' and 'Stygimoloch.'
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ceej @ceej.online · 16/07/2026
I am so fucking tired of creating accounts
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Convalescing from toe surgery (it's a thing) and I'm so glad I stumbled across this documentary. I just wish it was more than 20 minutes long. vimeo.com/1197413135
vimeo.com
The Memories of Others: Akihiko Okamura's Ireland
A short documentary film uncovering Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura’s extraordinary work in Ireland during the Troubles, and the artistic and emotional impact of its recent rediscovery. After a ...
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
My favorite part of the print @theonion.com is "passersby were amazed by the unusually large amounts of blood"
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HyperEssays @hyperessays.net · 01/07/2026
HyperEssays has had full-text search of John Florio’s and my own ongoing translation of the Essays (w/ Cotton/Hazlitt’s as a placeholder) for a while. Today I’m happy to announce that the original Middle French text is also searchable on the site. 🥳 hyperessays.net
hyperessays.net
HyperEssays
HyperEssays is a project to create a modern and accessible online edition of the Essays of Michel de Montaigne.
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Association of University Presses @aupresses.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Want to know more about the US at 250? ReadUP! Here are some suggestions from university presses & their expert authors, reflecting on the American experiment from the Founding to today: bit.ly/4xQZlFq
American flag on a wooden dowel planted in sand
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Gary Hornseth @garyhornseth.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Annual Report cover Minneapolis Public Library 1966 Images: Hennepin County Library Organizational Records Collection; digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/coll...
A light-colored annual report cover that’s plain except for showing a couple of library card-catalog cards in the lower half bearing what the indexing would be for that same report.
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
I just heard Dan ask our child, "Should we listen to Charles Mingus or Charles Mingus?" Say what you will about Dan, when he finds something he likes sticks with it.
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Dan Gearino @dangearino.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
This is an excuse to repost my favorite live video of Sue’s Changes, from Montreux. This performance basically contains all the things in life. m.youtube.com/watch?v=cklE...
m.youtube.com
Charles Mingus - Montreux 19750725 (3/5) Sue's Changes
YouTube video by oct opus
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Institute for Policy Studies @ips-dc.org · 25/03/2026
NEW: The Water Defenders, the award-winning book on the historic 2017 metals mining ban in El Salvador, is now available as a beautiful graphic novel. “If you’re in need of some inspiration... look no further than this crucial and absorbing account." Preorder now: ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
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SteveBrant @stevebrant.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social just interviewed this book's authors! Ordinary people CAN stop corporate greed! The Water Defenders How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed @johnelkington.bsky.social @rbreich.bsky.social @hcrichardson.bsky.social ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
ohiostatepress.org
The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed
The graphic adaptation of the acclaimed story of El Salvador’s grassroots environmental and human rights victory over a multinational mining corporation.
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We chatted with NiemanLab about the Porter Square Review of Books!!
niemanlab.org
Book reviews are an endangered species. So this independent bookstore decided to start publishing its own.
“We’re not just going to complain about it!”
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
It's that time again. I'm really, really excited about these books. Some highlights in comments. Email me OSUP_publicity@osu.edu for review copies! bit.ly/fall-26-s
bit.ly
The Ohio State University Press: Fall 2026 Catalog
The Fall 2026 catalog of the Ohio State University Press.
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Jane Yager @janewords.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I am incredibly honored and excited that my story won the Fractured Lit Elsewhere Prize judged by Jemimah Wei. Enormous thanks to @fracturedlit.bsky.social, @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social and @jemmawei.bsky.social
fracturedlit.com
Problems of Inheritance Law in Fig Country, Chapter 117 | Fractured
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I officially entered my tribute band era last night. Dead Letter Office was fantastic, as was being surrounded by joyous sweaty co-fans swapping stories of their first shows and favorite songs. @remhq.bsky.social
Set list from REM tribute band Dead Letter Office
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Thank you to @jessiegaynor.bsky.social at @literaryhub.bsky.social for giving SCRAP THEORY a boost! lithub.com/sneaking-the...
lithub.com
“Sneaking the Scraps Out the Back Door.” On Black Feminist Traditions of Memory Keeping
There is already a Black feminist tradition of using the arts as historical preservation. A dynamic sampling of contemporary literature and art created by Black women considers the forms of poetry,…
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kottke.org @kottke.org · 04/06/2026
Jamelle Bouie: The cruelty is still the point of the Trump regime. “This isn’t a border security policy. It’s cruelty as governance — directed at people this administration has decided don’t deserve dignity.” [youtube.com]
youtube.com
The Cruelty is Still the Point
Hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall in New Jersey are on hunger strike. They're being forced to work without conviction, beaten, denied medical care, and served maggot-filled food. The Secretary of Homeland Security says they're "meeting the caloric standard." This isn't a border security policy.
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Brian “Enemy of Civilization” Alexander @brianralexander.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Homeland Security killing endangered species.
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Jacqueline Doyle @jacqdoyle.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
AMAZING NEWS!!! So excited to announce that my hybrid essay collection THE LUNATICS’ BALL is the runner-up for the Gournay Prize and will be published in the 21st Century Essay series by Mad Creek Books (the literary imprint of Ohio University Press) in 2027. My dream publisher!
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
"Not one, but two David-vs-Goliath victories." Human rights advocates extraordinaire Robin Broad & John Cavanagh, authors of THE WATER DEFENDERS, talk with @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about why this story of grassroots activism is so instructive for the current moment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUJ4...
youtube.com
Lucid Q&A May 22 clip: Lessons in Resistance from graphic version of "The Water Defenders"
YouTube video by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
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Frankie Huang 黄碧赤 @ourobororoboruo.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Welp there’s no unseeing this
Colorful play gym for infants featuring foxes and bunnies, two criss-crossing archs stand over a square matUFC cage being built on the White House launch, criss-crossing arches strongly resembling the baby play gym
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Dan Gearino @dangearino.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
There was a time, not long ago, when state policies helped to make the crucial first steps of deploying renewable energy. I spoke with @joshuabasseches.bsky.social about his new book: insideclimatenews.org/news/2805202...
insideclimatenews.org
How Utility Companies and States Shaped America’s Clean Energy Transition - Inside Climate News
A new book examines “renewable portfolio standard” laws and the ways utilities drove the bus.
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film-authority.com @film-authority.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Looking for new avant-garde theatre? Jake the Cat is performing American dramatist Edward Albee's seminal one-cat play Box at this year's Edinburgh fringe. It's a one-cat show for Jake, and the cat he's performing to is his big brother Joe. Aug 2nd to 25th, Tickets £9, concs £6, 7.30pm, no comps.
Jake in a box, performing his play, Joe the cat is the target audience.
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mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 28/05/2026
i was such an avid reader of stuff i did not even get CLOSE to understanding as a kid and all it did was make me read more, and ask more questions about the world. there's a concerted effort from almost every consolidated power on this planet to make people less curious!!!!
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
This senior living activity schedule took an unexpected turn
Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
Women's Waffle Breakfast
Wesley Glen Today
Balance & Brains
Daily Chronicle/Today in History 
Arts & Crafts
Catholic Mass
Words that Start with … C
Edcom: Civilization Collapse
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Jessica Winter @winterjessica.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Bluesky can be annoying for various reasons but it's also the only social-media platform I look at regularly that isn't an exploded septic tank of LLM-generated word diarrhea
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Grace Loh Prasad @gracelp.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Grateful and humbled to be included on @altajournal.bsky.social’s list of 20 recommended books for AAPI Heritage Month alongside so many friends and literary luminaries!! Thank you @anitafelicelli.bsky.social for this wonderful curated list. 🙌🏽
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Samara Rafert @rafertess.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Lovely to see @gracelp.bsky.social's THE TRANSLATOR'S DAUGHTER on this list! @anitafelicelli.bsky.social www.altaonline.com/books/g71220...
altaonline.com
Books by AAPI Authors You Need to Read
Whether you’re new to AAPI literature or looking to go deeper, these 20 books, spanning memoir, fiction, graphic novels, and more, are essential reading all year long.
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 10/05/2026
"I don’t know why I’ve woken up in this Costco. The last thing I remember is breaking up a ninth consecutive fight over Duck Tales, and suddenly, I was floating over my own body, looking at the breakfast they brought me spilled all over my bed." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/my-...
mcsweeneys.net
My Mother’s Day Gift to Myself Is This Dissociative Episode in Costco
“I don’t know why I’ve woken up in this Costco. The last thing I remember is breaking up a ninth consecutive fight over Duck Tales, and suddenly, I was float...
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