Will Willoughby
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willwilloughby.bsky.social
Will Willoughby
@willwilloughby.bsky.social
1.4K followers 2.1K following 370 posts
Writer • Maine Literary Award Winner • BOTN and Pushcart Nominee • Associate Editor @midlvlmag.bsky.social • Short story collection out on submission

Portfolio: www.willwilloughby.com

Escape room: www.riddlehaven.com
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willwilloughby.bsky.social
New author photo? At least I wouldn’t need “Maine-based” in my bio anymore.

#AmWriting
On the left is half the face of a stern bald man wearing black-rimmed glasses, with a stuffed moose on the right glaring at the camera
November 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
I’ll work on a clever caption for this photo. In the meantime, enjoy. I’ll keep you updated.
Old mill building at dusk with castle-like tower on the right, strings of holiday lights at the bottom, leafless trees on the left, and a bright moon above.
November 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Wanna see something really scary?

(scary for #writers, anyway)
Screenshot of Submittable page showing Declined status on four submissions.
October 31, 2025 at 11:49 AM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Turns out “Downstream Benefits” is listed as a distinguished story in this year’s Best American Short Stories. So honored and grateful.
Cover of Best American Short Stories for 2025, edited by Celeste Ng. Close-up of distinguished stories list. This listing is highlighted: Willoughby, Will, “Downstream Benefits” (Pangyrus, August 13).
October 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Excited to find out my story “Downstream Benefits” is on the Other Distinguished Stories list in this year’s #BestAmericanShortStories.

Many thanks to everyone at @marinerbooks.bsky.social and @pangyrus.bsky.social!

So honored and grateful.

www.pangyrus.com/fiction/down...

#AmWriting
Close-up of Other Distinguished Stories of 2024 list. This listing is highlighted: Willoughby, Will, “Downstream Benefits” (Pangyrus, August 13).
October 23, 2025 at 4:51 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Now’s a good time to say you’ve had enough. Because it’s definitely enough.

#NoKings rally in Dover, New Hampshire
October 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Good morning from Maine
Spectacular sunrise over a lake, with a branch visible on the left, black rocks along the bottom, deep orange clouds along the horizon, and dark blue sky at the top.
October 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Good morning
Flaky pink clouds lit up at sunrise with deep blue sky above, and a thin, dark line of trees along the bottom
September 26, 2025 at 12:25 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
This photo includes two planets and a natural satellite: the Moon, Venus, and Earth (foreground). One nearby star (the Sun) is just out of frame in the lower right. It’s not bad for a phone camera, if you ask me.
Predawn sky showing a crescent moon extremely close to a bright point of light (Venus) over a horizon of dark trees. The sky is mostly deep blue but is deep orange in the lower right.
September 19, 2025 at 10:51 AM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
ISS flying through Cassiopeia
Dark sky with stars, a small smudge of light, and a w-shaped constellation
September 13, 2025 at 5:56 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Happy Friday or whatever, I guess
A brown dog lying on a brown bed is resting his head on the edge of the mattress with his paw draped over the edge. He’s giving disinterested, lazy side-eye at the camera.
September 12, 2025 at 12:49 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
I wouldn’t blame you for thinking this rainbow is fake, but it’s real.
Vivid rainbow in storm clouds over a residential neighborhood
August 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Rain in Maine (finally)
August 25, 2025 at 10:51 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Some kitchen counters get cluttered with stacks of junk mail. Sometimes it’s 3D-printed skulls.

#EscapeRooms #Riddlehaven
Close-up of three animal skulls on a blue kitchen counter: a large tiger skull with big fangs, a smaller wolf skull with fangs that aren’t as big but still fierce, and a small turtle skull.
August 24, 2025 at 3:09 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Just updated my site with a fuller bio, a contact page, and a form to receive a newsletter. (I blame @ryantpozzi.bsky.social for writing such an awesome newsletter that I just had to be one of the cool kids.)

If you're interested, sign up on my site:

www.willwilloughby.com

#AmWriting
Website of Will Willoughby, writer and editor, including featured stories.
August 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
New piece up today on @pointsincase.com.

www.pointsincase.com/articles/for...

#WritingCommunity
Points in Case article titled "For the Record, I'm the One Who Said That Legendarily Funny Thing, Not Chad"
August 16, 2025 at 8:20 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Who among us wouldn’t like to just crawl underground right now?
We see a midsize brown dog with his snout resting in tall grass. He’s shooting suspicious side-eye.
July 19, 2025 at 10:04 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
Me do something dumb? Never.
A toddler in the 1970s has his head stuck in the back of a wooden kitchen chair. He’s looking at the camera with panic in his eyes. His father is leaning down to help but clearly thinks it’s funny.
July 15, 2025 at 6:46 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
“While I Have You” (Does It Have Pockets, 2024) is part of both the Shitty Job and the Business Jargon series.

www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/will...

13/16
Leafless maple branch coated in ice with the sun behind it in a hazy sky.
July 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
My short story “Visions and Revisions” (MIDLVLMAG, Summer 2024) is part of my Alienated Guy Has Shitty Job series.

midlvlmag.com/will-willoug...

12/16
Seen from a distance, a lone figure walks from a dingy roadside restaurant under stark streetlight in the deepening twilight. Power lines stretch across the sky, which is deep blue at the top and red above the mountain range on the horizon.
July 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
I’m planning on co-authoring a novel—a kind of comedy sci-fi adventure. My realistic short-term plan is to have it made into a blockbuster movie starring Matt Damon so I can retire to a lake house in Maine. Probably around the Moosehead Lake area. Maybe Sebago. We’ll see.

8/16
View from a hiking trail over a canopy of trees that are just starting to change color in the fall. In the distance is a large lake with some islands in the center. A hazy blue sky.
July 13, 2025 at 2:12 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
My flash piece “The Projectionist” (Does It Have Pockets, February 2024) was nominated for Best of the Net.

www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/will...

7/16
A man walking down the aisle of a darkened theater is silhouetted against a bright movie screen.
July 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
My first published piece was “Splice.” I’m lucky and grateful that Epiphany picked it up. It gave me enough confidence to keep going.

epiphanyzine.com/features/spl...

In July 2023, I read an excerpt at Epiphany’s launch party in NYC. I’m bald as hell.

3/16
A middle-aged bald man wearing black-framed glasses and black clothes stands in front of a mic reading from a book on a stage with burgundy curtains and violet lighting. He’s probably inwardly panicking, let’s face it.
July 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
I’m proud of my short story “Downstream Benefits” (Pangyrus, 2024), which was nominated for a Pushcart and, in 2025, won a Maine Literary Award.

It combines serious topics (depression, attempted suicide) with corporate satire. Why? Find out:

www.pangyrus.com/fiction/down...

2/16
A stream cuts through tidal flats, flowing toward the ocean in the distance. There's a thin layer of white clouds in an otherwise blue sky.
July 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
willwilloughby.bsky.social
What’s that? You want me to pin an intro thread to my profile?

Fine:

By profession, I’m a copyeditor. Since 2023, I’ve been writing literary short fiction. I have a portfolio:

www.willwilloughby.com

I’m a husband and father. Our dog, Charlie, is a doofus.

1/16

#WritingCommunity
A brown hound sits upright with his legs straight out, person-like, on a kitchen floor as he looks up with unnecessarily soulful eyes.
July 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM