iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Mary Wyrd (she/her) @marywyrd.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

TWO sapphic Georgiana Darcy books!? Treat yourself AND meet the authors. 💙📚

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

P. Djéli Clark | The Disgruntled Haradrim @pdjeliclark.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In the original series, the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, came up with a philosophy held by the Vulcan people. He called it IDIC: infinite diversity in infinite combinations. It suggests that an ideal society is made up of many different types, all working together.

theconversation.com

‘Star Trek’ and NASA have intertwined legacies – the show championed diversity and inspired generations of real space scientists

60 years of ‘Star Trek’: A cultural anthropologist on how the show’s “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” conception helped shape NASA’s vision of the future.

27828

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I'm not on here too often, so this is a few days late, but: As of last Friday, I am officially Dr. Penland. I've got a Master's with Distinction and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. This is huge for a kid who failed high school. 1/?

240

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

The Haunted Bookshop @thehauntedbookshop.com · 11/07/2026

Discourse in the bookseller chat today about AI policy. I think the first step needs to be differentiating machine learning and algorithms from LLMs. As a fan of, say, reading charred manuscripts with digital assistance, I don't oppose that because it's not 'generative'. Our LLM policy? "No."

2423

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 10/07/2026

Writer Beware is currently receiving an incredible volume of reports of impersonation scams: publishers, editors, literary agents, production companies, conferences, & more. I started keeping a list in 2024; in recent months it has more than doubled. writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/t...

writerbeware.blog

The Impersonation List - Writer Beware

The most pernicious scams focused on English-speaking writers these days come from overseas: publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams from the Philippines, and ghostwriting/publishing/marketing...

2192123

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

tsinavar @tsinavar.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

scraping some copper 【 #art #mezzotint #printmaking #wip 】

A picture of two mezzotint plates: the one on the right depicts an astronomical object in the night sky; the one on the left shows a person, half in darkness, running.

2203

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

tsinavar @tsinavar.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Distant stars 【 #art #illustration #ink #oc 】

An ink drawing of a man standing atop a rock formation and gazing at a group of three distant stars in the sky. On the bottom left corner of the piece is the artist's signature.

1236

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

tsinavar @tsinavar.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Victorious knight 【 #art #medieval #illustration #knight 】

An ink drawing of a knight raising his sword in the air with one hand and holding reins in the other. The artist's signature can be seen on the bottom left corner of the piece.

13517

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

tsinavar @tsinavar.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Ceremonial armour 【 #art #medieval #illustration #knight 】

An ink drawing of a knight wearing ceremonial armour. The artist's signature is seen on the bottom left corner.

0175

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

tsinavar @tsinavar.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Knight on horseback 【 #art #medieval #illustration #knight 】

An ink sketch of a knight on horseback seen from behind. The artist's signature is seen below the piece, on the the left corner.

3379

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Lindz McLeod - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY is out now! @lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Pre-orders are up for my new novella, so be the change you want to see in the world and support queer books this Pride! [This story has a trans protagonist AND a trans love interest AND a cult AND a pink fairy armadillo so obvs it ticks all the best boxes] Are you parched or are you flooded?

A book graphic for WE, THE DROWNING by Lindz McLeod. The background is a marine blue, with wave graphics. Text reads:

-"pink fairy armadillo pal" with accompanying armadillo graphic
- "Trans protagonist" with accompanying trans (blue/pink/white/pink.blue stripes)
- "eco-fiction dys/utopia"
- "ethical quandries at the end of the world"
- blurb from SM Hallow which reads "“a heartfelt examination of the complicated legacies our mothers leave us, all the while asking us what good we’ll do to correct our ancestors’ mistakes."

There is a small, green seaweed graphic on the bottom right hand corner.

The background is blue on the left fading to green in the middle, and yellow on the right. Text reads: Are you parched or flooded?

In a world divided between drought and drowning, one young man must decide what it truly means to live, and what humanity owes the Earth that sustains it.

WE, THE DROWNING is about a drowning death-cult at the end of the world and the boy who'll do anything to find out why his mother joined it.

37048

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Lyndsey Croal (she/her) @lyndseycroal.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Happy to be offering a short story critique in the Cymera Auction! Up to 5k words, at a time of your choosing ✨️

0135

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Right. Cutting 23,000 words from my novel so it fits the maximum wordcount for my thesis. Time to kill some darlings. #academia #phdlife #amwriting #amSOBBING

3121

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I asked everyone for pens for my birthday—and between my mom, my dad, and my best friend, guess who gave me what. #fountainpens

030

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Have used exactly one (1) instance of "moreover" in my thesis and I'm having flashbacks to grading undergraduate papers. #academicsky #phdlife

120

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Penstricken @penstricken.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

🚨 Submissions close in 10 DAYS! Send us your short #fiction, #poetry and #nonfiction about writing to be considered for our upcoming issue, Descent ⛷️📉. We want to publish it! 🤩 Deadline: 15th May. 👉 penstricken.com/submissions

penstricken.com

SUBMISSIONS

Submissions Open We’re open now to submissions of fiction, poetry and articles about writing for our Summer 2026 issue, Descent. Please note we are presently unable to provide monetary compen…

083

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Christopher Caldwell @seraph76.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

In the 1964 general election Peter Griffiths won the Smethwick constituency as a Conservative against the national trend when neo-nazis spread the slogan “if you want a nigger for your neighbour, vote labour,” which Griffiths refused to disavow. This is nastier.

3174

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Casually dropping my translation of the first lines of the Iliad into my thesis like it's no big deal because it's my damn PhD and as long as it's relevant I can indulge a little #academicsky #phdlife

090

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

PseudoPod 🎙️ @pseudopod.org · 22/03/2026

We are currently open for reprints from Anthologies and Collections published, or due to be published, in 2026.* Books only, not magazines or periodicals. Anything up to 6000 words (we like flash!) escapeartists.moksha.io/publication/... (*Strictly 2026. We’ll open for general subs in August)

escapeartists.moksha.io

Moksha

24746

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Mame Bougouma Diene @mamebougouma.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Zach De La Rocha: Hey Florence, heard you started a band. Who with? Florence:….

021

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Today in Thesis Work: "I don't think this theory is *wrong*, the people who proposed it were just profoundly racist about it." (Linguistic relativity, if anyone's wondering.)

120

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Prof Jenny Rohn @jennyrohn.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

We all have different styles… #AcademicSky #Writing (Cartoon by @tomgauld.bsky.social)

13712

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Prof. Elizabeth Clare @profbatgirl.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Fantastic picture of me taken by my friend Kevin. Checking IDs on a “bat line” in the Maya forest under a full moon. Slightly haunting, very beautiful. #womeninstem #academicsky 🧪

2467

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Just spent fifteen minutes trying to split a dense sentence into two before remembering: hey, this is the critical portion of my PhD thesis! I can make the sentences as annoyingly dense as I please! #academicsky #academia

070

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Just tried to spell “often” as “oftion” as I was briefly possessed by a writer from the 1600s.

020

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 11/04/2026

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

111305298

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Science is good. We should fund it.

134125832516

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The BFS is excited to announce our next in-person Manchester event, An Evening of Short Stories & Poetry. April 22nd, 7-9:30pm Social Refuge, 27 Great Ancoats St. tinyurl.com/srtpoe @rachelahandley.com @alexpenname.bsky.social @hidden-grove.bsky.social @alethearlyons.bsky.social

1169

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

thetemzreview.bsky.social @thetemzreview.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

We are currently OPEN for Issue 35 journal submissions! Details here: www.thetemzreview.com/submissions....

A very close-up photo looking directly down at a pile of greyish rocks partially submerged in water at the edge of the Thames River in London, Ontario

067

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Am I allowed to use the Cambridge Latin Course as a comp when querying or is that too obscure/weird/outdated/unpublishable Because honestly like I don't know any other textbooks I would qualify as a cult classic

111

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Tade "Will Eat Your Heart in the Marketplace" Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I don't "feel" my work has been stolen. I know it. This kind of language use by the NYT is part of the problem. Framing it as some kind of emotional woo woo instead of a clear copyright breach...

71008309

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

111

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Doing a minor dig into my old conlangs and stuff from my childhood. Discovering I had a weird habit of using words in languages I didn't actually know. There's a city in one of my childhood novels that translates to "Town of Scholars" in Hebrew. It's accurate to the vibes??? How???

010

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I'm sure that nearly every academic has had the singular experience of reading an interpretative text and then looking at the broader literature for different interpretations only to discover everyone just cites what you've just read or is it just me #academicsky

010

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Like did no one else know that H*tler name checked Esperanto in his terrible book or is that just me Apparently we were gonna force everyone to speak it if he didn't immediately kill millions of people in defense

130

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Waiting for my late-nineteenth-century period piece about Esperanto speakers in the Tsar's Russia, just saying.

020

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Jendia Gammon @jendiagammon.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Nominations for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize are now open until the end of March. I have two eligible books: TO WONDER AND STARSHINE and THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL. Both books feature themes of hope, resilience, beauty, working together to create better futures, and ecological elements.

ELGIBLE FOR THE URSULA K. Le GUIN PRIZE
BY JENDIA GAMMON / J. DIANNE DOTSON

TO WONDER AND STARSHINE
Jendia Gammon
By Longlisted FOR A BSFA AWARD

The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel
By Jendia Gammon writing is J. Dianne Dotson
FINALST FOR A BSFA AWARD

1207

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Dr Rob @robheighton.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

This is one of the most beautiful toponymic etymologies I have ever encountered

0383

Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native @alexpenname.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Remember when the whole "everyone has a minor superpower" thing was circulating online? I feel like everyone also has a curse. Mine is that sick people always find a way to be like, right up next to me. Looking at you, guy who came to the library to study while clearly deeply unwell.

120

Reposted by Dr. Alex Penland, Academia Native

Lindz McLeod - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY is out now! @lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Your favourite worms are back at the cinema! 🎥 We've got a really fun episode this week; corporate survival horror-comedy SEND HELP ✈️🌴🩸 and indie dark comedy TWINLESS 🙍‍♂️🙅‍♂️ #filmsky TWINLESS is in UK & Irish cinemas 6 February. For cinemas visit: bit.ly/m/twinlessfilm / PARK CIRCUS

open.spotify.com

Cinema Worms reviews TWINLESS and SEND HELP!

193