Short Story Collection. Each of these fourteen stories pulses with a rhythm—jazzy or contemplative, staccato or silky, intricate or straightforward—that matches the histories, desires, even the geographies of the characters.

Poet April Ossmann on changing perceptions to heal relationships.

In this episode, we talk with April Ossmann, poet and independent editor, and author of WE… a collection of poems focused on bridging divides by exploring unconscious prejudices. In We, Ossmann hopes to change our perceptions to heal our families and friendships.

Facilitator Spotlight: Hannah Soyer on Identity, Storytelling, and Disability

Hannah Soyer, a queer disabled writer and content specialist for the Reeve Foundation, shares how storytelling empowers identity and self-acceptance. Her upcoming memoir, Dreams in Which I’m Almost Human, offers a moving exploration of disability, community, and belonging.

Anger Management

He conducts anger management by group chat,
and then asks, Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who’s the angriest pod-cast host of them all?
There’s an angry man in the basement,
there’s an angry man at the door.
I heard some angry trolls who exert a toll
from under the bridge are very angry men.

….

“The nature of the writer is to observe the world, remaining at least somewhat detached. This poem, ‘Aperture,’ explores notions of vision. What happens when the writer becomes the object, instead of the subject, of perception? And what happens when, after feeling invisible for many years, the speaker is, in the lens of a movie camera or across the table from someone, suddenly seen? ‘Aperture’ contains a poem within a poem. The line referenced in “𐓡𐓪 ́𐓟𐓤𐓘  /Ho’-e-ga/Snare” (which includes the Osage orthography) reads ‘𐓩𐓣𐓪𐓨𐓘͘𐓜𐓣͘     niu’-moⁿ-bthiⁿ [I walk in the water].’ The phonetic spelling is from A Dictionary of the Osage Language by Francis La Flesche.” 
—Elise Paschen

In today’s episode, I talk with poet April Ossmann about her new book of poetry titled “We.” It’s full of poems that bridge divides and see the humanity of others.

— Rev. Matthew Best

I believe the solution to ending our painful political division is a spiritual/emotional one, resolved not by reason, argument or verbal bullying, but by willingness to engage civilly. We can, and I hope, will, begin to practice this in our communities: shopping, running errands, at entertainment venues, giving or receiving services, visiting with family members and friends with whom we disagree politically. I find energy, hope and joy, in doing so.

Cai Emmons’ ‘The Bells’ releases posthumously as a documentary on her final months screens.

Visual artist and photographer, Louise Wannier, author of the new children’s book TREE SPIRITS AROUND THE WORLD. Louise talks about inspiring children to open their imaginations and connect more meaningfully with the world around them; a call to get away from the constant screen time and get outside and explore nature.

Glitzy gated communities, drug-induced hazes. National moral collapse and the “beautiful, haunted” allure of Los Angeles.

This is just a tease of the mood board that is Luke Goebel’s “Kill Dick,” an upcoming dark thriller novel about a privileged 19-year-old college dropout at a crossroads. Goebel is best known as the co-screenwriter behind “Eileen” (starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie) and “Causeway” (starring Jennifer Lawrence) with his wife, the novelist Ottessa Moshfegh. “Kill Dick” is out April 14, 2026 from Red Hen Press. USA TODAY is exclusively revealing the cover, designed by multimedia artist Alex Israel.

William Archila’s works are featured in the following recommended book lists on Social Justice Books: Poetry, Central America, El Salvador and Bilingual.

When Ron Koertge writes about Persephone, Nancy Drew, and Dracula’s wives in the same poetry collection, he’s creating the unexpected literary terrain that has defined his decades-long career.

The longtime Pasadena City College professor will read from “Pandora’s Kitchen: Poems” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Monday, October 6, at 7 p.m. in conversation with Lindsay Hill.

The free event celebrates Koertge’s newest collection, published September 16 by Red Hen Press, featuring his signature mythic and pop-culture mashups that locate “Jane Austen at the mall” and comfort “the sun itself.”

Louise Wannier is the author and photographer of the new children’s picture book Tree Spirits Around the World. She also has created the book Tree Spirits. She is an artist and designer, and she lives in California.

Q: What inspired this new Tree Spirits book?

A: In the first Tree Spirits interactive picture book, I took readers on a walk through my neighborhood (all but one of the 10 trees in the book are within a mile of where I live in Pasadena, California) and I ask them “What do you see when you look up at this tree?”

I am asking children to have fun, be creative, and open their own imaginations to discover the magic hidden in the trees where they live.

Author, artist, and creative entrepreneur Louise Wannier shares how photography led her to write a children’s book about tree spirits.

My years behind the camera taught me to notice the quiet details in things I saw around me—light, texture, emotion. When I started taking photographs it was a way for me to try to capture what, for me, feels like the spirit of what I am seeing.

I remember the first time I saw a tree spirit. It was in the front park along the road leading up to my primary school in Twickenham, Chase Bridge, a neighborhood south of the River Thames near London. I remember we were still allowed then to play with what we called conkers on a string, a simple game of tying chestnuts on a piece of old yarn. I remember quite vividly looking up at this huge, old oak tree and seeing my first tree spirit. This one was, or felt to me, to be a grand lion watching from its branches.