I'm so excited to share that my books are now available at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA! I dropped them off yesterday! It's a temporary arrangement, so I need readers like you to help me keep the energy up and bring my books to more bookstores!

https://portersquarebooks.com/

#portersquare #portersquarebooks #booksbooksbooks #reading #readingcommunity #fantasy #scifi #fable #disabilitypride #DisabilityRepresentation #lgbtqia #LGBTQStories

Underground Bookshelf attended the Roxbury Poetry Festival this past weekend! Folks who visited our booth wrote a group poem. Come check it out at https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3250544_group-poem-roxbury-poetry-festival-2026

We'll be writing a group story at the Disability Pride Celebration at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA on July 15. Reach out to me directly for the discount code at contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com

#poetry #poetrycommunity #poetrylovers #roxburypoetryfestival #MuseumOfScience #disabilitypride #DisabilityPrideMonth

The theme of the June Writing Contest is: #HISTORICAL, #GOTHIC, or PERIOD FICTION. (crossovers with other genres are welcome)

Fanfiction NOT accepted. Original work only.

Submissions of #ShortStories, #poems, #excerpts, #WebComics, #FlashFiction, #memoirs, #essays are all welcome

Instructions at: https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3190763_june-2026-contest-submissions

Do you love poetry?

You'll find me at the Roxbury Poetry Festival in Boston, MA this Saturday, June 27th from 11am - 5pm.

Details: https://www.roxburypoetryfestival.com/

Visit the Underground Bookshelf booth and:
- pick out a free book,
- join a one-day poetry contest,
- help write a group poem,
- learn more about Underground Bookshelf's programming
- support our work

https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3218304_summer-events-2026

#poetry #poetrychallenge #roxburypoetryfestival #boston #freebooks #books #reading #writing

Join the micro-poetry contest (20-words or less)! This contest is one of the activities we are hosting during the Roxbury Poetry Festival, but you can join the fun early online!

Rules and submission form available at: https://forms.gle/m3dVZxFS23gWNtwx9

#poems #poetrychallenge #poetrycommunity #poetry #poetrylovers #poesia #poetrycontest #writingcommunity #writingcontest

Let's write a group poem!

(This is one of the activities we'll offer at the Roxbury Poetry Festival on June 27th, but why not start the fun now!)

Rules: Continue the poem in the comments. No smut, no genAI)

Line 1: At the top of the hill, I found it.

https://www.roxburypoetryfestival.com/
https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3218304_summer-events-2026

#poetrychallenge #poetrycommunity #poetry

At the top of the hill, I found it.

Let's write a group poem!

(This is one of the activities we'll offer at the Roxbury Poetry Festival on June 27th, but why not start the fun now!)

Rules: Continue the poem in the comments. No smut, no genAI)

Line 1: At the top of the hill, I found it.

https://www.roxburypoetryfestival.com/
https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3218304_summer-events-2026

#poetrychallenge #poetrycommunity #poetry

Join the micro-poetry contest (20-words or less)! This contest is one of the activities we are hosting during the Roxbury Poetry Festival, but you can join the fun early online!

Rules and submission form available at: https://forms.gle/m3dVZxFS23gWNtwx9

#poems #poetrychallenge #poetrycommunity #poetry #poetrylovers #poesia #poetrycontest #writingcommunity #writingcontest

Do you love poetry?

You'll find me at the Roxbury Poetry Festival in Boston, MA this Saturday, June 27th from 11am - 5pm.

Details: https://www.roxburypoetryfestival.com/

Visit the Underground Bookshelf booth and:
- pick out a free book,
- join a one-day poetry contest,
- help write a group poem,
- learn more about Underground Bookshelf's programming
- support our work

https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3218304_summer-events-2026

#poetry #poetrychallenge #roxburypoetryfestival #boston #freebooks #books #reading #writing

The theme of the June Writing Contest is: #HISTORICAL, #GOTHIC, or PERIOD FICTION. (crossovers with other genres are welcome)

Fanfiction NOT accepted. Original work only.

Submissions of #ShortStories, #poems, #excerpts, #WebComics, #FlashFiction, #memoirs, #essays are all welcome

Instructions at: https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3190763_june-2026-contest-submissions

This week on Underground Bookshelf:

New Poem: "The Second Trial" (about trauma from society's treatment of survivors of SA)
Essay: Storm Takes the Lead and Professor X Works Out (a discussion of representation in comics)
Resource: Fiction Books by Authors of Iranian Heritage (Part 1) (because reading diversely makes enemies into friends)

https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/

Underground Bookshelf is a free resource. Leave us a tip at: https://ko-fi.com/lauraundergroundbookshelf

#books #poetry #reading #iran #comics #XMen

Have you written a book? I'd love to feature you in an author Q&A or your book on my book release radar.

Here's my website if you'd like to be featured on it. I don't charge anyone anything (though tips are welcome). I'm just a writer trying to help other writers.

https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/

Please reach out if you'd like to participate!

#books #writer #authorQ&A #bookrelease

I'm excited to announce that Underground Bookshelf will be out in the Boston community this summer!

Roxbury Poetry Festival (Saturday, June 27th, 10AM - 10PM, Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building Boston, MA)

Disability Pride at the Museum of Science (Saturday, July 25th, 10AM - 4PM, 1 Science Park Boston, MA 02114)

#boston #roxburypoetryfestival #museumofscienceboston #disabilityawareness #DisabilityPrideMonth #poetry #poetrycommunity #WritingCommunity #writing #shortstories #books #freebooks

Welcome to the 6th Monthly Writing Contest of 2026! The theme is: HISTORICAL, GOTHIC, or PERIOD FICTION.

Please note: Fanfiction is NOT accepted. Please submit original work only.

Winners are featured on Underground Bookshelf!

https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/3190763_june-2026-contest-submissions

#writing #shortstories #poetry #fiction #historicalfiction #gothic #gothicfiction #periodfiction #writingcontest #poetrycontest #genrefiction

Happy Pride, Y'all! As a Queer, disabled writer, I thought I out to celebrate with a sale.

Aftermath and Airphibious have Queer, female leads, The Wood has key Gay characters, and the (ongoing) collection of essays Diverse Representation in the Comic Book Genre regularly discusses Queerness in comic books.

https://itch.io/s/187443/lgbtq-pride-month

#books #booksale #scifi #fantasy #pride #lgbtq #poetry #fiction #reading #writing

Happy LGBTQ+ Pride! It's Pride all year long in my house, what about yours?

If you're a reader, my books are on sale at 50% off all month in honor of pride! Come check them out on my Itch page. I'm not a romance reader, but I do center Queer and disabled characters in fantasy and sci-fi.

#scifi #fantasy #pride #lgbtqia #happypride #books #literature #reading #booksale

https://itch.io/s/187443/lgbtq-pride-month

If you can help me cover some of the costs of doing this work, you can “buy me a coffee”. It costs $75-$400 to book a table depending on the event, so this is one of the biggest costs of bringing free books to the community in this way, but I also put a ton of time into running the online programs, too. Anything helps: https://ko-fi.com/lauraundergroundbookshelf

So I built a space meant to help fill this need. On Underground Bookshelf, you can find short stories, poems, memoirs, essays, book reviews, indie author Q&As, book release announcements, writing contests, and a kids resource corner. All of this is free!

In the summer months, I bring a shelf full of secondhand books to community events to give away for free.

If you need this space, come on by. I made it for you (and me…so…us): https://www.underground-bookshelf.com/

In case you don’t know, over the last few years, I’ve been building Underground Bookshelf, a platform dedicated to diversity in literature.

As a Queer, chronically ill writer, I wish I saw better representation in the books I had access to - and I know I’m not the only one.