Ani King (they/them)

@aniking

Michigan writer & stuff. auDHD. gender noncompliant. Fuck AI & Subst*ck. Family Night (Mason Jar Press, 2026) SmokeLong Subs Editor EiC: syntaxandsalt.com (closed)

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Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Jun 27

Extremely good book mail the last couple of weeks! New chapbooks by @lizdebeerwriter.bsky.social & @thewritelifeliz.bsky.social, Issue 23 from @stanchion.bsky.social, the latest from @bestmicrofiction.bsky.social, plus 4 new friends from @neonhemlock.bsky.social. Info in the alt text :)

Picture of four books on a soft, safe green blanket:

1. Farewell to Emptiness by Liz DeBeer
2. Stanchion Issue 23
3. Survival Skills by Elizabeth Rosen
4. Best Microfiction 2026

Four books from Neon Hemlock:
1. Shatter The Sky: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure
2. The Iron Below Remembers by Sharang Biswas
3. The Mystery of the Bitten Peach by Cecilia Tan
4. North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· May 25

Huge thanks to @paranoidxtree.bsky.social for publishing and nominating “Feels Like Rain” for @bestmicrofiction.bsky.social, and to @megpokrass.bsky.social, Gary Fincke, and @dseuss.bsky.social for choosing this as one of the winners! You can grab a copy at www.bestmicrofiction.com

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· May 14

In case you need this sweater as much as I did: www.mulebooks.com/store/fuck-a...

Picture of a sweater with a black and white graphic with a skull and “Fuck AI”

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· May 5

Hot new stack of books from @stanchion.bsky.social! I also super appreciate that all three of these have readable-sized font for the progressive lens wearers amongst us, which I say with gratitude.

Picture of the following three books laid out on a wooden table:

The Last Analog Teenagers by Abigail E. Meyers

Poems to Stage Dive To by Adam Gianforcaro

IRL Poems by Danielle McMahon

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· May 2

Okay I’ve been wanting to try a standalone word processor situation for awhile, and I grabbed this AlphaSmart neo2 on eBay for just over a hundred bucks. Might as well be brand new, and I already love it. The keyboard is really nice, the file transfer is easy, and I was able to just wriiiiite.

Picture of an AlphaSmart NEO2 word processor on a wooden table.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Apr 24

I’ve been sitting here just gently touching these ARCs over and over tbh.

Picture of two copies of Family Night advance reader copies overlapping on a wooden table. The cover features a brightly dressed person sitting on a yellow chair and holding a VHS in front of their face. A stack of unlabeled VHS tapes sits on the floor, and the person’s feet are resting on top of an old CRT television. The title is in big, bright pink, all caps letters.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Apr 23

Quote skeet with the album that is your villain origin story

Picture of the front of the Pearl Jam Ten album.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Apr 20

Y’all. 🥹🥹🥹 I absolutely cannot wait for the cover reveal, but in the meantime I’ll be over here rubbing the ARCs on my face and having feelings. Out with @masonjarpress.bsky.social in October!!

Picture of the Advance Readwr Copy title page of Family Night by Ani King

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Apr 9

So grateful “Family Night“ was chosen for Best Small Fictions 2025. Huge thanks to Robert Shapard, Michelle Elvy, and Nathan Leslie; very special thanks to my @smokelong.bsky.social workshop peeps from Summer 2024 🫶 altcurrentpress.com/2025/11/10/b...

Picture of “Best Small Fictions 2025” paperback on a wooden table background. The cover features a yellow couch, fluffy orange clouds, and an incredibly blue sky.

Picture of the first page of “Family Night” from Best Small Fictions.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Mar 18

This @bendinggenres.bsky.social anthology is lovely and I’m so grateful to have a new horsegirl story in it: My Daughter Paints Me a Horse for Mother’s Day

Picture of a book laying on a soft, fuzzy sage-green blanket. The title reads: BENDING IN THE BREEZE, The Bending Genres Anthology, edited by Amy Marques & Robert Vaughan. A water color background expressed green foliage and blue sky, with an ink drawing of a black tree bending in the implied breeze.

Picture of a page in an open book titled ANI KING, My Daughter Paints Me a Horse For Mother’s Day and the story is below, since it is not available for purchase online or in print

My Daughter Paints Me a Horse For Mother’s Day
It’s the ugliest painting of a horse I’ve ever seen // it doesn’t have eyes // it still follows me around the room // if it were a real horse I’d be afraid to ride it // Ann says Mom can you tell this is Queen Anne // I say of course // I tell her I love it // why do I hate it // the horse is mostly proportionate // it’s good work for an eight year old // the color is even right—tan-gold // Ann’s young enough to know you can love a horse like a person // you can love a horse and never get over it // I think Ann can tell I’m lying // it’s mostly the missing eyes // Queen Anne had such beautiful brown eyes // but Ann keeps asking if I really like her painting // do I really think it looks like Queen Anne // I say yes // she asks did I notice that all the flowers in the field are Queen Anne’s lace // did I see they spell MOM // I tell her it’s perfect // I tell her I love the flowers // I say Ann you’re so clever // Ann says she wishes we could both ride Queen Anne together // me too me too me too // I say Queen Anne was so special // I say she would have loved you too // my daughter asks if I love her as much as Queen Anne // this is a recent phase // every day she likes to ask me if I love her or Mommy more // I am quick and sure to tell Ann I love her most of all // I tell my mother about the painting // she says I told you not to give that girl the same name as that horse.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Mar 17

Just wanted to say @monteiro.bsky.social writes a great fucking book. Not giving up here, friend, I promise.

Picture of a black hardcover book with “How To Die” in pink writing on the front, sitting on a wooden table with a Gilly the guillotine pin, a pink and white sticker that says your ring camera is an ice agent? And a packet of whistles that says “form a crowd, stay loud.”

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Mar 17

Look y’all! The @monarch.gay anthology is gorgeous and such an amazing collection of writing — honored to be a part of this. Big thanks to @psmokejournal.bsky.social for loving this story first! Check the whole anthology out at monarch.gay

Picture of a book laying on a soft, fuzzy sage-green blanket. The title reads: MONARCH 2026, a queer literary awards anthology published by fifth wheel press. A white person in a floral dress is laying with an arm over their face in a field of dark green grass and foliage, with yellow flowers.

Picture of a page in an open book titled I’ll Be Waiting, Ani King, Peatsmoke Journal, with story text beneath it. Story can be read at https://monarch.gay/ill-be-waiting/

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Mar 16

AWP was <amazing|exhausting|super fun|overwhelming> and I am just now finding some energy to post a few things, starting with my book haul. I was unhinged. Unrestrained. My suitcase was somehow 4ish pounds under the max for checked baggage, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Poetry (Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
1. 3 by Sara Lippmann
2. Eke by Wahidah Tame
3. One Thing Follows Another by Sarah Rosenthal & Valerie Witte
4. How to Board a Moving Ship by Rikki Santer
5. trans [re]incarnation by E Kerr
6. Peculiar Heritage by DeMisty D Bellinger
7. re: evolution by Kim Rosenfield
8. Missed Connections with Tall Girls by Gwen Aube
9. Tits on the Moon by Dessa
10. Some Flawed Magic by Patricia Caspers
11. A Pound of Steam by Dessa
12. Mythweaver by Birch Wiley

Anthologies/Lit Mag Issues (Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
Stack #1: Michigan Quarterly Review Winter 2024, Michigan Quarterly Review Winter 2022, Broken River Sampler
Stack #2: Bending in the Breeze - The Bending Genres Anthology, Moon City Review 2026
Stack #3: Fairy Tale Review Rainbow Issue, Fairy Tale Review Silver Issue
Stack # 4: Broad Ripple Review - The Prize Issue, Clarkesworld Issue 223, Clarkesworld Issue 219
Stack #5: Barrelhouse 26, Ghost Parachute: 175 Flash Fiction Stories
Stack #6: BULL 13, Jarnal Vol 4
Stack #7: Swing Winter 2025, Story Issue 12, Ep;phany - Recognition Fall/Winter 2025

Fiction/Memoir/Essays (Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
1. The Foley Artist by Ricco Villanueva Fiasco
2. An Altar of Stories to Liminal Saints by Rios De La Luz
3. The Last Day by Kim Magowan
4. Realistic Fiction by Anton Solomon
5. Girlfriends by Emily Zhou
6. After the Rapture by Nancy Stohlman
7. Horse Show by Jess Bowers
8. Bitter Over Sweet by Melissa Llanes Brownlee
9. Aliens Attack by Dave Housely
10. How to Sit by Tyrese Coleman
11. Ghost Mom by T Guzman
12. First Kicking, Then Not by Hannah Grieco
13. The Earth Room by Dana Diehl
14. Foot Notes by Amy Marques
15. Love You, Miss You, Goodbye Forever by Timothy Boudreau

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Feb 22

Where to catch me at AWP!

Text from image:

Find Me At AWP 2026!

Onsite
Mar. 5 | Mason Jar Press: Meet me @ MJP table #752, 1-2 PM ET
Get a limited edition zine, learn about Family Night, out Oct. 2026

PLUS! Unscheduled wanderings w/ SmokeLong Quarterly editorial team & various times @ Mason Jar Press table #752

Offsite
Mar. 4 | Balancing Act: A Literary Circus @ The Club Car, 7-9PM ET
An evening of burlesque, drag, and literary performance!

Mar. 5 | AWP Local Publishers Event @ Pickles Pub, 5-8PM ET
Six local publishers with readings and an open mic!

Mar. 5 | SmokeLong Quarterly: Meet the Editors @ Old Major, 6-8PM ET
Come hang out for readings by the SLQ editors!

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 26

Skelly and Candi-with-an-i discussing “Mother Karma” by @pleomorphic2.bsky.social - they both loved it, and I’m pretty sure they’re not giving my copy back. This collection is tender and at times a little bit tenderizing, in the best way.

A toddler sized baby pink nutcracker stuffy with green epaulets and gold accents sits in an oversized, sage green chair with a bright pink plastic skeleton; the skeleton is wearing a rainbow flecked cream colored beanie, a black and blue buffalo checked flannel shirt, with a multicolored scarf wrapped around their neck. They appear to be discussing “Mother Karma” by Sumitra Singam, a small yellow paperback with black writing and imagery that is held up between them

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 25

Happy holidays from Skelly and their new seasonal bestie, Candi-with-an-i. And me, of course :)

Picture of Candi-with-an-i, a three foot long baby pink nutcracker stuffy, who has sage green trim and epaulets, white hair and a thick white mustache, and is sitting with their arm around Skelly, a bright pink plastic skeleton with bright pink googly eyes, wearing arainbow flecked cream colored beanie, super bright and flowy scarf, and a dark blue and black buffalo checked flannel shirt. They are sitting together in an oversized sage green chair with the twinkle of Christmas lights in the background.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 18

Omfg that is a great fucking cat! Please enjoy my living throw pillows.

A grey striped cat and a black are cat spooning on a blue blanket. They are canonically in love.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 17

Describe your most recognizable writing style with a meme that burns so bad, okay I’ll go first:

Picture of a comment box that says MY ADVISOR: You will do anything to avoid ending a sentence.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 14

Sometimes you forget to grab everything you plan to read off a shelf and then the Christmas tree is up and your arms are short and well… delighted to be reading “Pardon Me for Moonwalking” by @patriciaqbidar.bsky.social, in ANY format!

Picture of a an e-reader displaying the cover to Pardon Me for Moonwalking by Patricia Q Bidar.

Close partial picture of a lit and decorated Christmas tree blocking a shelf of books.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Dec 4

Now I have two things on submission :D Get your @welkinprize.bsky.social entries in and get a cool badge too! (Thanks to @mattkendrick.bsky.social for running this beloved contest!)

A circular, sparkly yellow image with black and blue stars sprinkled across. Text: The Welkin Writing Prize, Drabble Rouser

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Nov 6

Hope your day gets better!!

Picture of two cats snuggling on a green blanket - the black cat is curled into the grey tabby and the grey tabby is stretched around the black cat.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Nov 4

Might I recommend one for your e-reader (THANK YOU for being available on Kobo!) and one for your shelf? Then you always have a copy close by or to lend a friend :D

Picture of a Kobo e-reader with the cover for Bitter Over Sweet, next to a physical copy of Bitter Over Sweet, laying on a soft green blanket.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Oct 10

Hey friends and mutuals: writtend.bsky is almost certainly not Ottessa Moshfegh’s Bluesky account. She states very clearly on her s*bstack about page that she doesn’t use social media. And this is pretty textbook impersonation vibes. I’ve reported the account, please do the same.

Picture of the writtend account claiming to be Ottessa Moshfegh. There is only one post from a month ago, and the follow behavior is pretty consistent with impersonation accounts.

Picture of a conversation between myself and the Ottessa Moshfegh impersonator where I ask them to reply to the email I sent today if they want to confirm they are really her.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Oct 6

Ahem, in the grand tradition of the comments section: FIRST! Absolutely delighted to have this out here in the wild(s of urban Michigan). @lumchanmfa.bsky.social dropped another banger!

Picture of a book with a bold blue, yellow, black, purple, red-orange and white cover in a Hawaiian print, with the title BITTER OVER SWEET in all caps.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Oct 6

I really love this tiny chapbook!

Picture of a small chapbook with a purplish-blue background and a round full moon with abstract light and dark pink flowers.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Sep 23

lol. I cancelled a few days ago, but raising prices while two of the bundle companies were just on blast for censorship is a bad look. We weren’t going back anyway 😌

Thank you for being a Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle subscriber. We want to let you know about an upcoming change to your subscription.

Your Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (No Ads) monthly plan will increase to $32.99/month, plus applicable taxes, starting on your next billing date on or after October 21, 2025. If you are currently on a promotional offer, your price will increase at the end of the promotional period.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Aug 17

Skelly thoroughly enjoyed Lives of the Dead by @fionamckay.bsky.social, but in an enraged way, because this novella in flash is the perfect melding of fairy tale, "benevolent sexism", and the impact it has on women's lives when they don't get to be in charge of their bodies. 10/10!

A bright pink plastic skeleton (Skelly) with a crocheted beanie is sitting in a very relaxed position in rainbow outdoor folding chair, indoors. A colorful silk art scarf is draped over the chair this week. Skelly is holding a copy of The Lives of the Dead, by Fiona McKay.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Aug 16

Yay! My autographed copy of Rakesfall by @vajra.me, from the @strangehorizons.bsky.social annual fundraiser came!

Picture of a hardcover copy of “Rakesfall” by Vajra Chandrasekera which has a bright pink cover featuring an animal skull and soft yellow flowers with green viny leaves. The book is sitting on a worn wooden table surface.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Aug 4

These two sentences mean the same thing: “New Richard Siken dropped” and “go ahead and hurt me, then.”

Picture of an all black hardcover book with the title, “I Do Know Some Things”, and the authors name, Richard Siken, written in white font that resembles hand writing. The book is sitting on a textured sage green blanket.

Ani King (they/them)@aniking· Jul 31

Skelly's back! Listen, The River Has Roots has sisters who support each other, romance with a non-binary being that is Complicated (tm), and as always with work by @amalelmohtar.com, it's beautifully written and lyrical AF. And of course, there's a little death to deal with, which is Skelly's jam.