Brandon Haffner
@thebrandonhaff.bsky.social
Writer, prof, etc. | Stories: Cincinnati Review, Sewanee Review, Harvard Review, New Orleans Review | VCCA '23, '24; KHN '24; Hambidge '25 | #RVA | @Richmonder.bsky.social | Prose editor @Variantlit.bsky.social
https://thebrandonhaff.com/
https://thebrandonhaff.com/
I got to interview writer David Ryan about his wacky new story collection, Alligator. Trying to write weirder myself these days, so this was an especially awesome conversation. Check it out: variantlit.com/dualities-mi...
Dualities, Micro-audacities, and Writing Around the Center: a Conversation with David Ryan on Alligator
Brandon Ahmad Haffner interviews David Ryan about his new short story collection Alligator, discussing memory, experimental writing, creative constraints, duality, and writing around the center.
variantlit.com
September 15, 2026 at 1:13 PM
I got to interview writer David Ryan about his wacky new story collection, Alligator. Trying to write weirder myself these days, so this was an especially awesome conversation. Check it out: variantlit.com/dualities-mi...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Coming soon!
Godspotting by Aleksandar Hemon - Copper Canyon Press
Godspotting by Aleksander Hemon explores the normalization of violence, new beginnings as a refugee, and Hemon's birthplace of Sarajevo. These poems illuminate the natural human desire to figure out o...
www.coppercanyonpress.org
August 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Coming soon!
What a happy pleasure it was to interview @rachelbeanland.bsky.social about her newest novel, The Half Life!
www.richmonder.org/local-author...
www.richmonder.org/local-author...
Local author Rachel Beanland’s newest book revisits a childhood home in Italy
“I don’t think I would be a novelist without being a Richmonder.”
www.richmonder.org
July 14, 2026 at 12:25 AM
What a happy pleasure it was to interview @rachelbeanland.bsky.social about her newest novel, The Half Life!
www.richmonder.org/local-author...
www.richmonder.org/local-author...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
“Universities are incentivized by the promise of better credit scores to not only suppress labor wages but also labor power. From the vantage of credit rating agencies, tenure systems, strong labor protections, and legislative control of tuition are not democratic treasures but red-flag liabilities”
I'm pretty well informed on the dynamics that threaten higher ed and academic freedom, but I did not wholly appreciate the role "debt" plays, and not just student loan debt. An eye opening convo with Jason Wozniak of @debtcollective.bsky.social. academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/debt-an-un...
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academicfreedomontheline.substack.com
June 30, 2026 at 8:35 PM
“Universities are incentivized by the promise of better credit scores to not only suppress labor wages but also labor power. From the vantage of credit rating agencies, tenure systems, strong labor protections, and legislative control of tuition are not democratic treasures but red-flag liabilities”
Had a happy chat about writing and confidence with @sophiestern.bsky.social for Write Something Weird, how nice!
I got to interview @thebrandonhaff.bsky.social!!!!!
Check it out here >>>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6tV...
Check it out here >>>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6tV...
Write Something Weird | 33: The Route by Brandon Ahmad Haffner
YouTube video by Sophie Stern | Romance Books
www.youtube.com
June 24, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Had a happy chat about writing and confidence with @sophiestern.bsky.social for Write Something Weird, how nice!
Extremely happy to have my very weird story, "The Route," appear in this spring's issue of @cincinnatireview.bsky.social. Dream journal. An eager reader stole my contributors copies right from the envelope (!), so I'm still waiting to see it print, but soon! www.cincinnatireview.com/issues/issue...
Issue 23.1 - The Cincinnati Review
Featuring fiction by Pam Durban; nonfiction by Marcia Aldrich and Megan Harlan; poetry by Rosebud Ben-Oni, David Hernandez, Dong Li, and Adrienne Su; our Schiff contest winners, and more
www.cincinnatireview.com
June 4, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Extremely happy to have my very weird story, "The Route," appear in this spring's issue of @cincinnatireview.bsky.social. Dream journal. An eager reader stole my contributors copies right from the envelope (!), so I'm still waiting to see it print, but soon! www.cincinnatireview.com/issues/issue...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Don't forget to register for this free workshop with @thebrandonhaff.bsky.social !
June 2, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Don't forget to register for this free workshop with @thebrandonhaff.bsky.social !
Yay. Come write weird stuff with me!
So excited to announce our next free workshop! Write Weirder Fiction: On Leaning into Your Own Strangeness, led by Brandon Ahmad Haffner @thebrandonhaff.bsky.social
May 22, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Yay. Come write weird stuff with me!
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Virginia Gov @abigailspanberger.com and Democratic legislature should pass immediate legislation to redistrict anyway. If the old confederate states can do it post Callais - so can Dems in Virginia if they care about saving our democracy.
May 8, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Virginia Gov @abigailspanberger.com and Democratic legislature should pass immediate legislation to redistrict anyway. If the old confederate states can do it post Callais - so can Dems in Virginia if they care about saving our democracy.
Illegitimate court
May 8, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Illegitimate court
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
virginia voters should call their delegates and senators and demand that they ignore this illegitimate ruling
May 8, 2026 at 4:12 PM
virginia voters should call their delegates and senators and demand that they ignore this illegitimate ruling
I wrote for the The Richmonder about the Richmond Animation Festival happening this upcoming weekend. If you're in town, come on out and support independent animation. It's gonna be a weird & cool time. www.richmonder.org/fourth-annua...
Fourth Annual Richmond Animation Festival brings fringe animation to the general public
Dash Shaw wants you to watch weird animated movies.
www.richmonder.org
April 21, 2026 at 7:17 PM
I wrote for the The Richmonder about the Richmond Animation Festival happening this upcoming weekend. If you're in town, come on out and support independent animation. It's gonna be a weird & cool time. www.richmonder.org/fourth-annua...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
"Independent bookstores make quiet comeback as big chains dominate retail"
"About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation"
"About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation"
Independent bookstores make quiet comeback as big chains dominate retail
About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation
www.theguardian.com
April 19, 2026 at 3:19 PM
"Independent bookstores make quiet comeback as big chains dominate retail"
"About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation"
"About 422 indie bookshops opened in 2025, up 31%, defying predictions of retail consolidation"
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
@rabihalameddine.bsky.social and John Freeman consider their new anthology and the appeal of the international short story.
The International Short Story is Booming
In 2002, a friend asked if I would join him for a San Francisco Symphony concert with David Robinson as guest conductor. They were to play Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphonie. I was a bit ambi…
buff.ly
April 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM
@rabihalameddine.bsky.social and John Freeman consider their new anthology and the appeal of the international short story.
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Hello all you last-minute Hugo voters. Nominations close TOMORROW. Here's our utterly shameless last-minute pitch ... thanks for considering! fabulistmagazine.com/the-fabulist...
March 27, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Hello all you last-minute Hugo voters. Nominations close TOMORROW. Here's our utterly shameless last-minute pitch ... thanks for considering! fabulistmagazine.com/the-fabulist...
I wrote about my local soccer team! Their mascot is a kangaroo named Kickeroo! www.richmonder.org/kickers-star...
Kickers start season hoping new business model will begin paying dividends
"We want to win and develop players. It’s an ‘and,’ not an ‘or.’"
www.richmonder.org
March 21, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I wrote about my local soccer team! Their mascot is a kangaroo named Kickeroo! www.richmonder.org/kickers-star...
It was an awesome experience to edit this banger of a story from @joeyhedger.bsky.social, up now in the most recent issue of Variant Lit: variantlit.com/the-gunshine...
The Gunshine State
Visit the post for more.
variantlit.com
February 19, 2026 at 3:32 PM
It was an awesome experience to edit this banger of a story from @joeyhedger.bsky.social, up now in the most recent issue of Variant Lit: variantlit.com/the-gunshine...
I wrote about puppetry in Richmond! www.richmonder.org/celebrating-...
Celebrating 10 years, local puppet group wants to make the art form mainstream
When Heidi Rugg co-founded Puppets Off Broad Street in 2015, she had in mind a simple mission: to spread her passion for puppetry around Richmond.
www.richmonder.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I wrote about puppetry in Richmond! www.richmonder.org/celebrating-...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Save the Date ✨ April 25, 2026 ✨Spring Soirée
VCCA’s biggest annual fundraising event will take place Saturday, April 25, 2026! Save the date, and make a plan to join us at Mt. San Angelo for a festive evening in the VCCA Hay Barn this spring. vcca.com/gala
VCCA’s biggest annual fundraising event will take place Saturday, April 25, 2026! Save the date, and make a plan to join us at Mt. San Angelo for a festive evening in the VCCA Hay Barn this spring. vcca.com/gala
November 3, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Save the Date ✨ April 25, 2026 ✨Spring Soirée
VCCA’s biggest annual fundraising event will take place Saturday, April 25, 2026! Save the date, and make a plan to join us at Mt. San Angelo for a festive evening in the VCCA Hay Barn this spring. vcca.com/gala
VCCA’s biggest annual fundraising event will take place Saturday, April 25, 2026! Save the date, and make a plan to join us at Mt. San Angelo for a festive evening in the VCCA Hay Barn this spring. vcca.com/gala
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
broken record on this but a similarly great beat for left wing media would be covering arts and culture and not just focusing primarily on politics and current events because there's a massive void there right now
it does seem like there’s a major—though potentially fleeting—opportunity to invest in left-wing media. more than a million people in the most populous city in america just enthusiastically elected a democratic socialist and the world is watching. putting $$ towards left media rn is good business.
November 7, 2025 at 3:43 AM
broken record on this but a similarly great beat for left wing media would be covering arts and culture and not just focusing primarily on politics and current events because there's a massive void there right now
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to help run this awesome literary prize. Here are the finalists for the 2025 John Dos Passos Prize for Literature: lithub.com/heres-the-sh...
Here’s the shortlist for the 2025 John Dos Passos prize.
The annual John Dos Passos Prize for Literature honors the country’s most talented fiction writers for career-long contributions to the genre. First launched in 1980, the prize is the oldest …
lithub.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:31 PM
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to help run this awesome literary prize. Here are the finalists for the 2025 John Dos Passos Prize for Literature: lithub.com/heres-the-sh...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
Solidarity!! Last week, Indiana University fired the director of student media & halted print on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. Yesterday, Purdue’s student paper printed the banned edition & drove two hours to deliver it. Incredible www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...
Purdue student journalists deliver special 'solidarity' newspaper to IU Bloomington campus
The special edition blasted across town features columns from IDS and Exponent editors, alongside QR codes to support both student papers.
www.heraldtimesonline.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Solidarity!! Last week, Indiana University fired the director of student media & halted print on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. Yesterday, Purdue’s student paper printed the banned edition & drove two hours to deliver it. Incredible www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...
Reposted by Brandon Haffner
I read this slim potent book twice in one day this week. Next day I read it back to front. Some deep stuff in here. Tremendous thinking and writing. Gonna be one I keep close by on small shelf of inspiring mainstays.
October 18, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I read this slim potent book twice in one day this week. Next day I read it back to front. Some deep stuff in here. Tremendous thinking and writing. Gonna be one I keep close by on small shelf of inspiring mainstays.