iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

This morning I got in trouble for buying SweetTarts candy canes in September. It's valid. I'm not complaining, just documenting. 🫠

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Three weeks after publication, I have plenty of information about how my book is doing and almost no idea how my book is doing. This week’s Life on the Midlist is here. mailchi.mp/211d4791702c...

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I spent years writing about artists who had no idea how their work would turn out. Then I published a book and somehow expected to be exempt from that particular experience. Reader, I am not. Read all about it in Life on the Midlist: mailchi.mp/211d4791702c...

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"After the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony in 1897, Sergei Rachmaninoff stopped composing." See part three of my interview on The Mess That Made Them at ROROTOKO today.

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When you have a sick ferret who needs care every few hours AND a tour event two and a half hours away in Ames, then EVERYBODY goes to Ames! Thank you to Megan and the Ames Public Library for the invitation and the warm welcome, in spite of somewhat odd circumstances.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

TIL that Emily St. John Mandel and I are almost exactly the same age. It was very upsetting.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Who doesn't want a free book? My StoryGraph Giveaway is active! If you live in the US and want a signed hardcover copy of The Mess That Made Them, be sure to enter! How? 1. Go to StoryGraph, find the book, and enter the Giveaway. 2. Maybe win. That's all there is to it. #Booksky #Nonfiction

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Reposted by Ryan T. Pozzi

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm coming to Ames on Tuesday! (Literally. I'm driving to Ames, talking about how you should never take advice from artists - ironic, right?, the then driving back to Omaha. If you're in the neighborhood, I'd love to see you! Get all the details here: www.amespubliclibrary.org/event/Author...

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A fairly polarizing book and, in fact, not a personal favorite. I still push through titles in this area of thought, regardless of my overall take, because it seems there's always something to gain.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Had a fantastic time hanging out with Matt, Elisa, and a room full of CBPL regulars at my home library, of course! While we're talking about it, though, is this giving Sad Hank (Dean Norris) to anybody else? No? Just me? Okay... #booksky #nonfiction

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I know you're not really supposed to have favorites, but Elizabeth is definitely my favorite wife. (Seen here thinking, "Why can't you just make a regular face for ONE damn picture?!")

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https://www.riteoffancy.com/2026/09/the-mess-that-made-them-ryan-t-pozzi.html

Many thanks to my colleague, A.D. Elliott, for this considered review of The Mess That Made Them! #booksky #nonfiction Enjoy: www.riteoffancy.com/2026/09/the-...

riteoffancy.com

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My personal mantra lately: A four-star rating is a good rating. A four-star rating is a good rating. A four-star rating is a good rating. #skywriters

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I have all sorts of negative things to say about Congress. I'll tell you a secret though. Of all the libraries that have accepted my book into their collection so far, the Library of Congress means the most. I teared up when I heard. C'mon, it's the de facto national library of the United States.

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The Mess That Made Them – The wide angle | Ryan T. Pozzi | ROROTOKO

"I am much more interested in persistence as an ongoing practice than in genius as an explanation." My thread on The Mess That Made Them is up at ROROTOKO today. #skywriters www.rorotoko.com/micro-interviews/20260911-pozzi-the-mess-that-made-them-the-wide-angle

rorotoko.com

What if the story of great art isn't lonely genius but stubborn, assisted, interrupted persistence? Drawing on his own burnout and return to writing, the author reads famous biographies against the…

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

So I'm mentally ill and I take meds. When I get refills, my 👩‍⚕️ likes to chat about how things are going. We had that chat recently and when I went to the pharmacy, this was waiting. (Spooky mug for scale.) I know it doesn't mean anything, but this def felt like a response to our conversation. 🙂😬

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I do a fair amount of checking in on the colleagues with whom I have close relationships. Sometimes they think it's weird and it takes time to adjust. What I think is creative professions are intensely difficult and often lonely. When a pal is doing the damn thing, checking in is part of my job.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Technology can be cool, but did I ever tell you how little I trust it in a live environment? That's why we make these giant physical PowerPoint slides for my talks. The words even fly in from the sides just like in the software, only slower bc I'm almost 50. (Photo credit: Katherine Hamilton-Smith)

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Quote of the night at CBPL on Monday: "I'd like to welcome Ryan T. Pozzi who's here tonight to talk about his book The Mess That Made Them [brief pause] and then there's a bunch of other stuff. It has a very long subtitle." -Adult Services Librarian Elisa Cruz

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Writing a book about people who kept working through uncertainty did not vaccinate me against uncertainty. It was never supposed to. This week in Life on the Midlist: why writing a book about persistence does not mean I’ve conquered fear, doubt, or the occasional Publishers Weekly-induced spiral.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I found out at my launch party that my wife's boss had seen Kusama's large scale work in person. I haven't yet had the pleasure. I'm a little sad we can't get away for an Amsterdam trip. #Kusama #artsky apnews.com/article/kusa...

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Reposted by Ryan T. Pozzi

Monday at 6:30 PM: Ryan T. Pozzi in conversation with Nebraska State Poet Emeritus Matt Mason. Free and open to the public at the Council Bluffs Public Library. The Bookworm will be on hand for all your bibliophile needs. #CBPL #tmtmt #LibraryLove #MyMidwestMessTour #authortalk

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You know the big 2-for-1 audiobook sale? Here's what I scored: -And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie -Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson -The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller -The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead 🧵

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What's the point, as an author, of hating on romance/romantasy/etc.? I don't read much of it myself, but I DO READ reading trend and unit sales reports so I'm fairly confident there wouldn't be contracts for nearly as many of "the rest of us" right now without those books. 🧵 #skywriters #booksky

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What an honor to be included (AND treated so well) at the Sower Books Second Bithday Bash. Here I am saying something about the nature of artmaking and here's what I've called in my head the Upcoming Events table with mei n the middle there (behind my new turtle friend.) #nonfiction #booktour #LNK

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The First is the Worst Interview with Non-Fiction Writer Ryan T. Pozzi

I sat down with my colleague and new friend James Edgar to make a video in which I seem determined to look like a villain with a nefarious plan. I am, but it didn't come up. Hear about my debut book and how it took shape. (We saved the masterplan for next time.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusg...

youtube.com

Welcome to The First is the Worst, the only podcast dedicated to helping writers perfect those opening pages before they reach the eyes of an editor or literary agent. I'd like to thank today's…

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I'll bet you didn't know that the wonderful twin actresses, whose praise graces the back cover of my book, are two of my wife's three sisters. You'd have to know that in order for these other blurbs we considered using, but rejected, to make sense. #skywriters #booksky #nonfiction

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One writer's morning affirmation. YMMV: "Get your life right you ********* ******** ***** of ****. What the **** is wrong with you? Do you even ******* have a ****** *** ****** or did you just get up this morning to ****** ****** and **** ********** up? Damn, dude."

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I know my bajillion author friends are doing EXACTLY what they have to do for their books and their careers, but I'll admit that the first thing I think every time a B&N preorder sale ends is, "Thank f---! Now my feed won't just be low key B&N ads."

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A new independent bookstore in Saint Louis, Missouri nestled where UCity meets Clayton. Popular and literary fiction, non-fiction, children's/YA, and all things writing and gifts.

Friends, Gold Shoe Books is having its grand opening today in St. Louis! I don't have a relationship with the shop (yet!) - it just felt like we could all use some good news and another bookstore opening is pretty much always good news! #booksky www.goldshoebooks.com

goldshoebooks.com

Gold Shoe Books

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

At the end of launch night standing between Nebraska's former state poet and the owner of The Tea Smith - who, in this photo, sadly for them, look a little like they're my new Weight Watchers coaches and they're gonna do whatever it takes, darn it, to help me lose the weight and keep it off! #tmtmt

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Things I learned while on tour in Lincoln this week #24: Always look to trains when you need advice or guidance in your life. #skywriters #booksky

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What an honor to be a BOTN nominee again this year! Here I thought 2026 would be all about the book and no lit mag love. I was wrong. There's always room for #litmaglove.

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Anne Sexton has entered the chat...

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Insomia is bad again - for reasons. This AM, I stumbled onto 2018ish YT videos of white folks doing First Reaction videos to Childish Gambino's This is America. Watching shock to revulsion to grief to realization makes me wanna write what I assume would be the zillionth essay on the power of art.

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I've mentioned at several public book events now that it doesn't feel real to me when the box of author copies shows up or even when I open that box and hold the book in my hand for the first time. It feels real when I can talk to readers. Here are some of the first regular book readers to review.

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