diff --git a/distill.py b/distill.py
index 8b521e7..570f444 100755
--- a/distill.py
+++ b/distill.py
@@ -96,7 +96,15 @@ def ask_writer(persona, topic, refs):
             start = txt.find("[")
             if start < 0:
                 raise ValueError(f"no JSON array in writer output: {txt[:200]}")
-            arr, _ = json.JSONDecoder().raw_decode(txt[start:])
+            try:
+                arr, _ = json.JSONDecoder().raw_decode(txt[start:])
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                # salvage: models sometimes break an array element mid-list;
+                # harvest the well-formed quoted strings instead of losing all 12
+                arr = [json.loads(f'"{m}"') for m in
+                       re.findall(r'"((?:[^"\\]|\\.){8,300})"', txt[start:])]
+                if not arr:
+                    raise
         except (ValueError, json.JSONDecodeError) as e:
             last_err = e
             continue