Win Some, Lose Some

[shanmonster]

A while back, I applied for a residency in Costa Rica. The Casa Uno Residency is a highly competitive artist residency, and I made the short list. I had an interview with the host yesterday and learned I am under consideration for placement in January/February.

I officially withdrew from consideration for the residency today. I graduate from the Queer Novel Immersive program at GrubStreet in February. If the residency were just a few weeks later, I would have been able to swing it. Womp womp.

The weird thing is, when I applied for the residency, I had a completely illogical feeling that I would get it. I have no idea why I was so certain, but I really was. Maybe I'm psychic.

I applied for several other residencies, but didn't have the same feeling about any of those. I wonder if I'll make it to the final rounds for any of them. One is in Alaska, one in Switzerland, one in Banff, and the other is online. Another writer I know is also applying for the Banff one. It would be fantastic if we both got it. I've been working with her online for over a year, and I'd love to meet her.

In other news, I recently completed edits for my personal essay "Monsters." It will be published in a special issue of Ex-Puritan. When I received my acceptance letter, the editor called my essay "fucking phenomenal." It's the only time I've ever had an F-bomb in an acceptance letter. An early version of the essay was shortlisted for the Dreaming into Collective Futures contest by Textile Magazine but was not published. I first began work on the piece while working in MT Space's Arts Exchange. "Monsters" is a personal essay showing the deleterious effects of settler colonialism on my life and the life of friends and family. It's a heavy read.

Also, although I did not win The Forge Literary Magazine's flash fiction contest, my story "The Bird Husband" made it to the longlist. Time to send it elsewhere. It is inspired by the story of Nuliajuk/Sedna from Inuit folklore.

I am currently enrolled in a flash fiction course through Workman Arts. I think I'll read "The Bird Husband" to the class today. I hope I will generate even more good stories through the course.

Today I plan on writing the next chapter of my work-in-progress "The Development." It's my gothic tale of southwestern suburban sprawl.

In November, I will be getting caught up on my writing even more, taking a course on subgenres of horror through Alex Davis Events. There are still spaces available if you're interested. I recommend Alex's courses. They're very good, and reasonably priced.

I will also be helping develop a course on flash memoir with Rachel Thompson. I'll be "playtesting" the course to give feedback on it. I've enjoyed her classes, and recommend them. Her Lit Mag Love course is what got me organized and paved the way for my professional writing credits.

In case you're interested, here are my publications for the year, as well as my upcoming publications. The year isn't over yet. Maybe I'll get even more of my work published!

2025 “Half Blood Line” and “To Live a Life More Full.” Forthcoming poetry in Workman Arts Literary Anthology
2025 “If You Listen.” Forthcoming fiction in Terrain.org
2025 “The Qalupalik.” Forthcoming fiction in Flash Fiction Online.
2025 “The Ghosts of Forests Past.” Forthcoming CNF in ALOCASIA
2025 “The Tupilaq.” Forthcoming fiction in Iridescence anthology. January 2025
2025 “The Infective.” Forthcoming fiction in Asylum of Terror: Volume 2 anthology
2025 “The Stolen Language of My Ancestors.” Poetry in IHRAM Publishes: Indigenous Voices - Heart, Hope and Land
2024 “Wolf Mother.” Fiction in Inner Worlds.
2024 “Angakkuq.” Poetry in On Spec. December 2024.
2024 “The Yolk of the Moon.” Fiction in LSUA Flash Fiction Booklet and website.
2024 “The T-Bone.” CNF in The Masters Review
2024 “Daisy Chain.” Fiction in Against the Wall, Under the Armor anthology. December 2024.
2024 “Sirens Don’t Sing Underwater.” Fiction in Moonlit Getaway. December 2024.
2024 “Monsters.” CNF in Ex-Puritan. November 2024.
2024 “Scarred.” Fiction in Meetinghouse Magazine. October 2024.
2024 “The Snow Hath No Queen.” Fiction in MetaStellar. September 2024.
2024 Excerpt from “The Tupilaq.” Fiction in Kinsman Quarterly. September 2024
2024 “A Time For Dolls.” Play in Native Voices: A Literary Collection of Emerging Indigenous Writers.
2024 “The Last Trench.” Fiction in Bitter Become the Fields. Horns and Rattles Press. July 2024.
2024 “Exile of Nuliajuk.” Poetry in Heredity issue of NonBinary Review, June 2024
2024 “Keswick Valley Memorial, 1984,” “This is How to Not Give Up,” and “Salt Water Strider.” Poems in Event Poetry and Prose
2024 “Tom Thumb of the North'' & “Blubber Boy: A Traditional Inuit Tale Then and Now.” Fiction in Mihko Kiskisiwin/Blood Memory: An Anthology.
2024 “Saddles in the Kitchen.” Memoir in Redivider.
2024 “Hiding in Plain Sight: Life With and Without Masks.” Personal essay in Knee Brace Press.
2024 “Saved” and “Wrassling’s Object Lesson.” Poetry in Eavesdrop Magazine.
2024 “Thumbing to Sugar Daddy Oberon.” Short fiction in MetaStellar.
2024 “This is the Time Just Before Spider Woman Meets Kiviuq.” Poetry in West Trestle Review

Comments

[valkryor]

You forgot your entry in "Bitter Become the Fields".

[shanmonster]

Oh, good catch! Thank you!

[the_lucky_nun]

Thank you for posting the link to Monsters! I'm catching up on your entries, followed the link to read it, and it really resonated. Out of curiosity, the friend you mentioned in the essay who got upset with you - was it Brittney? I just saw on Instagram that the "Ghost Warrior Society" went after her, too.

[shanmonster]

Oh my gosh, no, definitely not Brittney. I'm so sorry they're after her, too. It's awful. These witch hunts are ruining lives.

I'm glad you enjoyed the essay, though. I've had even more issues since that was written, unfortunately.

[the_lucky_nun]

Man, I'm sorry. I wish it wasn't like this, especially for those of us who lost our connection because of trauma and decisions our parents made.