To be absolutely clear, it is impossible to vote for a party that cannot bring itself to unequivocally defend the rights of people living and working legally in this country. Because arbitrary removal of legal rights, or sudden varying of terms, for some is ultimately a threat to everyone.

Happy Diwali. The world needs the light.

Announcement: PodCastle Is Trialling a Six Month Submissions Window!! We will open in November and close in April. See our announcement on the website for details. All our usual Submissions Guidelines still apply. podcastle.org/2025/10/17/a...

whoa october is around the corner! reminder that we'll be open again for novellas soon. more info here: www.neonhemlock.com/submissions

I wrote an article for @publisherswkly.bsky.social on how setting shaped several new gothic novels: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

"The zookeepers were like, “Yeah, that bird is evil. We have to put on helmets when we go in, because he’ll run up the wall to try to stab us in the head with his beak.”"

Props to Benjamin for sharing the details of his contract. Unfortunately no props to MRM because there's a lot of extremely outre stuff in here that I'd refuse to sign. Let's run it down. (Context: If you're negotiating a contract with Strange Horizons, I'm the person you're negotiating with.)

Lord Peter Wimsey is the narrative voice of The Waste Land.

We’ve reached 100 backers and are closing in on £3000 raised. Can we hit that target today? www.kickstarter.com/projects/191...

You should read this, it's a cup of hot chocolate for your Friday evening 😊

A great article from Rachel, who really understands the heart and soul of Dad’s work.

the most delightful version of logging on to see what news you've missed

ICYMI, SPOOKY SEASON is here again, Space Unicorns! Uncanny Magazine Issue 66 Part 2 is LIVE ON YOUR INTERNET! buff.ly/U9e7bru

Knickers at half mast today everyone, for Jilly Cooper x

I have not swum at these ponds, but I am an outdoor swimmer, and I would feel very unsafe if people were allowed to scrutinise whether I look female enough to be at any of my usual swimming spots.

super cool study found human artifacts in Bearded vulture nests, incl. "weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot....a shoe made from twigs and grass is ~675-years-old." link to paper: doi.org/10.1002/ecy..... www.popsci.com/environment/... 🧪🌍🦉

Want to send us a story this month? Stand out from the slush with Apex Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lesley's Rules! ✍️✔️ We're looking for stories that blur sci-fi and fantasy, with that iconic dark Apex edge. Ready to submit? Visit our submission portal here: apexbookcompany.moksha.io/.../apex.../...

Fucking hell - awful. On top of a serious racial assault in Bristol last night as well. Feels like things are very much spinning out: we need to take this shit on in every way.

No. Racism is not a “legitimate concern”. It’s an immoral attitude that needs to be stamped out

Happy #InternationalTranslationDay! Keep AI out of translation!

It shines like candlelight! 😍

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

When one of the guests at this table rises to use the latrine, whoever takes their place is definitely not them 👀

Chonk and mini pumpkin

I would like to be the kind of person who waves off rejections and the search for new places to send a story with a bright smile & cheerful resilience. But since I'm not, if anyone's looking for me, I will be rewatching Lord of the Rings.

Reform’s new position on indefinite leave to remain is even more extremist than Donald Trump’s crackdown on US immigration. If any of Reform’s political opponents fancied saying they publicly, that might be nice. Handily, it’s even true.

Watching this happen in real time was both hysterically funny and joyous.

General submission open on Monday 22 September. We are looking for speculative fiction 5000 words and under. Our remit is very broadly fun, but don't self-reject - a truly superb story offers an enjoyment of it's own.

What’s happening in Gaza is a genocide.

With all of the things burning around me, I often worry about not doing enough. Years ago, some dear friends reminded me about how important Uncanny Magazine is to people during one of my laments about this. They’re right. Creating art and getting it to folks who need it is always so fucking vital.

You have two weeks to submit your story to the Bulletin's first-ever writing contest, judged by acclaimed sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. No fee to enter. Winners will be published in our January magazine. The first place winner will receive $3,000, with $500 each going to four runners-up.

This week's #TwentiesTuesday garment is this c. 1927 light grey silk chiffon dress embellished with an asymmetrical design of sequins and beads, made by Kitmir. The dress is believed to have belonged to the actress Claude Génia. Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation. #fashionhistory

Strange Horizons published our first issue 25 years ago this month! 🎉 Thank you to everyone who has ever read, shared, submitted, donated! We wouldn't be here without you and we hope you'll continue to support us into the future!

For #MedievalMonday Characterful Lewis chess pieces with wonderfully expressive eyes! 👀 From a large gaming hoard found on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, in 1831. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh 📷 by me #Archaeology

Spot the difference: John the Baptist from the Hours of Joanna I of Castile and our Community Engagement Officer remembering how many emails he has to respond to

Please send us your stories at @escapepod.org ! We have lots of episodes to fill with wonderful Sci-Fi so we are open once more.

Translunar Travelers Lounge opens for submissions tomorrow, 15 September for writers of color and on 22 September for general submissions. We close on 15 October so you still have time to polish your story.

wow look! Fantasy Magazine back issues for your reading pleasure. do us a favor: share/like/engage with that post so everybody sees it? also, if you could, support us in this small press publishing work? link's in the post below! 🩶🗡️

- you clean up that banksy? - sure did, your honour, leaving a perfect, permanent outline, imbuing the work with real fuckin gravitas while making its point better than the artist did himself just like you asked

We won’t get any funds if we don’t reach our goal in the next 4 days. For the love of speculative fiction, horror stories, weird fiction, dark fantasy, magical realism, fantastique, slipstream, science fiction, alltopias, everypunk—back us so we can bring you more stories in 2026! kck.st/4mIkEm1

One of the problems of short fiction is *finding* it. There's so much out there, it's hard to know how to find what you'll like. Enter InkFoundry. There are so many ways to search! Search by venue (Small Wonders, for example), by author, by tags... or have the site surprise you ! inkfoundry.net

portal opens to all Sept. 10-17 ✨💖

I am finding the fact that "is it acceptable and proportional to call for trans women to be assaulted in public" is now a subject of public debate in the UK really very upsetting.

are you ready for some big news? WE ARE OPEN for BIPOC subs for issue 100! and we are celebrating with a special theme: Transition, Migration, and Borders: Movement in, and of the Body 💖for those of us who find home in liminal spaces💖 find out more here: psychopomp.com/fantasy-maga...

I think this is it. Despair is easy and you get to feel wise, and it doesn't really place any obligations on you or force you to speak out or do anything, really.

Something very very weird happened during the Hugos award ceremony... It's been on my mind for days, and so I wrote this blog: "When People Giggle at Your Name, or the 2025 Hugo Awards Incident" grigorylukin.com/2025/08/21/w... #Worldcon

If you have never read his biography, read it, and prepare to fall in love all over again with a man who clearly radiated goodness from his very core. The best time to have encountered his own writing was when you were young & still establishing your personal values: the second best time is today.

One of the things I feel is really important is emphasizing that men can be sexually harassed and assaulted, and often when I emphasize this, some people get mad because they feel it’s a women’s issue. But men can be sexually harassed and assaulted, and I have seen it happen.

This is jawdroppingly awful. That poor cosplayer in particular - treated in an unspeakably vile fashion.