about
Jen Selk is a mixed-race poc writer living on the unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik people known as Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she intends to stay, ideally for the rest of her life (particularly after experiencing stints in the USA, Toronto, and Vancouver and the horrors of long-distance relocation).
She is a recovering journalist who now writes … other stuff. A great variety of stuff. She shan’t be contained or constrained! She writes what she wants! She is the face of Will & Bequeath, once a vintage/antiques business, now on hiatus because it turns out it’s hard and weird to sell things for a living when you have an anti-capitalist heart. She’s also an accidental “micro influencer” (help!) or rather, a reluctant and inconsistent content creator under the handle @willandbequeath on IG and TikTok.
Jen is the organizer behind Agency Press (a collective of indie authors). She is committed to the democratization of the artistic process, to removing traditional publishing barriers, and to championing true independence in art under capitalism while disrupting the strange and outdated gatekeeping in which even small presses participate.
Uh-oh. Rant incoming! Like, my dudes … We’re a quarter into the 21st Century. Do you really think we ought to continue bowing before the PTB, currently made up of AI apologists, middle-aged-yt-folks and their scattered token-pick model-minority shield-bearers?
Glad you chosen few are getting your bag, don’t get me wrong, and the shields you’re holding are very pretty. I DO get it, but there’s actually room for more on the platform they’ve got you on. You don’t have to aggressively bite the pale hand that’s feeding you, and I’m sure it feels good to have been anointed, but just remember that you were inherently special and good enough, even before they picked ya, so feel free to reach down and haul up your fellows with your new-found privilege. There are more of us than there are of them and we can trust and help one another for mutual gain. The scarcity mindset is a lie.
Rant over.
Hi. Are you confused by all that fancy talk up there?
It’s me. I’m the problem, it’s me. I’m sorry. I’m confusing. (And confused!)
I’m Jen Selk! This is my goofy website! I’ve had it since the beginning of time! (Established 2005! That’s like, eleventy-billion in internet years.) I have been so many things along the way. I won’t list them all, but just know that I am perpetually under-employed and also too-busy. I have a Masters in English Literature, but I also have a Gen Alpha kid, so I know about skibbity toilet. I am cringe and have no rizz, but my GYAT is chat. I contain multitudes.
At the time of this writing, I remain in the midst of a never-ending and perpetual site redesign and am slowly re-uploading and reformatting old content, so this place is always a bit of a mess, and for that I’m sorry. I’m self-taught when it comes to website-design, and audio-visual production, but I am doing my best! Eventually I’ll be finished (ha?!) and perhaps more of the text you see on this page will link you to other areas of the site, and it’ll all be beautiful and fun and you’ll like it. Dare to dream, right?
I’ve been online since about 1995, and used to think that keeping all my interests and projects separate made a lot of sense. I’ve changed my mind, and this site is the result. It’s nearly everything. Or it will eventually be everything. All in one place. Maybe. Feel free to just bop around and do your thing. There’s some really hilarious and terrible baby journalism up, if you feel like diving back into the horrors of 1999, And once upon a time I was a truly awful catalogue-and-newspaper model. So that’s fun.
As I said on the homepage of the very first incarnation of this page: This is a website. You’ve probably seen one before. And even if you haven’t, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.
I [still] believe in you.
CONTACT ME IF YOU MUST
Look, I’m old(er) and the best way to get me is via email (especially if you know me already). If you do, you already have the address. It’s a gmail. Last dot first. Or, you can also email me at me, via this very domain. Figure it out and save me from the spam that will result if I post the actual addresses here. You can also find me on social media. I’m @willandbequeath on IG or TikTok.
I do have a low-key Facebook presence, but it mostly just filters in content from other places. Still, if you’re a book of faces person, I’m there. Most of my channels are open, so I’m easy to reach, regardless.