iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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'Nathan Burgoine (he/him) will be at Can*Con! @nathanburgoine.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"Oh, well, AI is already here so—" "Asbestos." "Well, I mean—" "CFCs. Leaded fuel." "—but—" "Portable baby cages." "—okay, I—" "Radium. Agent Orange. DDT..."

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

substack.com/home/post/p-... Little substack article about the time me and an editor had BEEF

substack.com

The First No

Temperature: 86 degrees

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 22/09/2026

Look goddamnit It's entirely possible To eat a plum And not make a poem about it The one I just ate Wasn't even in the Goddamn refrigerator Or anything Sometimes a plum Is just a plum You can just eat it And go on with your life WHAT Why are you looking at me What'd I do now (looks) oh GODDAMNIT

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026

Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.

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Fromthemixedupdesk @fromthemixedupdesk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I’m famous. Check me out on the CBC talking Summerween. Books mentioned: Back for Blood, Never Whistle at Night, I Was A Teenage Slasher and The Mean Ones. #horror #booksky

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Don't mind me, just stealing this idea from @authortaylorleigh.bsky.social so I can yap a little about Steelhorse, my up and coming YA fantasy novel about a dangerous horse race through the desert where the winner could make the difference between freedom and revolution. 👀

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Roy Edroso @edroso.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

When you slow down and think about it you realize it's ten times worse than it seems. Sure it's farcical, but it's also a brutal legal attack on a man they knew to be innocent, done to distract from their own thievery and incompetence and as a flex to terrify anyone who might make them look bad.

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Silver Falcon @zadafalcon.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

I've been meaning to pitch my short story collection more, so here! Dragon Tales is a collection of 8 stories highlighting each of the dragon species in my world. The framing story follows Clara: Griffin Chronicler. The stories are largely mythology and folklore inspired. 🧵 #WriterShareWednesday

The cover for "Dragon Tales: Stories, Myths, and Folktales from the Dragons of Zada" by Christa Mandler. The cover is a book with a dragon on the left and a griffin feather quill pen on the right.

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 16/07/2026

We experienced one of the tournament’s biggest moments side by side. Joy and connection should not be scarce resources. Every New Yorker deserves to have their dignity affirmed.

New Yorkers detained on Rikers Island clap at a World Cup watch party.

Mayor Mamdani reaches across a table to grasp the hand of a New Yorker who is detained on Rikers Island.

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#SmallPitch @smallpitch.org · 15/07/2026

Last hour to submit your pitches! Don't miss the deadline.

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 14/07/2026

This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.

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Amber Leigh @amberleighwrites.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Hey #bluepit check out my latest work, The Submerged. 🌊Currently Querying. #q #sf #ya

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Heck Awaits @heckawaits.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Mozart, now living in 21st-Century San Antonio, teams up with Salieri to assassinate Beethoven, Bach and Tchaikovsky. #BluePit #A #Q #HS #CO #WritingCommunity

Mozart * Salieri * Bach * Beethoven * Tchaikovsky
THE DECOMPOSER
An Alcohol-Fueled Murderous Rampage Across Time, But For a Good Cause, Almost

B. [AUTHOR NAME BLURRED]
Photo is a portrait of Mozart, edited to include him wielding a long knife and with a teardrop tattoo by his eye.

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M. B. Steel 🏳️‍🌈⚛️📝 @mbsteel.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

CASABLANCA X KILLING EVE A historical romantic thriller about the moral cost of espionage, the identities shaped by authoritarian power, and the dangerous pull between two people who should destroy each other. 🍷 Sapphic antagonist 🍷 Bisexual heroine 🍷 Male friendship #A #T #H #R #Q #BluePit

A reader’s guide toThe Lies That Shadows Tell

Historical Espionage Romance
90,000 wc
@mbsteel.bsky.social

Three dangerous people. Three dangerous secrets. A battlefield where desire is the deadliest weapon.

Vigo, Spain. 1935.

Helena Santos—mother, widow, most powerful arms dealer in the Mediterranean—protects her daughters and her empire from Italian agents sent to subjugate her weapons for Mussolini’s colonial ambitions while fighting against her dangerous attraction to the British saboteur who has infiltrated her home.

Tropes:

Queer women
Heroine with soft villain vibes
Morally grey leads
Dangerous attraction/ Opposing loyalties
Multi-POV with intersecting secrets
Identity vs Duty
Sapphic antagonist with on-page romance

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Raymond Currier @teaandcharcoal.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Noble-born mage, Leon, hires bounty-hunter, Taerin, to find his twin’s killer. Instead, he finds Leon's secrets: his trans status, his demon worship, his involvement in his twin's death... and that he's fallen for Taerin. Will the truth ruin Leon or finally set him free? #bluepit #q #📖 #a #f #r

White text on a background of a starry sky with a red moon. The Archwitch Rises A Marvellous Light + Fullmetal Alchemist "I don’t believe people are good or bad. We’re just out here trying to survive, and the two of us, Leon? We’ve both done terrible things in the name of survival, which means you can be honest with me, because I want to stay with you, but I can’t if I don’t trust you. So please, please, no more secrets.” Leon took a deep breath. “You’re asking me for something incredibly difficult.” “I know, but it’s what I need.” Historic Romantasy #Ownvoices #M/FTM

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Raymond Currier @teaandcharcoal.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Not "it's all joever," not "it's going to be fine," but a secret third thing ("all that was built by human hands can be rebuilt").

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Getchu a book that does both STEELHORSE (THE SCORPIO RACES x SIX OF CROWS) is a chaotic multi-POV steampunk Arabic desert horse race fantasy featuring several coffee-addicted young adults facing life-changing decisions and a pocket-sized dragon with ADHD #justiceforSprocket #BluePit #Q #YA #F

Screenshot of text reading:

Ezra loved the view from the top of the shedrow. If nothing else about Raf’s was palatable, at least this was: the black, sinuous shape of the river, the twinkling lights of Araj strung out along the shore, and the untampered ocean breeze courting the night. Remnants of fireworks glittered in the sky. Before they could fade, another shrieked its way towards the stars.

“Oh,” Markko said, settling beside her. “This is what keeps you sane.”

Ezra drew one knee to her chest, letting her bad leg dangle over the edge of the roof. She took a deep breath, and another. The air smelled of salt and smoke and hay and the breathy promise of a cold, cloudless morning. “I wouldn’t say that. But it does help.”

Screenshot of text that reads:

Jeyna lifted an eyebrow. “Do you enjoy being a pessimist?”

“Either I’m right, or I’m pleasantly surprised. I have nothing to lose by being one.”

“That’s an oddly optimistic way of viewing pessimism,” Jeyna remarked.

Liall pointed his spoon at her. “Take that back.”

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#BluePit - A Storytelling Hype & Pitch Event @bluepit.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#BluePit is here for summer! Creators in the #WritingCommunity, #GameDev & #IndieDev, #TTRPG, and #Comic communities get ready to pitch or promote your projects! #BluePit will be taking place on July 13th, 2026! #BluePitHype starts July 8th! (TOMORROW!) #WriteSky #Writers #AmAgenting #LitAgents

#BluePit

A STORYTELLING HYPE/PITCH EVENT

An event designed to uplift storytellers of any media. All works are welcome, regardless of the stage (e.g., Drafting, Editing, Querying, On Submission, or Published).

#BluePitHype Q&A Schedule

Limit 3 posts per WIP/Published work
Use appropriate tags (see Tag list)
No AI. images must include ALT text.
Everyone is encouraged to like and repost
Agents, editors, and publishers welcome!
Use #BluePit feeds to find pitches to support!

Questions?
BluePit.Carrd.Co
@zprospero.bsky.social
Join us starting July 8th!

JOIN US JULY 13th 12-12 EST!

@bluepit.bsky.social

#BluePit TAGS

MEDIA
#💥 - Comics
#🎮 - Game Dev
#🎲 - TTRPGs
#📖 - Writers

STAGE
#W - Work In Progress
#Q - Querying
#OS - On Submission
#P - Published

AUDIENCE
#PB - Picture Book
#MG - Middle Grade
#YA - Young Adult
#A - Adult
#NA - New Adult

GENRE
#F - Fantasy
#R - Romance
#H - Horror
#SF - Sci-Fi
#M - Mystery
#PN - Paranormal
#C - Crime
#HS - Historical
#SP - Speculative
#PO - Poetry
#NF - Non-Fiction

REPRESENTATION
#OV - Own Voices
#LGBT- LGBTQIA+
#DIS - Disabled Creators
#WF - Women's Fiction
#POC - Person of Color
#ND - Neurodivergent
#TR - Transgender

GAME SYSTEM
#D20 - D20 based
#D6 - D6 based
#D100 -D100 based
#NAR - Narrative based
#DUN - Dungeon Crawler
#RO - Rogue-Like

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#DVpit - Diverse Voices Pitch @dvpit.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

#Giveaway Time to prepare for #DVpit! Enter from July 13-18, 2026 to win query and/or first pages critiques from agents! TO ENTER: • repost this post • AND reply with your category & genre! (e.g. YA Fantasy) • Entries must be for completed, unpublished work. Full rules: dvpit.carrd.co#giveaway

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Lizzie Blackwood @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

✨🌟✨THREE DAYS TO GO✨🌟✨ And I'm too tired for marketing. 😅 Let's see what my cats think of my book! "I could sleep on this." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Selkie

Close up of the face of a beige tabby cat with gold eyes and a brownish pink nose.

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Radon Journal @radonjournal.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

This ain't a [writing] scene, it's a goddamn arms race [against AI]

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Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The horn of Africa is grieving because their -Their farms are no longer yielding -Advancement of desert is alarming -Our major rivers are drying -Proliferation of pest and pathogens -Development of tropical diseases. -Our crop are dieing out. Climate change is a reality.

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Mat Johnson @matjohnson.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Congratulations to everyone who said it would get this bad. Your prize is watching everyone who disagreed now claim no one could have predicted it would get this bad.

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MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 27/05/2026

Oxford, the longest running continuous weather station in UK history, with temperature observations stretching back to 1815, has preliminarily broken its maximum temperature record for May yesterday by OVER 3ºC with a temperature of 33.7ºC. Unprecedented in its 211-year history.

Spaghetti chart showing Oxford Radcliffe Observatory daily maximum temperatures for every day of the year from 1815 to 2026. 211 years of historical data are shown as very faint grey lines tracing a seasonal cycle from around 5°C in winter to a summer peak of roughly 25–30°C in July and August. A blue smoothed 30-day mean line highlights the average annual temperature cycle. The 2026 line is shown in bold red, running from January through to late May before spiking sharply upward to reach 33.7°C on 26 May, well above the entire historical grey envelope for that time of year. A single dashed red reference line marks the previous May record of 30.6°C set on 29 May 1944. The 2026 reading exceeds this by 3.1°C and, in statistical terms, is the 6th most anomalous maximum temperature in Oxford's 211-year record, ranking as the most anomalous May maximum ever observed and coming within 0.6°C of the all-time June record of 34.3°C set in 1976.

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

This guy at Starbucks talking about how he can't possibly be expected to read 10 pages, to have to go back through them to correct them and reference certain things, so it's easier to use ChatGPT

media.tenor.com

a woman wearing a pink and gray sweatshirt says " i 'm like men used to hunt "

Alt: a woman wearing a pink and gray sweatshirt says " i 'm like men used to hunt "

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Rowdy Rebel @rowdyrebel.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

First thing I do after every move is join the library.

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/05/the-... The Albion Inn was published yesterday 🥰 If short stories about ghost hunters and deeply haunted bed and breakfasts and underpaid hotel clerks interest you, feel free to check it out!

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11/04/2026

Whew!

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

SPILLED MY COFFEE (20 dead) ON MY BED (10 injured) WHILST WRITING (100s remain missing) made up for it by CHUGGING AN ALANI this is gonna make me write 50k in an hour I can feel it in my teeth

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Jay Castello 🌻 @jaymcastello.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

cannot stress enough how much this tweet is not only my guiding star for character writing but also the only thing that enables me to write conversations at all

"characters in tv shows are too self aware now! every emotional convo is like "i guess i yelled at you earlier because i never processed dad leaving" no!! no!!! flush someone's blood pressure medication because they called you lazy."

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Just fun things that happened last month 🥰

A list of stories published in Elegant Literature, starting with Root and Stay (by Christopher J Steely), The Curse Dealer's Daughter (by Kelli O'Neill), Scarecrow (by Matthew Vandyke), The Hunter and the Stag (by Alyx Barter), and finishing with Judge's Comments (not a story) (written by the editor, Creag Munroe)

Email that reads
"Hi Alyx,
Congratulations! "The Albion Inn" has been accepted for publication at Fiction on the Web, and will appear on www.fictionontheweb.co.uk on 11 Mary. Be sure to spread the word!"

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alyx barter @alyxwithawhy.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

1. The Scorpio Races 2. The Book Thief 3. Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven series) (yes very specifically the 4th book) 4. The Starless Sea 5. City of Stars (second book in the Stravaganza series)

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Internet Archive @archive.org · 01/04/2026

Open Library volunteers like Nazar Kotsur 👨‍💻 work behind the scenes every day. From tracking Ukrainian books that aren’t yet online to improving access via Wikisource, his work keeps culture from disappearing. Learn more 👇 blog.openlibrary.org/2026/03/24/f... 🧵1️⃣/3️⃣ #OpenLibrary

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Beyond The Stars Press @beyondtstarspress.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

An ace-run press looking for our fellow aces on this app 👀 #asexual #aromantic #aspecbooks #acebooks #arobooks #queerbooksky

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Jeremy Ghooooost Shipp @jeremycshipp.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I love not using AI. I love reading books written by human beings, hand-sewing little creatures, watching for bats during dusk, listening to human experts to learn about a topic. Not using AI is very fun.

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Morgan Lockhart @mizdoomcookie.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I promise you there are no politics in my witchy romance about a group of diverse witches struggling to preserve a multi-tradition holiday festival from a mega-church owning corporation that wants to turn it into a Christmas only event.

The cover of a Spell for Midwinter's Heart by Morgan Lockhart.

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