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Eleni Vlachos

@youbigtalker.bsky.social
143 followers 192 following 74 posts

📚 Fiction, CNF & Op-Eds ✏️ | Reading like a writer: elenidvlachos.substack.com | #comedy skits | Drums @BelovedBinge 🥁| 1/2 Greek 🇬🇷💃 | #vegan cupcakes 🧁| Articles in @NewRepublic, @rfpress @PhillyInquirer.

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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 21h
So very honored to be nominated for the 2027 #BestoftheNetAnthology by this beautiful lit magazine 🥰
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 21h
Aw, just saw this post a few weeks too late! Need to be better with this app. Thank you so much, I'm honored to work with you and read your great writing before it goes to the presses!
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
So happy to be included!
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
ICYMI: Understanding Birdsong--my piece exploring how both memory loss and recovery shapes relationships--is in the beautifully curated Turning leaf Journal. Thank you to everyone who has read and shared their own Nana experiences 🥹
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
New fiction! Migrations explores—through the story of a young girl working at her father’s restaurant—the intersection between tourism, forced migration, and survival. It also asks: Does preserving a culture mean embalming it? elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/migrations
elenidvlachos.substack.com
Migrations
New fiction published in The Marlowe Review
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
A fantastic resource for writers submitting work. Thank you, Brecht.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
So happy to have a piece published today in The Turning Leaf Journal! This one is close to my heart. In Understanding Birdsong, I explore my changing relationship with my Nana, asking how past relationships affect the present, and, when you are forgotten...what remains?
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
So happy to have Understanding Birdsong included! Look forward to reading all of the pieces!
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
So excited for this! Thanks for getting the word out. I also love the cover.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
So excited my #CNF piece Understanding Birdsong will be publishing here June 15th! It explores the play of memory and forgetting on relationships through the story of my Nana and our mysterious journey from combatants to companions. Can't wait to read the other stories! #WriterSky #AuthorSky
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
It is this nothing that interests me. For what else can we fill our time with but these daily repeated questions of living? Reading I Who Have Never Known Men by #JacquelineHarpman The post: elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/when-almos... #booksky #writingcommunity #writerssky #WriterSky
Picture of alien sitting in front of wooden fake wall with the title When Almost Nothing Happens (but it's still great)
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Now reading! Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Have you read it? Played opera to accompany (Marie Callas) and going to her museum this Friday here in Athens. Love it when one form of art encourages the exploration of another (even not on purpose). #annpatchett #belcanto #books #writingcommunity
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Happy to share! "Magpies Don't Lie" was such a strong piece.
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Reposted by Eleni Vlachos
Diane D. Gillette @ddgwriter.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Thanks to @youbigtalker.bsky.social for the shout-out on her Substack. elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/grabbing-a... I'm honored to have my story appear in the same issue as her powerful CNF "Starving Art."
elenidvlachos.substack.com
Grabbing (and keeping) reader attention
Reading select fellow authors in The Spotlong Review
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
My creative nonfiction flash piece explores art, animal, and icon; the sacred and sacrilege. Big thanks to #TheSpotlongReview for publishing! elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/starving-a... #writersky #writingcommunity #authorsky #newwriting
elenidvlachos.substack.com
"Starving Art" published by Spotlong Review!
My creative nonfiction flash piece explores art, animal, and icon; the sacred and sacrilege.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
To me, "voice" is the joy of an unexpected ride. It is when your quirky friend says something at once embarrassing and true and wonderful and terrible. You ask: what’s next? #TheWhiteHot #WritingCommunity #WriterSky My latest "Reading like a writer" > > elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/voice-all-...
elenidvlachos.substack.com
Voice all over the place
Reading The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
For all you flashers out there
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Why wait to go to the perfect #writingretreat? Create your own! My one-week experiment in Spetses, Greece: elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/my-island-... #WritingCommunity #WriterSky #Authorsky
elenidvlachos.substack.com
My island writing retreat
How I spent a week in Spetses typing away, not getting hit by motorcycles, and more
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
My favorite part of #FightClub arrived in the Afterward, which might imply this was a one-star book for me, but the actual takeaway from my reading like a writer experience was more complex than star rankings: elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/im-talking... #WriterSky #onwriting #readerwriter #booksky
elenidvlachos.substack.com
I'm talking about the Fight Club
Breaking rules with Chuck Palahniuk
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Just published: My First Rescue Can! A satirical look at one reaction to the rescue movement. Spoiler: It involves canimal rights. Thanks to Laughs not Slaughs for publishing! medium.com/laughs-not-s... #humorwriting #veganhumor
medium.com
My First Rescue Can!
The case for canimal rights.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
While writing, I often forget the mundane—plates, pens, tissue boxes—in favor of the central drama or dialogue. In so doing I miss a large part of what makes us human: our accessories and what we do with them. On reading #Audition by #KatieKitamura as a #writer: open.substack.com/pub/elenidvl...
open.substack.com
The joy of finding your audience
Reading Audition, Katie Kitamura's lovely disorienting novel
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Hello! Earlier this AM I did my daily ten-minute yoga. The instructor always asks viewers to set an intention. Mine is predictably always the same: WRITE! Thank you for asking.
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Reposted by Eleni Vlachos
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 28/01/2026
"While it may have looked like a shooting, it was actually a 'rapid de-escalation outcome.' We recognize that phrases like that may sound invented, which is why we ask you to repeat them anyway."
buff.ly
A Message from Your Federal Overlords
“Even as videos emerged that contradicted the government’s account, the Trump administration was in a race to control the narrative around the kill...
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Reposted by Eleni Vlachos
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 28/01/2026
A class-action lawsuit notes that detainees refer to the California City ICE Detention Facility as a “torture chamber” and “hell on Earth.” An attorney said that conditions are so terrible that those held there are resigning themselves to self-deportation. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/2qOQj9
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
The Cruel Conditions of ICE’s Mojave Desert Detention Center
How immigration authorities have weaponized medical neglect to encourage self-deportations.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Recently, I listened to an excellent #HiddenBrain podcast episode “Murder Mystery” exploring why we are drawn to true crime. I just finished Jesus’ Son by the late Denis Johnson. You will understand why this is a segue if you’ve read him: open.substack.com/pub/elenidvl... #nowreading #writers
open.substack.com
We humans love a good mess
Reading Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Whether we call it imposter syndrome or low-self esteem, many writers struggle pursuing individual voice... Regardless of the supposed requirement to toss aside the need for permission, reading adventurous works eschewing conventional standards gives me courage: open.substack.com/pub/elenidvl...
open.substack.com
Courage to write like a Samurai
The permission I received from Helen DeWitt's classic
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
A year in books--what were your top reads in '25? "Absorb as many stories as you physically can. Introduce yourself to lots of great writing. To lots of mediocre writing too. This is your most important task.” —Haruki Murakami elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/2025-in-bo...
elenidvlachos.substack.com
2025 in Books
How did your reading go? Did it inform your writing?
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Thanks for asking! Just finished Like Life by Lorrie Moore, a collection of short stories from '89 I believe. Absolutely love her writing.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
Just started #James by Percival Everett after slogging through the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. #currentlyreading #nowreading
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Tho I must say, I personally always heard rap & hip-hop as music. First song I heard/loved: Roxanne's Revenge.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Also just reserved his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being. ✨
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
For all you creatives--such an inspiring interview w/ #RickRubin on the creative process. He also helped naysayers hear hip-hop as "music" by mixing the familiar with the lesser known in Walk This Way. Is the known/unknown marriage a key to creating idea accessibility? youtu.be/QGKFVmxbGBw?...
youtu.be
Rick Rubin on How to Make Something Great (Update) | People I (Mostly) Admire
YouTube video by Freakonomics Radio Network
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Yes! I watched part of The Substance but could not finish. Then I spite-read a review echoing the one you posted here (including problems with the premise). Though I will say that on-the-nose or paint-by-numbers entertainment is not a new phenomenon, it can be discouraging!
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
I am #currentlyreading Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. In the vein of Pound's observation "poetry is news that stays news," there is much to appreciate here in Akbar's astute observations. Have you read it? #martyr #kavehakbar
Cover of book Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Currently reading #LastExitToBrooklyn. A little rough around the edges (a little?) & most likely added "to read" due to author's lack of a guiding hand & my own novel's attempting same [(no use of " " -- even no apostrophes to avoid holding down the "shift" key (!) used "/" instead (eg, isn/t)].
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Pelvis chickens 😆
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Introducing...Paxon's Prose Pantomime! A new weekly series where Paxon interprets prose from established literature via his pantomime talents. Up first: "they jog their hands around their waist..." open.substack.com/pub/elenidvl...
open.substack.com
Introducing...Paxon's Prose Pantomime!
Interpretations of published prose
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Just finished reading #SelfHelp by #LorrieMoore. Picked up the collection after reading "How to become a writer." Such excellent work, published in 1985--how did I not know about this author/book? So good. Have you read any of her work?
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
I’ve made the (controversial) choice not to use quotation marks (speech tags) around dialogue in my #WIP. Should I die on this hill? More in this short #Substack: elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/dont-quote... #litfic #literaryfiction #speechtags #writing #writers #howto #books #novels
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Finally bought this for my new #Kobo. How beautifully O' Brien breaks writing rules. Admittedly, I was intrigued by the author's own life trajectory and autobiographical nature of this work. Have you read? #nowreading #literaryfiction #litfic #writing #writers #books #novels #leavinglasvegas
Pictures of casinos on the book cover of Leaving Las Vegas
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
In what other industry do we celebrate rejection? My latest on tiered rejections: elenidvlachos.substack.com/p/for-the-lo... Have you received a tiered rejection? ❌ Leave a comment below 📩 #tieredrejections #submitting #writers #writing #literaryjournals #literaryfiction
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Thank you for the tip! I love Vuong's titles. I would be curious to give him another try. I ended up not enjoying The Emperor of Gladness as I got further into the story, but his writing can be so beautiful that I would give it another go.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Ah, interesting about the break! I felt the same way, but plodded on. Overall I ended up not enjoying the characters/story but the observations & language was still beautiful.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Ah! Enjoyed that book, overall. Maybe 3/4 of the way in I felt a bit lost/tired of the trajectory, but found my way back as I recall. Enjoy!
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Now reading! Enjoying the gorgeous prose so far ... have you read anything by Vuong? #literaryfiction #vuong
book cover with title The Emperor of Gladness, A novel by Ocean Vuong. Pic of a young man in orange slightly slouching.
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Anyone else in the writing community here on Substack? Let me know your link. Mine follows: elenidvlachos.substack.com?r=ez5db&utm_...
elenidvlachos.substack.com
Eleni D. Vlachos | Substack
I write literary fiction exploring our need to be heard and the interplay between compassion, civilization, and wildness. Eleni's latest short story, A View of Hotel Poseidon, was published by Roi Fai...
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
From my 2019 piece, Stranger. "Xenos is the needle that weaves unknown threads into the fabric of civilization. Sometimes that needle is piercing, invasion, colonialism. Other times, it’s holding everything together — including our civilization." medium.com/@elenivlacho...
medium.com
Stranger
The word “xenos” translated as “stranger” in Greek embodies a range of meanings from possible enemy to a most welcoming “guest friend.”…
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Began #4321 by Paul Auster. Adjusting to 4 different lives of the protagonist, but enjoying overall. Have you read? My husband thought it was Auster's own efforts to encapsulate his life's possibilities near the edge of his own end, which I find possible. #nowreading #paulauster
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
The story: www.roifaineantpress.com/post/a-view-...
roifaineantpress.com
"A View of Hotel Poseidon" by Eleni Vlachos
Reviews are actual. Story is fictitious. *1 starwe all basically had to get drunk so we could make it through the night When the five-star reviews slipped, George’s family gossiped: He was never equip...
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Eleni Vlachos @youbigtalker.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Do people make trailers for short stories? It is a lot of fun. I made a 30-second trailer to celebrate A View of Hotel Poseidon. I think I captured its "tone." #humor #fiction #shortstories www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Wr...
youtube.com
New fiction #humor
YouTube video by You Big Talker
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