Ted Chiang: "The task that generative A.I. has been most successful at is lowering our expectations, both of the things we read and of ourselves when we write [...]. It is a fundamentally dehumanizing technology because it treats us as less than what we are: creators and apprehenders of meaning."

I'll be reading next month at the Brooklyn Books and Booze reading series with these fabulous folks. Hope you can come!

On my way back home from #capclave. Here is the only photographic proof I was there.

Made it to Capclave! Last night, there was grilled cheese, beer, and donuts. Today I'll be reading at 1pm, talking book and movie/TV recommendations at 2pm, and discussing hopeful fiction at 4pm.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene last fall, downed trees and destroyed bridges caused 430 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail to be closed. As we reported in August, months of labor by volunteer work crews have brought that down to just five miles. https://to.pbs.org/3JLVpB3

Save the date! @csecooney.bsky.social @micaiahjohnson.bsky.social @smartinez-conde.bsky.social @plaguedr-richards.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/we-demand-...

162,000 doctors strong: The American College of Physicians demands RFK Jr. be removed as HHS Secretary, warning he is undermining vaccines, science, and public health. www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom... #BlueSky #MedSky #NewsSky #NurseSky #SciSky

According to this court order (drive.google.com/file/d/1iKxU...) GALAXY: THE PRETTIEST STAR has been banned from Department of Defense schools. Its one of 596: pen.org/books-banned...

Youth climate activists w/ @youthvgov.bsky.social faced off with DOJ lawyers in a federal court in Montana, where they are challenging Trump's executive orders on energy. My story from the courtroom: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/c...

Tatiana Maslany is so awesome, I wish we could clone her!

So, THIS is happening "Rewild the Internet: How to Resist Big Tech" will be published by Simon & Schuster in NY and Bloomsbury in London. Every bit of power we take from Big Tech takes it away from autocrats like Trump. Showing how is what I'm doing to meet this moment. (tk u @robin.berjon.com)

Can confirm. I got one of these yesterday that was obviously written by gen-AI.

I suspect we'll see a lot more of these types of things going forward as the federal government is no longer serving the interests of the public.

This was so much fun! C.S.E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez are amazing hosts!

This "making stuff up" is inherent in LLMs. It's not a bug, but a feature.

Ivan Ehlers for The New Yorker

And all the more reason why you should make the art you want to make and not the art someone else wants. Hopefully, there is an overlap, but it's not guaranteed.

Here are the photos from this month's Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series, with guests Fran Wilde & Shiva Kumar. @franwilde.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social www.kgbfantasticfiction.org/2025/09/16/p...

Their waists and hands were tied together, forcing them to bend down and lick water to drink. The unscreened bathrooms contained only a single sheet to cover their lower bodies. Sunlight barely penetrated through a fist-sized hole, and they were only allowed access to the small yard for two hours.

Tonight on FICTION: IMPOSSIBLE, we are hosting Guest Star (and Substack blogger) @matthewkressel.net! Check us out at 7 PM Eastern on twitch.tv/csecooney! More information on my website: csecooney.com/2025/09/15/t... And newsletter: csecooney.substack.com/p/tonight-li...

I'll be on C.S.E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez's FICTION: IMPOSSIBLE podcast tonight 7pm ET! Tune in live on Twitch (Link below) or tomorrow and thereafter on YouTube.

Here's the audio from the Aug 13th Fantastic Fiction at KGB, with Cassandra Khaw & Debra Every, guest hosted by Amy Goldschlager & David Mercurio Rivera. @casskhaw.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social @mercuriodrivera.bsky.social @amygoldschlager.bsky.social www.kgbfantasticfiction.org/2025/09/14/a...

That sounds amazing! 🎉✨ Can't wait to see you shine at The Traveling SFF Book Festival! 🌟 Your panel with such talented authors will be unforgettable! #SFF #BookFestival #NYC

How exciting! 🎉 Your panel sounds amazing with such talented authors! Can't wait to hear all the insights! ✨📚 #SFFFestival #BookLovers #NYC

You want the story to go right, but it wants to go left, and sometimes you gotta let it go where it wants to go.

I'm doing a thing! I'll be part of The Traveling SFF Book Festival 2025! I'll be appearing on a panel with Micaiah Johnson, Yume Kitasei, Julia Vee, & Veronica Roth, Oct 13, 6:30pm, at PT Knitwear in NYC's LES. www.yumekitasei.com/travelingsff...

TONIGHT! Join us with Fran Wilde & Shiva Kumar for our Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series, tonight, 7pm, at the KGB Bar. Come one, come all! @franwilde.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social

There are good writing days and bad writing days, and today was one of the good ones.

Slightly diminish a book Rendezvous with Roger

OUR INDUSTRY WILL DIE IF WE CAN'T STEAL YOUR WORK BUT EACH OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY CREATED NOTHING OF VALUE I mean idk if it was me I might have workshopped that one for a little longer.

This Wednesday at our Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series, join us with Fran Wilde & Shiva Kumar, 7pm at the KGB Bar NYC. Come one, come all! @franwilde.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social

I will, by the way, have copies of A CATALOG OF STORMS available for sale on Wednesday at KGB Fantastic fiction, along with two to auction off in support of the KGB fundraiser. @matthewkressel.net @datlow.bsky.social

They pirated two of my books and at least a dozen of my stories.

Yesterday's ICE raid near Syracuse was a chilling and unnecessary show of force - officers descended upon the factory with crowbars and masks to detain people who were just doing their jobs. Many of their kids came home from school to find their families torn apart. This is senseless and cruel.

YESSSS Let's get them to four years!

I'm a proud contributor and would ask that you think about joining me!

Your chance to fund a bingo square on Christie Yant's fab Tools for Writers:

The Fantastic Fiction at KGB series has raised $7K, enough for two years. THANK YOU TO ALL DONORS! We'd like to raise another $7K, for a total of four years. Can you reshare to make that happen? Details here: @datlow.bsky.social www.gofundme.com/f/fantastic-...

Maybe it’s not all Dune and Gloom!

I did this video in my hotel room at Worldcon!

It's simple: vaccines save lives, and removing the mandate means they are actively harming children

I would add, Backup your backups elsewhere, i.e. not in the same physical or virtual location as the first backup, and check them to make sure they are in fact backing up!

Not only are AI systems overloading the power grid, dumping massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, stealing from artists, spamming SFF magazines with slop, they're also overloading servers across the net as they slurp up (i.e. steal) data for training. And they want YOU to pay for it.

Not technically wrong, but...

Happy book birthday to Rich Larson's new collection CHANGELOG! It ROCKS, and it's available from Fairwood Press's site, many venues online, or order at your fave store.

Back to writing today after a long hiatus because of life stuff. It feels good.

Join us next week with Fran Wilde & Shiva Kumar for our Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series, Wednesday, September 10th, 7pm, at the KGB Bar. Come one, come all! @franwilde.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social

It's a new month and maybe a new season! I have a few spots left this month for critique feedback, if you're stuck on that story and really want to figure it out. atgreenblatt.com/short-story-...

The soundtrack to the HBO animated Watchmen series by Tim Kelly makes excellent writing music. Getting strong Hans Zimmer Blade Runner: 2049 vibes.