Jenny Rowe
banner
jenny-rowe.bsky.social
Jenny Rowe
@jenny-rowe.bsky.social
Bookseller at Prairie Lights in Iowa City, IA. 2024 MFA in creative nonfiction, the University of Montana. '23-'24 EiC of CutBank lit mag. Working on first book and building creative community. Owner of a way-too-smart adopted tabby named Shakespeare.
Just finished Peter Orner 's The Gossip Columnist's Daughter at the register of @prairielights.com and enjoyed it...very unusual, deconstructed novel, like a story within a story. Looking forward to meeting Peter tonight at his reading and asking him about his newest book!
September 8, 2025 at 7:52 PM
My newest Substack post is up: backdesk.substack.com/p/bestseller... (Free to subscribe 🎉📚)
June 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I wrote in this week's Substack post about some recent writing milestones and keeping the momentum: backdesk.substack.com/p/moving-for...
June 21, 2025 at 7:47 PM
My latest Substack post is up--I think this monthly one might be my favorite to write: backdesk.substack.com/p/bestseller...
May 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I often forget to post about my Substack, backdesk.substack.com (still figuring out Blue Sky), but it's growing slowly and is a lot of fun to make. If you want to know what it's like to be a bookseller at @prairielights.com or how I'm working to become a "real" (i.e., paid) writer, take a look!
April 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
What I'm reading tonight at the upstairs info desk of @prairielights.com : Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick--a rare blend of thorough research & exquisite storytelling. A careful explanation of what China did to Tibet & why.

Excited for her next, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove--coming May 20th!
February 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
I just finished my seventh Substack post & am enjoying this no-expectations creating more than I thought I would.
backdesk.substack.com
February 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Happy Sunday! Yesterday I posted a Substack entry on waiting for a "Big Deal Lit Mag" (not naming them yet) to follow up with me on a forthcoming essay publication.

If you've been in this boat before, you know the agony.

backdesk.substack.com
February 2, 2025 at 7:15 PM
What I'm reading today at the upstairs info desk of @prairielights.com : American Bulk by Emily Mester, an Iowa NWP alum. (I'll be introducing Emily at Prairie Lights for the reading on February 17th, too.)

Forty pages in & so far impressed by the honesty and insightfulness. Plenty to think about.
January 26, 2025 at 8:05 PM
My fifth Substack post is online, and I managed to keep it from being a mere rant about AI in my word processor (though I'm still greatly concerned about it).
January 25, 2025 at 1:13 AM
I've never been this offended by Microsoft. What makes them think we want AI in our word processor? It also took more time than it should have to figure out how to disable Copilot, but I'm relieved I did. Couldn't write a word this morning until that sh*t was gone.
January 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Shakespeare's ready for a new day ☀️
January 16, 2025 at 2:09 PM
My fourth Substack post is up, and this one merges a bit of physics with creative nonfiction. ✨
backdesk.substack.com
January 14, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Third Substack post, and this one features my inscribed paperback copy of Martyr! and what it helped me realize as an emerging writer:
backdesk.substack.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I started a Substack as a still learning-everything emerging writer (for other writers figuring it all out, too). Forgot to mention my first post, but here's the second!
backdesk.substack.com
January 8, 2025 at 2:00 AM
My cat Shakespeare is giving chill vibes this morning
December 3, 2024 at 2:38 PM
What I'm reading at an info desk tonight at @prairielights.com: an ARC of Care and Feeding, a memoir by the late Anthony Bourdain's assistant @lauriewoolever.bsky.social.

Sharp, insightful, and shies from nothing. Halfway through & devouring like a good meal! Look for it on March 11th, 2025.
December 3, 2024 at 1:50 AM