With her new baby unwell, Lisa L Hannett took refuge in familiar SF tv - with its distinct lack of babies... This essay was originally published in our first essay collection. You can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

NEW REVIeW! Bùi Thạc Chuyên’s Tunnels: Sun in the Dark isn't just a Vietnam War movie from the North Vietnamese perspective: it is also an excellent, very human drama. It just had its North American premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival. fictionmachine.com/2026/07/17/f...

New subscriber essay! Tansy Rayner Roberts brings her last Sam Vimes essay, looking at Thud! and Snuff... Subscribe to read it now: AUD30 (~GBP16 or ~USD21) gets you this one and 11 other essays over the year... www.speculativeinsight.com #terrypratchett

Interzone #305 has dropped! 🌟 Check out this *amazing* TOC and find the issue here: interzone.press/iz-305/

This essay from Lisa L Hannett both follows Hannett's own experiences as a new mother, and explores the issue of babylessness in SF tv. Originally published in our first essay collection, you can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

Some other takes on The Odyssey to tide you over while you wait on your trip to the cinema!

Another in the "them or the other?" catalogue: Donovan or Imani Coppola? (You have to be pretty old to hear that confusion.) Anyway I just discovered the lead guitar here is Jimmy Page. My hero. youtu.be/YsX2FhBf9nY?...

Woot! Copies of the UK paperback edition of The Cold House looking very pretty. Tragic loss. Remote location. Ghostly kid. Dodgy lawyer. Who gets out alive? #thecoldhouse #agslatter #titanbooks #folkhorror

Sometimes people send me cookbooks to review! Which means I have to cook new and interesting things! Thanks @allenandunwin.bsky.social randomalex.net/2026/07/15/e...

Alex's top ten songs today: Rain Song, Led Zeppelin Monster Love, Goldfrapp Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks Riders on the Storm, The Doors No Rain, Blind Melon Breakthrough, Fat Freddy's Drop Great Southern Land, Icehouse Star AD, Faith No More Statues, Foo Fighters Sleeping Satellites, Tasman Archer

Site Selection is open at LA Con V. Your vote provides start up money for #Meanjin2028 #Brisbanein2028. You can also support us as Mates/Virtual Mates. These only need the WSFS supplement to be full memberships, this is the cheapest way to join the convention. www.brisbane28.org/support-us/s...

Lisa L. Hannett reflects on being a new mother, and on the lack of mothers and babies in SF tv, in this remarkable essay. Originally published in our first essay collection, you can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

Congratulations to Australian Author @kaaronwarren.bsky.social who scooped up the Shirley Jackson Award for best short story at Readercon last night. www.shirleyjacksonawards.org #BrisbaneIn2028 #MeanjinIn2028

Wole Talabi is the next featured Program Participant for LAcon V! @wtalabi.com is an engineer, writer and editor from Nigeria. He is the author of THE FIST OF MEMORY (2026) and SHIGIDI AND THE BRASS HEAD OF OBALUFON (2023).

Speculative Insight: the love child of a fanzine and an academic journal.

With her new baby unwell, Lisa L Hannett took refuge in familiar SF tv - with its distinct lack of babies... This essay was originally published in our first essay collection. You can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

I guess it's July then... We've had two great free essays in previous Julys - both by Tansy Rayner Roberts, as part of her Pratchett's Men series! In 2024: the men of _Witches Abroad_ In 2025: Sam Vimes in "Upwardly Mobile and Hating it." Find them both here: www.speculativeinsight.com/essays

This essay from Lisa L Hannett both follows Hannett's own experiences as a new mother, and explores the issue of babylessness in SF tv. Originally published in our first essay collection, you can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

Coode Street 725: Amal El-Mohtar and the Seasons of Glass and Iron @garykwolfe & @JonathanStrahan talk to @tithenai about reading, writing, and new collection Seasons of Glass and Iron! www.podbean.com/eas/pb-dgbpi...

Crystal Koo brings a keen eye to Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods, examining how individual agency works (or doesn't) and how antagonists are constructed. Read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com

The Neverending Story. Source of childhood trauma - the first film I saw in a cinema - and I haven’t seen it for more than three decades. It’s on SBS. And having just rewatched it, I can confirm I still remember every narrative beat.

In this new essay from Crystal Koo, Jeanette Winterson is shown to present individual agency as having little real impact on the world around the main characters in The Stone Gods. www.speculativeinsight.com

With her new baby unwell, Lisa L Hannett took refuge in familiar SF tv - with its distinct lack of babies... This essay was originally published in our first essay collection. You can now read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

I guess it's July then... We've had two great free essays in previous Julys - both by Tansy Rayner Roberts, as part of her Pratchett's Men series! In 2024: the men of _Witches Abroad_ In 2025: Sam Vimes in "Upwardly Mobile and Hating it." Find them both here: www.speculativeinsight.com/essays

Aussie Writers, Sounds like Aurealis Awards are changing for the worse; pay to play & judging concerns. And not even having a policy on whether gen ai 'writing' can be submitted; to a writing contest! You can sign Alan's open letter about it if you agree with it Sign me up @alanbaxter.bsky.social.

Crystal Koo brings a keen eye to Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods, examining how individual agency works (or doesn't) and how antagonists are constructed. Read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com

@crystalkoo discusses her essay on Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods...

First published in our first essay collection, Lisa L Hannett explores her own experiences and those of mothers in SF tv in this magnificent essay. Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek... not a whole lot of babies. www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault

@crystalkoo discusses her essay on Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods...

Two years ago, we published this essay from Lisa L. Hannett in our first essay collection. Now, it's available at www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault. Hannett explores her own experiences and that of mothers in her favourite SF tv shows. (Hannett and daughter are fine, today.)

If you've read Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods - or even if you haven't! - this is a great essay about agency in the face of planetary-scale events. Read it now, for free! www.speculativeinsight.com

Me, watching the Star City finale: OMG, @lizbarr.bsky.social !!

this essay still really gets to me.

Isn't it pretty?

#MeanjinIn28 #Brisbanein28 were at Eurocon last weekend. You can find a write up of Metropolcon at File770 file770.com/metropolcon-...

In this new essay from Crystal Koo, Jeanette Winterson is shown to present individual agency as having little real impact on the world around the main characters in The Stone Gods. www.speculativeinsight.com Tag @crystalkoo.bsky.social

Want mermaids (or other art and illustrations) printed on things? There’s up to 40% off at Redbubble until the 9th of July! See tanaudel.redbubble.com for mermaids and lions and mice (oh my!).

Amritesh Mukherjee's 2-part history of Indian feminist science fiction concludes in this subscriber essay; it looks at the pressures forming the genre, and some of its proponents. Subscribe for AUD30/yr (~GBP16 or USD21) to read the essay, and 11 others over the year! www.speculativeinsight.com/subs

It's Escapist Routes time! This week: the vampire Lestat crashes out; it sure is a good thing Rhaenyra has won her war and now nothing bad will happen; The Bear stuck the landing; Star City gave us THE PEOPLE'S TRACKSUIT; and Silo ... well, we love Silo. I think.

Behold, links! This month's Wow! Signal has a smattering of insightful SFFH-related articles from around the web, as well as an "in case you missed it" for the last month at the Ancillary Review of Books:

If you've read Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods - or even if you haven't! - this is a great essay about agency in the face of planetary-scale events. Read it now, for free! www.speculativeinsight.com

Aw, Play School. I love how much we’re celebrating the 60 years. 💜 Funny John forever. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...

I am very proud of our time travel audio comedy #NightTerrace. I think it’s very good and funny, and you can get it here: nightterrace.com I don’t plug it often because we’ve been struggling to finish a third season for many years. But I’d love more folks to enjoy the first two seasons.

New free essay! Looking at agency in Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods! Maybe love can't save the planet? Read it here: www.speculativeinsight.com Tag @crystalkoo.bsky.social

Intergalactic Mixtape is live with a slew of collected reviews for the books nominated for Le Guin Prize @ursulakleguin.com and tons of lists: new books, short fiction, and recs.

Yay, thank you Alexandra!! :D Very happy to have this out in the world!

Crystal Koo examines the question of agency in Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods in this new (free!) essay. Read it here now: www.speculativeinsight.com Tag @crystalkoo.bsky.social

Crystal Koo examines the question of agency in Jeanette Winterson's novel The Stone Gods in this new (free!) essay. Read it here now: www.speculativeinsight.com

This whole thing is worth reading, but this is the bit that really drove home the insanity of these numbers for me

Angela Acosta brings the bonus essay for the Jan-June 2026 collection: Spanish science fiction, especially women and their portrayal in "utopias." Ebook: AUD20 Paperback: AUD35 Subscribe: AUD30/yr - and get this ebook (plus the July-Dec one) included. www.speculativeinsight.com/buy-collections