Vincent O'Keefe
@vincentokeefe.bsky.social
Writer/PhD Amer. Lit/Former At-Home Dad. New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, Parents, Business Insider, Plain Dealer, Next Avenue, City Dads, others. Taught at U. of Michigan. Cleve OH via Chicag-Phila-Buff www.vincentokeefe.com
Pinned
What my late mother-in-law still teaches me about holiday giving
I learned that gift-giving is not merely an obligation but a joy of life. By Vincent O’Keefe
motherwellmag.com
Tragically, my mother-in-law died in a car accident 28 years ago. I'm proud to honor her legacy of gift-giving in this essay at @motherwellmag.bsky.social. #motherinlaw #gifts #Christmas motherwellmag.com/2025/12/09/r...
Tragically, my mother-in-law died in a car accident 28 years ago. I'm proud to honor her legacy of gift-giving in this essay at @motherwellmag.bsky.social. #motherinlaw #gifts #Christmas motherwellmag.com/2025/12/09/r...
What my late mother-in-law still teaches me about holiday giving
I learned that gift-giving is not merely an obligation but a joy of life. By Vincent O’Keefe
motherwellmag.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Tragically, my mother-in-law died in a car accident 28 years ago. I'm proud to honor her legacy of gift-giving in this essay at @motherwellmag.bsky.social. #motherinlaw #gifts #Christmas motherwellmag.com/2025/12/09/r...
@maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social Just fyi this fellow Ohioan and parenting writer enjoyed Dear Writer! Especially the parts about fragmentary narrative being, in many ways, a more "psychologically true form" than conventional, linear narrative. Also, I remember those SASEs for rejections :)
December 5, 2025 at 10:14 PM
@maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social Just fyi this fellow Ohioan and parenting writer enjoyed Dear Writer! Especially the parts about fragmentary narrative being, in many ways, a more "psychologically true form" than conventional, linear narrative. Also, I remember those SASEs for rejections :)
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
I wrote about why I can't sleep at night: the devaluation of so many things (critical thinking, creativity) I thought were paramount. lithub.com/when-we-deva...
When We Devalue Art (Books!) We Devalue the Future
When you’ve spent your whole adult life working in and around book publishing you get used to hearing that people don’t read anymore and that the industry is on its last legs. There is always a cri…
lithub.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I wrote about why I can't sleep at night: the devaluation of so many things (critical thinking, creativity) I thought were paramount. lithub.com/when-we-deva...
So where (and when) does conscious identity begin? You might enjoy my reflections at @oldstermag.bsky.social on my first "wedding" at age 4 (featuring The Carpenters, Descartes, and a Big Wheel). Feel free to share! #aging #nostalgia #Descartes #TheCarpenters oldster.substack.com/p/scattered-...
Scattered Pictures #3: My First “Wedding”
Vincent O’Keefe wonders, where does conscious identity begin? Featuring The Carpenters, Descartes, and a Big Wheel
oldster.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
So where (and when) does conscious identity begin? You might enjoy my reflections at @oldstermag.bsky.social on my first "wedding" at age 4 (featuring The Carpenters, Descartes, and a Big Wheel). Feel free to share! #aging #nostalgia #Descartes #TheCarpenters oldster.substack.com/p/scattered-...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Out today: BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2025, edited by... me! So so many great stories in here. I can't wait for you to discover them and their talented writers.
October 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Out today: BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2025, edited by... me! So so many great stories in here. I can't wait for you to discover them and their talented writers.
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
One of my favorite things is when a piece I write takes on a new life in someone else’s hands.
Tiffany Graham Charkosky read my 2022 article describing the types of memoirists who land book deals & found a new way to look at her journey.
Her memoir releases today: janefriedman.com/all-others-t...
Tiffany Graham Charkosky read my 2022 article describing the types of memoirists who land book deals & found a new way to look at her journey.
Her memoir releases today: janefriedman.com/all-others-t...
“All Others”: The Memoir Writers Who Keep Going | Jane Friedman
Jane’s reporting has shown that unknown authors still land memoir deals, a fact which gave one writer the will to persevere—and succeed.
janefriedman.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
One of my favorite things is when a piece I write takes on a new life in someone else’s hands.
Tiffany Graham Charkosky read my 2022 article describing the types of memoirists who land book deals & found a new way to look at her journey.
Her memoir releases today: janefriedman.com/all-others-t...
Tiffany Graham Charkosky read my 2022 article describing the types of memoirists who land book deals & found a new way to look at her journey.
Her memoir releases today: janefriedman.com/all-others-t...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
For @nytimes.com I wrote about why and how people splurge on experiences and things, and how to splurge responsibly.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
Splurging? In This Economy? Here’s How to Do It Right.
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM
For @nytimes.com I wrote about why and how people splurge on experiences and things, and how to splurge responsibly.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
@anniezaleski.bsky.social Ever wear a rock band pin as a kid? You might enjoy this Clevelander's tribute to Genesis at Open Secrets Magazine :) opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
Objectives #5: Put It On Again: Why I Love My Genesis Pin from Seventh Grade
I’ve been listening to Genesis since childhood, and their music never gets old for me
opensecretsmagazine.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
@anniezaleski.bsky.social Ever wear a rock band pin as a kid? You might enjoy this Clevelander's tribute to Genesis at Open Secrets Magazine :) opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
Ever wear a rock band pin back in middle school (a.k.a. junior high)? You might enjoy my new essay at @opensecretsmag.bsky.social—especially if you’re a #Genesis fan! #PeterGabriel #PhilCollins
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
Objectives #5: Put It On Again: Why I Love My Genesis Pin from Seventh Grade
I’ve been listening to Genesis since childhood, and their music never gets old for me
opensecretsmagazine.com
October 3, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Ever wear a rock band pin back in middle school (a.k.a. junior high)? You might enjoy my new essay at @opensecretsmag.bsky.social—especially if you’re a #Genesis fan! #PeterGabriel #PhilCollins
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/genesis-ro...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Ever wonder why comedian Brian Regan always performs clean? Or his favorite day of his entire career?
We at @nextavenue.bsky.social know.
Read and find out! And please share! Thanks!
www.nextavenue.org/comedian-bri...
We at @nextavenue.bsky.social know.
Read and find out! And please share! Thanks!
www.nextavenue.org/comedian-bri...
www.nextavenue.org
September 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Ever wonder why comedian Brian Regan always performs clean? Or his favorite day of his entire career?
We at @nextavenue.bsky.social know.
Read and find out! And please share! Thanks!
www.nextavenue.org/comedian-bri...
We at @nextavenue.bsky.social know.
Read and find out! And please share! Thanks!
www.nextavenue.org/comedian-bri...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
What Happens When You Trade Doomscrolling for Hopescrolling: Our Phones Have Become Misery Machines. Sharing Positive News Can Change That
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/what-happens...
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/what-happens...
What Happens When You Trade Doomscrolling for Hopescrolling
Our phones have become misery machines. Hopescrolling can change that.
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
September 5, 2025 at 1:12 PM
What Happens When You Trade Doomscrolling for Hopescrolling: Our Phones Have Become Misery Machines. Sharing Positive News Can Change That
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/what-happens...
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/what-happens...
@thestephaniehaney.bsky.social Congrats on your new position at Sound of Ideas!
August 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
@thestephaniehaney.bsky.social Congrats on your new position at Sound of Ideas!
@aaroncalafato.bsky.social Congrats on your success that I read about in Cleveland Magazine! I am a Cleveland-area parenting writer and former at-home dad--I enjoyed your story about meeting your daughter for the first time!
July 14, 2025 at 3:44 PM
@aaroncalafato.bsky.social Congrats on your success that I read about in Cleveland Magazine! I am a Cleveland-area parenting writer and former at-home dad--I enjoyed your story about meeting your daughter for the first time!
@kristenmulrooney.bsky.social You might get some laughs from my "Dad Talk" interview and tips about fatherhood at "Being a Dad is Hard as F*ck" michaelvm.substack.com/p/dad-talks-...
Dad Talks #14: Vincent O'Keefe
In conversation with the writer and academic
michaelvm.substack.com
July 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
@kristenmulrooney.bsky.social You might get some laughs from my "Dad Talk" interview and tips about fatherhood at "Being a Dad is Hard as F*ck" michaelvm.substack.com/p/dad-talks-...
You might get some laughs from my "Dad Talk" interview and tips about #fatherhood at "Being a Dad is Hard as F*ck" #sahd #parenting michaelvm.substack.com/p/dad-talks-...
Dad Talks #14: Vincent O'Keefe
In conversation with the writer and academic
michaelvm.substack.com
July 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
You might get some laughs from my "Dad Talk" interview and tips about #fatherhood at "Being a Dad is Hard as F*ck" #sahd #parenting michaelvm.substack.com/p/dad-talks-...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Preorders are open for "On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes," coming your way from @beltpublishing.bsky.social on March 10, 2026!
Featuring everything from shipwrecks & ice caves to zebra mussels & manoomin, & 32 writers on why the lakes loom so large.
beltpublishing.com/products/on-...
Featuring everything from shipwrecks & ice caves to zebra mussels & manoomin, & 32 writers on why the lakes loom so large.
beltpublishing.com/products/on-...
June 23, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Preorders are open for "On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes," coming your way from @beltpublishing.bsky.social on March 10, 2026!
Featuring everything from shipwrecks & ice caves to zebra mussels & manoomin, & 32 writers on why the lakes loom so large.
beltpublishing.com/products/on-...
Featuring everything from shipwrecks & ice caves to zebra mussels & manoomin, & 32 writers on why the lakes loom so large.
beltpublishing.com/products/on-...
@janieemaus.bsky.social Just fyi I enjoyed your piece in the June/July AARP magazine about card games and intergenerational conversations. Couldn’t agree more!
June 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
@janieemaus.bsky.social Just fyi I enjoyed your piece in the June/July AARP magazine about card games and intergenerational conversations. Couldn’t agree more!
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Well, look who took the @memoirland.bsky.social author questionnaire today… (The one I had scheduled fell through, so I had to snag the 100th slot for myself!)
memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...
memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...
The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #100: Me (Sari Botton)
"I first started writing as a kid as a way to try and figure out why I felt different from others around me."
memoirland.substack.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Well, look who took the @memoirland.bsky.social author questionnaire today… (The one I had scheduled fell through, so I had to snag the 100th slot for myself!)
memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...
memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
I'm looking for pitches on:
- Boomer regrets (whether it's about not/having children, retirement, career, etc)
- A stranger's actions/words that changed a situation (or even life?) for you
- Unconventional living
- Retirement (can include not retiring ever)
Email me directly: cpreti@insider.com
- Boomer regrets (whether it's about not/having children, retirement, career, etc)
- A stranger's actions/words that changed a situation (or even life?) for you
- Unconventional living
- Retirement (can include not retiring ever)
Email me directly: cpreti@insider.com
April 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I'm looking for pitches on:
- Boomer regrets (whether it's about not/having children, retirement, career, etc)
- A stranger's actions/words that changed a situation (or even life?) for you
- Unconventional living
- Retirement (can include not retiring ever)
Email me directly: cpreti@insider.com
- Boomer regrets (whether it's about not/having children, retirement, career, etc)
- A stranger's actions/words that changed a situation (or even life?) for you
- Unconventional living
- Retirement (can include not retiring ever)
Email me directly: cpreti@insider.com
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
Just in case you think $5000 is gonna get you anywhere when you have a baby:
www.the-pom.com/p/unexpected...
www.the-pom.com/p/unexpected...
Unexpected Costs of Having Children
I'm talking just the essentials, like Nickelodeon slime kits.
www.the-pom.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Just in case you think $5000 is gonna get you anywhere when you have a baby:
www.the-pom.com/p/unexpected...
www.the-pom.com/p/unexpected...
Reposted by Vincent O'Keefe
I can’t stop laughing about “tell the ear” open.substack.com/pub/thepom/p...
What's your wildest toddler parenting trick?
Parenting toddlers is a battle and they're winning
open.substack.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I can’t stop laughing about “tell the ear” open.substack.com/pub/thepom/p...
@sunypress.bsky.social You might enjoy a former Buffalonian's tribute to the Niagara River Gorge at Great Lakes Review. I grew up three blocks from the gorge, and it was--and still is--amazing. www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...
The Niagara River Gorge: A Church Full of Joy
In many ways, the section of the Niagara River that races, swirls, and squeezes through the deep Niagara Gorge beyond the Falls behaves like a rowdy teen. The white, frothy, Class 6 rapids on top o…
www.greatlakesreview.org
April 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
@sunypress.bsky.social You might enjoy a former Buffalonian's tribute to the Niagara River Gorge at Great Lakes Review. I grew up three blocks from the gorge, and it was--and still is--amazing. www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...
@sulliview.bsky.social You might enjoy a former Buffalonian's tribute to the Niagara River Gorge at Great Lakes Review. I grew up three blocks from the gorge, and it was--and still is--amazing. www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...
The Niagara River Gorge: A Church Full of Joy
In many ways, the section of the Niagara River that races, swirls, and squeezes through the deep Niagara Gorge beyond the Falls behaves like a rowdy teen. The white, frothy, Class 6 rapids on top o…
www.greatlakesreview.org
April 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
@sulliview.bsky.social You might enjoy a former Buffalonian's tribute to the Niagara River Gorge at Great Lakes Review. I grew up three blocks from the gorge, and it was--and still is--amazing. www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...
Ever wonder what it would be like to grow up three blocks from the mighty #Niagara River Gorge? (It was amazing.) You might enjoy my new post at Great Lakes Review. #NiagaraFalls #GreatLakesReview www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...
The Niagara River Gorge: A Church Full of Joy
In many ways, the section of the Niagara River that races, swirls, and squeezes through the deep Niagara Gorge beyond the Falls behaves like a rowdy teen. The white, frothy, Class 6 rapids on top o…
www.greatlakesreview.org
April 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Ever wonder what it would be like to grow up three blocks from the mighty #Niagara River Gorge? (It was amazing.) You might enjoy my new post at Great Lakes Review. #NiagaraFalls #GreatLakesReview www.greatlakesreview.org/the-niagara-...