“’Hear! hear!’ screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, ‘winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.’”
- Henry David Thoreau
A Snow Day on Sanity Ranch
As this space grows, I’ve been thinking carefully about how—and when—to open it further. Anything offered here matters to me only if it feels relational rather than transactional, rooted in conversation rather than performance. In 2026, I’m holding a few community offerings with that spirit in mind:
Slow Read Book Clubs
Seasonal book picks (of all genres) with virtual monthly meetings via zoom as well as an additional text-inspired craft talk per book.
We kick off in Spring`26, reading March 1st-May 1st:
Book Vote Opens Now
Gathering in Real Time
In the spring, I’ll be attending AWP. I’m looking forward to being in rooms full of writers again—to the conversations in hallways, the reminder that this work is communal even when it’s solitary. If you’ll be there too, let me know in the comments as we will be setting up a substack gathering, in conjunction with PHIL LIT Journal.
Astral Academy, A Novel
The Astral Academy world continues to unfold, with new episodes every weekend. You can follow along below for free. Paid subscribers will receive the full ebook at the end of the series.
Latest Publications
POETRY:
ESSAY:
Thank you for reading,
Sincerely,
NJ Simat
Creative Director & Editor of PHIL LIT JOURNAL
N.J. I hope to be at AWP. See you there.