Pegah Ouji
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pegahouji.bsky.social
Pegah Ouji
@pegahouji.bsky.social
110 followers 58 following 28 posts
Writer
words: EPOCH @splitlipthemag.bsky.social @fuguejournal @epiphanylit
23' Roots.Wounds.Words Writing Fellow
24' fellow @smokelong.bsky.social
25' PEN American Emerging Writer Fellow
https://oujipegah.wixsite.com/mysite
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
mattkendrick.bsky.social
“You’re a daughter of a five-hundred-year-old eucalyptus tree, planted by the ancient ruins of Persepolis,” my grandmother tells me"

This is such a brilliant flash from @pegahouji.bsky.social; so deep and rich and layered

aaww.org/the-world-ac...
The World According to My Grandmother
Do we need a man? I want to ask her, but her eyes are bright like poppies in summer heat.
aaww.org
February 6, 2026 at 9:05 AM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Working on a story for this book with
@lindzmcleod.bsky.social was an incredible learning experience and now the book is on the longlist for British Science Fiction awards. The project is a testimony to the power of collaboration!
lindzmcleod.bsky.social Lindz McLeod - THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET is out now! @lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 27d
This book is now a British Science Fiction Association awards longlister! Get it while it's hot! (it's always hot)
lindzmcleod.bsky.social Lindz McLeod - THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET is out now! @lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 27d
Want to read An Honour and a Privilege but can't justify the cost of a paperback right now?
Get the e-book instead for only $4—it's packed with amazing fiction as well as incredible craft tips and techniques to help you write deeper, more intricate prose in easier ways!
January 27, 2026 at 3:56 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Grateful to have three stories on this list and congratulations to everyone!
January 24, 2026 at 2:58 AM
pegahouji.bsky.social
"Thinking through—rather than just thinking—is important. A thought or an idea is never that precious." harpers.org/archive/2024...
The Seventy Percent, by Yiyun Li
On minor characters and human possibility
harpers.org
January 15, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
brechtdp.bsky.social
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
"These ersatz versions of making and experiencing art are based on satisfying “preferences,” on the idea of art as comfort, tool, or escape—in sum, art as something you buy and sell or that you use in some “productive” way." yalereview.org/article/namw...
Namwali Serpell: "Critical Navel-Gazing"
If criticism is in crisis, it’s not the critic’s problem, argues Namwali Serpell.
yalereview.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
It was truly an honor and a privilege to work with @lindzmcleod.bsky.social on a fiction and non-fiction piece for this book and I can't wait to read the other chapters by incredible writers! @stanchion.bsky.social
stanchion.bsky.social Stanchion @stanchion.bsky.social · Nov 3
An Honour & A Privilege with @lindzmcleod.bsky.social is at the printer! Pre-order now from Stanchion to get a H&P free bookmark delivered with the most innovative craft writing book you've ever experienced.

Discounted UK shipping is available!

www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...
November 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
lindzmcleod.bsky.social
If you have a writer in your life and you'd like them to know that you care about their ambitions, may I suggest ordering a copy of my collaborative craft anthology, An Honour And A Privilege, as a Christmas present? (trust me, you'll get the MOST brownie points)
"I spent a while trying to figure out how to classify An Honour & a Privilege. Viewed through one lens it might not seem an important question: classification is mostly helpful for shelving decisions. But genre also dictates how one reads a thing. Whether you think of this book as an anthology (many authors), a collection (one common author), or a craft book (the reflective duets) may affect your perception of the whole. I struggle to compare this work to any of those three genres. The project in front of you reveals more about its craft than other anthologies. It's more authentically connected to strong exemplar material than other craft books. It's more heteroglossic than any collection I recall. The best way to think of An Honour & a Privilege may be to regard it as a genre all its own, one which depends significantly on its many interconnections, one which marks both an occasion and an invitation, one which offers us both a testimony as to what can be done together and a guide on how to do it." From the Foreword by Dr. Graham Robert Scott. The cover of the book is a vintage, slightly foxy red, with white font beside a large black and white ampersand.
October 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Thank you to the editors @epochliterary.com not only for giving this story a home but continuing to share it with others!
epochliterary.com EPOCH @epochliterary.com · Oct 30
Here are our @pushcartprize.bsky.social noms for 2025! Thanks and congrats to Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador, @fmstringer.bsky.social, @justintaylor.bsky.social, @shimmer.bsky.social, @pegahouji.bsky.social, and @tmcallister.bsky.social for this great work.
EPOCH 2025 Pushcart nominations Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador "All of his knives," poetry, issue 72.1 Steve Himmer "The Spider's Share," essay, issue 72.1 Tom McAllister "1993, 2017, and 2022," essay, issue 72.1 Pegah Ouji "Untouchables," fiction, issue 72.2 FM Stringer "Secular Prayer at the End of Daylight Saving Time," poetry, issue 72.2 Justin Taylor "Wild Silence," fiction, issue 72.2
October 30, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
epochliterary.com
Here are our @pushcartprize.bsky.social noms for 2025! Thanks and congrats to Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador, @fmstringer.bsky.social, @justintaylor.bsky.social, @shimmer.bsky.social, @pegahouji.bsky.social, and @tmcallister.bsky.social for this great work.
EPOCH 2025 Pushcart nominations Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador "All of his knives," poetry, issue 72.1 Steve Himmer "The Spider's Share," essay, issue 72.1 Tom McAllister "1993, 2017, and 2022," essay, issue 72.1 Pegah Ouji "Untouchables," fiction, issue 72.2 FM Stringer "Secular Prayer at the End of Daylight Saving Time," poetry, issue 72.2 Justin Taylor "Wild Silence," fiction, issue 72.2
October 30, 2025 at 1:10 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Grateful to have been part of Writing Workshops Community. What they say about the value of a writing community has been very true in my experience.
writingworkshops.com/blogs/news/p...
Pegah Ouji Named 2025 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow
WritingWorkshops.com alumna Pegah Ouji has been named a 2025 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow. Celebrating her achievement and literary journey.
writingworkshops.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Thank you for reading the story! @lorifontanes.bsky.social
September 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
literaryhub.bsky.social
@janeciab.bsky.social talks to Joan Silber: “I’ve never been a writer who knows what she’s doing before she sets out.”
Joan Silber on the Process of Discovery, Fiction About Friendship, and the Meaning of Mercy
Joan Silber is a contemporary genius at creating artful stories of a multitude of characters who ricochet in cunning ways, crossing generations and continents. I named her 2017 novel Improvement a …
buff.ly
September 2, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
lindzmcleod.bsky.social
I am so hyped for all you to see this book, I honestly can't wait
stanchion.bsky.social Stanchion @stanchion.bsky.social · Aug 25
First blurb is in for @lindzmcleod.bsky.social's collaborative craft writing book An Honour & A Privilege, from the great author & publisher Michael Wheaton of @autofocusbooks.bsky.social.

www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...
"Equal parts engaging and instructive, An Honour & A Privilege presents a theory and practice of collaborative fiction writing that will inspire deeper craft and community in your own work. A must read for any writer interested in the creative process." — Michael Wheaton, publisher of Autofocus Books
August 25, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
pegahouji.bsky.social
Received my contributor copy of @epochliterary.com latest issue with my story called Untouchables. Thanks to @jrobertlennon.com and other staff!

www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...
August 18, 2025 at 12:18 AM
pegahouji.bsky.social
Received my contributor copy of @epochliterary.com latest issue with my story called Untouchables. Thanks to @jrobertlennon.com and other staff!

www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...
August 18, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
pegahouji.bsky.social
I have a new short story our in EPOCH magazine. Reverse immigration, cemetery lives and reading Harry Potter in Tehran. www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...
Featured Fiction — EPOCH
www.epochliterary.com
August 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
epochliterary.com
We are open for subs!
epochliterary.com EPOCH @epochliterary.com · Jul 25
Volume 72, Issue 2 is out now! 192pp. Cover art is Transit, Acrylic gouache paint on paper, by David Pjecha. Stop by the shop for a print ($10) or PDF ($7) copy. Complete contributor list in the image alt. Subs for 73.1 open in a week! www.epochliterary.com/archive
Greg Ames, Aldo Amparan, Kristof Anetta, Brittany Atkinson, Remy Barnes, Danny Cassidy, Ariel Courage, Laine Derr, Renesha Dhanraj, Taylor Franson-Thiel, Elisa Gabbert, Lily Jarman-Reisch, Christopher Kennedy, Erin Malone, Cary Marcous, Michael Martin, Betsy Mitchell Martinez, Pegah Ouji, Weijia Pan, Micah Perks, David Pjecha, Bryan Price, Stephen Thomas Roberts, Bee Sacks, Gabriel Schicchi, Greg Sendi, Brandon Shimoda, Murzban F. Shroff, Ed Skoog, Lisa Russ Spaar, FM Stringer, Justin Taylor, Emma Cairns Watson, Korey Williams.
August 2, 2025 at 2:33 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
I have a new short story our in EPOCH magazine. Reverse immigration, cemetery lives and reading Harry Potter in Tehran. www.epochliterary.com/featuredfict...
Featured Fiction — EPOCH
www.epochliterary.com
August 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to benefit from this fellowship with PEN America. pen.org/press-releas...
Nine Writers Chosen as 2025 Emerging Voices Fellows from Record Applicant Pool  - PEN America
For the fourth consecutive year, PEN America's Emerging Voices Fellowship received a record number of applicants.
pen.org
July 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
psmokejournal.bsky.social
Read
@pegahouji.bsky.social 's mind-reeling "Hayoula" on our site!
"She reads her daughter’s books twice, running her index finger along the edges, hoarding all the paper cuts for herself. She scours the pages for Hayoula claw prints..."

Art: “Llorando a Rodón en Butoh; 2” by Jorge Luna
June 6, 2025 at 4:02 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
I have all that I know about flash from this warm and encouraging community at @smokelong.bsky.social and here you can read some pieces published by people in the workshop in April.
April 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
pegahouji.bsky.social
I have a new story up @jmwwjournal.bsky.social that was born in @smokelong.bsky.social jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/04/30/f...
Flash Fiction: Who Can Say? By Pegah Ouji
We had been searching, or maybe dreaming, mapping the geography of mailboxes and morning glories that sprawled like nebulas across sidewalks.
jmwwblog.wordpress.com
April 30, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
mattkendrick.bsky.social
"Unlike what neighbors say about ghosts, my brother, Hameed, does not follow me everywhere. I wish he would"

Beautiful capturing of emotion and moment in this flash from @pegahouji.bsky.social in @emergejournal.bsky.social

emergeliteraryjournal.com/no-place-lik...
No Place Like a Kaleidoscope
by Pegah Ouji Unlike what neighbors say about ghosts, my brother, Hameed, does not follow me everywhere. I wish he would, his lanky legs tracing the curves of Kerman’s sidewalks, disappearing, when…
emergeliteraryjournal.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Pegah Ouji
claudiamonpere.bsky.social
"The fire has marked the women’s faces flushed. The girl with the paint spray calls out to Fatemeh, “Take off your Roosari! Join us!” Such a gripping story @pegahouji.bsky.social in @yourimpossiblevoice.com
www.yourimpossiblevoice.com/a-fire-of-he...
A fire of her own • Your Impossible Voice
By Pegah Ouji — "When Fatimah tugs at the peeling bark of a one-hundred-year-old eucalyptus tree, one jagged edge pierces her supple thumb, one drop of blood, red and round as Tehran’s setting sun str...
www.yourimpossiblevoice.com
April 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM