iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

My literary agency, Dark House Literary & Screen Agency, has a brand-new website! They represent horror, dark fantasy, speculative fiction & other gloriously dark things (and they’re currently open to submissions too). I’m very proud to be part of the Dark House. www.darkhouse.uk

darkhouse.uk

Dark House Agency | Horror & Dark Fantasy

Dark House represents distinctive writers and projects across horror, dark fantasy and speculative fiction for publishing, film and television.

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Fiction can produce knowledge, but for me the interesting question is what kind. Stories can test ideas through character, embodiment, emotion and consequence in ways that academic argument works differently from. Have you ever read/written fiction that made you understand something differently?

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Word/Phrase of the Day: “Narrative prosthesis” This describes how stories can use disability as shorthand for villainy, tragedy, vulnerability or difference. The character’s disability becomes something the story uses, rather than part of a full life.

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Thursday Question: Can you think of a horror character who is frightening entirely because of their actions, not because of their face, body or appearance? Who would you choose, and what makes them terrifying? #HorrorWriting #EthicalHorror

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The most frightening villains are not frightening because of how they look, or because a diagnosis is used as shorthand for danger. They are frightening because of what they do, what they want, and what they are willing to excuse.

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

What do you think cosmic horror unsettles most effectively? • The insignificance of humanity • The instability of the body • The limits of human knowledge Or is cosmic horror most powerful when all three collapse at once? Which unsettles you most?

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Thursday Thought: A disabled body does not need to be the source of horror. The horror can come from being stared at, misread, treated as unknowable, or denied humanity. Fiction becomes more powerful when it asks not “Why is this body frightening?” but “Who taught us to fear it?”

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Earlier this week I attended the OU PGR Conference! It was a brilliant event, full of fascinating papers and speakers. My paper, When the Universe Doesn’t Care: Cosmic Horror as a Framework for Disability Narratives, went well and even led to requests for book recommendations!

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

In horror, explanation can be comforting. Once we understand the monster, we can contain it. Ambiguity refuses that comfort. The half-seen figure, the unexplained sound, the memory that doesn’t fit, the unknown ritual. Sometimes the scariest question isn’t what is it? It’s what if I never know?

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Reposted by Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock

Horror Studies Research Group @ Northumbria @horrorstudies.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Last week, Northumbria University's Horror Studies Research Group held our annual international conference, Horror Studies Now. For anyone who missed it, here is our annual highlight reel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxm5...

youtube.com

Horror Studies Now 2026

YouTube video by Horror Studies

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

What writing advice do you usually ignore and why? 🤔

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Fear is never neutral. Shortcuts turn differences into easy threats. Better horror asks harder questions: What systems & choices are producing the fear? Ethical horror does not mean safe horror. It means sharper horror that unsettles without lazily turning marginalised people into symbols of danger.

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Craft Post! Disabled characters don’t need to stand for tragedy, inspiration, corruption, resilience, or “the human condition.” They can just be people. When writing, ask yourself what they want, fear, misunderstand, love, resent, or get wrong. Write the person first, and the symbol falls away.

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Reposted by Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock

OpenARC Research Centre @openarc.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

🎓 OU PhD Student Lecture Series | 30 Apr–21 May 2026 Join a series of online talks from Open University PhD students. Everyone is welcome—come learn something new and support our postgraduate researchers! 🖇️ fass.open.ac.uk/events/next-... @shaftowheed.bsky.social @ou-ld-social.bsky.social

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Change of plans for the win! I’m great with houseplants, but outdoor plants? Not so much. I spent 4 years chasing a “perfect” lawn before giving up in Feb 2025. We gravelled, expanded beds, and chose hardy shrubs. It’s still evolving, but now it feels like something I can grow into, not fail at.

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Reposted by Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 02/04/2026

‘It was acknowledged that starvation was extremely unpleasant, so it would be good to start the regime with a lot of coffee and whisky so that you were at least comfortable and, I guess, distracted.’ Liam Shaw on the discovery of insulin, on the podcast. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

podcasts.apple.com

Insulin Wars

Podcast Episode · The LRB Podcast · 1 April · 56min

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

In horror writing, what you don’t show can be far more frightening than what you do. When everything is laid bare, the reader has nothing left. Restraint works because readers will almost always imagine something worse than anything you could describe. By holding back, the horror becomes theirs.

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

OpenARC is an absolutely awesome initiative run by the Open University, it's well worth a follow if you have an interest in the arts and humanities! Who doesn't love thinking about what it means to be human?

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Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock @kmrobinsonsherlock.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I’m starting a small weekly tradition on Thursdays where I share something a little different each week. Today is the very first Thursday Question. What’s a horror trope you genuinely enjoy, but wish writers, filmmakers, or creators approached with a little more care, nuance, or imagination?

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