One of my side projects is The Histories, a wiki and encyclopedia of wild stories about real people. It's full of immortals, strange historians, mad scientists, and more! If you haven't read it, you should. Also: consider getting an entry for yourself! #writing shaunduke.net/thehis...

It is Friday. I am building a scifi convention program, planning a weekend trip, working on new streaming adventures, and trying not to think about work until Monday. How is everyone else doing?

A friendly reminder: I am always open to more suggestions for my spreadsheet of space opera by cisgender women, trans, and binary writers! There's a handy form on the main page. Use it! Otherwise, enjoy the list! #books tiny.cc/spaceoperali...

New Episode! Doorways in the Sand, by Roger Zelazny, with guest Bob Morrell (@wallet55.bsky.social) It's a brief but fun discussion about a very funny book. hugospodcast.com/podcast/door...

And so it came to pass that Wednesday arrived again, ushering in another evening of It's Raining Humans shenanigans. I'm live on Twitch with multiplayer nonsense. No idea what we're playing. We're just here to have fun! Join the adventure! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

Over on YouTube, you'll find me releasing more #gaming videos (Roblox, etc), geeky subjects, & things that'll make you giggle. I'm having a blast with it & hope to keep it up for a while! Check it out. Leave a comment (I respond to everyone)! Bonus points for subs! youtube.com/@alphabe...

THE END TIMES is a post-apocalyptic novel told over 12 newspaper issues. Delivered each month to your home or email inbox. Don't miss out on this! badhandbooks.com/preorders/th...

Well, that was 2025. Let's see what the next 365 days hold. suyidavies.com/updates/suyi...

The big Barnes & Noble pre-order sale is live! 25% off all pre-orders, including my own upcoming THE DRAGON HAS SOME COMPLAINTS! A grumpy dragon pretends to be tame so he can eat for free at the local dragon riding academy. Need a monster in your life? www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dragon...

I coedited a collection titled "Reactionary Worldbuilding: From Speculative Imagination to Political Practice" with Anindita Banerjee, Sherryl Vint, and David M. Higgins. It's forthcoming from MIT Press, and you can preorder at a discount here.

READING!!!!!!

It’s New Year’s Eve, and 2025 has been A Year. I thought everyone might appreciate a cozy gift. Please get the Worlds of Possibility Volume 2 ebook for free, if you would like it! www.juliarios.com/a-gift-to-en...

For the Patreon-inclined! This was a fun one!

It's Patreon #podcast time, y'all! In our latest Speculative Dispatch, @shaunduke.net + @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social in conversation about how to stay positive when things are looking bleak! All 52 episodes are on our Patreon. Join up, nerds! patreon.com/posts/sp...

For the next two days, Twitch is giving viewers 35% off on 5+ gift subs to your favorite streamers. If you enjoy independent media and creators, I’d love your support in the new year. I’ll be streaming games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mass Effect, The Witcher 3, Rogue Trader, and Marathon in 2026:

Hey folks, starting a little late, but we are starting. Let's jump back into outer space and back to the land of weird dream dimensions and owl/elk people, or as I am told, Owlks. Join us in 10 mins for more Outer Wilds Echoes of the Eye. www.twitch.tv/drewthedamager

There's more to say about this open letter, unfortunately, but bear with me, because I think it's important. For example, this response in the File 770 comments by SFWA board member Jonathan Brazee. In essence, Underwood gives cover to SFWA and vice versa. But both their positions are crap. 1/?

If you're hanging out on other socials and want to find me OR you just want to know about all the things I do, I've got a handy link page just for you! Includes my various profiles, newsletter, Patreon, Twitch, website, podcast, and more! Follow me wherever you like. :) shaunduke.net/duketh...

And the last non-Patreon show of 2025 has dropped. It's a funny one, too!

It's #podcast time, y'all! Tight spaces, space cannibals, and space madness, oh my! @shaunduke.net @reading1000lives.bsky.social + @aurelius2.bsky.social join forces to talk about 2009's Pandorum! Audio/Video: skiffyandfanty.com/p... T#podcastanks for listening!

Specifically, this story: www.cnn.com/2025/12/15/c... Worth noting the line in the article about how shipping venomous snakes is illegal but there might be a loophole about raising them and direct distributing, which also happens in the U.S. and is also illegal and pisses off herp keepers.

Just so nobody goes around thinking that Shaun Duke guy is just grumpy all the time, here is one of my favorite posts from 2023: A Definitive Absolutely Accurate Ranking of James Bond Theme Songs. I spent way too much time on this nonsense... shaunduke.net/2023/0...

You're not the boss of me!

If you’re looking for an editor for your fiction, consider hiring me! I provide editing services via The Duke of Editing, including novel assessments + most levels of editing! I’ve worked with indies and publishers! #writing Also: my clients say I'm nice! thedukeofediting.com...

Apropos of things that lit up the SF/F/H community yesterday: I am, unfortunately (or fortunately), very grumpy about and tired of people sidestepping the moral problems at the core of this blasted technology. shaunduke.net/2025/1...

Another shiny podcast for folks to enjoy!

It's #podcast time, y'all! Mysterious identities, interstellar resistance, and revenge, oh my! @shaunduke.net + @princejvstin.com are joined by @dr-bethany-jacobs.bsky.social to discuss This Brutal Moon / The Kingdom! Audio/Video: skiffyandfanty.com/p... T#podcastanks for listening!

as promised: I'm back and I have Opinions fozmeadows.substack.com/p/against-ai

And we're live on the Twitch box for an evening of Boar'd to Death! Join a bunch of dorks as we try to be useful in Valheim. We'll tell jokes, probably get ambushed a few times, and complain about water. Join the adventure, y'all! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

Tonight is a Boar'd to Death night and one of my last streaming nights of the year! If you want to watch a bunch of dorks play cartoon Vikings in an unforgiving and very ridiculous procedurally generated world, then join us on Twitch at 6 PM Central! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

No, we don't have to accept hallucinatory, ecosidic creative stealing LLMs. The genie not only can be put back in the bottle, we need to do so. Accepting this as the state of affairs that we have to accept and going forward is an enormous mistake. www.patreon.com/posts/ai-and...

For something joyful, here's a podcast that dropped earlier this morning!

I think part of the reason the reaction to people arguing *for* GenAI use is so aggressive is that not a single one of these arguments bothers to meaningfully engage with the ethical problems these technologies present. And those ethical problems are monumental. They're not minor.

If giving up a garbage disposal (which I don't have), a dishwasher, and other unnecessary but nice conveniences means getting universal healthcare that works, living wages across the board, and a well-funded education system and no billionaires, you can come unhook my dishwasher right now.

And yet another lovely podcast for your earholes! We had a lot of fun talking about this film!

It's #podcast time, y'all! Literary apocalypses, cosmic abysses, and Sam Neill, oh my! @shaunduke.net + @reading1000lives.bsky.social join forces to discuss In the Mouth of Madness (1994; dir. John Carpenter)! Audio/Video: skiffyandfanty.com/p... #podcasthanks for listening, y'all!

The Graveyard of Broken Links Some notable places this blog has visited over the years that no longer have working websites. A classic first. The website of Sad Puppies 4 died a long time ago The current page advertises a domain name service Speaking of Sad Puppies 4, the guy who campaigned to get…

ICYMI. Super glad we could interview @marthawells.com for this series!

New shiny podcast object for your earholes!

Now available on Youtube for your streaming enjoyment, @skiffyandfanty.com ( specifically @shaunduke.net ) interviews @franwilde.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6lL...

This was such a fun conversation with @shaunduke.net and @skiffyandfanty.com ! Check it out and A PHILOSOPHY OF THIEVES too, before they escape!

A friendly reminder that you can find me live on Twitch every Wed and Sun at 6 PM Central! I talk about science fiction and other geeky subjects, play games (sometimes in alphabetical order) and get into shenanigans. #gaming Give me a follow. Join a stream sometime! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

New shiny podcast!!!

It's #podcast time, y'all! Delicious heists, messy pasts, and subterfuge galore, oh my! @shaunduke.net is joined by @franwilde.bsky.social for an interview about A Philosophy of Thieves, cross genre writing, and more! Audio/Video: skiffyandfanty.com/p... #podcasthanks for listening!

In 5 hours, we'll have ourselves a wonderful little Christmas Eve stream. It's Raining Humans: Multiplayer Shenanigans! 6 PM Central! On the Twitch box! Come hang with us. We'll do our best to entertain! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

It's stream time, y'all! On Christmas Eve! We're getting messy in multiplayer games, having some giggles, and generally making things awesome. Come hang if you need some questionable gameplay and one or two laughs! :D twitch.tv/alphabetst...

Big high five and welcome to any comics and other creative folks bailing on Twitter today! It's better here! If you're looking to find some folks to fill up your timeline, here are a few starter packs for your consideration. First, a buncha awesome creators I've worked with over the years!

The Histories: An encyclopedia of absolutely true bios of real people is full of vampires, assassins, and poetry wizards. If you've never read it, you should. Some people you know might be on there! Plus, you can get an entry (or request an addition), too! #writing shaunduke.net/thehis...

Reading John Crowley's Little, Big, and I can see why this one grabbed a lot of attention and why folks who mostly read action-oriented genre have trouble with it. So much happening in the first of its internal books. Love the casual injection of the fantastic and the deceptively simple prose.

Happy holidays, everyone. Whatever you may celebrate, I hope this month treats you well. Take care of yourselves. Be kind.