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Kat Kourbeti

@darthj.uno
2.5K followers 861 following 1.6K posts

SF/F writer & narrator, Hugo Award-winning senior podcast editor @strangehorizons.bsky.social, host @thewritesong.co.uk. Lapsed film critic; now BSFA's theatre columnist. Team ADHD. Greek! 📍 London, UK ✨ she/her 🏳️‍🌈 🌍💌 darthj.uno 🔗 linktr.ee/darthjuno

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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 8h
you know when you're supposed to be working on your fully outlined novel but then this back-burner idea decides to front-burner itself? and what you thought was a cute short story idea is kiiiinda looking like it's maybe another novel?? ... yeah, that 😶‍🌫️ oops send help pls
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Joyce (Wolf) Chng/Ch'ng 🐺 Wolf's Path is a finalist! @jolantru.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
💖💖💖💖💖
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 25/09/2026
Home in Greece for the week 💖
View of a street in downtown Thessaloniki in Greece, with 4-5 storey apartment buildings lining a narrow street, and another at the end of the street with orange tents in every balcony. The sky is a little overcast and gray, and there are cars parked all the way down one side of the road. An old 3 storey building with red trim around the windows and sides is flanked by taller apartment buildings on either side. Big green vines cover most of the building's facade, and on the ground floor there is a café/bar with black parasol umbrellas standing over a small outdoor seating area. Cars are parked in front of the building and on the sides of the road across from it, where the photo is taken from. The sky above is clear and bright blue. A little Faceless Man from Spirited Away figure on the counter top of a café holds a small red dish containing change/tips for the baristas.
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reni 🦌 @reniadeb.com · 25/09/2026
this is just to say i have eaten the moon that was in my orbit and which you were probably wanting to observe forgive me it was delicious so crunchy and so cold
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Cynthia Gómez @cynthiasaysboo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This Saturday, folks!!
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Renay⁷ @renay.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Dear short fiction readers/reccers, some Ideas: - seasonal rec lists - themed rec lists (holidays, mushrooms, robots, space, mushrooms, ghosts, timey wimey stuff, mushrooms) - build your own Best Of anthology TOC As always, in the words of @forestofglory.bsky.social, reccing is Critical Practice!
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 20/09/2026
I've had queer (cis) friends say that they "just want to enjoy the new adaptation uncomplicatedly", but the sad truth is that that is not possible—and never has been. I'll shout it from the rooftops once again: Starve her of oxygen. LET 👏 THE 👏 IP 👏 DIE 👏. Grieve it, then let it go COMPLETELY.
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Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The message of 'The Revolution will not be televised' is that it will not happen like the TV says it will. The last line of the song says 'The revolution will be live'. Same thing for the apocalypse. It will just happen without dramatic lighting, corporate sponsorship, or paid jeremiads.
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Andrew Knighton @aknighton.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Can't recommend this episode enough if you've been following news about AI. It's a clear-eyed look into the human dynamics around the industry, what motivates the most fear-inducing headlines, & how the AI problem might be tackled (actually enforcing existing regulations, for a start).
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404 Media @404media.co · 18/09/2026
It’s easy to see why the AI companies wanted to hide this from the public. The statements are some of the most damning indictments of the ways LLMs were trained, how they work, and the immediate threat they pose to human labor. @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports. www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
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ursiday @ursiday.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I'm so excited about the newly described Leopardus tilcayo #cats
Digital illustration of a Leopardus tilcayo with two images of the cat in profile and in a crouched pose
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 18/09/2026
My husband and I both had weird, semi-apocalyptic dreams before waking up today. Different flavours of apocalypse, but both involved explosions, collapsed bridges, and for some reason, Scotland. We've been watching Twin Peaks so I don't see an imminent connection... kinda bizarre though, innit 🤔
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Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
You should* love books (or movies, or games) the way you love people: with awareness that there are flaws you have to accept, and not be wilfully blind to. And that love necessarily creates a blind spot. Prompted by a post from @hugobookclub.bsky.social [*Notice 'should', not 'must']
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Spoonie Authors Network @spoonieauthnet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Our starter pack is now full! Thanks to all who asked to join! go.bsky.app/J2RSmFi
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 15/09/2026
Over at #KneelBeforePod we're doing a catch-up podcast series where we review all the Marvel movies we never got to review in real time, starting with the first #XMen movie! This is a massive point of nostalgia for me as it got me into comics + superheroes as a tween. Links to the episode below! ⬇️
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 13/09/2026
@ my uni creative writing lecturer whose weekly genre discussions were like "ehh, all these books are the same, genre conventions are dumb, only litfic matters" he literally marked my murder mystery crime novel dissertation project down and said it would work better as a literary novel. 🙄
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Ursula K. Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
We're in the world, not against it.
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Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We are one week out from the @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social Mixed Media, Found Fiction & Experimental Format panel where I'll be hanging with @kaidelmas.bsky.social, @gtkorbin.bsky.social, and @mercwolfmoor.bsky.social. To prep: here are the stories I've published that are anything but prose:
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E.M. Faulds / Beth or Taxes / Not em faulds @emfaulds.com · 12/09/2026
Alt text is useful for everyone! My sight isn't too bad and I use them all the time for things like: reading the text-heavy screenshot in a comfortable way, understanding a joke pic that I don't have context for, finding out where that beautiful beach actually is, (...continued)
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Merc Fenn Wolfmoor @mercwolfmoor.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It's alive... alive!!!! #OpportunityWindow, an anthology of time loop stories, has launched on BackerKit! Come join the adventure! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
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Juliet E McKenna @julietemckenna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If anyone is wondering, I don't use generative AI. It offers me nothing useful creatively and nothing trustworthy as research. The environmental impact is appalling and the companies who developed it stole copyright intellectual property knowing that is illegal. GenAI is dishonest at every level.
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Dan Hartland @danhartland.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
🎙️CRITICAL FRIENDS RETURNS🎙️ In the latest @strangehorizons.bsky.social criticism podcast, @electrapritchett.bsky.social & @ajodasso.bsky.social talk to me about popular fiction: what is it, what does it do, why - and how - should we read it? Books, films, TV, more: what makes popular lit … popular?
strangehorizons.com
Critical Friends Episode 27: Pop Fiction
In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, A. J Odasso and Electra Pritchett join Dan Hartland to talk about popular fiction.
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Dan Hartland @danhartland.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
📝 We have new editors at SH Reviews! @kateem.bsky.social will be curating a monthly strand of reviews focusing on SFF at least 50 years old. Novelty bias begone! And @ajodasso.bsky.social is moonlighting from Poetry as our new Media Reviews Editor, ensuring films, TV, games get their regular due.
strangehorizons.com
A Note From Reviews
We’re especially happy to announce some new appointments at the Reviews Department.
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Blaft Publications @blaft.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Cyberhorror with demons drawn from Khasi mythology. Girl gangs of a post-zombie-apocalypse Chennai. A spectral agrahara where a young woman confronts the descendents of her ancestors' enslavers. 30 stories, including translations from 7 languages www.blaft.com/collections/...
blaft.com
The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF
An anthology of weird, fantastic, supernatural, Dalit futurist, & magical realist fiction by writers from South Asia and the diaspora. edited by R.T. Samuel, Rakesh K. and Rashmi R.D. cover art by...
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Aliette de Bodard @aliettedebodard.com · 07/09/2026
Life is tough
A grey cat sleeping
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Emmie Christie @emmiechristie33.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I am, in fact, livin' the scream
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 04/09/2026
As an ESL speaker with a convoluted experience of the English language (studied under many Americans from NE states, took the Cambridge language diploma, been in the UK for almost 18 years and am now married to an American), this is fascinating. mydialect.us/quiz-standar...
Your dialect map:
You talk most like someone from Maryland — about 56% of your answers match a typical resident.

Cities most & least like you:
Most similar: Miami, FL (54%), Washington, DC (53%), Baltimore, MD (53%)
Least similar: Minneapolis, MN (47%), Omaha, NE (47%), Milwaukee, WI (48%)

What gave you away - Answers that point most strongly to Maryland.
What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage? soda
caramelwith 3 syllables ("carra-mel")
Which of these terms do you prefer for a sale of unwanted items on your porch, in your yard, etc.? yard sale
realtor (a real estate agent) - I don't use this word; I use "estate agent"
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 04/09/2026
Happy 6th anniversary to this phenomenal true story 🍚
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OTHERSIDE @othersidespec.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ICYMI: Our 2027 reading schedule is here! Instead of brief quarterly openings, we'll have two longer windows... and you can submit twice in each! 🗡️ December 1, 2026 - January 31, 2027 🪐 June 1, 2027 - July 31, 2027 Same number of subs for authors + a smoother process for our team. We can't wait!
A graphic with a purple backround that reads:

Mark Your Calendars! 
December 1, 2026 - January 31, 2027
open to submissions for Issues 5-6!

June 1, 2027 - July 31, 2027 
open to submissions for Issues 7-8!
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 02/09/2026
😍 [excited squeals intensify]
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Dr Stew Hotston (he/him) @stewarthotston.com · 02/09/2026
Now WorldCon is done you should turn your attention to FantasyCon 2026. In Glasgow this year it will have an incredible program as well as being an inclusive international celebration of all things SFFH. britishfantasysociety.org/events-2/fan...
FantasyCon poster for 2026. Dates are 9-11th October at the Glasgow Crowne Plaza and hosted by the British Fantasy Society
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Niall Harrison @niallharrison.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
According to Wikipedia, there is/has been an ebook edition of The Time Traveler's Wife that includes the first 25 pages of the sequel. Don't suppose I have anyone following me who has access to it? I'm very curious about when this except was written/released. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tim...
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 31/08/2026
Loved loved loved this poem by @elismontgomery.bsky.social, edited by @vanessajae.bsky.social !! Thrilled for this win, as it also means @strangehorizons.bsky.social is now 2 for 2 on Best Poem Hugos, not that anyone's counting 😇 Read the poem here: strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
strangehorizons.com
Hex Supply Customer Support Log
please do your job and check the thing / I want my frog antiques
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 31/08/2026
Congrats to my pals @chloroformtea.bsky.social & @carturo222.bsky.social!! And everyone on the @nerdsofafeather.bsky.social team - much deserved win!! 😍
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virgil (school hiatus) 🫆🔮💫 @vigilnaut.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
daily reminder ✨
DO NOT ask yourself whether your art is GOOD. instead ask: is it SINCERE, is it CATHARTIC, was it FUN TO MAKE, is it MADE BY ME, and don’t forget to stay silly
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 25/08/2026
Today's newsletter is the AI Hater's Manifesto - where generative AI fails technically, economically, and morally. From its ever-changing products and rate limits to its ever-increasing demands for trillions of dollars, LLMs exhaust everything they touch. www.wheresyoured.at/the-ai-hater...
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 21/08/2026
Spreadsheet people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin' somewhere in Excel
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 20/08/2026
They will pry em dashes from my cold dead hands 😤
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 19/08/2026
I am rarely this hyped for a video game, but I can already tell this one has the sauce and I CANNOT WAIT 😍 Not just for the adorable retro anime aesthetic—look at the character design! even the game play has that retro-style frame rate 💖—but also for co-op that seems exactly my speed #Orbitals
youtube.com
Orbitals – Main Theme "Accelerating Destiny" Official Music Video – Nintendo Switch 2
YouTube video by Nintendo of America
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Los Angeles Worldcon @laworldcon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Yes, Kat Kourbeti will be joining us at #LAconV virtually this year! She is a queer Greek/Serbian speculative fiction writer, culture critic, narrator and podcaster based in London, UK.
Featured Guest Kat Kourbeti
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Mali 💤 @sleepimali.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I really think we should bring back letter writing
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 17/08/2026
"AI" has existed in its current form for barely four years and the fact that it's jammed up the cognitive development of an entire generation that fast (and that there's a specific overclass of techofascists who are deeply thrilled about this) is a big damn red flag. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/u...
nytimes.com
What Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing? (Gift Article)
Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without A.I. And it’s costing more than just grammar skills.
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Mathew Kumar @mathewkumar.com · 17/08/2026
Please share: I'm writing an article and I want to talk to developers who have successfully transitioned out of the games industry to jobs elsewhere. What do you do now? How did you sell yourself? What skills were transferable? All disciplines welcome, my DMs are open.
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Kat Kourbeti @darthj.uno · 17/08/2026
I saw #MyChemicalRomance live at Wembley in July and something about the new aesthetic/lore that's tacked onto the #BlackParade portion of the gig bothered me so much that I had to look into it and then—because almost no one else has—write about it. 1/
darthj.uno
MCR’s Black Parade tour and fascism as aesthetic
A rant about the tasteless gimmick of MCR’s Black Parade tour, and lore-building tours in general. Straight in the bin with you!
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Malcolm F. Cross @foozzzball.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
This essay is brilliant. It covers a lot of ground, from AI to the strictures placed on 'marginalized voices' and just, I want to make every single person in the publishing industry read this. Twice. Things need to change.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Reminder that Hugo voting closes at noon Pacific time today. Please if you can make sure to vote for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. As a past winner I know what a huge difference it makes.
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Dr Tiffani Angus @tiffaniangus.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Do you know someone experimenting with subgenres (and major tropes)? We're here to help! Learn more (and more... and *more*!) about the Spec Fic for Newbies series from @lunapress.bsky.social at: linktr.ee/specficforne...
A modified version of the ‘How Do You Do, Fellow Kids' meme originally featuring actor Steve Buscemi in a scene from the TV show 30 Rock. In the show, Buscemi plays a private detective describing his prior investigations. The meme comes from a flashback to a scene parodying the show 21 Jump Street where Buscemi’s character (wearing a red hoodie and baseball cap, and carrying a skateboard over his shoulder) believes he successfully masqueraded as a high school student. In this image, however, Buscemi’s face is replaced by the cover of Spec Fic for Newbies volume 3 by Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan. Book has a green and black cover. 

Top text reads: “How do you do, fellow kids?”
Bottom text reads: “You wanna try out some subgenres in the parking lot?”
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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood Hugo Admin that voting for the @laworldcon.bsky.social Hugo Awards closes at NOON pacific time today. Not midnight. That's just about 4 hours from now, and if you email me at 11:58 am and tell me you don't know how to log in, I will be very cross.
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Jed Hartman @elysdir.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Are you interested in the 2023 Hugo Awards fiasco? If so, and if you’re an attending or virtual member of this year’s Worldcon, you can now read a couple of relevant reports. 1/7
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