Off Assignment
@offassignment.bsky.social
A non-profit literary magazine with a penchant for journeys and a fascination with strangers.
Subscribe: https://mailchi.mp/offassignment/off-assignment-newsletter
Subscribe: https://mailchi.mp/offassignment/off-assignment-newsletter
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Off Assignment
@offassignment.bsky.social
· Feb 24
Hello, world! We're Off Assignment, a nonprofit literary magazine with a penchant for journeys and a fascination with strangers. We publish highly curated narrative nonfiction, and also offer online writing courses. We're excited to be here—here's a thread of what we're all about!
What if your "too small" story is actually perfect for a picture book? Join award-winning @kyomaclear.bsky.social, @dirtbagg.bsky.social, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social, X Fang, & @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social for our five-week course on writing picture books this September.
How to Write Picture Books — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
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September 15, 2025 at 5:56 PM
What if your "too small" story is actually perfect for a picture book? Join award-winning @kyomaclear.bsky.social, @dirtbagg.bsky.social, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social, X Fang, & @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social for our five-week course on writing picture books this September.
"Writing Picture Books" starts tomorrow! Join @kyomaclear.bsky.social , @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social , X. Fang, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social , & @dirtbagg.bsky.social to learn techniques and generate new approaches to picture book writing.
Register now:
Register now:
How to Write Picture Books — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
September 15, 2025 at 5:26 PM
"Writing Picture Books" starts tomorrow! Join @kyomaclear.bsky.social , @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social , X. Fang, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social , & @dirtbagg.bsky.social to learn techniques and generate new approaches to picture book writing.
Register now:
Register now:
Reposted by Off Assignment
This kicked off this past Saturday and it’s such vital discussion! Thanks @offassignment.bsky.social
Travel writing is a beloved genre--and yet, historically, so much of it has gone awry.
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
Rethinking Travel Writing — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
September 10, 2025 at 1:51 PM
This kicked off this past Saturday and it’s such vital discussion! Thanks @offassignment.bsky.social
Imagine you come to consciousness with no memory of who you are and what just happened . For @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, who rose from a roadside accident in Chicago in a state of amnesia, that feeling was ecstasy. What happens when she returns to the site of the crash?
Goodbye to the Chicago Intersection Where I Was Reborn — Off Assignment
“In August of 2022, I rode the purple line from Evanston into Chicago. I was going to Madison and Halsted. Madison and Halsted is a mythical place in my imagination. It’s the intersection where…
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August 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Imagine you come to consciousness with no memory of who you are and what just happened . For @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, who rose from a roadside accident in Chicago in a state of amnesia, that feeling was ecstasy. What happens when she returns to the site of the crash?
In this week's "Behind the Essay" interview, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social tells us about her favorite modes of transportation, what the form of a farewell essay unlocked for her about goodbyes, and the great classics and forthcoming books that have been on her reading list.
Read here:
Read here:
Goodbye to a rebirth
In August of 2022, I rode the purple line from Evanston into Chicago. I was going to Madison and Halsted. Madison and Halsted is a mythical place in my imagination. It’s the intersection where…
buff.ly
August 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
In this week's "Behind the Essay" interview, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social tells us about her favorite modes of transportation, what the form of a farewell essay unlocked for her about goodbyes, and the great classics and forthcoming books that have been on her reading list.
Read here:
Read here:
Ingrid Rojas Contreras lost her memory entirely when she was hit by a car at a nondescript Chicago intersection. It became a symbol of heartbreak, ecstasy, rebirth.
When she returns for the first time, what will she find? www.offassignment.com/gttp/ingrid-...
When she returns for the first time, what will she find? www.offassignment.com/gttp/ingrid-...
Goodbye to the Chicago Intersection Where I Was Reborn — Off Assignment
“In August of 2022, I rode the purple line from Evanston into Chicago. I was going to Madison and Halsted. Madison and Halsted is a mythical place in my imagination. It’s the intersection where fiftee...
www.offassignment.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Ingrid Rojas Contreras lost her memory entirely when she was hit by a car at a nondescript Chicago intersection. It became a symbol of heartbreak, ecstasy, rebirth.
When she returns for the first time, what will she find? www.offassignment.com/gttp/ingrid-...
When she returns for the first time, what will she find? www.offassignment.com/gttp/ingrid-...
We're delighted to announce Carey Baraka is now our Editor-at-Large! Since 2022, Carey has played an instrumental role in curating and editing OA essays from a wide range of international writers. Raising a virtual toast to an editor extraordinaire, and here's to many more astounding essays to come!
August 11, 2025 at 11:55 AM
We're delighted to announce Carey Baraka is now our Editor-at-Large! Since 2022, Carey has played an instrumental role in curating and editing OA essays from a wide range of international writers. Raising a virtual toast to an editor extraordinaire, and here's to many more astounding essays to come!
What is autofiction? Join @aubereylescure.bsky.social and four legends in the realm of autobiographical fiction for this upcoming five-week Masters' Series: @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura Van Den Berg, Zinzi Clemmons, & Andrew Sean Greer.
Register:
Register:
How to Write Autofiction — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
August 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
What is autofiction? Join @aubereylescure.bsky.social and four legends in the realm of autobiographical fiction for this upcoming five-week Masters' Series: @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura Van Den Berg, Zinzi Clemmons, & Andrew Sean Greer.
Register:
Register:
Congratulations to OA contributor Olajide Omojarabi, whose short story "Messenger Meg" appears in this summer's issue of Ploughshares Journal! Olajide is currently at work on his debut novel and collection of short stories. Get a taste of his stunning writing at Off Assignment:
To the Woli Who Read My Brother's Future — Off Assignment
“You told him that he would lead a life so miserable he’d contemplate killing himself. Was that what he wanted? You asked. My brother, terrified of and threatened by this gloom, replied no. Was he…
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August 9, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Congratulations to OA contributor Olajide Omojarabi, whose short story "Messenger Meg" appears in this summer's issue of Ploughshares Journal! Olajide is currently at work on his debut novel and collection of short stories. Get a taste of his stunning writing at Off Assignment:
Registration closes soon for "Writing the Body" with @margosteines.bsky.social! Write about embodied experiences with nuance and power, joined by renowned guest authors @sarahmanguso.bsky.social, Krys Malcolm Belc, @porochista.bsky.social, & @christinajcooke.bsky.social.
Register:
Register:
How to Write About the Body — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
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August 8, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Registration closes soon for "Writing the Body" with @margosteines.bsky.social! Write about embodied experiences with nuance and power, joined by renowned guest authors @sarahmanguso.bsky.social, Krys Malcolm Belc, @porochista.bsky.social, & @christinajcooke.bsky.social.
Register:
Register:
"I'm partial to 'So Many Ways to Dance: Reading Raymond Carver in Wilmington.' I 've always loved Jamie Tews' work, but the way she navigates a breakup in this essay holds a new level of insight and vulnerability." —Emily Lowe
Read this "Under the Influence" essay here:
Read this "Under the Influence" essay here:
So Many Ways to Dance: Reading Raymond Carver in Wilmington — Off Assignment
“On the North Carolina coast in late September, M and I went to an old-time jam in a friend’s backyard. The southern humidity had started to lift, and the air felt clean. Standing near the fence, we…
tinyurl.com
August 7, 2025 at 4:06 PM
"I'm partial to 'So Many Ways to Dance: Reading Raymond Carver in Wilmington.' I 've always loved Jamie Tews' work, but the way she navigates a breakup in this essay holds a new level of insight and vulnerability." —Emily Lowe
Read this "Under the Influence" essay here:
Read this "Under the Influence" essay here:
In our latest "Letter to a Stranger" essay by Emily Lowe, we learn to leave the trail and follow the tracks. It may be reckless, but the desire for an adventure, and the desire to be part of her father's epic tales at the campfire, drove Emily onwards.
Read the essay buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Read the essay buff.ly/7DdNV0r
August 6, 2025 at 2:04 PM
In our latest "Letter to a Stranger" essay by Emily Lowe, we learn to leave the trail and follow the tracks. It may be reckless, but the desire for an adventure, and the desire to be part of her father's epic tales at the campfire, drove Emily onwards.
Read the essay buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Read the essay buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Not all strangers in the "Letter to a Stranger" archive are human! Like Emily Lowe's last week, Sebastian Modak's essay is to a Siberian dog who accompanied him on a lonesome hike to Lake Baikal while he was on assignment for the NY Times' 52 Places column.
Read it here:
Read it here:
To My Siberian Hiking Companion — Off Assignment
“It appeared most households on Olkhon Island, a crescent of land in Lake Baikal, had a dog, and that the pets were left to roam free. It made sense. How far could they — you — even go, surrounded as…
buff.ly
August 5, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Not all strangers in the "Letter to a Stranger" archive are human! Like Emily Lowe's last week, Sebastian Modak's essay is to a Siberian dog who accompanied him on a lonesome hike to Lake Baikal while he was on assignment for the NY Times' 52 Places column.
Read it here:
Read it here:
Travel writing is a beloved genre--and yet, historically, so much of it has gone awry.
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
Rethinking Travel Writing — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
August 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Travel writing is a beloved genre--and yet, historically, so much of it has gone awry.
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:
This week, we're reading about how young womanhood, and its implications for marriage, has evolved in media; the lessons to be learned from fish while navigating queerness (@elizabethendicott.bsky.social); and a deep dive on a ubiquitous font in Manhattan (@aresluna.org): buff.ly/6tBGqM0
August 3, 2025 at 1:56 PM
This week, we're reading about how young womanhood, and its implications for marriage, has evolved in media; the lessons to be learned from fish while navigating queerness (@elizabethendicott.bsky.social); and a deep dive on a ubiquitous font in Manhattan (@aresluna.org): buff.ly/6tBGqM0
Join our "How to Write Autofiction" course this fall to learn from incredible writers @aubereylescure.bsky.social, @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura van den Berg, Andrew Sean Greer, & Zinzi Clemmons.
Find out more and register here:
Find out more and register here:
How to Write Autofiction — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
August 2, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Join our "How to Write Autofiction" course this fall to learn from incredible writers @aubereylescure.bsky.social, @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura van den Berg, Andrew Sean Greer, & Zinzi Clemmons.
Find out more and register here:
Find out more and register here:
Take a look behind this week's "Letter to a Stranger" essay as writer Emily Lowe reflects on connecting with nature, bending the rules, and finding new ways to approach the bear that has haunted her stories over the years.
Read the full Q&A through the newsletter: buff.ly/6tBGqM0
Read the full Q&A through the newsletter: buff.ly/6tBGqM0
August 1, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Take a look behind this week's "Letter to a Stranger" essay as writer Emily Lowe reflects on connecting with nature, bending the rules, and finding new ways to approach the bear that has haunted her stories over the years.
Read the full Q&A through the newsletter: buff.ly/6tBGqM0
Read the full Q&A through the newsletter: buff.ly/6tBGqM0
We're thrilled to have incredible authors Steve Almond, @meghamaj.bsky.social, Anthony Doerr, Camille Dungy, and @sarahmanguso.bsky.social teaching our "Writing Desire" Masters' Series course this November. Bring your burning questions for this stellar group and register here: buff.ly/CUo4EhW
July 31, 2025 at 5:32 PM
We're thrilled to have incredible authors Steve Almond, @meghamaj.bsky.social, Anthony Doerr, Camille Dungy, and @sarahmanguso.bsky.social teaching our "Writing Desire" Masters' Series course this November. Bring your burning questions for this stellar group and register here: buff.ly/CUo4EhW
In this week's new essay, we meet a bear. We follow its paw prints through the woods, imagine it scarfing down berries, and, through it all, feel the wonder and trust of a daughter ready to follow her father anywhere.
Read this heartbreakingly tender essay by Emily Lowe: buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Read this heartbreakingly tender essay by Emily Lowe: buff.ly/7DdNV0r
July 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
In this week's new essay, we meet a bear. We follow its paw prints through the woods, imagine it scarfing down berries, and, through it all, feel the wonder and trust of a daughter ready to follow her father anywhere.
Read this heartbreakingly tender essay by Emily Lowe: buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Read this heartbreakingly tender essay by Emily Lowe: buff.ly/7DdNV0r
Imagination is essential to creating new worlds, both on and off the page. Join "The Practice of Imagination" w Rachel Khong, Shruti Swamy, @rubenwrites.bsky.social, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, & Hilary Leichter this fall to develop a stronger imaginative practice to fuel your writing:
Improve Your Imagination — Off Assignment
A literary space for the candid tales behind official stories.
buff.ly
July 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Imagination is essential to creating new worlds, both on and off the page. Join "The Practice of Imagination" w Rachel Khong, Shruti Swamy, @rubenwrites.bsky.social, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, & Hilary Leichter this fall to develop a stronger imaginative practice to fuel your writing:
At OA, we’ll take a prompt over a blank page any day—all our columns invite writers to respond to a generative prompt!
Read OA co-founder Colleen Kinder ( @colleenkinder.bsky.social) in Brevity ( @dintywmoore.bsky.social) about their potential as creative springboards:
Read OA co-founder Colleen Kinder ( @colleenkinder.bsky.social) in Brevity ( @dintywmoore.bsky.social) about their potential as creative springboards:
The Power of the Prompt
By Colleen Kinder I’m one of those writing teachers who swears by prompts. Narrative directives like, “Write about a childhood memory, set in a car.” or “Begin every single sentence with ‘I remembe…
tinyurl.com
July 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
At OA, we’ll take a prompt over a blank page any day—all our columns invite writers to respond to a generative prompt!
Read OA co-founder Colleen Kinder ( @colleenkinder.bsky.social) in Brevity ( @dintywmoore.bsky.social) about their potential as creative springboards:
Read OA co-founder Colleen Kinder ( @colleenkinder.bsky.social) in Brevity ( @dintywmoore.bsky.social) about their potential as creative springboards:
She's taught two OA courses and been a guest at another: Chloé Caldwell's pretty popular around here. So let's congratulate her on her new memoir! Mia Arias Tsang, a guest author at Chloé's most recent OA course, joins her on tour, and catch OA contributors Leslie Jamison & Michelle Tea in NYC & LA!
July 26, 2025 at 4:08 PM
She's taught two OA courses and been a guest at another: Chloé Caldwell's pretty popular around here. So let's congratulate her on her new memoir! Mia Arias Tsang, a guest author at Chloé's most recent OA course, joins her on tour, and catch OA contributors Leslie Jamison & Michelle Tea in NYC & LA!
At Off Assignment, we think a lot about platforming writing outside the western-centric canon of travel literature. Join travel writers Faith Adiele, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, Bani Amor, and @noosarowiwa.bsky.social to reimagine travel writing through these perspectives. buff.ly/OkswTkm
July 25, 2025 at 2:26 PM
At Off Assignment, we think a lot about platforming writing outside the western-centric canon of travel literature. Join travel writers Faith Adiele, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, Bani Amor, and @noosarowiwa.bsky.social to reimagine travel writing through these perspectives. buff.ly/OkswTkm
What does it mean to say goodbye: Is it a definitive act, a threshold? In her "Behind the Essay" interview, Holly Brickley looks back on how the farewell essay taught her the place she's writing about cannot truly be left.
Read the full interview in our newsletter: buff.ly/Ub9gkn4
Read the full interview in our newsletter: buff.ly/Ub9gkn4
July 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
What does it mean to say goodbye: Is it a definitive act, a threshold? In her "Behind the Essay" interview, Holly Brickley looks back on how the farewell essay taught her the place she's writing about cannot truly be left.
Read the full interview in our newsletter: buff.ly/Ub9gkn4
Read the full interview in our newsletter: buff.ly/Ub9gkn4
Reposted by Off Assignment
Highly recommended read. I talked to Kat last year on my podcast, and we dug into her Fiona Apple connection:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTAN...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTAN...
July 23, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Highly recommended read. I talked to Kat last year on my podcast, and we dug into her Fiona Apple connection:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTAN...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTAN...