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Kay Orchison

@kayorchison.bsky.social
3K followers 554 following 21K posts

Former visual artist. Occasionally still a musician. Mostly writing SF/horror these days, with excursions into amnesiac memoirs. Disabled, keen indoorsman, BLOCKS WITH GAY ABANDON. You were warned. He/him www.amnesiana.com

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Reposted by Kay Orchison
Tracy King @tracyking.bsky.social · 12m
Journo request: those who have read my memoir know it opens with a child exorcism. I am looking for other people who were exorcised as a child or otherwise dramatically affected by religion, or whose child was exorcised. Can be anonymous. DMs open, shares appreciated. Thank you.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 15m
They mean heads not cloves
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Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH @geauxgabrielle.blacksky.app · 48m
I don’t imagine a Hispanic man who spent years in San Quentin is pro police/pro ICE but that would require even 5 seconds of critical thinking which the internet hates
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 4h
I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try
A Nottinghamshire goose yelling fuckwords at me, a few weeks ago
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Suzan the chalant goth @sillysyntax.bsky.social · 2h
Simba Kundizeza is owed an apology by the Atlantic. That's at the very least, imo. I am not litigious in any way but this has done damage to his reputation with no evidence other than our AI machine detects AI.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 51m
Schrödinger's processor tray
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 56m
USPS back to using trebuchets, I see
A beat to shit brown cardboard box with busted tape on the corner reading "If seal broken check contents"

Seal seems to have been broken from a height

The rest of the box didn't fare any better

It used to contain a 12 core processor tray for a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1

Right now I expect it contains sand and mangled aluminium
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 1h
Saw ambos pulling the bloody sheet over a guy lying in the middle of the highway next to his wrecked Harley just now, one bare arm protruding at a weird angle. ATGAT, mofos. Ride safe. Get home.
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 14h
Goodnight from Ashcourt, where the Guild of John the Baptist lead a fire-snake of torches from Church of St. John-atte-Bower down to the sea for the festival of Safe Return. Goodnight from Penny Ash, hoping the House Hob has put her supper on the boil. Goodnight from Hookland.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 5h
I am very tired, skimming as I scroll, I saw "the moving wound" and backed up going OOooo new body horror I stand by this, might have to write it now
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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 6h
Simba Kundizeza's statement on his Caine Prize-winning story "The Blue Fighter" is also worth reading—keep in mind, the evidence-free article slandering him was published in The Atlantic to a mass readership and his defense is a tweet to his eight hundred followers
Simba Kundizeza
@S_S_Kundizeza
Statement on The Atlantic article concerning “The Blue Fighter”

I would like to say at the outset that this statement is not in any way a proffer of an explanation or a defense against the allegations levelled against me in the article published by The Atlantic, because I don’t believe the article warrants either. I am however writing because of the level of public interest generated in its aftermath, and out of respect for the people who have supported and championed my writing, as well as my fellow shortlisted writers for the Caine Prize. I want to set the record straight.

For the avoidance of doubt, I wrote "The Blue Fighter." I did not use generative AI to write it. It is entirely my own work.

This story did not appear out of nowhere; it has a concrete, documented history. Its genesis was during my LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency in Ghana. While  there‚ I read a poem by vangile gantsho titled “my father's hands․” I was inspired by this poem to write a story about my family's experiences in Zimbabwe‚ including my father leaving his accounting profession and the hardships my family faced as a result․ Other aspects of the story‚ including characters and the setting‚ are drawn from events in my own life․There is also a clear chronology to the story's development. I sent the completed first draft of the story to vangile for feedback on May 15‚ 2025․ I then submitted the story to The Shallow Tales Review on May 27‚ 2025․ Fiction editor Nzube Nlebedim accepted the story on June 10‚ 2025‚ and it went through the standard editorial process. vangile then provided her feedback to me on June 25‚ 2025․ On the same day Nzube also provided editorial feedback to me․ In an email dated June 27‚ 2025‚ I sent the final draft and requested that the editor preserve the formatting of an epigraph in the story as originally submitted by vangile as a courtesy to her․ The story was published on June 30‚ 2025․

The Atlantic article seems to question the story's authorship by comparing its style to my other writing. As writers we develop recurring interests, but we don’t produce work from a single fixed template. My debut novel, “Freelance”, and the story titled "The Whistleblower" published in Transition Magazine in 2021 which is referenced by Ms. Vara, are thrillers dealing with political intrigue. "The Blue Fighter," however, is a deeply personal story about economic collapse and familial relationships. The voice shifts because the subject matter demands it. To suggest that a writer cannot write in different styles or genres, or improve his writing substantially after five or more years fundamentally misunderstands the craft of writing.The motive for my supposedly using AI to generate the story is equally difficult to understand. I was under no obligation to write “The Blue Fighter”. I was not commissioned to produce it, nor was I paid a fee for its publication. The decision to submit the piece for consideration for the Caine Prize was made by the editor of The Shallow Tales Review months after its publication. I therefore didn’t write the story with any guarantee that it would be submitted, let alone win anything. The idea that I would have somehow written the story with the express intention of entering and winning the Caine Prize, despite the inherently competitive and uncertain nature of the prize, conjures up a motive that simply did not exist.

"The Blue Fighter" is my work, and I stand by it completely. I'm grateful to vangile for her inspiration, to The Shallow Tales Review for giving the story a home, and to the Caine Prize judges for recognizing the work on its merits. I’m also heartened by the numerous messages of solidarity from fellow writers and readers, and to Adrienne Ingrum and Regina Brooks at Serendipity Literary Agency for their support throughout.
I look forward to continuing to work with the Caine Prize team, and to celebrating this recognition with the people who helped bring this story into the world.

Most importantly, I will continue to write.
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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 8h
girl please be so serious, how do you “vet” someone for the masked secret police murder and kidnapping squad designed to terrorize people of color that they want the job at all is disqualifying
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Lightspeed Magazine @lightspeedmagazine.com · 22h
We're now 95% funded with 61 hours & $2300 left to go! This is Kickstarter, so it's all-or-nothing, meaning if we don't reach $50K the campaign doesn't fund. So if you've been thinking about backing, now's the time—and if you already have backed (thank you!), please spread the word! bit.ly/LS-NM-26
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C. Robert Cargill @crobertcargill.bsky.social · 8h
The author isn't allowing quote sharing, so check my retweets - I'm all for a good woke mob, but the most recent Daily Wire movie was written under the pseudonym "Ben Stark" not Ben Shapiro, because the Daily Wire knows how toxic their brand is & are hoodwinking actors to cast them in their films.
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Dai Wolf @daiwolf.bsky.social · 8h
Meanwhile these creeps are mass deketing queer owned business' facebook pages for wholely contrived and often flat out false reasons A bar in Sydney had their page permanently deleted because of "human trafficking" according to their ai mod
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Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 19h
this 👇
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Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 9h
Holy shit ASOS released an adaptive clothing line specifically for people with disabilities?!?!!! Magnets instead of buttons, special pockets and holes to hold wearable medical devices that have tubes, and zippers to make them more comfortable for wheelchair users. www.asos.com/women/fashio...
A woman in a wheelchair with a brown suit that has zippers on the leg openings A woman in a wheelchair with a grey marbled dress
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Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · 12h
Hi. I wanted to explain something. If you see me posting my purchase links a lot it's because I have to. Almost all writers do at this point. Most publishers have shrunk or killed off their publicity departments, so we have to get the word out ourselves. That's the writing life in 2026.
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Sydney Bauer @sydney-bauer.com · 13h
I’m looking to speak with high school aged trans athletes or their parents in both red and blue states for a series of stories on how the landscape for trans people wanting to play sports looks after this summers SCOTUS decision. Email: sydneyerinwrites @ gmail dot com Signal: SydneyBauer.30
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Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 12h
you and 13 friends have the opportunity to do the coolest thing
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Tenebrous Press @tenebrouspress.bsky.social · 11h
One of our absolute fave things in indie publishing is New Art Day. Just this week we got cover roughs in from @slimyswampghost.bsky.social & @kerissonlp.bsky.social for a pair of 2027 titles & CHRIST Y'ALL🔥 At this point I just feel fuckin' BAD for the deluded idiots who opt not to work w/humans🚫🤖
10p Skull & Laurel; 
"100% Human Made & Mangled"
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Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 10h
Apropos of nothing if you see someone stealing food no you didn't
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 11h
can’t believe OpenAI had someone on staff who thought it was appropriate to record everything that people around him said
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
I remember car journeys with my Dad. A speeding along country roads till everything became green blur. I felt that if we had stopped the car, that's the moment we could have travelled into another country – Elfland, Faerie, England of the Shadows. Beyond the hedge lived wonder. – Ruth Lee #VOH
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 23h
So all the hedging magics – leaving notes for the Faeries, obligations for the Hobs, sitting in hope of hearing it whisper – I understand them. Bone-deep I know that beyond the hedge there is another England not shown on any map the offered by the AA or Ordinance Survey. – Ruth Lee #VOH
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 23h
It has been decreed that when we crawl bloody-clawed and screaming out from under the fist of a neoliberalism-fucked welfare system and live together at last the problem of my partner having six cats—which is objectively a lot of cats—will be mitigated by us technically having three cats each
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Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Gee what has happened in the last 6 years I wonder
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Nat Guest @unfortunatalie.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I'm not convinced people should have internet access anymore let alone appliances.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Heavy fuckin surf out there on the road tonight Visibility got down to 10 metres, wipers were a lame joke, the dip under the motorway filled up to knee deep where nobody could see it, left lane of Canterbury Rd completely unusable Advice to Sydney drivers: don't Seriously just stay where you are
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Helped a mum piggybacking a baby across the road a couple of weeks ago So glad the driver whose wheel she leaped under was going slow, had good reflexes and instantly braked when I yelled STOP Mama and baby made it over the road and safely up a big eucalypt I wonder how they're doing in this rain
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
💕
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garethhutchens.bsky.social @garethhutchens.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
What is the Mont Pelerin Society? I covered it extensively in this piece earlier this year, on the history of neoliberalism. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
abc.net.au
A discreet intellectual network has been reshaping the world for 70 years. Here's how
A constant battle of ideas reshapes the world we live in, and few groups have been more successful in winning the war than the little-known Atlas Network.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Derp
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Defo a baby ringy not a pygmy possum? Cos those lil guys are the greatest and far less common than ringies
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KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 13/10/2026
While the below is true, the fastest tell is actually that no publisher is going to reach out to you to ask about your work. Ever. They just aren't.
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iknowthezarbi 🏳️‍🌈 @iknowthezarbi.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Found this on a greeting card one time
Two greeting cards, one of which featuring Daleks singing "Invisible Touch" (Genesis of the Daleks), and the other with the Gold Key Lost in Space crew fighting giant ants (A Visitor's Guide to Coping With Australia)
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Clarkesworld @clarkesworldmagazine.com · 12/10/2026
Our subscription drive is closing in on its goal. So far, as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we've managed to give everyone but our authors a raise. We're only 20 subscriptions away upping author pay from 14 to 15 cents/word. clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
clarkesworldmagazine.com
Subscribe to Clarkesworld Magazine
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
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Chicken WingDings 🇵🇸 @ebridget.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Ms Rachel from the top ropes
From Ms Rachel's account on Threads, she writes, "CORECIVIC, a company that makes hundreds of millions locking up KIDS in immigration detention
has a PAC that's sending campaign checks to Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
Susan Collins chairs the Senate committee that writes ICE's budget.
ICE is CoreCivic's customer.
The company gets paid out of a budget she controls, and it pays into her campaign."
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Just straight up deciding they don't want to sell this one
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Horrible fucking game.
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Maria Haskins @mariahaskins.com · 13/10/2026
Part of my short fiction review column from the September issue of LOCUS is now available in Locus Online, featuring stories from Tasavvur, Lightspeed & Beneath Ceaseless Skies. locusmag.com/review/tasav... Get the issue here: subscribers.locusmag.com/content/buy-...
Cover art by Tithi Luadthong AKA Grandfailure. A figure dressed in a spacesuit walking in a green field with rocks floating in the air.  

The September 2026 Locus magazine, issue #788, has interviews with Garth Nix and James Islington, a spotlight on Dmitri Lincoln Mehlhorn & Archipelago of Light, and a spotlight on artist Tithi Luadthong AKA Grandfailure. The Fall Titles section includes reviewers' seasonal picks, US and UK forthcoming books, a spotlight on Chinelo Onwualu, and commentary from Claire North, Tricia Narwani, and Yoon Ha Lee. John Crowley and Dave Nee are remembered with obituaries and appreciations. News includes the 2026 World Fantasy Awards ballot, the Dragon Awards ballot, E.J. Swift's 40th Anniversary Clarke Award win, Anthropic settlement updates, a report on GenCon, and much more.
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Dr. Johnathan Flowers, Bisexual of the Blade (Alt-text or DIE) @shengokai.blacksky.app · 13/10/2026
As someone who lost his last cat to cancer, whatever you can do for Juno's cat, you should. Even if it's just hoping that it's only an immune or stomach thing.
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Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Israel is a terrorist state
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Dr. Divya (🔔 logged out) @divyampersaud.com · 13/10/2026
In just one week, 19 people signed up for monthly giving to support around 200 people in Gaza not with basic emergency needs for survival, but with exceptional emergency needs on top of that... We keep going. Lowest tier is a dollar a month: chuffed.org/project/hope...
chuffed.org
Keep Hope Alive: Emergency Fund
From the volunteers behind the Hope Giving Circle: As support dwindles for our friends in Gaza, their needs are only increasing, and it's time to answer. To continue our duty to Palestinian life, we…
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Elise (they/them)🇦🇺 🏳️‍⚧️ @eliseswords.eurosky.social · 12/10/2026
Over a year since I pulled my ebooks from Amazon, delisting from D2D (who distribute paperbacks to all stores or none🙃) has my Zon print books 'out of print' 😄 Now my books are just on sale direct from me, indie bookstore Itchio or Canadian store Kobo (+their national partners) 🎉😎 (Hence my new📌😉)
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Ant @agramuglia.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
So Danny Trejo was manipulated and tricked into being in Ben Shapiro's newest film. Holy shit.
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Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
The thing where a shared prefix means people think getting unmoored from reality for a time is the same as persistent malevolence as a personality trait
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wendell the sweetbitter unmanageable creature @wendellwrites.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
i think the entities with flock contracts are about to discover they were never the company's real customers, and the stakes for people with the cameras in their area have gotten even higher.
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Airedmania @airedmania.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
🤣🤣🤣
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kayla, belated reptilian 🏳️‍⚧️🐊 @kaylagator.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
speaking as a programmer: yes, do that! you should actually avoid most software and i've been saying this for many years at this point. tons of software is in fact very bad, user-hostile and/or filled with bugs and dark patterns, this is just the latest round in irresponsible management
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