Samara Rafert
@rafertess.bsky.social
University press publicist (Mad Creek Books), pottery class enthusiast. Columbus, Ohio.
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Samara Rafert
@rafertess.bsky.social
· Jun 13
The Ohio State University Press: Fall 2025 Catalog
The Fall 2025 catalog of the Ohio State University Press, with new titles in creative nonfiction, critical adoption studies, cultural studies, rhetoric and communication, and more.
bit.ly
Feels weird to announce in the midst of … everything, but Ohio State Press's fall catalog is up—two great story collections, feminist essays about class and labor by a woman truck driver, and suuuper timely scholarly stuff. I have ARCs! Highlights in🧵 bit.ly/s_F25 #essays #fiction #booksky #ReadUP
Reposted by Samara Rafert
CHOTINER: You said you did nothing to provoke the cat. But here it says you —
ME: Moved my foot. Yes.
CHOTINER: While the cat was sleeping.
ME: Yes.
CHOTINER: I see
ME: Moved my foot. Yes.
CHOTINER: While the cat was sleeping.
ME: Yes.
CHOTINER: I see
January 15, 2026 at 3:46 AM
CHOTINER: You said you did nothing to provoke the cat. But here it says you —
ME: Moved my foot. Yes.
CHOTINER: While the cat was sleeping.
ME: Yes.
CHOTINER: I see
ME: Moved my foot. Yes.
CHOTINER: While the cat was sleeping.
ME: Yes.
CHOTINER: I see
Reposted by Samara Rafert
Do not forget that people are GOOD.
People WANT to help.
People have evolved to be in community and do teamwork.
The jackasses in control of the government want us to forget that. Don't let them get what they want.
People WANT to help.
People have evolved to be in community and do teamwork.
The jackasses in control of the government want us to forget that. Don't let them get what they want.
January 15, 2026 at 3:59 AM
Do not forget that people are GOOD.
People WANT to help.
People have evolved to be in community and do teamwork.
The jackasses in control of the government want us to forget that. Don't let them get what they want.
People WANT to help.
People have evolved to be in community and do teamwork.
The jackasses in control of the government want us to forget that. Don't let them get what they want.
It's so nice to momentarily think about medieval plague victims instead of everything else.
Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany www.popsci.com/science/medi...
Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany
Archaeologists say they located a Black Death burial site containing some of a village's 12,000 dead.
www.popsci.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:50 PM
It's so nice to momentarily think about medieval plague victims instead of everything else.
Childhood: Brandywine. Now: Olentangy/Scioto
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.
Mine is the Patuxent.
Mine is the Patuxent.
January 12, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Childhood: Brandywine. Now: Olentangy/Scioto
Reposted by Samara Rafert
New on Book Work: an interview with Michael Lowenthal. His first essay collection “Place Envy” is out on Feb. 11 @derekkrissoff.bsky.social @rafertess.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social
January 11, 2026 at 4:40 PM
New on Book Work: an interview with Michael Lowenthal. His first essay collection “Place Envy” is out on Feb. 11 @derekkrissoff.bsky.social @rafertess.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social
Reposted by Samara Rafert
Remembering today that having your heart broken is a necessary step on the path to becoming fully human. Whichever heartbreak is your first, it’s probably critical that a state break your heart so that you can develop a political imagination. If this is your first, I’m sorry and also welcome.
January 8, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Remembering today that having your heart broken is a necessary step on the path to becoming fully human. Whichever heartbreak is your first, it’s probably critical that a state break your heart so that you can develop a political imagination. If this is your first, I’m sorry and also welcome.
Reposted by Samara Rafert
On this shortest day and longest night, I'm so happy to be part of @necessaryfiction.com's wonderful solstice project, which will be featuring new short pieces of wintry writing from now until new year's:
Day One of our solstice gathering features writing by @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social, @travisflatt.bsky.social, @raymondbrunell.bsky.social, @eileentomarchio.bsky.social, @janewords.bsky.social, Talya Byrd, Carol M. Quinn, Tanya Kornilovich, and Joe Kalovac. necessaryfiction.com/stories/poin...
December 21, 2025 at 4:18 PM
On this shortest day and longest night, I'm so happy to be part of @necessaryfiction.com's wonderful solstice project, which will be featuring new short pieces of wintry writing from now until new year's:
It's great to see Michael Lowenthal's PLACE ENVY (February 2026 from Ohio State University Press) on this list! I have ARCs available for reviewers. @jewishbookcouncil.bsky.social @jwi.bsky.social @kristener.bsky.social @joy-castro.bsky.social www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/jbc...
JBC Bookshelf: Winter 2026
As we approach the winter equinox, we’re making use of longer evenings for more reading!
www.jewishbookcouncil.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:44 PM
It's great to see Michael Lowenthal's PLACE ENVY (February 2026 from Ohio State University Press) on this list! I have ARCs available for reviewers. @jewishbookcouncil.bsky.social @jwi.bsky.social @kristener.bsky.social @joy-castro.bsky.social www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/jbc...
Reposted by Samara Rafert
What is the quintessential Onion headline? The strong contender that just randomly popped in my mind is "Hank Williams Jr. Honored by Institute For Football Preparedness"
May 19, 2024 at 12:26 PM
What is the quintessential Onion headline? The strong contender that just randomly popped in my mind is "Hank Williams Jr. Honored by Institute For Football Preparedness"
Reposted by Samara Rafert
Awesome piece by the Berlin-based writer Jane Yager in the fabulous new issue of @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social: "I sit in the car while everyone else goes into the museum, because as we pulled into the parking lot, Dad let slip that the pits are still active."
gooseberry-pie.com/la-brea-tar-...
gooseberry-pie.com/la-brea-tar-...
La Brea Tar Pits - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine
Photo by Imleedh Ali on Unsplash by Jane Yager I’m the one who wanted to come here, but now I sit in the car while everyone else goes into the museum, because as we pulled into the parking lot, Dad le...
gooseberry-pie.com
September 15, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Awesome piece by the Berlin-based writer Jane Yager in the fabulous new issue of @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social: "I sit in the car while everyone else goes into the museum, because as we pulled into the parking lot, Dad let slip that the pits are still active."
gooseberry-pie.com/la-brea-tar-...
gooseberry-pie.com/la-brea-tar-...
La Brea tar pits are the best
Super excited that my story "La Brea Tar Pits" was nominated for Best Microfiction 2026 -- huge thanks to Gooseberry Pie and Jeff Harvey!
Best MicroFiction nominees 2026 from @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social
Jen Wrightsmith
Kalliopy Paleos
@francinewitte.bsky.social
@claudiamonpere.bsky.social
Jane Yager
Congratulations to all!♥️
gooseberry-pie.com/category/goo...
Jen Wrightsmith
Kalliopy Paleos
@francinewitte.bsky.social
@claudiamonpere.bsky.social
Jane Yager
Congratulations to all!♥️
gooseberry-pie.com/category/goo...
November 26, 2025 at 12:10 AM
La Brea tar pits are the best
"Empathy, tenderness, and specificity": So nice to see @tyler-m.bsky.social 's MY PRISONER AND OTHER STORIES (Ohio State UP) on this list! @electricliterature.com
electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
Electric Lit’s Best Short Story Collections of 2025 - Electric Literature
Books by Marie-Helene Bertino, Torrey Peters, and Samanta Schweblin are among our favorites of the year
electricliterature.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:58 PM
"Empathy, tenderness, and specificity": So nice to see @tyler-m.bsky.social 's MY PRISONER AND OTHER STORIES (Ohio State UP) on this list! @electricliterature.com
electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
Reposted by Samara Rafert
The most helpful phrase of 2025 👇
November 13, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The most helpful phrase of 2025 👇
Me: "Blah blah, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan"
@dangearino.bsky.social: "I need to go listen to Bob Seger now"
@dangearino.bsky.social: "I need to go listen to Bob Seger now"
November 13, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Me: "Blah blah, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan"
@dangearino.bsky.social: "I need to go listen to Bob Seger now"
@dangearino.bsky.social: "I need to go listen to Bob Seger now"
Reposted by Samara Rafert
The kids aren't alright. Marina Fedosik considers Damien (THE OMEN), Esther (ORPHAN), Dren (SPLICE), and that grown-ass test tube baby from EMBRYO in her new book about adopted and created children of cinema. "Kinflix" is new from @ohiostatepress.bsky.social.
ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
November 4, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The kids aren't alright. Marina Fedosik considers Damien (THE OMEN), Esther (ORPHAN), Dren (SPLICE), and that grown-ass test tube baby from EMBRYO in her new book about adopted and created children of cinema. "Kinflix" is new from @ohiostatepress.bsky.social.
ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...
Enjoying the frat boy conversation one table over about the pros and cons of dating lesbians: "I don't know, dude, I feel like she might cheat on me"
October 3, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Enjoying the frat boy conversation one table over about the pros and cons of dating lesbians: "I don't know, dude, I feel like she might cheat on me"
Reposted by Samara Rafert
sounds like someone justifying spanking their kids
Johnson: "Russ does this reluctantly. He takes no pleasure in this. Russ has to sit down and decide which policies, personnel, & programs are essential & which are not. That's not a fun task and he's not enjoying that responsibility...if they keep the govt closed, it's gonna get more & more painful"
October 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
sounds like someone justifying spanking their kids
Reposted by Samara Rafert
October is #BatAppreciationMonth! Here they are being fully appreciated in plate 67 from Ernst Haeckel’s dazzling Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), published in 1904. More about the image, including details of the line-up, here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/e...
October 1, 2025 at 7:45 PM
October is #BatAppreciationMonth! Here they are being fully appreciated in plate 67 from Ernst Haeckel’s dazzling Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), published in 1904. More about the image, including details of the line-up, here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/e...
"Why would you want to own a cool Victorian house but make it look like a McMansion inside? What's even the point?" —My aesthetically particular 14-year-old, who just discovered Zillow. I have not yet introduced her to @katewagner.wehwalt.net yet but it's in the pipeline.
September 18, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"Why would you want to own a cool Victorian house but make it look like a McMansion inside? What's even the point?" —My aesthetically particular 14-year-old, who just discovered Zillow. I have not yet introduced her to @katewagner.wehwalt.net yet but it's in the pipeline.
The two I mess up routinely are people ("poeple") and cigarettes ("cigarrette")
Even after doing my PhD in it, teaching it for 15 years, and publishing three books with it in their titles, I still often misspell “Renaissance”
Spelling is really hard! You can be a great writer and still suck at it! That’s normal!
Spelling is really hard! You can be a great writer and still suck at it! That’s normal!
I'm a professional writer and cannot type 'lightning' correctly. Even just then it took three goes. Unfortunate that my new book Household Lore (available to pre-order, don't you know) is all about tips on how to protect your home from lightning strikes...
September 18, 2025 at 1:09 PM
The two I mess up routinely are people ("poeple") and cigarettes ("cigarrette")
Reposted by Samara Rafert
so many dead canaries and we just keep on mining
September 17, 2025 at 11:10 PM
so many dead canaries and we just keep on mining
Once you start noticing "unflinching" in reviews and blurbs, it's everywhere. (I started seeing it about three years ago, when an author pointed out that it appeared in two blurbs (if you count "doesn't flinch") and the description for her book.)
When You Listen to This Song (trans. Lauren Elkin) received a starred review from Kirkus:
"Unflinching in her observations...and in her questions... a poignant historiography of Anne Frank’s writing.”
"Unflinching in her observations...and in her questions... a poignant historiography of Anne Frank’s writing.”
WHEN YOU LISTEN TO THIS SONG | Kirkus Reviews
A writer reflects on Anne Frank’s diary, attentive to its ongoing significance for the world.
www.kirkusreviews.com
September 17, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Once you start noticing "unflinching" in reviews and blurbs, it's everywhere. (I started seeing it about three years ago, when an author pointed out that it appeared in two blurbs (if you count "doesn't flinch") and the description for her book.)
These remind me of my sister's work: www.kyla-zoe.com/collections/...
September 17, 2025 at 7:03 PM
These remind me of my sister's work: www.kyla-zoe.com/collections/...
I just now realized the Sundance film festival was named after the Sundance Kid
‘Hey Butch, it’s just me, Sundance’: Irish biographer on Robert Redford’s Dublin days
‘Hey Butch, it’s just me, Sundance’: Irish biographer on Robert Redford’s Dublin days
Michael Feeney Callan’s biography took 14 years to finish and involved the Hollywood star’s times in Ireland
www.irishtimes.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I just now realized the Sundance film festival was named after the Sundance Kid
Reposted by Samara Rafert
Very cool piece from Jed Kudrick and @sdileonardi.bsky.social on the history of translation in the US literary scene!
New at PB: Jed Kudrick & @sdileonardi.bsky.social use data from the NYT bestseller list to map 3 popular waves of literature in translation in the US: the postwar popularity of European titles, the "Latin American boom," & the more recent explosion of Nordic noir.
How Translations Sell: Three U.S. Eras of International Bestsellers
A translation renaissance in US publishing just ended. And you probably missed it.
www.publicbooks.org
September 16, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Very cool piece from Jed Kudrick and @sdileonardi.bsky.social on the history of translation in the US literary scene!