I think I'll make one of those Reaction Videos, but instead of me watching a song or a movie, I'll be reading a book. It could be long, a couple of days of me engrossed, occasionally going 'No! No, don't do that!' or giving a triumphant 'Yes!' at appropriate moments. Winner.

'Sometimes, when you look into the ibis, the ibis looks back' - Friedrich 'the Fredster' Nietzsche

Injuries I have suffered because of books: 1. Paper cuts (numerous) 2. Strained neck after violent sneezing caused by dust on an old book 3. Bruised forehead after walking into a lamp post while reading 4. Broken heart (figurative). Worth it, each and every one of them.

I like seeing fantasy maps by Australians, because the south is cold and the north is hot, as it should be.

You know what makes me smile even though I know it's silly? It's reading a UK or US book and there's a passing mention of Australia, or a minor character is Australian. It's like 'Australia! Yes!'

I have a desire to write a novel that would include evocative scratch'n'sniff character names - Violet, Rose, Barbie ...

Dog names that have been deciphered from ancient Egyptian dog mummies(!). Menyupu (‘He is a Shepherd’) Pehtes (‘Blacky’), Ankhu (‘Living One’), Neb (‘The Lordly One’), Behkai (‘Antelope’), Hekenu (‘Exultation’), Abutiyuw (‘Pointed Ears’) Tegra (‘Kettle-black’) and Aya (‘Woofer’).

Put your hand up if a teacher ever told you, 'You can't start a sentence with "and".' Extra points if the same teacher said you can't start a sentence with "but", either.

Did you know that subscribing to Speculative Insight gets you access to all the past subscriber essays? For AUD30/yr (~USD21, GBP16, EUR19) you can read 30 (and counting!) more essays: Pratchett's men, cargo ships in space, Tamsyn Muir as cosy catastrophe... and much more! www.speculativeinsight.com

Speculative Insight

A journal for exploring the ideas and themes that stand behind, inform, and develop out of, speculative fiction.

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Subtitles ruin comedies. The punchlines arrive before the joke is finished and the gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice are out of sync with what you've read.

Series 4 of the Apocryphal Australia podcast is coming soon, and here's a sneaky preview! www.podbean.com/eas/pb-bq8ez...

To celebrate our upcoming very special 200th issue in 2027, Aurealis magazine is increasing the payment for all stories published in 2027 from AUD2c a word to AUD6c a word!

Saw this perky kooka on a fence post yesterday.

Working hard with Stephen Higgins on preparing the Apocryphal Australia podcast. Coming soon, more unbelievable stories of rogues, mountebanks and tragic heroes, more fascinating tales of extraordinary events, remarkable natural features and hidden scandals!

Our July 2026 issue is here! Get it, or subscribe, at www.aurealis.com.au

Subscribe for great genre fiction and non-fiction. Support Australian publishing - 30+ years and going strong.

Aurealis Magazine@aurealisfsf.bsky.social · last mo.

It's time to showcase the superb internal art in Aurealis #191, our latest edition. Here's Rebecca Stewart's evocate illustration for 'A Good Age to Go' by Adam Porkolab.

Lift buttons should be connected to a pump hydraulic system so those people who mash the button over and over actually *can* make the lift come faster.

Instead of making lemon butter, I substituted limes and made lime butter. Yum.

A late season bud for Precious Michelle, a delicate shell pink rose, after a rain shower.

Hendiatris is when three words are used to express one idea. Hook, line and sinker. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Game, set and match. Understood, clear, capisce?

The Hero's Journey Reimagined Where the Hero Stays Home and Does Some Much Needed Maintenance Instead of Journeying.

The intelligent non-fiction in Aurealis #190, our May issue: ‘“The Lonely”: The Twilight Zone Episode That Parallels the 2020s’ by Joseph Sullivan, ‘The Paradox of Nothing: The Anthromorphism of Aliens’ by Todd Sullivan and ‘Ignorance is Creative Bliss’ by Peter Court. Get it at www.aurealis.com.au

There should be a tick box at everyone online purchase checkout that says 'I do not want to review this product/service'. Or, even better, 'I DO want to review this product/service' so that the default is that I won't be pestered by 'Please review your purchase' follow-ups.

Ok, Simon Armitage wins this particularly game. The last line…

The Maths Bazaar@themathsbazaar.bsky.social · 2mo ago

You definitely need to read Robin Robertson's "Mortification: Writers’ Stories of their Public Shame" with such luminaries as Margaret Atwood, Irvine Welsh, and Julian Barnes. My favourite is poet Simon Armitage's:

Early morning balloon in the neighbourhood.

Well, to begin with today: happy 123rd anniversary to this extraordinary literary lineup of leather on willow enthusiasts

Michael Pryor@michaeljpryor.bsky.social · 2y ago

Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, H.G Wells, G.K. Chesterton, P.G. Wodehouse and A. A Milne played in the same cricket team, managed by J.M. 'Peter Pan' Barrie. #cricket #writers

Let's face it, all books are colouring books. We writers provide an outline and the readers fill it in with their imagination.

Aurealis magazine is looking for someone to help out with our IT needs - our store, ordering and stock management and occasional website updates. If you have a love of Science Fiction and Fantasy and would like to be part of Australia's No.1 genre magazine contact us at editors@aurealis.com.au.

In extreme close-up shots, I'm always looking to see if actors are wearing contact lenses. A surprising number are, even in historical dramas.

J.M. Barrie, writer of 'Peter Pan', was only 161 cm tall.