Nicole Sune Sbitani
@nsune.bsky.social
Mostly microfiction, with little sprinkles of personality between. nicolesune.sbitani.com Personal account, not representative of Department of State or USG.
This!! I'm so annoyed at how many of the same SFF writers who vent about how some literary fiction folks look down on speculative fiction can then turn around and do the same thing to romance
Premee Mohamed@premeemohamed.com · yesterdayVery this. Writing romance is a specific skill set and I suspect that the snobs who deride it as "easy" or the books as "easy money" would write very, very bad stories that romance readers would be rightfully annoyed by.
Science fiction is currently roughly six percent of the current fiction market in North America and fantasy is (again, roughly) four times that. There's definitely more money in fantasy. In all genres, I will note, the money is very unequally distributed. (Horror... fluctuates)
qntm@qntm.org · 2d agoConjecture: there's more money in fantasy or horror writing than there is in science fiction writing
COVER REVEAL! An original illustration, inspired by @aliettedebodard.com's Xuya Universe, is the cover art for the brand-new anthology series "The Year's Top Science Fiction," edited by Allan Kaster (Art by Maurizio Manzieri - Publisher: @infinivoxsf.bsky.social - October, 2026).
The thing that makes a pitch stand out to me is specificity--comps tailored to aspects of the work, a synopsis that establishes character/setting/stakes right away (loglines are a bonus), and a concept that's different from other queries in that subgenre. #askDV
Briannica Lynn@briannicalynn.bsky.social · last wk.#AskDV What makes a pitch really stand out for you? What's an instant yes moment? And are there any trends you're seeing in the markets?
If the story wraps up satisfyingly in Book 1 but could continue, saying “standalone with series potential” conveys that succinctly. While series are getting shorter many genres still thrive on series publishing and I wouldn’t consider it a problem if a manuscript I loved kicked off a series. #askDV
Nisa Akin@nisaakin.bsky.social · 2d ago#AskDv For a debut author, how much of a concern is it if Book 1 is the start of a larger planned series? If the first book completes its main arc, is saying “planned series” still seen as a risk?
Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
One of my biggest regrets in setting up an author newsletter is trying @beehiiv.com. I didn't know they reserve customer support for paid tiers only, they have a track record of locking accounts without explanation, and most infuriating: the account is impossible to delete once you decide to leave
Woke up temporarily to write a dream idea that would "revolutionize Uno." When I checked my notes app this morning, it said, "+1 card."
It's friday! Good news thread time! What's your good news from the week? what's made you smile? And if you work in or around publishing I think I can hazard a guess... everyone else? Hit ME!
Widows Bay Show
Alt: Patricia from widows bay looking happy at first but then sad but what I want you to know is patricia rocks
static.klipy.com
But - by definition - it can't contain any of our future surprises, because it's just trained on the things we already know, and if we knew about something, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
With LLMs, we have invented a machine that uncovers the statistical regularities in our seemingly irregular world, and we have learned that the roughness is rarer than our intuition led us to believe.
The LLM's statistical picture is always incomplete: it sands off, rounds down or truncates the final couple decimal places, and those smoothings make all the difference, the way the pinch of salt makes all the difference to the chocolate.
Surprises are *everything*. A surprise is the seam of gold in the wall of quartz; it's the friend who confesses they've fallen in love with you; it's the moment when you and the party and the GM all come up with an amazing way to kill the dragon and then roll a natural 20.
Today we're hosting #AskDV (Q&A with literary agents) at 4-5PM ET to prep for #DVpit! Using #AskDV ask participating lit agents your questions about pitching, querying, & publishing! Join us & @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social Alexandra Levick @mwhatnall.bsky.social @tinyfairyhunter.bsky.social
It's #DVpit month! #DVpit is a bluesky pitch event for unagented creators from marginalized communities to pitch their projects to literary agents and editors! And we've prepared a month of pre-events to help you prepare for the main event on Sept 30, 2026! Go to dvpit.carrd.co for more info!
I know some people love them, but I'm so tired of hearing about novel-length retellings of extremely common stories where the only twist is the setting. "Romeo and Juliet IN SPACE" or "Cinderella but MODERN DAY" is just *yawn* to me no matter how well written
"One more thing Miss Barlow... you were about 14 in 2001, and you grew up in the UK, so why did they dismiss your school at noon on 9/11, when the attacks would have happened around 2 pm your time? I just don't understand how the school knew the attacks would be happening later"
flyingrodent@flyingrodent.bsky.social · 2w agoA helpful key here for understanding what wingnuttery is and how it works, here. I 100% guarantee you this did not happen and that the boys she’s talking about - she later clarified they were “Pakistani” - do not exist. And yet, I can also assure you Eve is *absolutely convinced* she saw this.
"The minute you ask the machine to take over for you, you’ve given up the idea. Telling someone (or something) to make a thing for you is not the same as making that thing. In art, idea is inseparable from expression, and doing the thing is the only thing." www.uncannymagazine.com/article/a-si...
A Sigilary for the Median Human in the Gearwrack - Uncanny Magazine
The Sigil of Assurance You take a bit of wax and drip it over the em dash fresh out of the printer, working it over, building it up until it’s a little caterpillar crawling on the page, nestled betwee...
uncannymagazine.com
he’s talking about carbon removal but this is the most EVERGREEN SKEET to ever ship out into the bsky seas
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 3w agoif it took you 5 seconds of contemplation to think of an alternative you should take at least another 5-10 to at least consider the possibility that it at least crossed the minds of 1 or 2 of the people who dedicate their lives and research careers to dealing with the problems we post about on here
"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.
The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.
What is the last short story or book you read and loved that was written by a trans author?