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Jen Michalski

@socalwritergirl

Writer, EIC, @jmwwjournal.bsky.social. Rep: Esty Loveing-Downes at Howland Literary. Latest: ALL THIS CAN BE TRUE (@TurnerPub, June 2025).

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10.11.2024
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Latest posts by Jen Michalski @socalwritergirl

I really miss getting the newspaper on my doorstep in the morning and having the sense that a collective worked diligently, day in and day out, to ensure we received truthful reporting. But I guess I’m an old fart.

06.03.2026 17:36 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Excited to be a finalist for Foreword Review’s 2025 INDIES award!

06.03.2026 01:05 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Is there a person to whom we can describe a book we want to write or read and they give you comp titles, or do we still call that person a librarian?

05.03.2026 18:47 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

If you’re not crazy, please vote today because the crazy people sure as hell are. #primaries #vote #bringbacksanity

03.03.2026 14:54 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Omg, they’re idiots. You voted for people who couldn’t manage a Popeye’s

02.03.2026 05:32 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Entirely unsurprising how fast the MAGA’s heads swiveled from no new wars to conflict with Iran. They would cheer obliterating their own existence if Trump was the one detonating the bomb.

01.03.2026 00:34 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’m kind of torn whether I want to go to heaven or over the rainbow bridge. I mean, do I get a choice?

25.02.2026 22:03 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I feel like part of the marriage contract is that your partner should watch your IG reels within 24 hours of you sending them.

22.02.2026 03:31 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The hardest thing about being a writer is explaining to people who are not writers but want to be writers why an anecdote is not a story.

21.02.2026 04:38 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The transition from going out drinking on Friday nights to staying at home waiting for one of your Words With Friends partners to lay some tile is not as gradual as you think.

14.02.2026 06:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Is everyone’s day pretty much:

1. I’m really great at what I do.
2. I’m a terrible fraud.

Repeat until bed?

12.02.2026 00:53 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Trying to learn up on my Bad Bunny before Sunday but this gummy is making me too sleepy. Bad gummy.

07.02.2026 05:57 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The things I’m most scared of at my age in exercise classes are not 1) whether I can go 60 whole minutes (I can) or 2) whether the weights are too heavy (they’re not) but whether I’ll poot or pee a little in the middle of a squat or jumping jack.

07.02.2026 04:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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a man in a suit and tie is laughing with his mouth open ALT: a man in a suit and tie is laughing with his mouth open

There was this couple from New Jersey, Nicki and Anthony, who were on the snorkeling trip we took last month. It was like they walked off the screen of Goodfellas, and I still think about them.

05.02.2026 17:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Sometimes people pass through your life to show you it’s not *you* who are broken.

04.02.2026 15:16 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I think if we’ve learned anything this week, it’s to be as warm, welcoming, funny, and kind as Catherine O’Hara. If any artist deserves her own Bible (besides Dolly Parton), it’s her.

03.02.2026 21:35 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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From Here, by Jen Michalski Fiction. The twelve stories in FROM HERE explore the dislocations and intersections of people searching, running away, staying put. Their physical and emotional landscapes run the gamut, but in the en...

We're running a sale on the website. Get 25% off your order with promo code Molly at checkout. One of the books we have in stock is From Here by @socalwritergirl.bsky.social. It's $16.99 and a short story collection.
carpelibrumbaltimore.com/products/fro...

01.02.2026 15:51 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Catherine O’Hara died.

I’m inconsolable.

30.01.2026 18:38 πŸ‘ 1324 πŸ” 77 πŸ’¬ 67 πŸ“Œ 13

The missus said β€œI’m looking for countertops on my phone” and I said, β€œI’ll help” and then I got on my phone and sent her a bunch of dog reels from Instagram. Teamwork makes the dream work.

27.01.2026 04:05 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego drops gender-affirming procedures, prescriptions The hospital, which says it acted after a federal threat to pull reimbursement, will continue offering counseling, mental health resources and care coordination.

Devastating: β€œRady, the region’s only hospital dedicated solely to serving children and adolescents, cited recent federal pressure to end gender-affirming care or potentially lose access to all federal Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement.”

www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/20/r...

21.01.2026 16:47 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

1. Wilco
2. Belle & Sebastian
3. Sleater-Kinney
4. Sonic Youth
5. Patti Smith

21.01.2026 04:07 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Look, there are two things killing bookstores, and neither one is ebooks.

One is rent.

The other is *waves hands vaguely* everything costing too damn much.

19.01.2026 21:58 πŸ‘ 4407 πŸ” 525 πŸ’¬ 95 πŸ“Œ 23
A graphic stating β€œJMWW Virtual Reading, Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 7pm EST/4pm PST with photos of Juliet Way-Henthorne, Priyanuj Mazumdar, Lisa Thornton, Charlotte Van Schaack, and Keene Short.

A graphic stating β€œJMWW Virtual Reading, Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 7pm EST/4pm PST with photos of Juliet Way-Henthorne, Priyanuj Mazumdar, Lisa Thornton, Charlotte Van Schaack, and Keene Short.

Join @jmwwjournal.bsky.social Senior CNF Editor Juliet, Senior Fiction Editor Priyanuj, Associate CNF Editors Charlotte & Keene, and me for a virtual reading and Q&A on Tuesday, Jan. 20!

(I bought a new light. Come check out the β€œwarm” setting πŸ’‘)

Register here ➑️ ccae-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

18.01.2026 19:27 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Who knew Maya Rudolph was in an early iteration of that dog as their dummer? I bet @rahnealexander.com does!

18.01.2026 03:16 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ve taken 2 flights this year (one to DC, one to HI), and neither were full in at least one direction). This is the first time in years I haven’t been on overbooked flight, especially to 2 high-traffic airports.

17.01.2026 02:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We’re watching Trump radicalizing an entire generation in real time

15.01.2026 13:43 πŸ‘ 5176 πŸ” 1319 πŸ’¬ 184 πŸ“Œ 42

MAGA has been great for my self-esteem all around.

Where I used to be hesitant to do things like electrical or plumbing repairs, I think to myself, "A bunch of guys who fell for Donald Trump could do this without hurting themselves, I can."

12.01.2026 03:26 πŸ‘ 356 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 1

You are not who we need in this moment. Please resign and let a real journalist preserve democracy.

11.01.2026 18:00 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Hell is a comments page on a Facebook news article,

08.01.2026 21:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This Was Inevitable. And It Is Unforgivable. ICE Owns This. A warning ignored. A life lost. This cannot become routine.

Kristi Noem calling the victim’s actions β€œdomestic terrorism” is propaganda. Full stop. I served as a White House homeland security advisor. I know what that designation means & when it’s misused. A U.S. citizen is dead. She was a mom. This is what ICE impunity looks like. It cannot be normalized.

08.01.2026 16:28 πŸ‘ 1712 πŸ” 659 πŸ’¬ 68 πŸ“Œ 31