Brad Barkley
@bradbarkley.bsky.social
Novels, short story collections, and YA fiction published by Norton, St. Martin’s, and Penguin/Dutton. New work forthcoming from Regal House. NEA Fellowship. Repped by @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Bradbarkley.com
Pinned
🚨 Cover reveal! The Reel Life of Zara Kegg, coming June 2026 from Regal House.
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
I am very pleased to learn that my short story, “Glen 2.0” will be in the next issue of the wonderful Blue Mesa Review!
November 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I am very pleased to learn that my short story, “Glen 2.0” will be in the next issue of the wonderful Blue Mesa Review!
🚨 Cover reveal! The Reel Life of Zara Kegg, coming June 2026 from Regal House.
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
🚨 Cover reveal! The Reel Life of Zara Kegg, coming June 2026 from Regal House.
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
““Brilliant, funny, moving, unputdownable….I wish I had a zillion adjectives to describe this knockout of a book...” —Lesléa Newman
Preorder information coming soon! @regalhouse.bsky.social @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
THE REEL LIFE OF ZARA KEGG, cover reveal tomorrow! Stay tuned…, @regalhouse.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 8:10 PM
THE REEL LIFE OF ZARA KEGG, cover reveal tomorrow! Stay tuned…, @regalhouse.bsky.social
New novel is officially out on sub! #fingerscrossed @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
a cartoon of spongebob squarepants with a hat on his head
ALT: a cartoon of spongebob squarepants with a hat on his head
media.tenor.com
October 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
New novel is officially out on sub! #fingerscrossed @jennaschmenna.bsky.social
Thanks for the shout out!
The Shortlist for Oct 3:
Stories of life & death (& death):
Nonfiction:
Katrina Ralbag in @reckonreview.bsky.social
Fiction:
Wade Harris in @turnandwork.com
Kara Crawford @kara-c.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute
Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social in @flashfrog.bsky.social
(...cont'd)
Stories of life & death (& death):
Nonfiction:
Katrina Ralbag in @reckonreview.bsky.social
Fiction:
Wade Harris in @turnandwork.com
Kara Crawford @kara-c.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute
Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social in @flashfrog.bsky.social
(...cont'd)
The Shortlist for October 3, 2025 - Turn & Work
Nonfiction by Katrina Ralbag, and fiction from Kara Crawford, Daniel Abiva Hunt, Amy DeBellis, Brad Barkley, Kelli Short Borges, Trevor J. Houser, Robert Nazar Arjoyan, Wade Harris and Albert Rodrigue...
www.turnandwork.com
October 3, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Thanks for the shout out!
Very pleased to have my Work appear today in the amazing @flashfrog.bsky.social ! Thanks also to Ali for the beautiful artwork. ❤️
NEW STORY⚡️🐸
“Sunday Nights” by @bradbarkley.bsky.social is now up!
Art by Ali McLafferty
flash-frog.com/2025/09/29/s...
“Sunday Nights” by @bradbarkley.bsky.social is now up!
Art by Ali McLafferty
flash-frog.com/2025/09/29/s...
Sunday Nights by Brad Barkley
That evening, Winston dropped off his granddaughter Claire at her dad’s house, Steven opening the door before they rang the bell. Grunted thanks, alcohol breath. Seven years of awkward, screendoor …
flash-frog.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Very pleased to have my Work appear today in the amazing @flashfrog.bsky.social ! Thanks also to Ali for the beautiful artwork. ❤️
Reposted by Brad Barkley
Soooo freaking thrilled about this! I could not put Brad's book down... brilliant social commentary, gorgeous writing, layered characters that felt incredibly real... not to mention it has Bots and we all know I'm a sucker for 'em. 😂 Lit fic editors WATCH OUT. 👀
@stormliterary.bsky.social
@stormliterary.bsky.social
I’m thrilled to announce that I have signed with @stormliterary.bsky.social and the utterly awesome @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Happy to find such a smart, passionate partner! www.stormliteraryagency.com/brad-barkley...
Brad Barkley
Brad Barkley is the author of Money, Love and Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual , named among the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Library Journal . His short fiction has appeared...
www.stormliteraryagency.com
August 7, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Soooo freaking thrilled about this! I could not put Brad's book down... brilliant social commentary, gorgeous writing, layered characters that felt incredibly real... not to mention it has Bots and we all know I'm a sucker for 'em. 😂 Lit fic editors WATCH OUT. 👀
@stormliterary.bsky.social
@stormliterary.bsky.social
I’m thrilled to announce that I have signed with @stormliterary.bsky.social and the utterly awesome @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Happy to find such a smart, passionate partner! www.stormliteraryagency.com/brad-barkley...
Brad Barkley
Brad Barkley is the author of Money, Love and Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual , named among the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Library Journal . His short fiction has appeared...
www.stormliteraryagency.com
August 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I’m thrilled to announce that I have signed with @stormliterary.bsky.social and the utterly awesome @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Happy to find such a smart, passionate partner! www.stormliteraryagency.com/brad-barkley...
I wrote as a birthday celebration this blog post www.bradbarkley.com/post/advice-....
Advice to my younger writing self
We’re said to soften as we age, like bananas.Maybe, but don’t let aging soften you in your writing. Remember that a shift of perspective is not a softening of will.As you grow older, notice that shift...
www.bradbarkley.com
August 6, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I wrote as a birthday celebration this blog post www.bradbarkley.com/post/advice-....
TFW you get an acceptance from @flashfrog.bsky.social !
a man in front of a green chalkboard with the word yes on it
ALT: a man in front of a green chalkboard with the word yes on it
media.tenor.com
July 5, 2025 at 2:44 PM
TFW you get an acceptance from @flashfrog.bsky.social !
🎬 Enter the reel life.
One year from today, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg hits shelves — a witty, wistful YA novel about grief, love, and 150 inflatable Godzillas.
Cover reveal later this summer.
📽️ Coming June 16, 2026, from Regal House Publishing. @regalhouse.bsky.social
One year from today, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg hits shelves — a witty, wistful YA novel about grief, love, and 150 inflatable Godzillas.
Cover reveal later this summer.
📽️ Coming June 16, 2026, from Regal House Publishing. @regalhouse.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 5:43 PM
🎬 Enter the reel life.
One year from today, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg hits shelves — a witty, wistful YA novel about grief, love, and 150 inflatable Godzillas.
Cover reveal later this summer.
📽️ Coming June 16, 2026, from Regal House Publishing. @regalhouse.bsky.social
One year from today, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg hits shelves — a witty, wistful YA novel about grief, love, and 150 inflatable Godzillas.
Cover reveal later this summer.
📽️ Coming June 16, 2026, from Regal House Publishing. @regalhouse.bsky.social
“The novel you’re working on right now doesn’t know you’ve written other novels before.” —John Irving
May 23, 2025 at 3:07 PM
“The novel you’re working on right now doesn’t know you’ve written other novels before.” —John Irving
When you write the first draft of a novel, all you’re doing is making clay. After that work is done, you now have a big lump of clay sitting in front of you on your desk. Here’s when the real work begins of sculpting it, shaping it, turning it into something. #amwriting
May 22, 2025 at 11:52 AM
When you write the first draft of a novel, all you’re doing is making clay. After that work is done, you now have a big lump of clay sitting in front of you on your desk. Here’s when the real work begins of sculpting it, shaping it, turning it into something. #amwriting
Writers, you can fix a bad page; you can’t fix a blank one.
May 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Writers, you can fix a bad page; you can’t fix a blank one.
New blog post today. I hope you give it a look! www.bradbarkley.com/post/three-n...?
Three Novels, One Brain
I haven't blogged for a while. Here's why.Right now I’m working on three novels at once. Not in a vague, “ideas in the air” kind of way—these are real, active projects, all at different stages. One is...
www.bradbarkley.com
May 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM
New blog post today. I hope you give it a look! www.bradbarkley.com/post/three-n...?
Write what you know” doesn’t mean limit yourself. It means pay attention. To how people talk. To what hurts. To the weird stuff you remember. Write what you know emotionally.
May 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Write what you know” doesn’t mean limit yourself. It means pay attention. To how people talk. To what hurts. To the weird stuff you remember. Write what you know emotionally.
If revising your novel isn’t hard, you’re not doing it right.
May 12, 2025 at 5:31 PM
If revising your novel isn’t hard, you’re not doing it right.
Most writing advice is just disguised anxiety. Be OK with bad first drafts and and write often. You’ll be fine.
May 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Most writing advice is just disguised anxiety. Be OK with bad first drafts and and write often. You’ll be fine.
The main thing a writer needs is practice. Not inspiration, not a special pen, not a cabin in the woods. Just hours. It’s unsexy, hard to romanticize, but it’s how the work gets done—one page, one bad sentence at a time.
May 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The main thing a writer needs is practice. Not inspiration, not a special pen, not a cabin in the woods. Just hours. It’s unsexy, hard to romanticize, but it’s how the work gets done—one page, one bad sentence at a time.
In writing fiction, don’t forget to look inward. Your weird little obsessions? Priceless. Mine them and dig deep.
May 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
In writing fiction, don’t forget to look inward. Your weird little obsessions? Priceless. Mine them and dig deep.
In non-genre fiction, ghosts aren’t dead people. They’re regrets, mistakes, missed chances.
May 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
In non-genre fiction, ghosts aren’t dead people. They’re regrets, mistakes, missed chances.
In fiction, as in life, too much clarity of detail is often a lie.
May 6, 2025 at 11:57 AM
In fiction, as in life, too much clarity of detail is often a lie.
Writing is mostly trying to sound like you’re not trying to sound like anything.
May 5, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Writing is mostly trying to sound like you’re not trying to sound like anything.
“Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
— David Foster Wallace #SundaySentence
— David Foster Wallace #SundaySentence
May 4, 2025 at 5:44 PM
“Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
— David Foster Wallace #SundaySentence
— David Foster Wallace #SundaySentence
The old adage says, “every story is a love story,“ but really every story is a ghost story. Everyone’s haunted by something.
May 3, 2025 at 11:32 PM
The old adage says, “every story is a love story,“ but really every story is a ghost story. Everyone’s haunted by something.