iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 10h

I'm very happy to see this piece back in print. If you have not read it, you should read it. If you have read it, you should read it again.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Homecoming is a common theme in fiction. What stood out to me about this one is the beautiful way it explores our tendency to destroy those who nurture us. This is a beautiful little story, and I hope you will take a few minutes to read it.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Happy Dolly Parton Day, those who celebrate!

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Reposted by Arthur Robert Tracy IV

Hell Itself Magazine @hellitself.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Writers, if you have a hard-to-sell speculative Christmas / Winter Holiday story (more speculative than simply "Santa exists," please), we're love to consider it. hellitself.com/submission-g...

hellitself.com

Submission Guidelines – Hell Itself

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Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is just a spectacular unintentional self-own

Dude on Threads: If you hate on ai, you better be pretty damn good at whatever you're doing

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is a challenging piece for me. As a reader, I don't like the choices Sam makes. As a person, I recognize that I (like all of us) have made those same choices. Good fiction makes us think, even when it's uncomfortable. And this is good fiction.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

The charm of this story is obvious. What I find particularly noteworthy, though, is how effortlessly it builds a world and characters, using a blend of familiar stock bits and efficient exposition. This is not the sort of story one usually looks at for craft, but the craft is there.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Not surprisingly, I get a lot of submissions about hell. The ones I publish need to be extraordinary. This one stood out immediately for making straight-up terrible people so much fun.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I was drawn to this piece for the worldbuilding. Creating a rich secondary world in a short story is no small feat, and I found myself loving Vari's world as much as I loved Vari herself. Definitely take the time to enjoy this one.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

To be clear, my family's involvement in law enforcement goes back to the time of St. Thomas à Becket, when my ancestor helped rid Henry II of that troublesome priest.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

What I loved about this particular piece is the tremendous amount of emotion it conveys without ever coming out and telling us how to feel. From the very beginning it was, well, a requiem. I hope you're as moved as I was.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

There was a settlement (which worked out to a pittance per author). The issue is, almost no one was asked if they agreed and were just told, "this is the settlement, take it or leave it." That's not a mutual agreement. It would absolutely depend on the specific terms and if authors agreed or not.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

To be clear, I don't advocate "buy whatever and blame the writer" either. We no-AI editors must still be doing our best to NOT buy AI-written stories. If it smells like AI, don't buy it. But going on a witch hunt against already disheartened writers isn't the answer.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

In light of all that's going on, I feel like I need to make a statement. Short version: 1) I don't accept stories written by or with LLM tools 2) I don't use AI detectors 3) It's possible I could be fooled by AI. All that proves is that the author committed fraud by misrepresenting their product.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I'm honestly not sure if this story is lit-fic that borrows a spec-fic trope or a spec-fic story told as lit-fic, and I don't think it matters. The result is an emotional resonance that made it the story I didn't know I needed until I read it. I hope you love it as much as I do.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I was taken with the elegant simplicity of this piece. Couple that with my intense hatred of daylight savings time, and it seemed an obvious choice for the magazine.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I'm afraid I got a little behind on the slush, but I sent a wave of responses today, everything older than June 11. Please query if you didn't get a response. I have a couple of resubmits that are older than that, but I'm trying to get through the new subs first.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I could say many things about Patricia Court's stories, but "they lack complex characters" will never be one of them. This heartbreaking piece is, I think, a magnificent character piece, and it makes me long for the never-published anthology it was written for.

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Reposted by Arthur Robert Tracy IV

Laurence Raphael Brothers @lrb.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Awesome.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

The rate of submissions to Hell Itself has picked up significantly in the past couple of weeks, and I'm trying desperately to read the entire Hugo packet. Response times may be a little slower than usual.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

A great many people dismiss origin stories, but secondary-world stories about how something came about truly highlight the differences between that world and ours, which makes us reconsider our own. Whether they're connected to a franchise or standalone, I love them when done well. And this one is.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Once again, @reggiekwok.bsky.social delivers a captivating story that no one else would publish. One of the things we're supposed to try to do with our magazines is define what we publish, and this is a story that is very hard to classify. Silly, dark, adult, accessible, weird… I can't define it.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I have made a couple of changes to the @hellitself.bsky.social guidelines. First, I've decided to set a minimum word count of 1,000 words. Second, I've created a two-tier minimum number of rejections so longer stories require fewer to be eligible.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I have a love-hate relationship with flash. When it's done well, as this one is, I'm amazed at the worlds a writer can bring to life in very few worlds. I worry that they're too short to be satisfying, so I think long and hard before accepting one. Hopefully you will love this one as much as I do.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Some unsolicited advice from an editor: In short fiction, especially on the internet, you've only got a couple of sentences to convince a reader to keep reading. Those first sentences are what the theorists call "the promise to the reader," letting them know if this is a story they want to read.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

It's important, at least occasionally, to publish stories that are, first and foremost, fun.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

I love old pulp literature, despite it being problematic. It really is, on the whole, a mess of racism, sexism, colonialism, and most any other -ism you can think of. You can't (and shouldn't) ignore that, but if you can understand it in the context of the culture of the time, it can be fun.

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Hell Itself Magazine @hellitself.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Hell Itself is going to be shifting to a new schedule. We will be posting one story every two weeks following our March 27 post. The rate of submissions has slowed down, and we want to keep the quality of the stories high. We'll pick it back up again if we find ourselves with another backlog.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I was not aware that he was going to be announced as a finalist when I decided to run the story on Friday. That decision was made purely because I'm behind schedule and it was ready to go. Congratulations, @davidanaxagoras.com!

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

There are some stories that, when you ask me what it's about or to describe it, I pause and then say, "You know what, just read it." When this one came in, I knew it was one of those. Just read it. You'll be glad you did.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

One advantage to having a publication dedicated to one thing—say weird westerns or dark fantasy—is that readers who like whatever that niche is will find it. One of the challenges of stories that blur the lines is they don't really fit in any of those magazines. Even when the story is beautiful.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

It should come as no surprise by now that I enjoy @reggiekwok.bsky.social's work. There has to be a place in the genre for stories that are quirky and fun (and not A.I. slop), and Reggie consistently delivers. I'm happy to bring you another piece he wrote.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

When this story first landed in front of me, I was struck by the strength of the imagery in it. It's not much like anything @hellitself.bsky.social has published before, but to say our tastes are eclectic would be an understatement. I enjoyed this one, and I hope you do, too.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

When I was a young man, Asimov's published "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis. I remember reading it, and immediately calling up my best friend who was also a subscriber wanting to discuss it because, as I said at the time, "I feel like I missed at least as much as I got."

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

One of the things I love about SF/F is how it echoes our reality, changing it in ways that let us examine the real world from a different perspective. This story struck me right away as both topical and timeless.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

This is another one that isn't what I usually go for as a reader or an editor, but I remember being taken in by the great character work. It's a short piece, but one I think you'll remember.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I was trying to avoid working in solidarity with the people of Minnesota on Friday, and I apparently never cycled back to hype last Friday's story. And it's a good one.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I find drag rhetoric fascinating. Humor, but in the style of the legendary court jester: getting laughs by speaking uncomfortable truths and not being afraid to offend. It's definitely a challenging piece. I hope you like it as much as I do.

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Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

ICYMI, "The Goblin on My Shoulder" is free to read with @hellitself.bsky.social. This is a story about invisible disabilities. I wrote it before my pain had a name, before I knew what I suffered was real and not "all in my head." I sincerely hope no one can relate, but if you can: I see you.

hellitself.com

The Goblin on My Shoulder – Hell Itself

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I will admit that I'm not generally a fan of the short-short. When I like one enough to publish it, it's because I think it's extraordinary. @cjtavares.bsky.social definitely delivered the extraordinary in this one, managing to create a world in 1,000 words without it feeling under-developed.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

I've had editor's block lately. I have half a dozen great stories accepted, but none felt like the right story to start 2026 with. Then I looked at the submissions queue, and this one charged my fence. @rajivmote.bsky.social was very good about letting me rush him through editing. Here's to 2026.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

@reggiekwok.bsky.social is the sort of writer we need right now: Someone with a distinct and unique voice. I generally enjoy his work, but when this one was submitted I knew we had to publish it. It's entertaining and timely. And maybe just a bit symbolic. I hope you like this one as much as I do

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Reggie Kwok @reggiekwok.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

hellitself.com/pala/ Go check this out. It's my latest published short story, and it's free to read. :)

hellitself.com

Pala – Hell Itself

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I was absolutely ticked when I saw @gerrileen.bsky.social has sent in a story. I was even more tickled when I read this one and loved it. I'm very glad to have it in my little webzine.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

I was told if I wanted to post what they seem to call a rant, I had to do it on my own account. I now have my own account, and I can post a rant if I want to.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

I also need to apologize to @marthawells.com for stealing her cover art for my user icon, but I've been signing my editorials "—ART" for so long that I couldn't resist the urge to use an image of Perihelion.

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Arthur Robert Tracy IV @arttracy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Greetings, all. I have no idea how much I'm going to use this, but the kids said I need my own account if I'm going to get on soap boxes online.

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