Todd Keisling
@toddkeisling.com
Horror writer & designer. Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of DEVIL’S CREEK, SCANLINES, & more. Rep: Becky LeJeune | Confluence Literary Agency. He/him. atom.bio/tkeisling
Tentatively heartened to see a swift and apologetic response from the HWA on this (the trustee has been removed). Would love some assurances on how to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future once the newsletter process is reviewed.
Emma Cole@editrixemma.bsky.social · 18h agoI would love for things to change. I'd even love to be part of that change. But as it stands, it does not seem like the organization is interested in hearing dissenting opinions, as evidenced by the combative and frankly unprofessional rant by a serving trustee in the org's official newsletter.
It's a day of very big feelings as I learned that I'm a finalist for the World Fantasy Special Award – Non-Professional for Nightmare Magazine on the same day I announced that this is my last year as EIC at Nightmare. www.nightmare-magazine.com/nonfiction/e...
Editorial: August 2026 - Nightmare Magazine
Gardens are pumping out the juiciest tomatoes, corn on the cob is at its peak, and every melon is bulging with sugar water. The days might be the hottest, but with fall on the horizon, the nights are ...
nightmare-magazine.com
My post about that AI essay in the HWA newsletter I'm so sad that we're all spending part of our day dealing with this. Think of all the creative energy this community lost today because of this garbage. Take-home message: AI sucks. Keep fighting the good fight against it. ❤️
![Todd Keisling
Just now
With regard to today's HWA/Newsletter discourse, here's something I had to say about Al in a recent interview:
"There's been a steady erosion of appreciation in the work that real artists do. Somehow, the work that entertains and enriches our lives has been deemed disposable and not worth actual effort. Personally, it's been disheartening to see a percentage of the populace embrace the soulless slop that Al produces; it's hurtful to see many non-artists shrug their shoulders and say, 'So what?' or 'It's not going away, so just use it.' It's infuriating to find many so-called 'Al artists' who are ripping people off by charging for their slop and passing it as a professionally-made cover; doubly so for the authors and publishers out there who are embracing it and feigning shock when they're called out, or worse, simply not caring about the negative impact it has on the world. Whenever I see an Al cover, I question the integrity of the author whose words are being represented. You can't claim to have pride in your work if you're using a system that was trained on the stolen work of thousands of other artists. It's malignant hypocrisy. ...] [We need to] educate the public on the dangers of Al usage and adjudicate the bad actors who insist on using it within creative spaces. To quote Batman, it is the weapon of the enemy. We do not need it; we will not use it."
So, there's that.
Furthermore, an organization that publishes a trustee's pro-Al rant to an audience of creatives whose work was literally stolen to train LLMs is not only questionable, but negligent and disingenuous as well--especially when the trustee is actively promoting their own Al-powered app. The author's false-equivalency comparing the matter to the struggles of indigenous folks is both ignorant and deceptive.
To the HWA: Fix your org. And to the author: Fix your heart.
At the bottom is an image of buildings from fallout, with "[Everyone disliked that.]" over top.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yl6tapfiaxmq6megbp2vf322/bafkreibii4knbvheenegp7aqg62qmw7xc5a2b4gdtdtsalk3ouxx66btou)
A few very pointed thoughts on "that" op-ed from the HWA newsletter: An organization with a published anti-AI statement should know better than to publish an inflammatory, antagonistic, racist, poorly researched, poorly argued, pro-AI op-ed in their newsletter. I have seen the statements that...
Professional writer organizations should not send out pro-AI propaganda in the form of tantrum-having "essays" to their members, and I don't think that's controversial.
Regarding The Pro-AI Tantrum In The HWA Newsletter
Today I, and every other HWA member, received the HWA newsletter in our inboxes. In that newsletter was an essay (“essay”) of pro-AI propaganda that made a number of specious points in …
terribleminds.com
So apparently that HWA pro-AI newsletter also uses Indigenous water rights issues as a prop, trivializing the activism by Indigenous peoples to protect our water including specific anti-data centre actions. I guess they figured why not alienate Indigenous horror writers while they’re at it?
2,000 words of pro-AI rant, and from one of the HWA Trustees, no less (who has a software app to help others "write").
This is just embarrassing. HWA, what are we doing??
Holly Lyn Walrath@hollylynwalrath.bsky.social · yesterdayThere is a lengthy pro-AI screed in the latest HWA newsletter and it is . . . a mood.
I could see this coming down the pipeline given how reticent they were to draft any kind of AI policy when members were begging them to and that influenced my decision to let my membership lapse
Holly Lyn Walrath@hollylynwalrath.bsky.social · yesterdayThere is a lengthy pro-AI screed in the latest HWA newsletter and it is . . . a mood.
There is a lengthy pro-AI screed in the latest HWA newsletter and it is . . . a mood.
Awesome review from Becky Spratford at Booklist! Haunted House + Intrusive Thoughts = WORRY BOX PREORDER! gibsonsbookstore.com/book/9781836...
Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
Welcome to a town where evil comes from the old church in the woods and 6 half siblings have secrets that won’t stay buried. This books is not for the faint of heart. But I really enjoyed it.
Book 20 of 2026: Devil’s Creek by @toddkeisling.com. I totally forgot this one before book 21, oops. This was such a fantastic horror story. This books lets you dwell in a small town with a terrible past. The fact that the setting isn’t too far across the border from me doesn’t hurt.
We survived GenCon Writers Symposium 2026, y’all (and that’s saying something considering the occasional tornado). I was so busy running around I barely got to enjoy it. Luckily, my interns and friends made sure to slow me down to experience what we were curating.
if you like what we've been publishing at @darkertimes.bsky.social, please help us keep going by subscribing! we are worker-owned, subscriber-funded and trying to cross the financial threshold that will allow us to pay ourselves (and others!) for this work www.darkertimes.com/subscriber-d...
The Summer 2026 Subscriber Drive
Help Darker Times get to 500 paid subscribers by August 14th so we can keep you up to your elbows in frights.
darkertimes.com
Emily C. Hughes@emilyhughes.bsky.social · 3d agokicking off week three of the @darkertimes.bsky.social subscriber drive with this kickass piece from @allyoutthere.bsky.social, which should put to rest any lingering ignorant comments along the lines of "horror for kids isn't scary" or "middle grade is dead" www.darkertimes.com/middle-grade...
The always delightful Readful Things has made some truly fantastic posters based on those "READ" posters found in libraries & classrooms. This one's my favorite, but I'll post two more in the comments. 💙📚🩸📽️🎨
The portal opens tomorrow… are you ready? We want horror stories up to 6,000 words, including flash. Originals and reprints. We pay $0.08 per word. Simultaneous submissions are accepted so long as you keep us informed. More details on our website (below).
July's newsletter is now available. www.toddkeisling.com/news/message...
Messages from the Southland: July 2026 — Todd Keisling | The Official Website
Okay, I’m gonna be honest: the end of the month snuck up on me. I’m not sure why. It was as July-y as July can be, I guess, and yet here we are. I struggled with writing this month. Lots of distractio...
toddkeisling.com
Seems like a good day to revive this meme. What it feels like to promote anything these days.
