First Novel Prize @firstnovelprize.bsky.social Writing competition for unpublished and independently published novelists. Entries close on the 31st of May. Judged by Sally Williamson (Transworld) and Hayley Steed (Janklow & Nesbit). Organised by the Literary Studio. Bloomsbury, London
firstnovel.co.uk
Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social Fulbrighter, American, African American, Southern literature. medium.com/@interminablerambling
[Opinions are my own]
@hindmanschool.bsky.social @hindmanschool.bsky.social 
Anonymous @youranoncentral.bsky.social #Anonymous: Actions Not Nouns. All that exists is interaction. #BindingChaos #3E https://yacnews.com/
Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov Dad, husband, teacher, coach, veteran. Governor of Minnesota. Working to move our state forward as #OneMinnesota.
@christastrophe80.bsky.social @christastrophe80.bsky.social 
NC Writers' Network @ncwritersnetwork.bsky.social Supporting "The Writingest State" since 1985. We provide a network for North Carolina writers through conferences, online classes, critique services, and other programs. Learn more: https://linktr.ee/ncwriters
Megan @thegoodoldworld.bsky.social Traveler. Reader. Lover of the arts. Outdoor adventurer. Amateur historian. Former journalist. Product of many generations of Appalachian farmers. Fan of human rights and equity. Born 🇺🇸 living in 🇳🇿 and username because: Tom Waits.
Rowan Brighton Brown @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social ⋆Queer Southern Novelist 🌿
⋆WHITE TRASH WITCHCRAFT (HH Fall, 2027)
⋆Rep: @keiralekseii.bsky.social at Azantian
⋆✒️WTMP & 🩵 SmoochPit Mentor
https://linktr.ee/RowanBrightonBrown
Kyla Houbolt @luaz.bsky.social I write poems and I garden. *Becoming Altar*, new and selected poems, available from asterismbooks.com. *Mapless* available from SHINE Poetry. See https://kylahoubolt.us/ for all kinds of more. Oh, and NO AI at all.
Amy Weislogel (she/her) @amyrocks.bsky.social Here for democratizing science, broadening participation, meeting climate and energy challenges and rising up Appalachia. And of course nerding on rocks. Prof. of Geology at West Virginia University with a penchant for sedimentary rocks. Opinions all mine.
@rachel-holbrook.bsky.social @rachel-holbrook.bsky.social 
Chris Cooper @chriscooperwcu.bsky.social Professor of Political Science & Public Affairs at Western Carolina University. American politics, state politics, North Carolina politics, southern politics, elections. Recent book: Anatomy of a Purple State (UNC Press 2024).
http://www.chriscooperwcu.com
Doug Van Gundy @dougvangundy.bsky.social Neurodivergent. Poet. Fiddler. Humanist.
Proud West Virginian.
Proud Liberal.
Proud Weirdo.
Jeremy Paden @jdpaden.bsky.social i wish i had not left the cap in my profile picture on a plane in Spain...
https://jpaden4.wixsite.com/jeremypadenpoet
Brad Barkley @bradbarkley.bsky.social Novels, short story collections, and YA fiction published by Norton, St. Martin’s, and Penguin/Dutton. New work forthcoming from Regal House. NEA Fellowship. Repped by @jennaschmenna.bsky.social Bradbarkley.com
The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk Independent poetry press + cultural review platform. We publish narrative-led work with edge. #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #WednesdayWIPs
#PromoteIndieLit
Edited by @alanparrywriter.co.uk
www.thebrokenspine.co.uk
https://linktr.ee/brokenspinearts
Astro Poets @astropirata.bsky.social not the official poetastrologers!!!! made it for my fellow former exiled brazilians
https://www.theastropoets.com/
Proud Appalachian @rwheeler.bsky.social Posting about the news, politics and culture of Appalachia.🦋
Maurice Ruffin @mauricenow.bsky.social Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way. 💐 I'm probably on my Substack: Sitting in Silence.✍️🏿https://mauricecarlosruffin.substack.com/
Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social The official "Resistance" team of U.S. National Park Service. Our website: www.ourparks.org
Appodlachia @appodlachia.com John Brown is a hero / Unions are good / Accents are sexy / redneck is a term of endearment https://lnk.bio/appodlachia
Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com noun | a reference source containing words alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, and etymologies
Emily St. James @emilystjams.bsky.social Writer! TV: Yellowjackets. Novel: Woodworking (out now). Podcasts: Arden. Journalism: Vox, A.V. Club, NYT, etc. Like a large language model but for my formative trauma. Newsletter here: https://episodes.ghost.io/
Rob Spillman @robspillman.bsky.social Literary Citizen, rewilder, dogfather to two rescues. www.robspillman.com
New York Magazine @nymag.com This is New York: Intelligencer, The Cut, Vulture, Curbed, Grub Street, The Strategist.
Subscribe: http://nymag.com/subscribe
Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social Mondays at 9pmET on MS NOW
MaddowBlog.com
The Guardian @theguardian.com The need for independent journalism has never been greater. Become a Guardian supporter https://support.theguardian.com
🇺🇸 Guardian US https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com
🇦🇺 Guardian Australia https://bsky.app/profile/australia.theguardian.com
Ibram X. Kendi @ibramxk.bsky.social Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History @Howard.edu • Director @huadvstudy.bsky.social • Editor @TheEmancipator.org • National Book Award Winner • #1 NYT Bestselling Author. #BeAntiracist. 🐍🦁🌱
ibramxkendi.com
God @thegodshow.com Creator of the Universe.
thegodshow.com
https://youtube.com/@thegodshowlive
Betania @ebetania.bsky.social “Like a warm cup of cocoa on a cold day, sprinkled with a little chaos”
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social Husband, Actor, Activist, Uncle George to the Internet 🖖
Chuck Corra @chuckcorra.bsky.social WV-native | Former Tennessean | Current Florida Man
The Bitter Southerner @bittersouth.bsky.social Indie media co, 2 print magazines, books, record label, podcast, tees, flags, ASME 🏆 2026 (General Excellence Literature Science & Politics), 9 James Beard Awards #BetterAmerica #BetterWorld — please subscribe
Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social A daily literary website highlighting the best in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and criticism.
https://linktr.ee/lithub_
Salvation South @salvationsouth.com Stories that shift the Southern narrative at https://salvationsouth.com. Salvation South Deluxe podcast on the NPR Network — https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1124772160/salvation-south — or your fave podcast platform.
The New York Review of Books @nybooks.com ‘The premier literary-intellectual magazine in the English language.’
Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social The Oxford American is a national magazine dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the South.
https://linktr.ee/oxfordamerican
Kelli Jo Ford @kellijoford.bsky.social Crooked Hallelujah (Grove Atlantic). Cherokee Nation>TX>Virginia. Cherokee. she/her. Hiatusing over here now.
kellijoford.com
Robin Miura @robinmiura.bsky.social Editor, reader, liberal southerner
Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social Executive Director / Hub City Writers Project
Publisher / @hubcitypress.bsky.social
Habs fan / Canadian in the South 🍁
www.megireid.com
Rex Chapman @rexchapman.bsky.social Team game
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Its-Hard-for-Me-to-Live-with-Me/Rex-Chapman/9781982197773
Andrew K. Clark ✨ @theandrewkclark.bsky.social Horror Author and Grits Enthusiast-AVL, NC. The Temu Jeffrey Dean Morgan. My latest, HOLLOW FOLK, out 9/29.
andrewkclark.com. HWA member.
Reckon with what needs reckoning.
Jane Hicks @thecosmicpossum.bsky.social Poet, teacher, granny, over-educated hillbilly. Possum lover. Cancer survivor.
Lauren Groff @legroff.bsky.social Writer
Read Appalachia @readappalachia.bsky.social celebrating & appalachian literature & writing
founded by @kdwinchester.bsky.social
Neema Avashia @avashianeema.bsky.social Proud Boston educator since 2003. Proud West Virginian since 1979. Kahani's Ammi. ANOTHER APPALACHIA, WVU Press, 2022. 
Deesha Philyaw @deeshaphilyaw.bsky.social Author of THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF FIRST LADY FREEMAN (on sale 9.29.2026; pre-order: https://bit.ly/firstladyfreeman) and THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES.
Kendra Winchester @kdwinchester.bsky.social Contributing Editor Book Riot | Founder @readappalachia.bsky.social | Cofounder @littlebirdslit.bsky.social | she/her
@silashouse.bsky.social @silashouse.bsky.social 
Amy Le Ann Richardson @kymtnwriter.bsky.social Writer and artist. WHO YOU GROW INTO (2024) and MAKE BELIEVE WORLDS WE BUILT TOGETHER (2023) and OUT OF PLACES (2025). Farmer at Forgotten Foods Farm. Kentucky.
Tiffany Williams @tiffanywilliams.bsky.social Appalachian • Kentuckian • Singer-Songwriter Fiction Writer • Dialect Coach
📍Nashville
Roger May @walkyourcamera.bsky.social Hillbilly. Veteran. West Virginian. Montani Semper Liberi. Operations Director @appalshop. Creator of http://lookingatappalachia.org. IG @walkyourcamera. http://rogermayphotography.com
Abby Freeland @abbyfreeland.bsky.social senior acquisitions editor at university press of kentucky | formerly wvu press | she/her
https://www.kentuckypress.com/appalachian-futures-black-native-and-queer-voices/
Jay McCoy @mcjay.bsky.social Artist, writer, Appalachian, book lover...director of Kentucky Book Festival and Kentucky Center for the Book
Margaret Renkl @margaretrenkl.bsky.social Author, most recently, of "The Weedy Garden" (for children) and "The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year" (for adults).
Tom Kimmerer, PhD @tomkimmerer.bsky.social I am a tree scientist and botanist writing about relationships between trees and humans including climate change. A Fulbright Scholar, Author of Venerable Trees and more books in progress. Read about trees here: https://ourtrees.substack.com.
Kristi Stephens Walker @kswalkerwriter.bsky.social Writer.
Learner.
Appalachian.
Friend.
Nick Smith @nixmyth.bsky.social KY. Poetry. Appalachia. Communism.
Making visual art in textiles, wood, and metal over @sassy_sewcialist on Instagram
Leah Hampton @leahhampton.bsky.social Writer of F*CKFACE, professor of Things
James Tate Hill @jamestatehill.bsky.social memoir: Blind Man's Bluff (W.W. Norton, NYT Editors' Choice)
novel: Academy Gothic (Nilsen Prize for a First Novel)
editor: The Writer's Chronicle & Monkeybicycle
agent @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social
WV native
still living in 1986
jamestatehill.com
Loren Lee Crawford @lorenlee.bsky.social Teacher, writer, director. I make theater with kids. I do what I can to make the world fair and good. It’s not enough but I won’t give up.
Emily Hilliard @emhilly.bsky.social Folklorist & writer | MAKING OUR FUTURE: VISIONARY FOLKLORE & EVERYDAY CULTURE IN APPALACHIA (UNC Press 2022) | @spinstersounds.bsky.social co-owner | @thefemalebobdylan.bsky.social podcast |
Jessie Wilkerson @jessiew.bsky.social Author of To Live Here, You Have to Fight | Historian of 20th C U.S., Appalachia, labor, women & gender | Associate Prof. at WVU | Views mine. JessicaWilkerson.org
Katie Myers @stopitkatie.bsky.social Appalachian regional climate reporter @ Grist/ Blue Ridge Public Radio. I write plays and other weird stuff sometimes.
Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social Nonprofit press publishing new and extraordinary voices from the American South. Learn more at hubcity.org/publishing. Shop our catalog at hubcity.org/books.
William Woolfitt @williamwoolfitt.bsky.social Writer, poet, teacher. Out now: THE NIGHT THE RAIN HAD NOWHERE TO GO (poems @BellePointPress, 2024). EYES MOVING THROUGH THE DARK (essays @OrisonBooks, 2024).
Kari Gunter-Seymour @karigunterseymour.bsky.social Ohio Poet Laureate, 9th Generation Appalachian, Photographer, Author of DIRT SONGS and ALONE IN THE HOUSE OF MY HEART, featured in World Literature Today and American Book Review
Ashley Runyon @ashleyrunyon.bsky.social Director - University Press of Kentucky
Maggie Smith @maggiesmithwrites.bsky.social Novelist, Podcast Host, Editor, Movie Buff linktr.ee/maggiesmithwrites
Carter Sickels @cartersickels.bsky.social Author: THE PRETTIEST STAR (Hub City 2020), THE EVENING HOUR (Bloomsbury 2012)
www.cartersickels.com
la grande dame du jazz & l'incomparable chanteuse @upfromsumdirt.blacksky.app poet, visual artist, & nyeusiphile
entering my fifth intermediate period of poetry
Crystal Wilkinson @crystalwilki.bsky.social Novelist, Food Advocate, Professor. National Bestselling Author of PRAISESONG FOR THE KITCHEN GHOSTS, PERFECT BLACK, BIRDS OF OPULENCE
https://linktr.ee/CrystalWilkinson?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=d3c6b47f-690c-483b-9898-8faed08cd35d
Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/roxanegay
Writer, editor, publisher, professor. Some people call me a bad feminist and by some people I mean me.
Colson Whitehead @colsonwhitehead.com Release the bats
Meg Gardiner @meggardiner.bsky.social #1 New York Times bestselling author 
Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social TIPS: Email me at nhannahjones@nytimes.com or send a Signal nhannahjones.67 //Founder Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard Univ// Staff writer at NYT Mag// Creator #1619Project// History blerd//Smart and Thuggish
Wes Browne @browneallover.bsky.social Kentucky author of the novels THEY ALL FALL THE SAME, winner of the 2025 Weatherford Award, and HILLBILLY HUSTLE. Attorney/Pizza Purveyor. Repped by Alice Speilburg.
www.wesbrowneauthor.com
David Joy @davidjoy.bsky.social Half-assed author of novels. Full-assed wanderer of woods. Born looking lonesome, on’ry, and mean. Also, I fucking cuss a lot.
James D.F. Hannah @jamesdfhannah.bsky.social Shamus-winning author of the Henry Malone novels. Appalachian to the bitterest of ends. Rep: @michellerichterbks.bsky.social Insta @jamesdfhannah. He/him jamesdfhannah.com
chelyendavis.bsky.social @chelyen.bsky.social Appalachian, writer, fiddler, cat lady.
Jason M Thornberry @jason-m-thornberry.bsky.social THE FINISH LINE (Sand and Gravel Press) • Blood Type: Curry • Leeds United • Anti-AI
#LUFC
jmthornberry.wordpress.com
sandandgravelpress.com/store/the-finish-line-jason-thornberry
Tyler Monson @tylerlazer.bsky.social He/Him / Literary agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. / PhD in American Literature / dog (Violet) and cat (Poppy) dad / Open to queries! 📚
https://www.sll.com/our-team
Matt Cashion @mattcashion.bsky.social Reader, writer, Prof. Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Last Words of the Holy Ghost, stories, Edna Ferber Prize for Our 13th Divorce, a novel. NC-born, GA-raised, OR-educated Prof. of Creative Writing @U. Wisconsin-La Crosse. mattcashion.com
Matthew Duffus @duffusmatthew.bsky.social Author of the novel SWAPPING PURPLES FOR YELLOWS and of the collection DUNBAR’S FOLLY AND OTHER STORIES. High school English teacher and Fiction Editor for Orison Books.
Chris McGinley @mcginley.bsky.social Author: ONCE THESE HILLS and COAL BLACK.
https://www.chris-mcginley.com/ Writer at Crimereads, Mystery Tribune, Reckon Review, etc. 
Laura Leigh Morris @lauraleighwrite.bsky.social Appalachian, prison reform advocate, mother, author of The Stone Catchers: A Novel (UP Kentucky, 2024) and Jaws of Life: Stories (West Virginia UP, 2018). Words in STORY, North American Review, Florida Review, others.
www.lauraleighmorris.com 
Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social Award-winning author. 📍Kentucky
HAZELGREEN & OTHER HAUNTS is forthcoming in ‘27 from WVU Press;
PINEVILLE TRACE (Etchings Press)
💙 cats, trees, music | wesblake.com
Jeremy B Jones @thejeremybjones.bsky.social When I say writer, Siri hears rider
thejeremybjones.com
New book out: cipherthebook.com
In the NC mountains
Repped by Justin Brouckaert at Aevitascreative
PattiClay @patticlay.bsky.social Poet. Reader. Lover of travel and tea.
Asheville FM @ashevillefm.bsky.social AshevilleFM is community radio, broadcasting at 103.3 on the FM dial in Asheville, NC. Tune In & Turn It Up!
ashevillefm.org
Tonja Reynolds @tonjamreynolds.bsky.social Fiction writer. Words in Still: The Journal, Streetlight Magazine, 100 Word Story, and elsewhere. Writing historical and literary fiction.
#HistoricalFiction #Fiction #Writer
TonjaReynolds.com
Rachel Dockal @racheldockal.bsky.social Wright, writer, sometime chicken farmer, and gainfully employed budget wonk. Enlightened Kentuckian. Kind > nice. Know better? Do better.
Marianne Worthington @mworthington.bsky.social Poet, Educator, Editor; author of Water. Witness. Word (Belle Point Press) The Girl Singer: Poems (UP of KY 2021), words in Oxford American, Shenandoah, Calyx, Zone 3, Salvation South. Reformed college professor. . .
Jody DiPerna @jodydiperna.bsky.social Lovechild of the Rust Belt & Appalachia.
Reprobate reader. Rogue writer.
Blow up the Data Centers.
This is a no AI Zone.
Stephen King @stephenking.bsky.social Writer