Don't miss today's conversation with Jazmina Barrera. Full of cats & revolution, Tarot & the CIA, conspiracy & embroidery, her anti-biographical love letter to another writer, Elena Garro, also becomes a portrait of Jazmina as well Audio: tinhouse.com/podcast/jazm... @twolinespress.com

ME PRE TRANSITION: lava is so cool THE LADS: hehe yeah bro ME POST TRANSITION: lava is so cool THE LADS: aha easy mistake to make but actually it's very hot

It turned out people wanted to talk to you about feelings when you got them a thoughtful gift (this is my surprised face). You can get @marthawells.com to sign any of her books by ordering at hyperbolebookstore.com -- a good gift for anyone with an interesting brain, like @murderbotbot.bsky.social

Oh, I’m in this video!

Yay!

I’m delighted to be giving the 2026 Lancaster History Lecture, as part of the Lancaster Literary Festival — following in the footsteps of @sathnam.bsky.social and Helen Castor, talking about #everymonumentwillfall see you there on March 18th ✨❤️🙏 www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/curator...

Yay!

There hasn’t been a wild wolf in Hookland since 1483, but the land is long memory told in ghosts. The King’s Chase Forest has phantom pack. Wolves grown in size with each generation’s telling. Red-eyed, shadow-furred. They howl so we don’t forget our extinguishing sin. - #CLNolan

Oh, I’m in this video!

This was a really good episode! I never knew the Voynich manuscript was so old and interesting, and that there’s stuff linguists HAVE figured out about it

I see many citing Tanith Lee as a good fantasy author to replace some tarnished names, which is great, love her, but do be aware she is balls to the wall, knee deep in the genre trenches, not safe for work or safe in any way, a wizard will sexually assault a horse skull and it's only chapter three

Yesterday's Word Count = 1,144 The first example I encountered of serious world building in a RPG - one that rejected the conventions of faux European fantasy. Much too good for it's system (although a class system might be a better fit for the clan based society of TEKUMEL.)

Our holiday party is today! Come by for tasty treats, book bundles, recommendations, and sales! Can't make it? You can also enjoy 10% all books on our website, today only. www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com

It's amazing how laughable this threat is but you still know there are plenty of people who *would* be panicked by it—low-information, early-career writers, perhaps especially in self-publishing where Yog's Law is already broken and the demand might seem relatively modest

The nature center's longtime eagle pair is now visible around the clock.

This is insightful Doubly so because it gives us all permission not to debate someone who is loudly and proudly wrong about stories in games. We can just keep telling stories and if some dude wants to bray about how that's not the point of games then that's just like, his opinion, man.

I find this empowering. We protect us. youtu.be/-yKSgM0G1xQ

A reminder that Iron Circus is gonna get WALLOPED with Baker & Taylor bankruptcy backdraft for the next several months, turning our usual distro payout into bills. If you'd like to help a small business making weird-ass comics weather the storm, a 💥30% OFF💥 sale is on now! store.ironcircus.com

💯💯💯

News you can use.

I'm always glad to offer myself up as a scam guinea pig. So I filled out the fake WGA registration form using an alias, and hit "submit". Here's where I landed: a payment page for $2,500 (which I think actually is the fee for WGA membership).

As long as Spotify is willing to take money from ICE, they don’t need (or deserve) free advertising for Spotify Wrapped: indivisible.org/cancel-spotify?source=bluesky

Since this post, nearly 300 of you donated about $11k and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart. The union shared photos with me today of food being distributed. Remaining money will be evenly distributed among the 160 union members in the form of gift cards. Thank you. ❤️

This is your occasional reminder that, if you like Neil Gaiman's stuff, but can't bring yourself to like it anymore for justifiable reasons, Tanith Lee is the author he is credibly accused of extensively cribbing from, and her work is on Audible, and AMAZING.

Also USPS didn't loss money because it doesn't make money because it's not a business and if never makes money to begin with. It did however deliver over 112.5 billion pieces of mail in 2024 and that doesn't even include packages.

she was fired. fired fired. fired from being fired. fired from firing itself

Thirty years ago today, the scientist Clair Patterson passed away. He campaigned tirelessly and effectively to remove lead from gasoline, paint, pipes, and food cans. The drop in violent crime that correlates with this change? Massive. Science hero. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clair_P...

Remember how I've said AI is an attack? This is what I meant

I will extend one tiny bit of grace to the publisher on one point: the show didn’t have distribution outside Canada until mid-November, and it was originally going to air in February. Not sure why it got moved up. That said, Harlequin has fumbled the bag in an epic way. Tie-in covers, minimum!

@authorsabb.bsky.social members & anyone who loves authors and books & hates fascism, your time to wear your values on your chest has come! Just in time for the holidays, snag an Authors Against Book Bans tee or hat & help us raise $ to fight censorship. WIN WIN! www.customink.com/fundraising/...

♥️

We've been regularly receiving variations on this scam for weeks now. Sometimes 2-3 in a day. Today is special though. It's only 1:15 PM and I already have 18, each for a different issue of Clarkesworld. It's likely that there are more in my spam folder.

One final batch of short stories for 2025: here's the latest roundup that I've put together for Transfer Orbit: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

Earlier: “The immediate economic losses projected here are just the tip of the iceberg. International students drive innovation, advance America’s global competitiveness, and create research and academic opportunities in our local colleges that will benefit our country for generations.”

HI this is one of my favourite books I've EVER READ and if you do not buy and read it immediately I will come down your chimney and WRECK UP THE PLACE you have been warned

So, I started reading an ARC of the next @marthawells.com Murderbot novel (PLATFORM DECAY) this morning...and Murderbot's mental voice in my head has shifted to the voice of Alexander Skarsgård, from the TV series.

Let’s help some folks! 💪

This is a stunning read. Book people, you may find it particularly interesting. HT @scsmith4.bsky.social

The good Harley Peyton (@harleypeyton.bsky.social) is in the Lodge. He is locked out of his own account on Twitter (@harleypeyton), which was replaced by a certain "Christian Bailey" (@xoxospacex). This is insane. X sucks. 🤮

there are of course many examples of political constituencies that have in fact killed scores of children (en route to some other evil goal), but I can't offhand think of any historical examples of a political constituency organized for that specific purpose

Irish Minister for Health calls the UK's descent into transphobia out for what it is.

The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service

tapping the sign

since we're doing USPS discourse again, a reminder of what Dems should be saying

What I love about Galaxy Books is that you find rows upon rows of books by the nicest people in the genre. Here are @kateelliottsff.bsky.social and @marthawells.com.

At 13 minutes this was a nice bite sized interview w/ @marthawells.com Want to know about claustrophobia & writing Murderbot? Well, you'll just have to listen! #BookSky 📚🪐💙 #SciFiSky #Murderbot

“we estimate employment-weighted share of Americans using AI at work has fallen by a percentage point & now sits at 11%. Adoption has fallen sharply at the largest businesses, those employing +250 people. 3 yrs into the genAI wave, demand looks surprisingly flimsy” www.economist.com/finance-and-...

if, in this holiday season, you find yourself reflecting on the experience of going home to your family and discovering for the first or the millionth time that you see the world in fundamentally different and irreconcilable ways, perhaps upsettingly so, i have a book recommendation for you.