Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
@kevinmacdonell.bsky.social
Writer and lifelong diarist. Nova Scotia, Canada. Creative nonfiction, personal essays. Recent/forthcoming: Malahat Review, Queen’s Quarterly, Grain, Dalhousie Review, Camel, Rural Delivery, Riddle Fence, Globe & Mail. A.I.-free since 1969.
Pinned
Hi, new followers! I’m Kevin (he/him). Cape Breton, Nova Scotia raised. Diarist, writer of CNF, essays, memoir. Not very clever. Bewildered mostly. Recovering middle-management cog. Formerly lost in dark wood; emerging out the other side. Finally giving power and time to creative work.
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
in light of today's events, i want to share a story i was told during a study abroad summer in italy, where i took a class on the rise of fascism.
the picture below is the site of a mass grave. captive partisans were brought here by nazis, forced to dig, and then executed on the spot.
the picture below is the site of a mass grave. captive partisans were brought here by nazis, forced to dig, and then executed on the spot.
January 24, 2026 at 10:08 PM
in light of today's events, i want to share a story i was told during a study abroad summer in italy, where i took a class on the rise of fascism.
the picture below is the site of a mass grave. captive partisans were brought here by nazis, forced to dig, and then executed on the spot.
the picture below is the site of a mass grave. captive partisans were brought here by nazis, forced to dig, and then executed on the spot.
If America wants Greenland, well then. Greenland will come to them.
January 24, 2026 at 1:04 PM
If America wants Greenland, well then. Greenland will come to them.
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Join us for this 90-minute workshop next month. FREE for members. $30 for non-members. Register here: creativenonfictioncollective.ca/programming/...
January 22, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Join us for this 90-minute workshop next month. FREE for members. $30 for non-members. Register here: creativenonfictioncollective.ca/programming/...
I’ve got something else on the first night of this two-night workshop put on by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (Cory Lavender presenting), but it sounds fascinating! "Overwhelm and desensitization are the cultural norm; artists counter them through attentiveness. …."
Listening to Ourselves (virtual) with Cory Lavender
Workshop Tuesdays, Feb 17 & 24 (7pm – 9pm) Registration open
writers.ns.ca
January 22, 2026 at 12:54 AM
I’ve got something else on the first night of this two-night workshop put on by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (Cory Lavender presenting), but it sounds fascinating! "Overwhelm and desensitization are the cultural norm; artists counter them through attentiveness. …."
A reminder to GET OFF AMERICAN TECH NOW.
Google Starts Scanning Your Photos For People And Places—Decision Time
Google's new Gemini offer is a game-changer — make sure you understand the risks.
www.forbes.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
A reminder to GET OFF AMERICAN TECH NOW.
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
The 2026 Nova Writes Competition is open for submissions until JAN 22!
NS emerging writers, send us your submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or writing for children. All entries receive feedback and winners are published in our annual anthology.
writers.ns.ca/programs/nov...
NS emerging writers, send us your submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or writing for children. All entries receive feedback and winners are published in our annual anthology.
writers.ns.ca/programs/nov...
January 15, 2026 at 9:20 PM
The 2026 Nova Writes Competition is open for submissions until JAN 22!
NS emerging writers, send us your submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or writing for children. All entries receive feedback and winners are published in our annual anthology.
writers.ns.ca/programs/nov...
NS emerging writers, send us your submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or writing for children. All entries receive feedback and winners are published in our annual anthology.
writers.ns.ca/programs/nov...
It is time for Ottawa to make adjustments to its (apparent) priorities. @mark-carney.bsky.social
January 14, 2026 at 9:20 PM
It is time for Ottawa to make adjustments to its (apparent) priorities. @mark-carney.bsky.social
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Did you catch our December newsletter? Read interviews with Novella Prize judges & an issue 232 contributor, info on our upcoming issue 233 launch party, and more! open.substack.com/pub/malahatr...
December 2025 newsletter
issue 12, volume 22
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Did you catch our December newsletter? Read interviews with Novella Prize judges & an issue 232 contributor, info on our upcoming issue 233 launch party, and more! open.substack.com/pub/malahatr...
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
New to nonfiction writing? This upcoming workshop series is for you!
Foundations of Nonfiction with Tina Capalbo, Andrea Currie, & Darryl Whetter
Sundays, Jan 18 to Mar 15 (1-3pm AST)
Open to both WFNS members and nonmembers 😀
writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/foundations-of-nonfiction-winter-2026
Foundations of Nonfiction with Tina Capalbo, Andrea Currie, & Darryl Whetter
Sundays, Jan 18 to Mar 15 (1-3pm AST)
Open to both WFNS members and nonmembers 😀
writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/foundations-of-nonfiction-winter-2026
January 13, 2026 at 1:21 PM
New to nonfiction writing? This upcoming workshop series is for you!
Foundations of Nonfiction with Tina Capalbo, Andrea Currie, & Darryl Whetter
Sundays, Jan 18 to Mar 15 (1-3pm AST)
Open to both WFNS members and nonmembers 😀
writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/foundations-of-nonfiction-winter-2026
Foundations of Nonfiction with Tina Capalbo, Andrea Currie, & Darryl Whetter
Sundays, Jan 18 to Mar 15 (1-3pm AST)
Open to both WFNS members and nonmembers 😀
writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/foundations-of-nonfiction-winter-2026
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Still a few seats left in our upcoming virtual workshop "How to Self-Edit Your Novel" with Sarah Mian!
Workshop starts tomorrow (January 13) and runs on Tuesday evenings for five weeks.
Register here: writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/self-edit-your-novel-mian-2026/
Workshop starts tomorrow (January 13) and runs on Tuesday evenings for five weeks.
Register here: writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/self-edit-your-novel-mian-2026/
January 12, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Still a few seats left in our upcoming virtual workshop "How to Self-Edit Your Novel" with Sarah Mian!
Workshop starts tomorrow (January 13) and runs on Tuesday evenings for five weeks.
Register here: writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/self-edit-your-novel-mian-2026/
Workshop starts tomorrow (January 13) and runs on Tuesday evenings for five weeks.
Register here: writers.ns.ca/workshops-events/self-edit-your-novel-mian-2026/
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Given daily revelations about promotion of vile uses of AI & constant evidence of algorithmic privileging of far-right causes, anyone staying on X & claiming that they do so to sustain a pocket of progressivism on there is simply deluding themselves & creating the traffic that helps X survive
Leave
Leave
January 5, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Given daily revelations about promotion of vile uses of AI & constant evidence of algorithmic privileging of far-right causes, anyone staying on X & claiming that they do so to sustain a pocket of progressivism on there is simply deluding themselves & creating the traffic that helps X survive
Leave
Leave
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Makers, dreamers, peddlers of whimsy and art (or your cats) Do NOT stop posting here.
Post without apology, without fear of feeling your contribution to this moment to be trite or unnecessary.
Your posts keep us all regulated, alive to joy, connected to our shared humanity.
You are necessary.
Post without apology, without fear of feeling your contribution to this moment to be trite or unnecessary.
Your posts keep us all regulated, alive to joy, connected to our shared humanity.
You are necessary.
January 8, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Makers, dreamers, peddlers of whimsy and art (or your cats) Do NOT stop posting here.
Post without apology, without fear of feeling your contribution to this moment to be trite or unnecessary.
Your posts keep us all regulated, alive to joy, connected to our shared humanity.
You are necessary.
Post without apology, without fear of feeling your contribution to this moment to be trite or unnecessary.
Your posts keep us all regulated, alive to joy, connected to our shared humanity.
You are necessary.
The BBC needs to be on nazi propaganda sites and child porn sites because, you know, they need to get the word out there.
Tim Davie says BBC will stay on X to try to stem ‘flood’ of global misinformation
Director general says BBC needs to reach young audiences online amid pressure to leave Elon Musk-owned site
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:13 PM
The BBC needs to be on nazi propaganda sites and child porn sites because, you know, they need to get the word out there.
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Just a reminder that the deadline for the Poet Laureate Mental Health Poem Project is February 28, 2026! Please write me at plmhpoemproject@gmail.com to receive the invitation letter and consent form to submit along with your work!
January 8, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Just a reminder that the deadline for the Poet Laureate Mental Health Poem Project is February 28, 2026! Please write me at plmhpoemproject@gmail.com to receive the invitation letter and consent form to submit along with your work!
Repressive regimes kill poets but Poetry is immortal.
January 8, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Repressive regimes kill poets but Poetry is immortal.
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...”
A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.
lithub.com/renee-nicole...
A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.
lithub.com/renee-nicole...
Renee Nicole Good, murdered by ICE, was a prize-winning poet. Here’s that poem.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, mother to a six-year-old boy, was murdered earlier today by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, a few blocks from her home. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune: [An ICE agent] s…
lithub.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:54 AM
“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...”
A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.
lithub.com/renee-nicole...
A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.
lithub.com/renee-nicole...
I remember this time last January the writing year started with a lot of what I call pencil-sharpening. Starting slow didn’t hurt.
January 3, 2026 at 7:18 PM
I remember this time last January the writing year started with a lot of what I call pencil-sharpening. Starting slow didn’t hurt.
“… in an age when the digital communication tools we’ve come to rely on over the past two decades are becoming less and less reliable, and more and more tightly controlled, a return to old-school print is a way of pushing back.” Yes! Power to ‘em!
‘The internet is dead.’ Long live print | CBC Arts
Flyers, posters, zines: they've always been important to the DIY music scene, but now that everything’s enshittified, print is the best line of communication in our post-search age.
www.cbc.ca
January 3, 2026 at 5:04 PM
“… in an age when the digital communication tools we’ve come to rely on over the past two decades are becoming less and less reliable, and more and more tightly controlled, a return to old-school print is a way of pushing back.” Yes! Power to ‘em!
I save PDFs of good essays read online, and I have more than 50 about AI as it relates to writing and publishing. I’m at saturation point, I’ve decided. A resolution for the new year: AI is like crypto. I don’t need to read another piece either for or against. Finito!
December 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I save PDFs of good essays read online, and I have more than 50 about AI as it relates to writing and publishing. I’m at saturation point, I’ve decided. A resolution for the new year: AI is like crypto. I don’t need to read another piece either for or against. Finito!
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Welp no more donating to Dalhousie University
NS govt partnering with Dal University to open up onshore drilling for natural gas early in 2026. NS has $30 million to assist companies with exploration costs.
December 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Welp no more donating to Dalhousie University
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
I just uploaded @jasonparis.bsky.social 's recording of the segment CBS News pulled from "60 Minutes" to YouTube:
WATCH: Segment CBS News Pulled From "60 Minutes"
YouTube video by Phil Lewis
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:45 PM
I just uploaded @jasonparis.bsky.social 's recording of the segment CBS News pulled from "60 Minutes" to YouTube:
Reposted by Kevin MacDonell (he/him)
Cigarettes aren't coming for your body -- they're already here. Our new Smoking for Health Bootcamp gives your heart and lungs the chemicals and carcinogens to die quicker.
AI isn’t coming to publishing—it’s already here. PW’s new AI for Publishing Bootcamp gives teams the tools and workflows to keep up.
First session is Feb 11. Early Bird pricing is now open.
👉 buff.ly/jTdumKC
First session is Feb 11. Early Bird pricing is now open.
👉 buff.ly/jTdumKC
December 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Cigarettes aren't coming for your body -- they're already here. Our new Smoking for Health Bootcamp gives your heart and lungs the chemicals and carcinogens to die quicker.