Caleb Tankersley

Happy 2026, Readers!

Another year has gone by without an update, but such is the nature of writing (and academia). I’ve been extremely busy the past year, so there may be more frequent updates in the future.

In January 2026 I returned to Millay Arts for a winter session. Two weeks stuck on a snowy mountain, gray clouds hovering over a lonely barn, barely any contact with other people. Like temporarily becoming a monk. Still, it was a wildly productive residency. I recommend them to anybody!

A few new bits of writing were published earlier in the year. A creative nonfiction piece came out in Cobra Milk, a magazine from the Brooklyn arts organization. And I had a short story published in the lovely Pleiades as part of a special look at Missouri-connected writers. Check them both out on my Writing page.

AWP this year was super busy. I was on a wonderful panel called “Small Presses Getting Big Attention”. A number of other small press editors and managers gathered to talk about what was and wasn’t working for us and how our small presses were making an impact. I also hosted the Split/Lip and March Xness reading at the lovely Greedy Reads bookstore in Baltimore (where I was forced to dance onstage!). Nearly every moment in between was spent at the Split/Lip Press table, selling books and promoting our lovely little press, still going strong after 12 years!

In July 2026 I had a residency at Cove Park near Helensburgh, Scotland. I can’t say enough lovely things about Cove Park—gorgeous scenery and facilities, wonderful staff, a supportive band of fellow artist. It was everything a residency should be. Plus it was enormously productive! I owe so much to the people of Scotland, and I can’t thank their thriving arts community enough. (The sheep were cute as well!)

Finally, in August 2026 we officially launched Shadow Falls Review, a brand new national literary magazine that will be run by graduate students in the Creative Writing & Publishing program at the University of St. Thomas. I’ve been working on this behind the scenes for some time, so I’m extremely excited for the magazine to finally be off the ground and open for submissions until mid January 2027. That spring our graduate students will put the first issue, which should be available by May of next year.

What’s next? What have I been so busy producing at these residencies? I’ve been combing and recombing over the novel of course! I can’t say any more, but I’m excited for its future. I’ve also been hard at work on some other writing projects, practicing what I preach to my students.

Thank you for caring enough to read this far. It’s still a huge thrill that there’s anyone out in the world who enjoys my work. More exciting writing news is coming up soon.