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Sheldon Costa

@sheldoncosta.bsky.social
185 followers 279 following 193 posts

Writer and miniaturist. Author of THE GREAT WORK Conjunctions | Georgia Review | Electric Literature | Michigan Quarterly | Swamp Pink He/him www.sheldoncosta.com

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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Hit a huge milestone* in the new novel this week. *Talked about hagfish and brine pools
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izzy @isobel.top · 11/08/2026
logging into bluesky
chrono trigger screenshot:

Welcome to the Millennial Fair!
Have fun!
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Heard u like stories about wounded men going on quests to escape their grief, only to find themselves confronted by the inevitable decline of their rapacious civilization bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org
The Great Work
An alchemist and his teenage nephew pursue a legendary river monster across the nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest in a desperate quest to conquer death, blending literary fantasy, folklore, and sup...
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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 18/07/2026
Being brave and reposting praise because I do need clients/a job 😅 (thank you Lindsay ilu)
jesszimmerman.com
Editing
I was formerly an editor at  Quirk Books  (2021–2025), specializing in gift and lifestyle nonfiction as well as genre fiction, and the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature  (2017–2021),...
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Best cultural oracle in the bizz
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Goldstein (still not a pseudonym) @goldstein.latinsky.app · 12/07/2026
Here is Graham gloating about "killing all the right people." Just in case you see anyone try to do the whole "we should have decency for the dead" nonsense.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
“The Great Work” (2025)
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
👀👀👀
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
No 😊
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the Labubus herself
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Actually think this was one of the movie's greatest weaknesses. Trying to imagine a group like this operating in a (presumably?) post-9/11 America so thoroughly strains credulity that it makes the whole movie kind of feel like a farce.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Lot of people seem to think it's stodgy to ask a film that drapes itself in the aesthetics of radical politics to have something meaningful to say about those politics beyond "the children are the future"??
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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 14/03/2026
Altman's "intelligence as a metered service" captures the AI moment well—it's an attempt at the formal subsumption of ever-finer microrealms of human labour embedded within capitalist production. You already have an underpaid email job but what if you also had to pay the machine to write your emails
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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 11/03/2026
If you’re considering asking an AI slop golem for help with your writing project, why not ask me, a real person who is good at this, instead?
jesszimmerman.com
Editing
I was formerly an editor at  Quirk Books  (2021–2025), specializing in gift and lifestyle nonfiction as well as genre fiction, and the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature  (2017–2021),...
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Bob @definitelyjustbob.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Hey, if you're feeling like life has passed you by and you're too old to start something new, remember that John Brown was 55 before he killed his first pro-slavery settler in the Kansas Territory. It's never too late to follow your dreams.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Sitting down to write, the thing I supposedly love and have dedicated my life to:
A mottled, pale E.T laying face down in a river, presumably on the edge of death
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Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
We asked @shaykauwe.bsky.social for her best book of '25, the book she'd love for Xmas & her anticipated read of '26. Read the full article: geni.us/SolarisBks2025 to find out why she picked @sgj.bsky.social @kealakendall.bsky.social & @sheldoncosta.bsky.social! geni.us/killingspell
The author and their books:
Shay Kauwe author of THE KILLING SPELL

The book they'd love for Christmas
THE GREAT WORK

Their favourite reads of 2025
THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones

Their anticipated read of 2026
THAT WHICH FEEDS US.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
"We weren't meant to live like this." No. Every day I sit down and absorb my computer's beatific glow and immeditately know I am exactly where I need to be. My little brain wallows in infinite dopamine like a pig in its beloved mud. I am at peace.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
New essay out with @lithub.com.web.brid.gy about how making Little Guys helped me come to terms with the publishing world
lithub.com
One Man’s Trash: Reflections on a Failed Novel
I started trash bashing three weeks after it became clear to me that my first novel was not going to sell. I’d tried to be honest with myself, from the moment the manuscript went out on submission,…
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Matt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
I loved this @sheldoncosta.bsky.social essay on "failure", and am excited for his novel The Great Work. "I felt an odd sort of ambivalence about whether the book would be published. Obviously I was nervous, but a rejection in my inbox no longer sent me spiraling. I’d done all I could, after all."
lithub.com
One Man’s Trash: Reflections on a Failed Novel
I started trash bashing three weeks after it became clear to me that my first novel was not going to sell. I’d tried to be honest with myself, from the moment the manuscript went out on submission,…
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Holy shit
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Northern lights book photo
A photo of my novel, The Great Work, in front of a red sky at night
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Locus Magazine @locusmag.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
#TheGreatWork by @sheldoncosta is featured in our #newbooks wrap on youtube!! watch: youtu.be/pcox9OUZIKw buy the books: bookshop.org/lists/n... #booksky @Quirkbooks
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Listen: Jess edited my book and it got starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly AND it was an Indie Next pick. Coincidence? I think not! If you're working on a writing project I guarantee Jess will make it better!
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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
the November horror shopping list is live! feat. new titles from @laurelhightower.bsky.social @christinahenry.bsky.social @sheldoncosta.bsky.social @lormaggot.ca @peterclines.bsky.social @vlatinalondon.bsky.social @beatriceiker.bsky.social @drewhuff.bsky.social @victormanibo.com & more!
readjumpscares.com
All the New Horror Books Coming in November 2025
November 2025’s new horror books, featuring titles from Oyinkan Braithwaite, Laurel Hightower, Christina Henry, Peter Clines, Beatrice Winifred Iker, Drew Huff, and more!
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Marielle Hellraiser 💀 @mags.colvett.online · 05/11/2025
Psyched for this one—Sheldon and I were MFA cohort-mates in a cohort full of genius weirdos but I was always exceptionally excited to see what came out of his weird brain and the sidelong occult grandness of its sensibilities; really delighted to roll around in that for a whole-ass book
My hand holding up The Great Work by Sheldon Costa, with gorgeous cover art of a ghostly salamander surrounded by greenery, bones, and alchemical symbols
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
How am I celebrating the launch of my book, you ask? Same as any author: by admiring the tiny diorama I made depicting a scene from the first chapter:
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Caroline Eisenmann @carolineeisenmann.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Happiest of publication days to this utterly singular, extremely good novel. An adventure story, an exploration of the rotten heart of the American frontier myth, a tender meditation on male friendship and making a family, and a truly freaky novel about alchemy and hunting a giant salamander.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
My book The Great Work comes out today! Still can't quite believe this is a thing that is happening. Special thanks to my extremely talented editor @jesszimmerman.com and my wonderful agent @carolineeisenmann.bsky.social, both of whom were steadfast champions for this very weird novel.
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Great Work by Sheldon Costa: 9781683695059 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
“Not to be missed.”—Booklist “A moody, atmospheric, and singular novel which navigates corners of American history through the complicated territory of horror, the monstrous,...
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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 04/11/2025
Happy pub day to The Great Work! So proud of @sheldoncosta.bsky.social and his weird, dark, charming, picaresque child
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Great Work by Sheldon Costa: 9781683695059 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
“Not to be missed.”—Booklist “A moody, atmospheric, and singular novel which navigates corners of American history through the complicated territory of horror, the monstrous,...
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Quirk Books @quirkbooks.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Happy book birthday to THE GREAT WORK by @sheldoncosta.bsky.social, a "not to be missed" (BOOKLIST) profound and unsettling speculative Western perfect for fans of LONE WOMEN, THE ANTIDOTE, and THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR. Pick up your copy wherever you buy your books!
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Oh god new pandemic coming
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
The Great Work got a starred review from Kirkus 🥲 "Whether Gentle is a visionary or a drunk, whether the salamander is a creature of flesh or a shared delusion, and ultimately, the meaning of the mission is as much about human frailty and grace as the nightmares that stalk the page."
kirkusreviews.com
THE GREAT WORK | Kirkus Reviews
A shy young man joins his eccentric uncle on a wild hunt to kill a dragon and raise the dead.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
A starred review for The Great Work from @publisherswkly.bsky.social! "This is a weird western done right: surprising, bizarre, occasionally grim, but ultimately life-affirming."
publishersweekly.com
The Great Work by Sheldon Costa
Debut novelist Costa sets this astounding tale of alchemy, prophecy, and adventure in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in 1889. Ge...
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
The verdict is in: my book is not annoying!
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
Oof. Feeling this one.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Cool that the democratic consultant class has built its "abundance" messaging around how great Texas is when every headline I see out of that state is some variation of "A lack of regulation brought a new data center to this small town. But now its slowly driving everyone nearbye insane."
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Simon and Gargamel @kellylink.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Y’all, one of the great joys of bookshop.org is that you can select a bookstore to buy from—pick a fav from a city you used to live in, or a bookstore you’ve always wanted to visit, or your local! If you pick BINC, a percentage goes to indie booksellers who have applied for financial relief. ❤️
bookshop.org
Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Jess is an absolute rockstar! Genuinly one of the smartest people I've ever had the privledge of working with. Huge opportunity here if you're looking for an editor.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Huge news for people who like good books!!
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Yeah, it’s called writing a novel
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
“This is just a distraction” yeah it’s distracting me from being fucking miserable, bud
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Vivian Jenna Wilson @thevivllainous.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Such beauty in life
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Genuinly not trying to be mean but if you think describing a "secret paranormal fish hospital for nyads" sounds boring maybe you just don't really like writing all that much?
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Big second on this!!! My book would not be nearly as good if it weren’t for @jesszimmerman.com. It’s such a special privilege to get to work with someone who seems to know your work better than you do.
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The flying castle from Howl’s Moving Castle
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
My only consolation here is that I know these people would barely make it a year before they all started eating one another. Would rather die in nuclear fire than be forced to spend any amount of time stuck in a hole with the world's Worst Possible Humans
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Been having a ton of conversations lately where I find myself defending art that leaves us in a state of uncertainty. Nice to have an essay to share that perfectly articulates my feelings!
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Sheldon Costa @sheldoncosta.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
My Big Opinion is that there is a pretty direct link between Americans’ increasing disinterest in art that confounds them and their pivot towards fascism. Hardly a new insight but incredibly defeating all the same.
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