I was a little surprised by how much this bothered me, tbh. Not because I thought it was intentional or even human carelessness- it's a reminder that these algorithms work against difference, they work against outliers, they work against marginalia (literal & figurative). And that's what I write for

Doctora Malka Older@older.bsky.social · 6h ago

my pinned tweet for years was "I write for the people whose names get underlined in red by microsoft word" and...this is why. (no shade to the lovely people at the MIT Press reader, who changed it immediately as soon as I pointed it out)

Admit it, y'all, some of you are going to be very into "some light tapeworms"

Reactor Magazine@reactorsff.bsky.social · 4h ago

The primary sensation we're associating with August's horror books is WET! Sea creatures, freak boating accidents, and some light tapeworms... come dip your feet in, the water's just fine

“Loves Me Not” 16x10” acrylic, crayon, gouache, pencil, posca on watercolor ground 🥀 For Nucleus Portland’s 10 Year Anniversary show! Opening Aug 7 ❤️ 5-7:30 PM

This is the part that breaks my heart. "Generative AI has broken the sacred contract between professors & students: that the professors are there to teach and the students are there to learn. The understanding has been broken...That’s a very deep part of the grief” www.chronicle.com/article/thes...

These Professors Are Retiring Early. AI Was the Last Straw.

What is the point of teaching, they ask, if students are just pretending to learn?

chronicle.com

Friends, some of us struggle with this, but we can do it. We can put down the phone. We can try new things. We can be not great at something and somehow still enjoy the doing. We believe in you 🥰

Gretchen McCulloch@gretchenmcculloch.com · 5h ago

One of the great joys of my adult life has been realizing that I can just pick up a new skill every so often, take a fun little class in it weekly for a year or two, and simply enjoy meeting people and getting medium proficient and not attempting to become professional in it at all!

Heyyyyyyy, friends, we've got a new incarnation of the Sirens book club for #Sirens27: Each month, we'll give you a reading assignment related to our mission and recs to get you started, then you pick a book...and read it. Let's gooooooo!

It’s hot! We ought! To read a book out on the beach! It’s summer! Hey, hey, it’s summer! And in summer 2027, Sirens is back, friends. Bring your rage, find your joy, and let's build a revolution.

@dianapho.bsky.social on developing a critical reading mindset: "Learn to read both within and outside yourself. Even as I'm sitting in discomfort, what does the text say? If I'm feeling great joy, why am I joyous? If I'm confused, what don't I fully understand? #Sirens26

Give into moments of wonder and awe. -- @dianapho.bsky.social giving advice on becoming a great editor, but it sure seems like pretty good life advice for us all! #Sirens26

Morning Joy! Tell us, when is the last time you made a friendship bracelet? Or picked up any hobby -- new or old -- just for the potential joy of it? #Sirens26

Dr. @micaiahjohnson.bsky.social on the history of creating Black female automatons: "They weren't. The Black male body is tied to labor. The white female body is tied to consumable femininity. Black women fall short of that feminine ideal and their labor is invisible. #Sirens26

[Society has] a psychic need for this inhuman other, and it will be filled at all costs. -- Dr. @micaiahjohnson.bsky.social on race and robots at #Sirens26

@laylaazmigoushey.bsky.social defines "slipstream" as "the bending of reality, surrealism, high strangeness, the reinterpreting, utopia, dystopia -- things that make us think about what we know, but think about it differently." #Sirens26

Globally, there are different speculative fictions happening for different reasons. They are less about fantasy, more about cultural ideation [and where it's going in the future]. -- @laylaazmigoushey.bsky.social at #Sirens26

Morning Joy! At Sirens! We tried our hands at journal making for neither productivity nor profit with @bethanypowell.bsky.social!

Can’t WAIT for @sirensconference.org this week! Getting to talk about mechanical beings and race AND GETTING TO HAVE A CONVO ABOUT JUSTICE IN PUBLISHING?? IS IT MY BIRTHDAY??

Hadn't made one of these "yay, I'm here" posts in awhile: hey 👋 I'm at @sirensconference.org this week! Anyone else stopping through?

In order to change the world, one must first change one's dreams. -- Jewelle Gomez at #Sirens26

As we reimagined what Sirens could be, we dreamed a place of respite and community, of learning and growth, of transformative magic. --Amy Tenbrink, Conference Chair, kicking off #Sirens26

Maybe you've thought about joining us next week for #Sirens26, our reader conference for #sciencefiction, #fantasy, and #horror. It's not too late to join us! A few full registrations are still available at sirensconference.org/attend, and we have some single day registrations available now as well

Hey, awesome humans! Pretty please think about coming to #Sirens26, our reader conference at the intersection of the better worlds that trans, nonbinary, and female spec fic authors have dreamed, and the work of activists, educators, and community builders to make those worlds possible today.

We need our communities now more than ever. So we hope you're thinking about coming to #Sirens26! Online registration ends February 20. Please take care of that so you can learn from our amazing faculty, discuss the books you love, and hang with our community of readers, dreamers, and world-makers!

I read Pinsker's SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA mid-pandemic and it wrecked me so much that part of me is still beautifully broken, which is obvs a full-throated recommendation for her entire body of work -Amy

Uncanny Magazine@uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 6mo ago

ICYMI! Reading for the Uncanny Magazine Poll? Try the novelette "The Millay Illusion" by Sarah Pinsker! You can read it here! buff.ly/9EmK4rt

As many of you know, I adore sci-fi for so many reasons, but especially because it depicts a world beyond the one we have now. I talked to @jamesfolta.com at Lit Hub about it late last year but I’m always looking for new recs: lithub.com/congressiona...

Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh on Parable of the Sower, and Her Love of Sci-Fi

I’ve been following Kat Abughazaleh’s career for years, starting with her work as a researcher and journalist for Media Matters. Her insights on politics and the American right, and her ability to …

lithub.com

Kat Abughazaleh@katmabu.bsky.social · 6mo ago

If you’re looking for a fun, antifascist sci-fi multispecies buddy comedy book series (with a very good audiobook version), I highly recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl. I’m on Book 3 and it’s been a blast from start to finish.

Hey everyone! Huge news! Our trans girl scout list has sold a total of 146,000 boxes as of today! But MANY trans girl scouts only have 20, 30, 40 boxes sold. I just resorted our list to put those on the top. Go get your girl scout cookies and make a trans kid's day!

2026 Trans Girl Scouts To Order Cookies From!

This year, consider ordering your Girl Scout cookies from a trans girl scout to make their day!

erininthemorning.com

I have this great Spanish history book about female prisoners of the Franco regime who managed to communicate with each other and anti fascist cells by encoding messages in knitting patterns they shared. The male guards never checked them because it was "just" women's knitting patterns

Pookleblinky@pookleblinky.bsky.social · 6mo ago

knittingit.com/knitting-abb... A big list of the assembly language used by generations of women in knitting, an assembly language men didn't think an important or useful or *intellectual* skill worth learning.

It's #BlackHistoryMonth! Black trans, nonbinary, and female authors are doing spectacular, groundbreaking work in progressive #sciencefiction, #fantasy, and #horror, creating worlds that are more joyful, more hopeful, and more just. We're showcasing 28 of these works this month so prepare your TBRs!

a poster that says black history month with a silhouette of a woman 's head

ALT: a poster that says black history month with a silhouette of a woman 's head

media.tenor.com

Love this so much!

La Girafe 🔜 STLV 🖖🏾@spottedgiraffe.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It’s day 1 of #28DaysofBlackCosplay! For 28 days support Black cosplayers in your fandom, follow, like, repost, comment - give them visibility! Let celebrate Black creativity, excellence and joy during this month of February 2026. #blackhistorymonth #StarTrek

The reflection of the colors of the sunset in the wet sand is more interesting than the sunset itself, I think. Big sherbet vibes.