if you want to dive into non-anglophone culture for any reason, there's a new @storybundle.bsky.social In Translation bundle from an amazing array of languages, and donations from it go to @globalvoiceslingua.bsky.social ! Please check it out! storybundle.com/translation

NEW REVIEW! Hosoda Mamoru's new anime feature Scarlet is a dizzying and ambitious epic riff on Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is screening now in Australian cinemas. fictionmachine.com/2026/02/09/r...

New essay! Free to read! Parenting in science fiction - machines and humans as parents, parenting of clones and aliens, parenting in danger and from afar... Read now: www.speculativeinsight.com

Congratulations to my wife Sonia Marcon and her very talented co-stars for their Outstanding Ensemble nomination in this year's Green Room Awards for Melbourne experimental theatre. Flesh Mirror was an amazing show, and their nomination is so well deserved.

New essay! Free to read! Parenting in science fiction - machines and humans as parents, parenting of clones and aliens, parenting in danger and from afar... Read now: www.speculativeinsight.com

NEW ESSAY! A new essay, published today, takes a look at Naruse Mikio's 1945 samurai drama A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangen-do: shot during the waning months of World War 2, it was one of only two period dramas that Naruse directed in an 89-film career. fictionmachine.com/2026/02/08/n...

In this new (free!) essay, Koneru Hanmantharao looks at a range of parenting examples across SF cinema and tv, showcasing a variety of scenarios... Read it here - and tell your friends! www.speculativeinsight.com/essays

How has science fiction cinema and tv presented parenting? This essay from Koneru Hanmantharao explores a wide range of examples - human and machine parents; clones and aliens and chosen family... Read now for free! www.speculativeinsight.com

How has science fiction cinema and tv presented parenting? This essay from Koneru Hanmantharao explores a wide range of examples - human and machine parents; clones and aliens and chosen family... Read now for free! www.speculativeinsight.com

Thread of the translated books available from the @storybundle.bsky.social translation bundle benefiting @globalvoiceslingua.bsky.social !

OKAY GANG BUCKLE UP we are PUBLISHERS MARKETPLACE OFFICIAL for WICKHILLS Thank you to @mkcurry.bsky.social and @jonathanstrahan.bsky.social and @torbooks.bsky.social for making it happen! Prepare for me to NOT SHUT UP ABOUT THIS MOTHERFUPPIN BOOK (when I am less busy)

I love the Object Lessons series. And this one on Lipstick hit me personally - having had a somewhat fraught relationship with femininity. Includes thoughtful perspectives on lipstick being seen as positive and negative, has some lovely history, etc. randomalex.net/2026/02/06/o...

Science fictional parenting: quiet moments, guiding through adversity, chosen families - this essay explores a wide range of examples, looking at how parents have been imagined particularly through cinema. Read now for free! www.speculativeinsight.com

Australia is like that kid at school who gets bullied but is still a fawning sycophant with the bullies, therefore participating in their own subjugation

Delighted that my essay 'The Dublin Portal... Or The Dublin Intrusion?' has been BSFA longlisted for Best Short Non Fiction (among other great @speculativeinsight.bsky.social pieces by @arobertswrites.com & @thehubble101.bsky.social!). Check it out here: www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/dubli... 😀

@mondyboy74.bsky.social is absolutely correct to rave about this.

ICYMI... and this fantastic cover from @bydhiyanah.bsky.social

The Brisbane / Meanjin Worldcon Bid for 2028 is at Capricon 46 @capriconsfcon.bsky.social in Chicago this weekend! We're having a party on Thursday and Friday nights, the 5th and 6th. Stop by our Fan Table in the 1st floor corridor to find out more! #capricon46 #capricon2026 #brisbanein28 #worldcon

Hell yes, my debut novella GRIEF EATER is now live on Barnes and Noble for pre-orders! I would greatly appreciate any help in spreading the word. Thank you! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grief-eate... @interstellarflight.bsky.social

An awesome novel from an awesome author.

If you want to try Speculative Insight out, you could buy the July-Dec 2025 collection in ebook, for AUD20 - or a paperback for AUD35 (inc shipping!). Of course, subscribing for the year gets you two ebooks, and only costs AUD30... (~GBP15, or USD19). www.speculativeinsight.com/buy-collections

Very excited to share this cover! Can't wait for y'all to get your eyes on this novella! Once upon a time there were 3 sisters and a very dark place...

Bloomsbury's Object Lessons goes for Ballot... which is actually a history of voting in the US, and focused on the last decade, rather than anything broader. Which is interesting in itself if that's what you know you're getting (reader, Read The Blurb). randomalex.net/2026/02/02/o...

Fairytales, why we love them and why we keep messing with them: @angelaslatter and GennaRose Nethercott discuss why they play in #fairytale space... www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/slatter-and-nethercott

HONEYEATER, an (AUREALIS shortlisted! Locus 2025 recommended!) haunted subtropical tale, is available now! Order through your favourite bookstore or: USA: torpublishinggroup.com/honeyeater/ Australia: panmacmillan.com.au/9781761562303/

If you're keen on fairytale rewritings, you might enjoy this conversation between @angelaslatter and GennaRose Nethercott, all about why they play in the fairytale space... www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/slatter-and-nethercott

It’s Wuthering bloomin’ Heights!

If you're keen on fairytale rewritings, you might enjoy this conversation between @angelaslatter and GennaRose Nethercott, all about why they play in the fairytale space... www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/slatter-and-nethercott

Pixerina comes out soon and in preparation I visited the Norman Lindsay gallery! That beautiful house with its gardens inhabited by magical statues was in my mind while writing this book. Like this woman, watching over the pool. Imagine swimming out there, wouldn't you feel safe under her gaze?

On mapping the world tree: tanaudel.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/m...

Most Australians*: start rocking out to INXS. * Possibly only those over 35. Maybe only me.

It's a fifth Friday of the month, which means: bonus content! This time it's a discussion between the fabulous @angelaslatter and GennaRose Nethercott. They're both doing fascinating things with fairytales, and that's the focus. www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/slatter-and-nethercott

NEW REVIEW! Ignore the fatuous claims about being based on a true story, and Stuart Rosenberg's 1979 hit The Amityville Horror is a pretty effective haunted house thriller. fictionmachine.com/2026/01/28/r...

Our ebooks are now distributed by Draft2Digital, which means you can buy them on Apple Books, Smashwords and other platforms. They are also available through BorrowBox and other library platforms. Here's the order page for The Green Man's Heir: books2read.com/u/m2znvd

ICYMI! This compilation of the July-Dec 2025 essays has an excellent range of topics, plus two amazing exclusives - this one, and another about queer-coded villains as heroes (Demolition Man! Nimona!). The ebook is ~USD14, or subscribe for ~USD20 for the year...

ICYMI... two of the greats discussing questions of empire, and reactions to empire. (Facilitating this conversation fulfilled a long-held dream of mine...)

NEW REVIEW! Stephen Herek's The Three Musketeers is reasonably fun, but does it get to claim credit if it's stealing someone else's fun? fictionmachine.com/2026/01/28/r...

There’s a lot of good here. But I wasn’t convinced by some of the plot/story choices.

Coode Street 716: Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan discuss dystopias, cozy fiction and other dilemmas on the latest episode of the podcast. www.podbean.com/eas/pb-v5u3n...

Very honoured to be part of the 2026 Pixel Project!

Have a look at our proposed venue, The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre! This fantastic facility, situated on the South Bank of the Brisbane River, contains 44 meeting spaces, including 4 exhibition halls and 3 auditoriums. #brisbanein28 #worldcon #bcec bcec.com.au

NEW REVIEW! When an Australian warship gets sunk in the Timor Sea during World War II, the survivors are left to contend with a great white shark. It's pure B-grade pulp, but is it good? fictionmachine.com/2026/01/26/r...

If you’re interested in the act of translation…

#BSFA voters...

Splashdance #birds #ornithology #audubon #closeup #BirdsoftheWorld #BirdsofBlueSky #photography #BirdoftheDay #wildlifephotography #birdphotography #AussieBirds #AustralianBirds

Escape Routes is out! Covering season 1 of Industry, new eps of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (a slog), The Night Manager, a long piece on this week's Starfleet Academy, Fallout, Hijack, and the promised rant about antisemitism in The Pitt fandom.

NEW REVIEW! Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later sequel The Bone Temple is so much better than just an excellent follow-up. If I gave stars, this would get five of them. fictionmachine.com/2026/01/25/r...

Absolutely fabulous essay, well worth a read (I envy Tolkien who kept tinkering with his myths again and again! I don't har such fortitude)

I want this novel to appear on the Hugo and Nebula award ballots. Is too much to ask? (Probably). open.substack.com/pub/ianmond/...