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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Restocked the zine supply at Heat Check! Go check the homies out, buy some cool clothes, and drink a killer cup of coffee 🤙💀

Copies of various issues of Baubles From Bones displayed on a shelf in Heat Check in Shadyside.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Things have been a bit quiet from us lately. Sorry for that! We've been dealing with some gnarly burnout after our latest submission window and are just now beginning to feel the life return to our bones. BFB7 is in full-swing as we catch up on our last emails. The patience is much appreciated. 💀

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Apologies to any writers still waiting for an email from us! 🙏 We got more submissions than we were expecting this reading period and have quite a long list of final pieces we're still considering. Our goal is to settle our TOCs next week with emails following soon after. Thanks for the patience!!

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Danielle Froom 🏳️‍🌈 @danifroom.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Beyond excited to share I have a specfic poem in the new issue of Baubles From Bones: bsky.app/profile/bfbz...

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Brian Hugenbruch @the-lettersea.com · 31/08/2025

I'm a little late in posting this, but I had to dust and disinfect my promotional drum before I started the beat. New poem today at @bfbzine.bsky.social! "Citation may be required" is blank verse, and about A.I., but don't let either of those scare you.

baublesfrombones.com

"Citation May Be Required" by Brian Hugenbruch

An AI society searches for harmony in the echoes of a church. By Brian Hugenbruch. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 6.

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Jennifer Jeanne McArdle @mcardlejeanne.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

I got first seed for this story back in like 2022 when I visited the Immigration Museum in Dublin (a very cool spot). The blue lines showing migration reminded me of mycelium (i’d been reading a book on fungus, esp their networks, Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Obv the museum focused on 1/

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Shantell Powell @shanmonster.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Just finished reading this story. I love it!

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Sylvie Althoff @sylvie-althoff.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

New story day! “Root and Branch” is out in Baubles from Bones issue 6. If you’re interested in fugitive replicants discovering gender with mad scientists in rural Thailand, boy, is this ever your lucky day! @bfbzine.bsky.social www.baublesfrombones.com/root-and-bra...

baublesfrombones.com

"Root and Branch" by Sylvie Althoff

Hidden in a Thai jungle, a geneticist and a synthetic human struggle beneath the brunt of persecution. By Sylvie Althoff. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 6.

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Lynne Sargent @lynnesargent.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

New poem day! Find "The Point of Measurement," in the newest @bfbzine.bsky.social. It's short & sweet. 👼➕❤️ www.baublesfrombones.com/point-of-mea...

baublesfrombones.com

"The Point of Measurement" by Lynne Sargent

Artists and scientists alike are driven by the same desire. By Lynne Sargent. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 6.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Oh, and if you want to read this fantastic issue, you can purchase a copy from our etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/Baubles... or read it for free online at baublesfrombones.com/latest-issue

etsy.com

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Beyond thrilled with how BFB6 came together! Our deepest gratitude for the authors whose patience and skill made this issue work so nicely. It's seriously a joy that we get to work with them!

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Deborah L. Davitt, Author @deborahldavitt.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Live today at Bauble from Bones! www.baublesfrombones.com/alabaster-cr... @bfbzine.bsky.social A special shout-out to the editor, Elyse, who made my horseback riding scenes so much better, and whose careful eye improved the story as well!

baublesfrombones.com

"The Alabaster Crown" by Deborah L. Davitt

Smuggling a stolen crown from a country embroiled in revolution becomes even more dangerous when Jasper finds someone to protect. "The Alabaster Crown" by Deborah L. Davitt. Featured in Baubles From ...

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

We have seven new stories and four poems, from hive mind farmers to Interplanetary eavesdropping and everything in between! And even though this is our first issue without a witch feature, you can still expect to find mushrooms and fey 🍄✨

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

This made Elyse's heart so full! 😊 Such a beautiful story too!!

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Baubles From Bones Issue 6 is now out!! Scapegoats, old age, and alien gossip – through sharp-toothed friendships and blighted colonization, contemplate which common threads tie our societies together, leave us bound, and knot us into something new in this issue of Baubles From Bones. 📚🪐💀

A copy of Baubles From Bones Issue 6, sitting amongst various house plants.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Hehe glad you're excited! The squid harvest is such a strong image - absolutely perfect for a cover!!

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

We're incredibly pleased with how this issue came together! There are some hard-hitting stories in this one, quite directly tackling issues that are playing out around us, but there is escape here too. Fun to be had and comfort to warm your bones. So happy to share this with you later this week 💀

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Squidscape cover art by our regular collaborator @lucaskurz.bsky.social and inspired by @danifroom.bsky.social's poem "Entry 44" Love how this cover turned out! Lucas did a fantastic job bringing the poem's bleak thaw to life.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Guess what time it is again!! 😊 Baubles from Bones Issue 6 will release on August 27th 2025!! We have SEVEN new stories and FOUR poems from across the speculative spectrum. You can buy your own physical or digital copy on our Etsy while individual stories will be on our website! 📚🪐💀

Cover art of Baubles From Bones Issue 6, art by Lucas Kurz. The corpses of giant squids are bundled for harvest and lifted by cranes in a thawing landscape.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

✨Story Spotlight Issue 6✨ In a country bloodied by millenia of war, a girl trains with a nun to take on a dragon. You can read “A Dragon’s Hunger” by @madalenadaleziou.bsky.social in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th!!

On a blurred background is an illustration of a dragon's skull in grayscale, ink running from its horns and jaw. Below the drawing is a quote that reads, "What can I tell you about my sister? I was barely eight when it all started. She wasn't much older, but she'd wash us and put us to bed and her hands were more tender than our mother's. We called her Lena. She had a longer name once. But bombs take; limbs, lives, even time itself. They clip names." From "A Dragon’s Hunger" by Madalena Daleziou in BFB6.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

✨Poem Spotlight Issue 6✨ Experts in their fields, both scientists and artists long to understand the unknown. You can read “The Point of Measurement” by Lynn Sargent in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th, 2025!! 📚🪐💀

On a blurred background is an illustration of carving tools in grayscale. Beneath it is a quote from a poem; it reads, "If the mathematicians have carved marble / for the sake of talking to angels, / why might not the physicists / seek out fey?" from "The Point of Measurement" by Lynn Sargent in BFB6

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

✨Story Spotlight Issue 6✨ Blight sends a young Irish girl to a colonial English school where an ancient tree teaches her that fungal networks run deeper than human-drawn borders. You can read “Westward I Reach” by @mcardlejeanne.bsky.social in Baubles from Bones Issue 6, coming August 27th!! 🪐📚💀

On a blurred background is a drawing of a girl and an old yew tree, nearly connected by an underground network. A quote is below it, reading: "Regardless of where God is or what he likes, I feel alone, my dress scratching the mushroom gill breathing from in my armpits and elbows and behind my knees, and I am praying to anyone who will listen that they do not bring us to a doctor who will destroy me, and I will never go home." From" Westward I Reach" by Jennifer Jeanne McArdle in Baubles From Bones Issue 6.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

We've already been digging through the slush pile, and there's SO MUCH great work in here that we can't wait to publish! Witling down the longlist is going to be a painful experience. Suffice to say though, we still have a lot of reading to do before then 😅

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

It is beyond exciting that so many writers want to share their work with us! It's also been really encouraging to see returning faces and to read some really sweet cover letters -- makes us feel like we're doing something right!

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

We closed our submissions last night with a staggering amount of responses! Our previous submission periods averaged about 450 response. This time around, we got 585!! Our minds are BLOWN. That's over 25% more than we expected. Absolute insanity!

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

We're looking into alternatives, but the options are few, especially with our work flow so rooted in Google Drive. But even with the issues, this submission period has been our biggest yet! We're hoping the problems get ironed out, but in the meantime we'll be doing *a lot* of reading 💀📚

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about it. The problem seems to be on Google's end, and our non-existent submissions budget means we can't just switch to Submittable or Moksha next time around (although that'd be ideal).

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

For everyone that emailed us about it, I've ended up manually submitting their manuscripts. But it just makes us wonder about how many writers ran into issues and didn't let us know about it. What kind of writing are we missing out on?

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Google Forms has been giving us some frustrating technical difficulties this submission period. We've had a couple dozen writers reach out because the form just wouldn't show up when they clicked our link. Even the tech savvy ones that tried different browsers and clearing caches got nowhere.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Thanks @duotrope.com! If you haven't already, you've still got a few days to send us your work!! 💀🌱

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Our fiction and poetry submissions end in a week! If you want to send us your work, make sure you get it submitted in time!! 💀 baublesfrombones.com/submission-guidelines.html

baublesfrombones.com

Submission Guidelines

Interested in submitting to Baubles From Bones? Check out our guidelines and send us your work!

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Last submission period saw a lot of writing featuring fae and fairies. This time around, we're receiving A LOT more dystopian scifi and romantasy. Love has always been a big theme in what we publish, but getting a taste of ✨romantasy✨ in short form has been kinda cool

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

We made our way to Wooly Bear Books in Carnegie this weekend and look what we found in their local section! It's us :) Wooly Bear is a super cute bookshop with goodies from lots of Pittsburgh artists and writers! If you're local to PGH, go check them out 💀

The local section of a small bookstore, displaying Pittsburgh themed postcards, locally created candles and syrups, and books by local authors.

A closer view of the local section at Wooly Bear, focusing on copies of BFB2 & BFB3 sitting above shelves of mugs, candles, syrups, and postcards.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

From the poetry front: I'm delighted to report a poetry acceptance from Baubles From Bones :-) For the curious - poem written 6/2024 - partly triggered by a prompt from The Daily Poet (Agodon + Silano) - acceptance in 77 days, contract 3 months later - previously rejected 3 times - they pay $10 ✏️🦙

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Definitely feeling this too! Our submissions usually skew more heavily towards fantasy, but we're getting lots of sci-fi atm. Dystopia and cyberpunk especially, though there's still a sense hope seeded in those submissions too

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Our submissions are still open for a couple more weeks! If you're curious about our reading process, Joel wrote a post looking at our past submission periods and how we've updated our approach to them over time. Give it a read if you like bts content! www.baublesfrombones.com/re-shaping-s...

baublesfrombones.com

Re-shaping submissions

A look at our last submission windows to explain how we've updated our guidelines.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Summer submissions are open!! We're currently accepting submissions for speculative short fiction and poetry from now until July 30th. Make sure to check our submission guidelines before sending your work! www.baublesfrombones.com/submission-g... #opencalls #submissionsopen

baublesfrombones.com

Submission Guidelines

Interested in submitting to Baubles From Bones? Check out our guidelines and send us your work!

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bubbe yaga @ellearmageddon.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

fwiw, i don’t personally think that either doomerism OR toxic positivity is what this moment calls for; i think what we actually need to be collectively looking towards is a secret third thing (hopepunk) it’s cool and important to give a shit, and to look for ways to help each other.

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

And if you or one of the writers in your life wants to add to that number of submissions, a link to our guidelines is below :) baublesfrombones.com/submission-guidelines.html

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Our submission window has been open for 34 hours, and we've currently received 90 submissions! For reference, we've been averaging about 440 submissions each submission period. So *90* in the first day is a dizzying leap for us! So excited for all the interest! 💀

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Can't believe it's already that time of the year again! It feels like it was just yesterday that we were up to our skulls with submissions, but we always need more writing, and we're so excited to get back to it 💀

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

baublesfrombones.com

Submission Guidelines

Interested in submitting to Baubles From Bones? Check out our guidelines and send us your work!

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Lara Alonso Corona (they/them) @laraacorona.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

One of my sappiest stories!! (And also, birds)

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

"Tree, Gall, Song" by Wren Douglas, BFB2 A nun must protect her clergy from one of their own. www.baublesfrombones.com/tree-gall-so...

baublesfrombones.com

Tree, Gall, Song by Wren Douglas

A nun moves to protect her clergy from one of its own members. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 2

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

"Remorse, A Love Story" by Sean Shapiro, BFB2 A grieving father summons a demon in an attempt to fix his past sins. www.baublesfrombones.com/remorse-a-lo...

baublesfrombones.com

Remorse, A Love Story by Sean Shapiro

A grieving father summons a demon in an attempt to fix his past sins. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 2

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

"Tadpole" by Nicholas Jay, BFB2 An unholy child from beneath the waves tears a rift between a fisherman and a shipwright. www.baublesfrombones.com/tadpole.html

baublesfrombones.com

Tadpole by Nicholas Jay

The discovery of an unholy child sparks a compassionate rift between a fisherman and a shipwright. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 2

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Baubles From Bones @bfbzine.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

"The King and His Astronomer (After Italo Calvino)" by @laraacorona.bsky.social, BFB3 An interstellar ambassador witnesses ancient traditions and closely guarded love when a new capital is founded. www.baublesfrombones.com/the-king-and...

baublesfrombones.com

The King and His Astronomer by Lara Alonso Calvino

On an expedition to found a new capital for their kingdom, a king and his astronomer are guided through the dunes by tender feelings. Featured in Baubles From Bones: Issue 3

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