Congrats to the 2026 World Fantasy Awards Finalists @mcflycahill90.bsky.social @alixeharrow.bsky.social @amalelmohtar.com @jordankurella.com @edenroyce.bsky.social @carolinemyoachim.bsky.social @thomasha.bsky.social @wnwagner.bsky.social And all the finalists! locusmag.com/2026/08/2026...

2026 World Fantasy Awards Finalists

The World Fantasy Awards ballot for works published in 2025 has been announced. The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, scheduled for October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland C…

locusmag.com

The first finalist is Time Traitors by @elidonovanwriter.bsky.social, a tale of dinosaurs, poachers and a broken time machine. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSL63L7S

Bay Area friends: would you consider opening your home to these two cuddly cats? A friend found them behind a gas station. Their sibling, a black cat, got adopted, but it appears no one likes orange cats. They are being kept in a bathroom for the time being and need a home.

derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 4w ago

A friend of mine found these three kittens behind a Bay Area gas station. They are tame, vaccinated, and incredibly affectionate. Unfortunately, she's unable to keep them and I'm trying to find them a home. They are at risk of going to a shelter. Bay Area people, are you open to adopting?

I've now seen the Odyssey and Professor Wilson is correct

When the Siberian Bacteria with Stem Placenta Baby Drips $165,000 hits

聖☆Alex Degen@adactivity.bsky.social · 4d ago

Just got an advertisement on the internet that is making me insane

AFWTD IS THE SPECULATIVE "OUR MONTHLY PICK" FOR AUGUST FROM @barnesandnoble.com !!! 🌊😈👻 I have been so. excited. to share. this news!!! It's an honour to be chosen, especially among truly phenomenal speculative books.

Newsletter subscribers: July's Radio Stardust is live! An hour and a half of ad-free tunes to vibe to while you're creating cool stuff. 💖 I capped off this set with one of my favorite tracks by DRAMA stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com/july-stardus...

July Stardust Mixtape

POV: It's a late summer night and you're in a room above a bar, trying to get some writing done.

stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com

I genuinely do not understand how anyone gets dopamine at all from interacting with this stuff. It's like putting a halloween mask on a vending machine that dispenses trash and going "this is my girlfriend, nothing makes me happier."

Kotaku@kotaku.com · 5d ago

YouTuber Hank Green Admits He Has Unhealthy Relationship With AI After Facing Backlash Over Recent Video 'The level of dopamine I've been getting from interacting with LLMs is not healthy for me,' said Green

(monster art by acarranfighter modded by me with hair and tie)

Why are we calling it “DJT’s Second Term” instead of “President Evil 2”?

it’s been a while, and my body is weak (from derby) and my brain is flat (from SDCC) and my mood is bleargh (from all the everything) so hit me with your burning questions! writing, derby, trans stuff, trek stuff, whatever stuff! let’s talk ngl.link/tillybridges

Anonymous messages!

Anonymous messages!

ngl.link

This panel is happening now! So much great discussion, and I learned a new term for The Discourse ("straw dragon" 🐉)

Natania Barron ~ Fantasy Author@natania.bsky.social · 5d ago

Going live for #TBRCon with @mrmaresca.com and @cassmorriswrites.com! You can hang out with us. @worldbuildcast.bsky.social youtube.com/live/GeF4zvq...

IMPACT: that company that was offering to buy books for AI companies’ training data — and probably destroy them in the process — says it will no longer offer this service following 404 Media’s exposure of it www.404media.co/ai-company-t...

Company Offering Printed Books to Train AI Stops After 404 Media Coverage

Citing backlash, ISBNdb removed its webpages about training AI, denied ever buying, scanning, or selling a book for AI training, and said the site was a "test of market interest."

404media.co

Newsletter subscribers: July's Radio Stardust is live! An hour and a half of ad-free tunes to vibe to while you're creating cool stuff. 💖 I capped off this set with one of my favorite tracks by DRAMA stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com/july-stardus...

July Stardust Mixtape

POV: It's a late summer night and you're in a room above a bar, trying to get some writing done.

stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com

This is honestly one of my favorite pieces ever, small as it is, and I’m so happy the folks at @gavagai.com liked it. 🩷

Gavagai@gavagai.com · 5d ago

In today's featured Editor Pick: She has orchestrated every detail of their final conversation. Except the ache of actually having it. It's Bitter Tea by Christine Hanolsy. read it for free at gavagai.com

Got a new whiteboard this week and I love it! So much space for brainstorming 🕷️🕷️🕷️

LAcon has a robust virtual program, and what that means is that we need a robust number of robust virtual volunteers! There are a number of ways you can help out. Right now, we're looking for AV Clippers, Zoom Hosts, and Voice of Virtual volunteers. www.lacon.org/volunteer

There's a website called Science Fiction Weekly (dot com) that appears to have reprinted a bunch (maybe all?) of Daily Science Fiction's stories. They claim they did so with author permission. They are lying. If you were published in DSF, maybe join a bunch of us in sending takedown notices?

Incredible stuff from Avalon Nursery.

READERS! If you're looking for: 🌈 LGBTQ+ characters/world ⚔️ Battles, sword fights, occasional skirmishes 🍺 Questionable choices 🫂 Found family 🧚 Mythical creatures 🏰 Political intrigues 🕸️ Giant spiders Check out THE HERESY OF THIEVES! Available for pre-order: darkmattermagazine.shop/products/the...

For the morning crowd, I've got a lot of fun stuff in my newsletter this month 👇

Mia V. Moss@magicrobotcarnival.com · 7d ago

This month's Stardust Dispatch is out! Wherein I show off my sick new tattoo, squee about some books I've read recently, and pay the appropriate pet tax for your time. Oh and also my pre-order campaign for The Heresy of Thieves has begun! stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com/stardust-dis...

Thank you @rsagarcia.bsky.social for the lovely words about my book. 😊 Pre-orders are open now: www.starsandsabers.com/books/the-as...

Today I am obsessesing over the covers of E. R. Eddison's "The Worm Ouroboros" and later Zimiamvian Trilogy illustrated by native midwesterner Barbara Remington. Just an absolutely phenomenal house style for Ballantine Books.

All the video game studios that refuse to use generative AI aftermath.site/video-games-no...

I just backed Neon Hemlock's 7th novella series and they are SO close to their goal. Help them get over the finish line and get a ton of great, queer speculative fiction all year! kickstarter.com/projects/dav...

The Neon Hemlock Novella Series | Volume Seven

Novellas and a short story collection from “the apex of queer speculative fiction publishing” —Publishers Weekly

kickstarter.com

Not only is he a smoking hot abolitionist who was assassinated for refusing orders to massacre indigenous folks, he "befriended Walt Whitman" according to his Wikipedia page which ABSOLUTELY means they fucked

Patrick McCray@patrickmccray.bsky.social · last wk.

Remembering Silas Soule, born OTD in 1838. American abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and hero for disobeying orders to participate in Sand Creek Massacre and then giving evidence against his commander. Murdered 1865. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_S...

This month's Stardust Dispatch is out! Wherein I show off my sick new tattoo, squee about some books I've read recently, and pay the appropriate pet tax for your time. Oh and also my pre-order campaign for The Heresy of Thieves has begun! stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com/stardust-dis...

Stardust Dispatch #10: Pre-Order THE HERESY OF THIEVES

Plus: my California Zephyr adventure, some book recs, and pet pics

stardustnews.magicrobotcarnival.com

Have you signed up to participate for Flights of Foundry yet? Express your interest by July 31! airtable.com/appFTsG...

this question was a good reminder to myself that i wanted to arrange my library with some kind of system other than "wherever the books in my hand will fit"

Immigrant Punk@porcupunk.eurosky.social · last wk.

Enough of the horrors and doom scrolling. Let's talk about something fun. How do you arrange your books?

In all seriousness, this shit points to a poisonous issue endemic in our current culture where a lot of people look for the mythical foolproof actionable steps they can take to exist 'correctly' and then not be harassed online

Manisha Krishnan@manishakrishnan.bsky.social · last wk.

Authors and journalists are doing more first-person (hello 2010s blogging) and embracing "mistakes" in writing to prove they're not chatbots. There's even an “anti-Grammarly" app that leaves in typos and signs off "sent from my iPhone" to create more authenticity: www.wired.com/story/more-t...