I’m happy to share Pocket Pitch, a pop-up pitch-event (say that 10x fast) hosted by Pocket MFA that connects writers with receptive literary agents & small presses, all in one day! It’s designed for writers with unpublished, unagented manuscripts, and it welcomes all genres and categories.

Pocket Pitch is open to current Pocket MFA writers and alumni, BUT if you’re reading this through Blake Bell (), Lauren T. Davila ( ) , or MY Substack ( )— your spot is also free. Otherwise, this event is not open to the general public.

On April 21, participating agents and presses will browse pitches posted to the event platform and request material directly if something catches their eye. Writers may submit one pitch per person, and the pitch should include: the title, author name, email, word count, and a short hook-style description of the book.

As a 3x Pocket MFA Alumni, I’m especially happy to spread the word about this! If you’ve been querying for a while, or you’ve just finished a manuscript and want to get it in front of industry readers, this is a unique opportunity to put your work forward.

Thanks for reading, and happy pitching!

-NJ.

Our first Slow Read Book Club has begun, and I’m really looking forward to spending time with everyone on Thursday, March 19th at 12PM EST. If you missed the main post you can review all dates/links/timelines here:

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I’m looking forward to kicking off our first Slow Read Book Club. Our voted selection is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer—a smart blend of nature, science, and personal reflection that invites us to think about our relationship with the living world.

Purchase Copy

We’ll be reading this book slowly over three months (March–May) and gathering once a month for a guided, fireside-style Zoom conversation. These are relaxed, welcoming conversations—with no lectures or pressure, and no expectation to perform. [free to all subscribers]

📅 March 19 | Chat 1: 12:00–1:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

📅 April 16 | Chat 2: 1:00–2:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

📅 May 14 | Chat 3: 2:00–3:30 EST PM

JOIN EVENT

March Reading

• Skywoman Falling

• The Council of Pecans

• The Gift of Strawberries

• An Offering

• Asters and Goldenrod

• Learning the Grammar of Animacy

April Reading

• Maple Sugar Moon

• Witch Hazel

• A Mother’s Work

• The Honorable Harvest

• Allegiance to Gratitude

May Reading

• Windigo Footprints

• The Sound of Silverbells

• Sitting in a Circle

• Burning Sweetgrass

• Epiphany in the Beans

• The Sacred and the Superfund

Read at your own pace—skim, or dip in where you can. The conversations are designed to welcome you wherever you are in the book.

A note on reminders

I’ll send a reminder email about a week before each bookside chat, with the Zoom link + a link to “ADD TO CALENDAR” + reading sections, so you don’t have to keep track of everything yourself. Please add me to your primary email so they don’t end up in your spam folder.

I hope you will join us and if you think you might, please like or comment on this post, it will help me plan out the meetings better if I know how many people to expect. The first three subscribers to comment “I’m in!” and restack this post will receive an e-book or print copy of the book.

Warmly,
NJ

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The MetaStory:

Astral Academy is the next novel in the world of Club Daze & The Subtle Realm—a speculative, metaphysical, science-bent series that explores consciousness and power of the mind. Astral Academy is written as a stand alone, so there’s no need to read the first book in the series to enjoy the world.

SYNOPSIS

Astral Academy, by N.J. Simat

When Natasha Price inherits ChudaPharma after her father’s death, she also inherits his unfinished obsession: proving the existence of the Astral Plane. With investors pulling out and the company’s ruthless CFO pushing a profit-driven DMT project, Natasha secretly launches Astral Academy, a covert program designed to train gifted teens to explore the hidden realm her father never lived to validate.

Working with a team of scientists, dream researchers, and skeptics, Natasha prepares her recruits to enter altered states and unlock extraordinary abilities—lucid projection, universal knowledge access, and deep interspecies communication. But one student, the brilliant and volatile Devin, turns toward darker astral practices, aligning himself with Natasha’s corporate rival and threatening to sabotage the entire mission.

As pressure mounts and resources vanish, Natasha must secure definitive proof of the Astral Plane before her enemies dismantle everything. What her team discovers will reshape ChudaPharma—and the limits of human consciousness—forever.

How the Serialization Will Work

The novel is structured into 45 chapters that are arranged into four parts; each chapter will roll out in serialized episodes.

Here’s the reading model:

• Each Episode (chapter) is released weekly, on Sunday

• Each PART is completely free while it’s being serialized. Roughly 3 months.

• When all four parts are finished, I’ll be releasing the paperback version. Paid subscribers will receive the free ebook.

Where It Lives

The serialization will live in its own dedicated Substack publication (so you can opt in just for the fiction). Only the episodes/chapters will be sent to your inbox for a streamlined reading experience.

If you want the chapters delivered straight to your inbox, you’ll need to subscribe specifically to the Astral Academy publication. (I’ll also include the sign-up link in every episode)

OPT IN TO ASTRAL ACADEMY

Why I’m Doing It This Way

I’ve always loved the intimacy of episodic storytelling—the shared rhythm, the anticipation, the sense of reading a world together. This format lets me share the book as a living experience, while eventually giving it a proper home in print.

I do hope you’ll come along for the ride.

—N.J. Simat

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1. Poetry & Prose Readings

virtual open-mic night for poetry & prose, where contributors can step into the spotlight and share their work, their passion, their heart.

PHIL LIT JOURNAL QUARTERLY POETRY READINGS

2. Slow Read Book Clubs

Seasonal book picks with virtual monthly meetings & shared discussions via zoom and optional craft talks.

1. Spring`26 March-May:

2. Summer`26 June-Aug: Book Vote Opens April 1st

3. Fall`26 Sept-Nov: Book Vote Opens July 1st

4. Winter`26 Dec-Feb: Book Vote Opens Oct 1st

3. Astral Academy, a Novel. (Serialized Fiction)

Astral Academy

Astral Academy is the next novel in the world of Club Daze & The Subtle Realm—a speculative, metaphysical, science-bent series that explores consciousness and power of the mind.

By NJ Simat 🤍

Coming Soon:

• Death Wish Protocol, A Beta Read [$]

• Craft Seminars [$]

This is our corner of the internet for low-maintenance social activity centered around our love of reading. This corner is judgment-free, cozy environment to celebrate story in all its forms. Do you have a book you want to suggest for an upcoming book club? Please Comment Below.

Poetic Threads!

For those of us who live in words, edit with caffeine, and revise until our eyelids stick to our scleras. POEtic Threads focuses on comfortable, wearable pieces, that nod to the writing life: for when you’re deep in the draft trenches, heading to a reading/book club, or just want to be cozy.

Browse Poetic Threads