I have a new piece in Permafrost, the perfect home for a story set in subzero Northwoods winter. This one’s about teenage naïveté, my failure to be the kind of man I was raised to believe I should be, and a small kindness from a stranger.

www.uaf.edu/permafrostma...

I’ve got a tiny story about a big boy, a little boy, & a doomed teddy bear in Six Sentences, a rad journal I somehow only learned of last week, after reading @miriamgershow.bsky.social’s stellar six-line micro. (Fellow writers of tiny stories, submit here!)

sixsentences.blogspot.com/2025/03/toy-...

I’ve got two new essays up at Harpur Palate: the first is about an ill-fated “guys trip,” the second about my younger self’s (mis)understanding of strength. Thanks, @oozannesay.bsky.social, for giving these such a good home!

harpurpalate.binghamton.edu/benson-brian...

First post, first Pushcart nom! This essay means a lot to me, and I’m honored that Sweet Lit chose it. Wowed by the other nominees, too—@karenkao.bsky.social’s essay in particular is a stunner.

sweetlit.org/pushcart-nom...