Reposted by Matt ZandstraChad Gayle @chadgayle.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Unexpected story sale after 22 rejections. Keep going, peeps. Keep putting yourselves out there. #writing 9481
Reposted by Matt ZandstraBrighton Farm Freelancers Group @brightonfarm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Tomorrow our freelancers meet up is in the Battle of Trafalgar pub in Brighton, 8pm-11ish. We'll be in the beer garden if the weather is good. Freelancer? Come and chat freelancing, tech & some nonsense too Last week: www.brightonfarm.com/2026/meeting... Map: maps.app.goo.gl/CbGLaPkoPuXM...brightonfarm.com 035
Reposted by Matt ZandstraEvan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 16/08/2026there is no such thing as "age verification." All "age verification" is actually "identity verification." You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper. But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware. Period. 106138675603
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Mabel would still like her belly rubbed... but wouldn't mind if you threw a ball first. 000
Reposted by Matt ZandstraKaleidotrope @kaleidotrope.bsky.social · 07/06/2026Would you look at all these hundreds of incredible stories Kaleidotrope has published in the last twenty years. kaleidotrope.net/archives/all...static.klipy.comAndrew Wells: Wonderful To Get Lost In A StoryAlt: Andrew Wells: Wonderful To Get Lost In A Story 0296
Reposted by Matt ZandstraCharlie Stross @cstross.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Welp, it's been nice having these computers but it's time to get back in the sea now. (See alt text for deeply alarming abstract of paper about AI-assisted self-modifying network worms …) arxiv.org/html/2606.03811v1 2514356
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Seems like we've been waiting for literally ages... 000
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Mabel Jevington Skeletor III - nine weeks old and on her second day with us - would like to say hello. She would also like her tummy rubbed if it's not too much trouble. 130
Reposted by Matt ZandstraCanadian Curmudgeon 🍁 @cdncurmudgeon.bsky.social · 31/03/2026fs.blog/the-antilibr... The Antilibrary: The Hidden Value of Unread Books The legendary Italian writer Umberto Eco had over 50,000 books in his private library. When asked why so many, he had this to say: "It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy..."fs.blogThe Antilibrary: The Hidden Value of Unread Books -The antidote to overconfidence is our relationship with knowledge. The antilibrary is the solution according to Nassim Taleb. 36548150
Reposted by Matt ZandstraJustin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 29/03/2026Immigrants weren’t just filling existing jobs; they were helping create them. That’s Econ 101: jobs are not a fixed pie. More people means more customers, more demand, more businesses expanding, and yes, more hiring. 19468542246
Reposted by Matt ZandstraJen the Feisty Librarian @feistywaters.com · 29/03/2026This book is a beautifully harsh discussion about the politics of identity, journalism, power, resistance and the self interest/complacency of western liberalism, among many other things. It’s an essential read. 1004309783
Reposted by Matt ZandstraAndrii Frolov @artandriifrolov.bsky.social · 29/03/2026"Pouring Down" - my oil painting 29011551949
Reposted by Matt ZandstraKit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 27/03/2026Check this out. Free courses online from MIT. ocw.mit.edu I went in and looked at Writing About Literature and it's all there, syllabus, reading list, the lot. All free. Please share.ocw.mit.eduMIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course MaterialsMIT OpenCourseWare is a web based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity 69150
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 27/03/2026First run in a while. The weather pretty grey but spring is springing nonetheless. 000
Reposted by Matt ZandstraMarie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 27/02/2026obviously today is a huge embarrassment for Matt Goodwin and for Reform, which is something that we absolutely ought to celebrate, but we must also remember it's a huge embarrassment for Morgan McSweeney and Maurice Glasman and all the Blue Labour weirdos, and that's important to celebrate too :) 884233788
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 27/02/2026I think I've forgotten how to process good news. I keep reaching to denounce something. Then I remember I don't have to. Such a good result. #greenparty 010
Reposted by Matt ZandstraJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 23/02/2026The extremism and racism of Reform (and the Conservatives) should not obscure that the most immediate issue is the vindictive, retrospective and entirely unnecessary/self-defeating nature of the government's own proposals. More details here. ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...ukandeu.ac.ukRemigration by stealth? The government’s earned settlement proposals - UK in a changing EuropeJames Bowes analyses the potential impact of the UK government's proposed changes to its settlement schemes to both new migrants and migrants already in the UK. 28534
Reposted by Matt ZandstraChaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 19/02/2026Roses are redde Violettes are blue Hieronymus Bosch lobster violin, birde yn robes, partye yn a shoe 014531
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 19/02/2026This is a CAT checkpoint. Show me the most recent cat image on your phone. 120
Reposted by Matt Zandstralastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Countries may fall, but their rivers and mountains remain: when spring comes to the ruined castle, the grass is green again. - Bashō putting Brexit in context. 5665
Reposted by Matt ZandstraKevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 17/02/2026And now I'm crying first thing in the morning 4216
Reposted by Matt ZandstraGrady Booch @booch.com · 13/02/2026I do not fear the rise of superintelligence. I do, however, fear the rise of billionaires, organizations, and world powers who seek to use computing to maximize their power, influence, and control. 724458
Reposted by Matt ZandstraJason Read @jasonread.bsky.social · 12/02/2026Reposted for David Graeber's birthday. www.unemployednegativity.com/2011/09/i-ow...unemployednegativity.comI Owe You an Explanation: Graeber and Marx on Origin Stories 032
Reposted by Matt ZandstraKevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 12/02/2026The very first episode of In Our Time with its new host Misha Glenny doesn't mess about: he's tackling JS Mill's On Liberty. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, On LibertyJohn Stuart Mill's argument for the limits of power that society has over the individual. 0112
Reposted by Matt ZandstraJoshua W. Cotter @joshuawcotter.bsky.social · 10/02/2026Make Art (1/4) 39132084860
Reposted by Matt ZandstraREwadent Evil @ewacat.bsky.social · 10/02/2026i love thinking about bagpipes as auditory heavy weapons 107917
Reposted by Matt ZandstraAlexander Hay @alexanderhay.myatproto.social · 10/02/2026PURE DRAMA. (Yes, that's the town's name, and bonus points for the post's gratuitous Smiths / Morrissey reference.) "Grimsargh residents left in the dark over when broken streetlight will be fixed "There is a light that never goes on in Grimsargh and a councillor wants action..."blogpreston.co.ukGrimsargh residents left in the dark over when broken streetlight will be fixed – Blog Preston<p>There is a light that never goes on in Grimsargh and a councillor wants action.</p> 001
Reposted by Matt Zandstrasean guynes @guynes.bsky.social · 09/02/2026A year ago today I published my essay on Thaddeus Tuleja's Tibetan historical fantasy(?) novel LAND OF PRECIOUS SNOW (1977). It's obscure as hell, pretty fascinating, and I even tracked Tad down and interviewed him about this book!seanguynes.comReading “Land of Precious Snow” by Thaddeus TulejaThaddeus Tuleja’s Land of Precious Snow (1977) is a fantasy-adjacent historical fiction novel about religious and spiritual experience, disaffection with modernity, and an American adventurer… 1136
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 10/02/2026This morning free write will go no further: Luke flexed his fingers and imagined himself a gunslinger. "Cool hand", his sidekick said to him admiringly. "Thanks", said Luke. "Hey, that's a good idea for a nickname." And that is how he came to be known as Luke With The Flexible Fingers. 000
Reposted by Matt ZandstraEd Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Hopefully the kind of disaster that pushes us to a Green Party future with @zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚 🚦 Green for going forward to a brighter future. 001
Reposted by Matt Zandstraflyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Nothing here to contradict my thesis (they’re just personally repellent, horrible people). 2616420
Reposted by Matt ZandstraToby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 07/02/2026this labour government man . . . 3037459
Reposted by Matt ZandstraWomenRiseUp2026 @womenriseup2026.bsky.social · 06/02/2026#Trump #Epstein #EpsteinFiles 451834409
Reposted by Matt ZandstraOmg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.bsky.social · 05/02/2026Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue 5783269014043
Reposted by Matt ZandstraStrange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 03/02/2026Strange Horizons stands with immigrants in the US as they experience intensified anti-immigrant operations. We have the opportunity to lend our strength as a global community. Read our full statement: strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...strangehorizons.comStatement on ICE Operations in the USAStrange Horizons stands with immigrants in the US facing these conditions. 010850
Reposted by Matt Zandstraderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 30/01/2026every epstein file drop underscores how elite power operates through shared socio-economic networks, regardless of people's ideological differences, populist posturing, or public feuds 383297866470
Reposted by Matt ZandstraCL Hellisen @clhellisen.com · 28/01/2026I wrote a thing about short stories, why they get rejected, and what you can apply to your own work. clhellisen.beehiiv.com/p/a-view-fro...clhellisen.beehiiv.comA View from the Slush 1013430
Reposted by Matt ZandstraWilliam Meikle @williammeikle.com · 27/01/2026Got told, again, to keep politics out of my posting here as it will affect my book sales. Fuck that. My readership mostly knows my politics and doesn't give a fuck. And if you're a nazi cunt, or want to appease nazi cunts, you're not going to like my books anyway. 4380597
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 27/01/2026*Exactly*. Despite feeling like a bit of an idiot when someone pointed it out to me, I still found it quite thrilling to re-live the entire book in the light of the revelation. 110
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 27/01/2026I was about to admit my own horrendous misreading of The City and the City! I wonder how many others get turned around that way. 110
Matt Zandstra @inflatableink.bsky.social · 26/01/2026I read this in Elizabeth McCracken's A Long Game today. It's a little scary, but that's part of the point, I guess. 000
Reposted by Matt ZandstraIain Clark But In The Fog @iainjclarkart.com · 24/01/2026LABOUR: "We must defeat Reform by stealing all their anti-immigration policies." LABOUR: "We must defeat the Green Party by ignoring all their pro-immigration policies and calling their leader weird." 1238
Reposted by Matt ZandstraGayla In SF @gaylaworrell.com · 20/01/2026The amount of time I spend fretting and hesitating, "Oh, I don't know if I can make that change to the story. I should ask someone." before remembering that it's my freaking story and I can change whatever I want, is frightening. #writersky #writercommunity 61168
![extract from The Long Game by Elizabeth McCracken [1]
140 Don't default to the ordinary or average in
fiction altogether. If either is your subject, yes: you'll...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xtq4fo3mvzmllvnatn42v72s/bafkreiar2ct4ew3rnl6fcdnaxccqj2lnz7irpt4u2pxo6wk5gzzbhuc4xu)
![extract from The Long Game by Elizabeth McCracken [2]
... find meaning in the ordinary and average, and strangeness
there, too, because even the seemingly ordinary are very
strange indeed, and no human being is ever truly average,
average being a mathematical term, not a human one. No
default average plot is interesting, no average language
(which can too easily mean clichés that you don't notice
are clichés, like blood-curdling). If you're tempted to think
of yourself as ordinary- think of the things you d be hor-
rified for other people to know about you, your genuine
hidden freakishness, the most inexplicable thing you did as
a teenager. Something you've never told anyone, or nearly
nobody. Then give that kink or shameful secret to a char-
acter. Who'll know? Only you. That's what fiction is for.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xtq4fo3mvzmllvnatn42v72s/bafkreihqghuevvffw2nerwzyzolig4es6dnl6kts4dvyemmcgoaepbm5aq)
