iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Sorry, I owe you an email don't i? I'm increeeeeeedibly behind atm 😅

C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Really looking forward to being a part of this; a big part of "The Machines Are Coming..." was Bona Books articulating a sense that publishing needed to be having more of an open conversation about these issues, and it's great to be having them.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh, he was fabulous. And I think gave Picket license to be a bit more 'stagey' in her writing than usual, and it really worked. The whole "Until a woman says 'no'" monologue was stunning. And yeah, I like the way she keeps returning to Essex; gives a gentle unity to fairly varied output.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My favourite new playwright by a country mile. Effortlessly charming and funny and real, with a directness in addressing patriarchy and male violence that demands attention.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"They say that Aphrodite created Friday night in the corner of her mouth." Fucking love Ava Pickett.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Off to see the new Ava Pickett play in Stratford. Kinda hoping it doesn't leave me a blubbering mess like the Manningtree Witches did. Which was a cathartic theatre experience, but perhaps not what I need just this evening. 😅

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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I have never seen a moral panic grip a country so quickly or thoroughly

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Moffat REALLY imprinted on this one - inhuman faceless spacesuits, the endless uncanny repetition of “Space Control, we are not cleared for re-entry”. Yes, I’m looking at you Silence in the Library and Impossible Astronaut 👀 Any other Moffat influences incoming?

A space-suit with a blacked-out visor reaches out towards the camera.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The Ambassadors of Death (7.53) AKA Even the “dull middle one” has a creepy, innovative concept that will haunt the show for decades. This season really is a high-water mark. Also the very last David Whitaker script (ish) :')

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Yeah, I can't regret Jo, but I'm so glad we got Liz 😁

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Tempting to compare the Doctor’s horror at the Brigadier’s final act here with The Christmas Invasion. There, Harriet Jones is brought down in minutes. Here, the Brig (checks notes) becomes one of the Doctor's oldest and dearest friends. Or am I being unfair? 👀

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The Silurians (7.52) Base Under Siege Redux Malcolm Hulke giving us Doctor Who in conversation with itself. There's an underground base, anxious officials, a security chief - then it swerves into something new as the Doctor resolves the cliffhanger by offering the alien his hand and saying “Hello”.

The Third Doctor offers the Silurian his hand.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Siiiiiiiiigh Our cultural enjoyment requires us to understand these things 😅

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I just... Did not understand. By halfway through the first act I could not fathom how ANYONE still had their phone turned on.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I was SO chill about it. DIDN'T MIND A BIT.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Yesterday the question was asked: How many times does an Emergency Alert have to go off before a west end theatre audience turns off their sodding phones? Answer: There is no limit. Still blaring during the curtain call.

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Bona Books 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🤘🏼 @bonabooks.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Hi all, our lovely editor Rob is in danger of getting kicked out of the UK if he doesn't raise enough money for immigration fees by 27 Oct, so he's set up a GoFundMe. We very much want him here, making queer books, so if you're able to donate or simply share his campaign, we'd be so grateful!

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Me Stay in the UK For Good (After 10 Years Living Here), organized by Robert Berg

Who I Am My name is Robert Berg and I’m raising funds to hel… Robert Berg needs your support for Help Me Stay in the UK For Good (After 10 Years Living Here)

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🎃 Trip Ghouley 🎃 @trip.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

In desperate need of some emergency cash, so dipped into the freelance writing gig boards again and…Fucking. Hell. Just HELL The sheer number of posts looking for someone to clean up their AI slop for pennies is…the kindest thing I can say is vomit inducing? Anyone need a copy- or ghost-writer? ☠️

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Rob (and his husband) are two of the most brilliant people in the world. They work incredibly hard, have done everything 'right', but are still at risk of not being able to stay in the country they've made their home, thanks to some really stupid rules. Please donate if you can.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Aww, that's lovely. I'd never really seen Three as a kid (except Green Death), so when I was 18 and I sat down and watched all of season 7 over a couple of nights, and thought it was fab. Completely imprinted on Liz. But yes, one can never regret Jo Grant 🥰

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I'm so sad she gets so unceremoniously booted at the end of the season, but also "she got fed up carrying your test tubes" is probably one of the best motivated companion exits this period manages. 😅

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Pertwee instantly charming: rubber-faced, imperious, faintly appalled by everyone. And the core trio just clicks. Sceptical genius Liz, by-the-book believer Brig. And I ADORE Liz. I get that pairing the Doc with an on-the-ball, brilliant scientist has dramatic limitations... but also she is Mother.

The Brigadier and Liz Shaw staring intensely off-camera - and both looking utterly fabulous as they do it.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Spearhead from Space (7.51) AKA Das Reboot Well, wow. There’s nothing new under the bonnet here (UNIT, regeneration, Earth invasion) but the jump to colour and accidental "why does this 70s serial look like prestige TV, now?" location filming transform this into a different show.

The fabulous John Pertwee, kicking off his tenure as the Doctor with a post-regeneration shower. Shortly before establishing the great tradition that is stealing his clothes from a hospital locker room.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Catching up on my very slow Classic Who watch-through with Trip & Rob - We enter the Pertwee era! Colour, UNIT, Earth exile, and some absolutely stunning werewolf gloves. It's gonna be interesting. Three was never one of "my" doctors, but season 7 is also where DW becomes consistently good TV.

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Decorative Praisegourd Barebones @pgbarebones.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

There probably was someone called Emily Wilson who wrote a critical review of Nolan’s Odyssey, but most of what we now think of as “Wilson’s review’ is probably the result of codifying a long tradition of anonymous Bluesky posting.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Ah yes, Tubular bells. The exorcist music. Very creepy. *jaunty sailors hornpipe begins accelerating in the background*

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Listening to Tubular Bells whilst ploughing through some uninteresting proofreading, and I can't help but smile whenever I get to the cavemen 🤣

static.klipy.com

Corgi Puppy Awooo Howling

ALT: Corgi Puppy Awooo Howling

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

This is very thoughtful and reflective - and indeed touching.

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Mari Ness, writer of things @mariness.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

And we now have an OFFICIAL HUGO AWARD FOR BEST POEM! (until at least 2029, heh) (when we get to do all of this ratification stuff AGAIN)

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Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I warned last year that if people relied on generative AI to write, this could happen. Those who control a tool can take that tool away from you. But if you learn to write with your own mind, no one can steal that from you. 1/

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

What *possible* point is there to this? It's not as if the defining moments of Scrooge's youth are unexamined. Jfc.

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Neon Hemlock @neonhemlock.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

📚 Our seventh novella series crowdfund is now live 📚 Boosts appreciated!

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Nothing demonstrates how completely moving house swallowed my bandwidth more than the fact that I've proactively booked a theatre ticket for the first time in, uhhhh, six months?

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Anathema Magazine @anathemamagazine.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

You asked, and we answered! ✨ Anathema is EXTENDING our submission window to July 31st! Thank you to everyone who’s submitted—we’ve had such a wonderful time reading and can’t wait to read more. If you haven’t been able to submit in time, now’s your chance! 💜

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OTHERSIDE @othersidespec.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

It’s the final countdown! Submissions for Issue 3 close tomorrow! We are looking for speculative fiction/poetry by queer authors. Please help us spread the word… and send us your work! 🪐 Guidelines: othersidespec.com/guidelines/ 🗡️ Pay: 8 cents/word, $50/poem 🌈 Deadline: July 21st, 11:59 pm Eastern

othersidespec.com

Submission Guidelines - OTHERSIDE

Submission guidelines for fiction and poetry submissions to OTHERSIDE, including opening dates and how to submit.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

"Homer in Performance" by Ashley and Peter Larkin has been on my Wish List for a while. So can't recommend from experience, but looks in the right area.

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Sam J Miller @sentencebender.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Scholarly research folk! Can anyone point me toward some solid books/papers on the audience for the Homeric epics? How, when, where, and for whom were they performed? Especially interested in non-elite/working-class access to the narratives. Signal boosts appreciated if you don't know.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I think the showrunner has talked about having written a film script for Memnoch that's currently waiting on his shelf.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Well, primarily editors need to get better, so situations requiring AI 'investigation' are as rare as possible. But also, those two posts you've written already sound more genuinely like something an author would say than we got out of Bella Chacha in 45 minutes. So I wouldn't worry 😅

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

To read, or to at least collect and enjoy how they look on my overcrowded shelves. 👀

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

This is excellent advice, but also (if you're me) potentially very expensive advice.

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Litbowl @litbowl.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

If you see stories about AI writing/AI scammers in publishing and feel despair, go to a bookstore. Flip open a dozen random novels and read the first paragraph. I did this last week & just marveled at the astonishing creative variety, the unique voices, even in books I might not ever choose myself.

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C.L. McCartney @chrismccartney.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

All three replacement stories for Wrath Month are in my inbox and ready for edits next week once I'm done with the house move. VERY excited. So lovely to have nice things emerge at the end of all these AI shenanigans.

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CL Hellisen @clhellisen.com · 15/07/2026

Writers and editors are (mostly) on the same side. Our enemies are not each other, but the techbro billionaire fascists who stole our art and sold their plagiarism machine slop to the masses

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Satsuma Danger @clementinedanger.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

There's this tendency in fiction that isn't written by queer people to have the disapproving parents (or other loved ones) experience some sort of shock that puts everything in perspective and makes them realize that love is all that matters and it always reads like a children's storybook to me.

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Patrick Ness @patricknessbooks.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

So unsurprising to see how TERFs have been completely played. Exactly what we all would said would happen. Congrats.

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