SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN ⌛ 1st to 7th March Why submit to ACoO? 💰 Always free to submit 💰 Always free to read 💰 Always paid 📝 Feedback available on declined subs ✨ Quality publication going strong since 2021 #writersofbsky #submissionsopen #booksky acoupofowls.com/submissions/

Them: we're just playing devil's advocate. Us: have you tried playing devil's prosecution? Them: that would be BIASED!

Every day this year I am reading one piece of contemporary short fiction. Today is day 60! I read This Book Holds Us by @regwaltney.bsky.social published in @folkloricmag.bsky.social. The book is mightier than the fire. Read my review here: mickstaniforth.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/s...

I don't want to read a book written by AI. I don't want to read a book half written by AI. I don't want to read a book narrated by AI. I don't want to read a book with an AI cover. I don't want to read a book written by somebody who supports AI.

"Be reasonable about this," he says. "Meet me in the middle." "OK," you say. You take a step forward. He takes a step back. "Be reasonable about this," he says. "Meet me in the middle."

If anyone knows any great small indie speculative fiction pubs I should be checking out so I don't accidentally double up again, do let me know! #booksky

We need to stop using industry-friendly PR terms like “age verification” and call it what it is: Digital ID

They're hoping we'll forget about this in a few months and that we'll resubscribe to Nitro so they can get back their funding for this nonsense. Cancel yours and do not forget about this.

Radon Journal's fiction pay rate is increasing to 2.5¢/word! We are also implementing a $15 minimum for fiction to ensure micro-fiction authors are taken care of. Cheers to the authors who refuse to remain quiet or complicit.

Sigh. Rejections, rejections, rejections. It's hard not to feel like I'm just not good at this. :/

I'd rather eat glass.

Pssst: we’re open to submissions of horror fiction, interior art, and full color cover art AND WE’RE PAYING MORE NOW. Guidelines here: fraidycatpress.com/submission-g... #horrorlit #cosmic #horror #indie #shortstory #novelette #magazine #art #illustration

To anyone that needs clarification, "your best" is what you can accomplish without damage to your physical, mental and emotional health, not what you can accomplish by destroying them

My conference paper was accepted! 🎉 Has reading or writing speculative fiction supported your mental health in any way? If it has, please please take 10 mins to tell me about it here: www.cognitoforms.com/InnerWorlds1... Thank you! ❤️ #SFF #SciFi #Horror #Fantasy #SpecFic

Searches if your local NHS Trust is using Palantir and emails them on your behalf, please take a minute to do this because we must fight this evil company getting a hold >> notopalantir.goodlawproject.org/email-to-tar...

NEW EPISODE! The Indieventure trio chat about indies they've been playing this winter. Including: 📀 TR-49 🗻 Cairn 🔮 Strange Antiquities and more! Listen wherever you get your podcasts! indieventurepodcast.co.uk/podcast/epis...

RUN. RUN FAR AWAY FROM THIS CONTEST.

1 month in to my year long reading challenge - go check out all the amazing stories I've read so far! Today, Day 32! I read Wine-Dark Eyes by @junewhitewrites.bsky.social published in @undertow.bsky.social Weird Horror Magazine. Read my review here: mickstaniforth.wordpress.com/2026/02/01/s...

Corporations will not exploit working people in NYC. Uber Eats, Fantuan & HungryPanda broke the law — shortchanging workers while raking in profits. Today, we secured $5M+ in restitution for 49,000 delivery workers. Let this be a warning: steal wages, face the consequences.

You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs) Good tech. Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales) Bad tech.

Hey Bluesky, are you okay? I'm seeing a lot of "post about a book/tv/film you hate" posts right now. Do we need that negativity bouncing around at the moment? Are things not shitty enough? Maybe try celebrating the things you love instead.

A review of my recently published horror story, "Girl in Darkness"! You should read the review, and read the story, and let me know if you would ride the flaming horse or not. #bookreview #indieauthor #shortstory #horror

The correct answer to this is "Yes, and everyone else too."

If you are getting words on the page, I’m so happy for you. Creating art is an act of resistance. I believe this to my very core. Folks will always need stories to make sense of the world. We will open to general submissions Feb 1st and I look forward to reading what you’ve been working on. 2/2

Transphobia is a cancer of the heart and mind. It is a useless fear, based on ignorance and cruelty. Trans people are not responsible for a single one of the problems we face. Do the world a favor and grow the fuck up.

Folks, don't listen to the folks that tell you AI will take away your busywork. Busywork performs a function. While you're doing it, background processes are still working on more complex problems. You may find yourself 'miraculously' able to solve a knotty problem after some busywork.

🔔 NEW EPISODE 🔔 We're back (!!!) with a list of our most anticipated games of 2026. INCLUDING: 🗻 CAIRN 🚀 ORBITALS ⭐ STARSAND ISLAND ❤️ and many more! Listen wherever you get pods. indieventurepodcast.co.uk/podcast/epis...

Okay, this short story is going to end up a novella. I guess I should bite the bullet and come up with some names for these characters.

Yes! Thank you!

Oof, right in the gut

This is a very dark day for the UK. All trans lives are put at risk by this judgement. If you're not terrified for the direction this country is taking, trans or not, then you are not paying enough attention.

🙈 We've heard that some major publishers are shadowing queer books. 👀 We aren't. 👊 We are Bywater Books. 🏳️‍🌈📚 LGBTQ+ stories—named, visible & unapologetic. #BookSky #LGBTQBooks #QueerBooks #QueerLit #QueerOwned #IndiePublishing #PublishingIndustry #WeAreBywaterBooks

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

Comic-con deciding to allow GenAi imagery in the art show —giving valuable space to GenAi users to show slop right NEXT to actual artists who worked their asses off to be there— is a disgrace! A tone deaf decision that rewards and normalizes exploitative GenAi against artists in their own spaces!

#Booksky We’re still here, along with our small queer press colleagues and indies, and we’re under financed, but not running scared.

The first Voices of Academia blog of 2026 A journey from researcher to research enabler: A story of acceptance and shifting identity by Sarah Masefield "...I’m not a researcher now. I was outmanoeuvred by the system." voicesofacademia.com/2026/01/09/a...

Reskeeted with Alt Text

Sickness, Disability, and Death in NHS England Staff The three graphs that *every person* needs to see. The question that every single person needs to ask their government: What are you doing to protect me from Covid infection?

I would really caution anyone against implying that paywalling this feature is a legitimate response to public outcry. The paywall is an endorsement, not a restriction. Musk is saying "this thing you're all talking about is valuable. Pay me for it." The actual material effect is just monetization.

Hi @royalsociety.org, you might find this thread interesting. “Now consider the system that allows him to exist, that created him and protected him and rewarded him.”

One week in and I'm really enjoying this challenge, but I won't have a lot of time tomorrow, so if anyone wants to point me in the direction of some good flash fiction, that'd be most appreciated!

if you do not want to watch the video, go to settings > content and media and uncheck the "autoplay videos and gifs" box right now

If it was ever about protecting children, twitter would be banned in the UK right now.

also for reference if you're in a western country that isn't the US this is probably the time to start looking for/organising solidarity action with Venezuela to show your gvmt it's politically unviable to side with the states in this

Oh... Shit @facianea.bsky.social @chilluminatipod.fm

Well, it's a new year. Here we go again. Good luck everybody.

I wonder what part of lower bills, tax billionaires they're panicking about most? Cry harder. Join.greenparty.org.uk