Restocked the zine supply at Heat Check! Go check the homies out, buy some cool clothes, and drink a killer cup of coffee 🤙💀

Things have been a bit quiet from us lately. Sorry for that! We've been dealing with some gnarly burnout after our latest submission window and are just now beginning to feel the life return to our bones. BFB7 is in full-swing as we catch up on our last emails. The patience is much appreciated. 💀

Apologies to any writers still waiting for an email from us! 🙏 We got more submissions than we were expecting this reading period and have quite a long list of final pieces we're still considering. Our goal is to settle our TOCs next week with emails following soon after. Thanks for the patience!!

Beyond excited to share I have a specfic poem in the new issue of Baubles From Bones: bsky.app/profile/bfbz...

I'm a little late in posting this, but I had to dust and disinfect my promotional drum before I started the beat. New poem today at @bfbzine.bsky.social! "Citation may be required" is blank verse, and about A.I., but don't let either of those scare you.

Thrilled to have a sci-fi / first contact story in the new issue of Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social out today! www.baublesfrombones.com/in-terms-of-...

I got first seed for this story back in like 2022 when I visited the Immigration Museum in Dublin (a very cool spot). The blue lines showing migration reminded me of mycelium (i’d been reading a book on fungus, esp their networks, Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Obv the museum focused on 1/

Just finished reading this story. I love it!

New story day! “Root and Branch” is out in Baubles from Bones issue 6. If you’re interested in fugitive replicants discovering gender with mad scientists in rural Thailand, boy, is this ever your lucky day! @bfbzine.bsky.social www.baublesfrombones.com/root-and-bra...

New poem day! Find "The Point of Measurement," in the newest @bfbzine.bsky.social. It's short & sweet. 👼➕❤️ www.baublesfrombones.com/point-of-mea...

Live today at Bauble from Bones! www.baublesfrombones.com/alabaster-cr... @bfbzine.bsky.social A special shout-out to the editor, Elyse, who made my horseback riding scenes so much better, and whose careful eye improved the story as well!

Baubles From Bones Issue 6 is now out!! Scapegoats, old age, and alien gossip – through sharp-toothed friendships and blighted colonization, contemplate which common threads tie our societies together, leave us bound, and knot us into something new in this issue of Baubles From Bones. 📚🪐💀

Guess what time it is again!! 😊 Baubles from Bones Issue 6 will release on August 27th 2025!! We have SEVEN new stories and FOUR poems from across the speculative spectrum. You can buy your own physical or digital copy on our Etsy while individual stories will be on our website! 📚🪐💀

✨Story Spotlight Issue 6✨ In a country bloodied by millenia of war, a girl trains with a nun to take on a dragon. You can read “A Dragon’s Hunger” by @madalenadaleziou.bsky.social in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th!!

✨Poem Spotlight Issue 6✨ Experts in their fields, both scientists and artists long to understand the unknown. You can read “The Point of Measurement” by Lynn Sargent in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th, 2025!! 📚🪐💀

✨Story Spotlight Issue 6✨ Blight sends a young Irish girl to a colonial English school where an ancient tree teaches her that fungal networks run deeper than human-drawn borders. You can read “Westward I Reach” by @mcardlejeanne.bsky.social in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th!! 🪐📚💀

We closed our submissions last night with a staggering amount of responses! Our previous submission periods averaged about 450 response. This time around, we got 585!! Our minds are BLOWN. That's over 25% more than we expected. Absolute insanity!

Google Forms has been giving us some frustrating technical difficulties this submission period. We've had a couple dozen writers reach out because the form just wouldn't show up when they clicked our link. Even the tech savvy ones that tried different browsers and clearing caches got nowhere.

Thanks @duotrope.com! If you haven't already, you've still got a few days to send us your work!! 💀🌱

Our fiction and poetry submissions end in a week! If you want to send us your work, make sure you get it submitted in time!! 💀 baublesfrombones.com/submission-guidelines.html

Last submission period saw a lot of writing featuring fae and fairies. This time around, we're receiving A LOT more dystopian scifi and romantasy. Love has always been a big theme in what we publish, but getting a taste of ✨romantasy✨ in short form has been kinda cool

We made our way to Wooly Bear Books in Carnegie this weekend and look what we found in their local section! It's us :) Wooly Bear is a super cute bookshop with goodies from lots of Pittsburgh artists and writers! If you're local to PGH, go check them out 💀

From the poetry front: I'm delighted to report a poetry acceptance from Baubles From Bones :-) For the curious - poem written 6/2024 - partly triggered by a prompt from The Daily Poet (Agodon + Silano) - acceptance in 77 days, contract 3 months later - previously rejected 3 times - they pay $10 ✏️🦙

Our submissions are still open for a couple more weeks! If you're curious about our reading process, Joel wrote a post looking at our past submission periods and how we've updated our approach to them over time. Give it a read if you like bts content! www.baublesfrombones.com/re-shaping-s...

Summer submissions are open!! We're currently accepting submissions for speculative short fiction and poetry from now until July 30th. Make sure to check our submission guidelines before sending your work! www.baublesfrombones.com/submission-g... #opencalls #submissionsopen

fwiw, i don’t personally think that either doomerism OR toxic positivity is what this moment calls for; i think what we actually need to be collectively looking towards is a secret third thing (hopepunk) it’s cool and important to give a shit, and to look for ways to help each other.

Our submission window has been open for 34 hours, and we've currently received 90 submissions! For reference, we've been averaging about 440 submissions each submission period. So *90* in the first day is a dizzying leap for us! So excited for all the interest! 💀

Summer submissions are open!! We're currently accepting submissions for speculative short fiction and poetry from now until July 30th. Make sure to check our submission guidelines before sending your work! www.baublesfrombones.com/submission-g... #opencalls #submissionsopen

One of my sappiest stories!! (And also, birds)

It's the last day of pride month! Read some queer sff to celebrate :) These stories from BFB2 & 3 face loss and the comforts that carries us through tough times. A little darker in tone overall, but definitely worth it! Happy reading 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💀

Happy pride month!! Every issue of BFB features queer writers and stories, so we thought we'd highlight them here for some pride month reading! This first batch covers pieces in BFB4 & 5 - a mix of discovery, small town struggles, and gentle love. Hope you enjoy! 💀🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Thank you to the publications who have added their names in support of the #PoetryHugo goal to add speculative poetry as a category at the Hugo Awards: www.poetryhugo.com @thedeadlands.com @rdspress.bsky.social @bfbzine.bsky.social @augursociety.bsky.social @smallwondersmag.com ...

Air and Nothingness regularly inspires us with the quality of their anthologies! They're well worth supporting, if you have the means 💀🌱

Love Your Library

Joel and Elyse's ✨art✨ from the drink and draw event at @3riverscomicon.bsky.social last night (not pictured, Greg's crayon stick figures and Jess's Cinderella). We had a blast! The Comicon beer is 👌 so good! Joel really thought his semester of comics making would win him a free t-shirt 🙄

We're at @3riverscomicon.bsky.social with @parseconfluenceink.bsky.social! Come say hi! Buy a zine or some prints :)

Hey yinzers! We're tabling @3riverscomicon.bsky.social this weekend :) You can find Baubles From Bones sharing booth 509 with our friends @parseconfluenceink.bsky.social We'll have zines, stickers, and even some art prints! Come say hi 💀

Absolutely fantastic news to see my story, 'Idesvied Defied', now collected in Baubles From Bones Issue 5 -- and with incredible cover art inspired by my piece! Even more fantastic to see @kitcalvert.bsky.social's work in there alongside mine 💙💚

Such a sweet witchy story!!

it's here! it's here!! I'm thrilled to have a story in this issue of Baubles From Bones: "The Sealskin" is a story about love, memory and the choices we make, set in historical Montreal 🦭🩷 please check out the issue and give it a try!

Baubles From Bones Issue 5 is out! We have NINE new short stories and THREE poems about the different forms of love, how they shape us, and the heartaches they leave behind 📚🪐 💀

My shattering and beautiful slipstream prose poem “The Oubliette” (written Winter 2024) from my ongoing “All Islands are Hydra” cycle will be in this issue. This one was difficult to submit and share with the universe as it’s from my heart/soul.

My fantasy story "Wandering Star" from @bfbzine.bsky.social is listed in this lovely article at @reactorsff.bsky.social! 🪐📚 "Five Stories About the Magic and Allure of Stars" by Ratika Deshpande Short fiction about watching the skies, and being drawn to the stars... reactormag.com/five-stories...

what a lovely cover 😭🩷 and look, there's my name on it! keep an eye out for my story "The Sealskin" in issue 5 of Baubles From Bones!

Super excited to be back! ^_^ Mine is a sweet f/f fantasy romance that on AO3 would be tagged "mutual pining," "friends to lovers" and "accidental baby acquisition."

BFB5 coming May 28th!! Lucas Kurz is back again with another beautiful cover! The story this cover is inspired by is "Idesvied Defied" by Charlie Winter. We absolutely adore Lucas's work and love how this one turned out -- cute and cozy but still with an underlining moodiness. 📚🪐 💀

✨Story Spotlight Issue 5✨ In a move to the countryside, a father and daughter knit their lives back together after suffering a loss. You can read “Thistledown” by @kitcalvert.bsky.social in Baubles From Bones Issue 5, coming end of May 2025!! 🪐📚💀

✨Story Spotlight Issue 5✨ A brother’s wedding brings a magical florist back to his estranged family, but perhaps the thorns are worth the petals. You can read “The Words You Whisper” by Mackenzie Knowles in Baubles From Bones Issue 5, coming end of May 2025!! 📚🪐💀

✨Story Spotlight Issue 5✨ When an AI’s mom leaves him to his own devices, a thirst for human drama throws a wrench in his plans to take over the world. You can read “You Can Call Me Al” by Michael D. Burnside in Baubles From Bones Issue 5, coming end of May 2025!! 📚🪐

Air and Nothingness publishes some great stuff! Really interesting ideas trying together their anthologies and great writing too! Definitely recommend checking them out :)