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Michael Johnstone

@mikejwrites.bsky.social
697 followers 453 following 372 posts

Dad of twins. Lecturer at UofT (English). Man United (and footy) fan. Boardgames and TTRPGs. Writer/author. He/him. www.michael-johnstone.com My most recently published short story is at www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/?p=3…

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Kelly Robson @kellyrobson.com · 08/10/2026
Oh, is it International Lesbian day? Then read my lesbian stoner buddy comedy with fairies about Brexit. A book so queer it contains zero cis men, "she" is the only pronoun, and the trans men roll with it. Everybody lesbian now! www.amazon.com/dp/B09CNDSKZH/
amazon.com
High Times in the Low Parliament
High Times in the Low Parliament - Kindle edition by Robson, Kelly. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading High Times in the Low Parliament.
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Monica Byrne @monicabyrne13.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
In FOUR DAYS: There are only a few spots left in my brand-new writing workshop, “3 Weeks, 3 Worlds: A Crash Course in Worldbuilding,” which uses the tools of improv to worldbuild rapidly (and joyfully).
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Monica Byrne @monicabyrne13.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Oh and ALSO: it’s a sliding scale fee, and you can take this workshop asynchronously—meaning, you get access to the recordings afterward! So not being in the same time zone is no excuse 😉
nightschoolbar.com
3 Weeks, 3 Worlds: A Crash Course in Worldbuilding (Writing Workshop) [online] — Night School Bar
Full Tuition: $300 — Sliding-scale options are available in the drop-down menu. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out. Instructor: Monica Byrne | 3-Weeks | Satur...
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The Deadlands @thedeadlands.com · 07/10/2026
this october instead of donating to us, THE DEADLANDS we're asking you to please considering donating to help our #1 editor in chief @ecatherine.com with the bills stemming from her ongoing hospital stay. no coin fundraiser only fundraising Elise 🖤🖤 pls join us + spread the word
gofundme.com
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
That's exactly it about Klara, in the book. The narrative never once breaks to wink at the reader, as you put it. Klara never treats what she sees as funny, perky, silly, etc. There's a real dissonance for me between the book & what I'm seeing in the clips. I'll see the film; maybe that will help.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yes, precisely. Everything I'm seeing for the film looks, sounds, and feels just entirely tonally off. It's mostly light, bright, perky. Some of the comedy borders on slapstick. I begin to wonder if Waititi even read the book .... 😓
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've been seeing short clips of the film adaptation of Ishiguro's novel KLARA AND THE SUN, and it looks like they've gone with comedy. Erm .... The novel is most definitely *not* a comedy or in any way comedic. At all. Sadly, I'm very sceptical of this film. 😞👀
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Clarkesworld @clarkesworldmagazine.com · 01/10/2026
The October issue of Clarkesworld (our 20th anniversary issue) is now online and features stories by Alex T. Singer, Fiona Moore, Shi Heiyao, Elizabeth Bear, Louis Inglis Hall, Natalia Theodoridou, and Tia Tashiro clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_241 Subscribe at: clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Cover art by Marcel Deneuve is "Labyrinths of Azarax" and features a blue and white mechanical eye in a circular opening looking at a small, white, glowing humanoid figure standing on a large pipe in the tunnel. Many pipes line the walls, all heading out to the main room. Pipes are yellow and gray. Room beyond is blue.

Interviews with Wole Talabi and Yoon Ha Lee. Article by Gunnar De Winter.

This is the 20th anniversary issue. We're dancing, but it's not in the image.
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Usman T. Malik @usmantm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ted Chiang's fav writing quote is from her essay 'Write till you drop' "There is something you find interesting, for a reason hard to explain. It is hard to explain because you have never read it on any page; there you begin. You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment."
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Lightspeed Magazine @lightspeedmagazine.com · 15/09/2026
The 2026 LIGHTSPEED + NIGHTMARE Kickstarter is NOW LIVE! Check out our star-studded lineup of authors & peruse our rewards: subscriptions, signed books, rare magazine collectibles, t-shirts, mugs, and other fun stuff. Thank you in advance if you're able to offer your support.💖 bit.ly/LS-NM-26
LIGHTSPEED & NIGHTMARE Kickstarter graphic. Left side: Bright light blue background with rays (as of light) bursting out from the center. Central image is an open book with a rocket blasting up out of it. Below the book is the LIGHTSPEED magazine wordmark; the word lightspeed is rendered in a orange-to-yellow gradient, with a white outline around it and dropshadow underneath it.
Right side: Bright light yellow background with rays (as of light) bursting out from the center. Central image is an open book with a haunted house emerging from it. Below the book is the NIGHTMARE magazine wordmark; the word nightmare is rendered in a dark red to lighter red gradient, with a white outline around it and dropshadow underneath it.
Top: the words "LIVE on Kickstarter"
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Kate Heartfield @kateheartfield.com · 18/08/2026
Today my novel MERCUTIO is officially on bookstore shelves in Canada. I didn't celebrate much today but I did wear my Shakespeare socks to my day job. And I ate an ice cream. My pals @suyidavies.com and @cornellwriter.bsky.social also have books out today, so check them out!
kateheartfield.com
Mercutio
Coming soon from HarperVoyager UK. May 7, 2026: UK hardcover edition and ebook. Worldwide audiobook. August 18, 2026: Canada paperback, hardcover and ebook. June 2027: US paperback edition (this will ...
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Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I need an updated pinned post to tell everyone they can buy my newest book, OBSTETRIX, wherever fine books are sold! And yes, there is an audiobook available! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
us.macmillan.com
Obstetrix
From the Hugo award-winning author Naomi Kritzer comes a tense portrait of a future we desperately hope to escape.A Most Anticipated Book: Nerd Daily | Goodr...
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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Uncanny Magazine is OPEN TO POETRY SUBMISSIONS!! www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/
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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Uncanny Magazine Year 13 Kickstarter is NOW 95% FUNDED with 4 DAYS TO GO!!! Only $2444 to get us over the line and start working towards some phenomenal stretch goals!!! LET'S DO THIS, YOU MAGNIFICENT SPACE UNICORNS!!!
Digital drawing of a simple purple cartoon narwhal against a purple background with dots for stars. The number 4 is drawn above the narwhal and hand drawn text below reads ‘I AM A SPACE UNICORN!’
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Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Every game I put out gets "1" ratings on BGG before it is for sale. For funsies I'm gonna track the 1s on WS Pocket in real time. What are these people up to, who feel so strongly about a game they haven't even played? Game details were announced yesterday, and the first "1" is up. LET'S GO! 🧵
The number 1 in a red hexagon, as it appears on a game's ratings page for Board Game Geek
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Foz Meadows @fozmeadows.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
it is with a heavy heart that I inform you all that the people targeting writers with AI spamslop have discovered guilt-tripping
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Monica Byrne @monicabyrne13.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Not for nothing, I literally just published a short story about a domestic abuser named Graham who gets exactly what’s coming to him. Anyway
issues.org
Golden Rule | Future Tense Fiction
What would happen in a legal system in which the punishment literally matched the crime? Monica Byrne explores the complex question of what it really means to seek justice.
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The Arthur C. Clarke Award @clarkeaward.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
✨The Shortlist 2026!✨ DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL, Matt Dinniman  THE DREAM HOTEL, Laila Lalami LUMINOUS, Silva Park THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION, qntm WHEN THERE ARE WOLVES AGAIN, E.J. Swift THE SALT ORACLE, Lorraine Wilson This year’s winner will be announced on Weds 12 August.
The Shortlist 2026!

DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL, Matt Dinniman 
THE DREAM HOTEL, Laila Lalami
LUMINOUS, Silva Park
THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION, qntm
WHEN THERE ARE WOLVES AGAIN, E.J. Swift
THE SALT ORACLE, Lorraine Wilson

This year’s winner will be announced on Weds 12 August.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner! I'm more than happy to send you the paper (it's not available online anywhere at the moment). You can email me if you'd like, and I'll forward a PDF of the paper to you. 😊 mikejwrites (at) gmail (dot) com
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Heading up to York University this morning for the ACCSFF '26 conference, where I'm giving a paper on @clpolk.com's novel WITCHMARK. Going to be talking about some Marxism and commodification. ☺️
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Vauhini Vara @vauhinivara.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Journalists, let’s be careful about the language we use when writing or talking about AI. Here’s a thread — @emilymbender.bsky.social, I know you pay attention to this, too, so feel free to chime in. (1/x)
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Kate Heartfield @kateheartfield.com · 07/05/2026
Good morning! My novel MERCUTIO is out in the UK today. The best thing I've done. My thanks to my editor Jane Johnson, my agent Jennie Goloboy, to Leo Nickolls for the cover, and to Maxim Reston for the audiobook:
libro.fm
Mercutio Audiobook on Libro.fm
From Sunday Times bestselling author of The Embroidered Book and The Valkyrie comes an opulent 13th century epic retelling of the life of Mercutio before he ever encountered Romeo and Juliet. ...
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Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Are you passionate about SF, fantasy, and pop culture? Our Managing Editor is looking for original essay pitches: author appreciations, scholarly analysis of all aspects of pop culture, critical and personal essays, think pieces, literary analysis and deep dives into film, television, and fiction
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Tricia Dearborn @triciadearborn.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
If you're thinking about using gen-AI to "write" books, this 🧵 is for you. I’m a highly experienced editor who’s been in the biz a long time. Recently I’ve had manuscripts come to me where the author has used gen-AI – not for writing, I’ve been assured, but for “structuring” or "organising"
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Maria Haskins @mariahaskins.com · 01/05/2026
The May issue of Locus includes my short fiction review column featuring stories from @bafflingmag.bsky.social @strangehorizons.bsky.social @lightspeedmagazine.com @diabolicalplots.com @bourbonpenn.bsky.social @escapepod.org @podcastle.org and @bcsmagazine.bsky.social .
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Tales & Feathers Magazine @talesfeathers.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Hello friends, we are 🎉✨LIVE ON KICKSTARTER!! ✨🎉 WE'RE FUNDING: 🌟 T&F Year 5 💫 T&F Year 6 and, if we reach $15k: our first ever Tales & Feathers PRINT EDITION! 🎊📚‼️ Check it out below! Like, share, and back the campaign to help us bring our dreams into reality. 💚
kickstarter.com
Tales & Feathers: A Pro Slice of Life Fantasy Mag | Year 5+
Fund the next two years of our pro-rate slice of life fantasy magazine—and help us create our inaugural print edition.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Yes, for sure. Le Guin understood deeply the problems & effects of capitalism. The attack on the protest is chilling. I reread the novel a few months ago for my dystopian fiction course, & I felt like I was being shown vital, profound truths. Gave me brain shivers.
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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Your YA SFFH summer reads are here! I've got 21 forthcoming titles to keep you occupied all summer. reactormag.com/most-anticip...
reactormag.com
Most Anticipated Young Adult SFF/H for May & June 2026 - Reactor
Romantasy dominates the summer schedule, but there's a lot of variety in these 21 upcoming titles.
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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 29/04/2026
ANYWAY if you think you might enjoy a highly cursed magical forest and adventures with animal friends, you might enjoy THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST (the real one, not the reference in The Adventure Zone)! It was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Aurora, Locus, Ignyte, and World Fantasy Award!
us.macmillan.com
The Butcher of the Forest
"A perfect mix of horror and fantasy."—The New York Times“The Butcher of the Forest” shows exactly why Mohamed is one of fantasy’s rising stars."—T...
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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
What I reviewed on Reactor so far in 2026: 🧜‍♀️ Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis 😈 You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado 📘 Seasons of Glass & Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar 🌊 The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri 🇸🇬 City of Others by Jared Poon 1/3 reactormag.com/author/alex-...
Collage of the books.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
No fear. Just healthy sarcasm. ☺️
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Julie S. Lalonde @julieslalonde.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
A Ph.D. student at the University of Windsor is conducting a confidential study on what happens after unwanted sexual experiences, with a focus on any communication or contact with the person involved afterward. To participate or get more info ⬇️
uwindsor.ca1.qualtrics.com
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
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An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog @hugobookclub.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
You can vote on the Hugo Awards, even if you don't plan to go to the Worldcon. A $50 WSFS membership gets you voting rights on the Hugo Award. It also usually comes with ebook copies of finalists. We'd certainly love to see more people voting (and would also love your vote for fanzine this year.)
scifiinc99.regfox.com
LAcon V Registration
Register for LAcon V, the 84th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), August 27-31, 2026 in Anaheim, California.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
My pleasure! THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is really brilliant. Le Guin's style is sort of deceptively accessible, but it's truly elegant in the way it expresses profound ideas and insights. Hope you like the book!
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
For fantasy, certainly A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, & the following two books of the original trilogy. For SF, THE DISPOSSESSED and THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS are true classics. They'll change your brain. Also, THE LATHE OF HEAVEN. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is her best known short story.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
It's in an interview Le Guin did with The Guardian in 2004. www.theguardian.com/books/2004/f...
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Ai Jiang || 江艾🎐 @aijiang.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
and another!! a big thank you to @littleghostsbooks.bsky.social for hosting the second launch event for 🌊🌬️⚙️A RIVER FROM THE SKY⚙️🌬️🌊, @melisfluous.bsky.social for being such a wonderful in-convo partner, and everyone for coming! 😭🤍🙇🏻‍♀️ 1/2
Me reading from A RIVER FROM THE SKYMe and Melissa ren in conversation at Little Ghosts Books
Little Ghosts Books storefront with sign for A RIVER FROM THE SKY event featuring chalk art of the cover
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Oh, yes, Le Guin nails it precisely in that one short phrase, and she apparently caught it before well before most cottoned onto it.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Le Guin still has one of the best (i.e., coldest and most accurate) takedowns of the author of the boy wizard books (She Who Shall Not Be Named).
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Finished my reread of Saunders' A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN, & at the end he says exactly what I feel about the effects of art: "I feel I exist on a continuum with other people ... I feel myself liking the world more, taking more notice of it ... I feel more aware of the things of the world ..."
Blue cover of George Saunders' book A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN.
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P.A. Cornell (She/Her) @cornellwriter.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Now that SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL is out in the world, I thought I'd share some of the things readers have been saying. Get your copy: www.starsandsabers.com/books/shoesh... @starsandsabers.bsky.social
Image shows a retro-style background of rockets launching next to the cover of SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL. Under the words "What readers are saying..." there's a quote that reads: "Feels like a 30s film with a dash of sci fi vibe to it. I liked the behind the scenes the author included."
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Fantasy Cafe, aka Fantasy Book Cafe @fantasycafe.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
A RIVER FROM THE SKY author @aijiang.bsky.social shares about the stories that resonate with her in today's Women in SF&F Month guest post, "A Different Kind of Comfort." www.fantasybookcafe.com/2026/04/wome... #Books #BookSky 📚💙 #Fantasy #SciFi #SpecFic 📚🪐
Cover of A RIVER FROM THE SKY by Bram Stoker, Nebula and Ignyte Award-Winning Author Ai Jiang, showing a pale woman with long black hair and bright red lipstick facing the viewer. She's wearing white with tan accents and has a bright orange hat and bright orange flowers in her flowing hair. She's surrounded by blue and white waves.

Text at the bottom: "A fantastic and magical tale of survival and rebellion" - P. Djeli Clark on A PALACE NEAR THE WINDPhoto of Ai Jiang by Yizhi Zhang
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Claudio Pozas — Commissions Open @claudiopozas.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
With the addition of Mekaneck piloting the Wind Raider, I've finished this image. At least until I come up with another expansion (as this one was originally just He-Man), without making it too crowded. (and yes, I'm already considering where I could add Battle Cat).
Painting by Claudio Pozas of He-Man, Teela, and Man-at-Arms at a hilltop, while Mekaneck flies by piloting the Wind Raider against a bluish sky with red clouds.
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Claudio Pozas — Commissions Open @claudiopozas.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
This is your periodic reminder that I would love to work on Masters of the Universe in an official capacity, be it for Mattel or @darkhorse.com .
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Fantasy Cafe, aka Fantasy Book Cafe @fantasycafe.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Women in SF&F Month closes this week with a guest post by @aijiang.bsky.social on Monday, followed by a link list of all of this year's guest posts on Wednesday (in case you missed any!). More info here: www.fantasybookcafe.com/2026/04/wome... #Books #BookSky 📚💙 #Fantasy #SciFi #SpecFic 📚🪐
fantasybookcafe.com
Women in SF&F Month: Final Week Schedule & Week in Review | Fantasy Cafe
Announcing the Women in SF&F Month 2026 schedule for the week of April 28 with essays by fantasy and science fiction authors.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Film you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LotR, Marvel, Disney, or Ghibli.
media.tenor.com
a woman is standing in the woods with her head up and looking up at the sky .
Alt: A woman is standing in the woods with her head up and looking up at the sky and falls back into a bed of purple flowers. Abbie Cornish in the film Bright Star.
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Same! It's also a great book of close reading and literary criticism. I've applied some of his methods/questions in my own teaching.
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PseudoPod 🎙️ @pseudopod.org · 22/03/2026
We are currently open for reprints from Anthologies and Collections published, or due to be published, in 2026.* Books only, not magazines or periodicals. Anything up to 6000 words (we like flash!) escapeartists.moksha.io/publication/... (*Strictly 2026. We’ll open for general subs in August)
escapeartists.moksha.io
Moksha
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Michael Johnstone @mikejwrites.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Submitted a short story just now. Went back to an old one. Cut nearly 600 words. Refined links between scenes. I feel it's a leaner, more direct, more engaging story. Well, I hope so. I was inspired by Saunders' A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN to return to the story. Truly amazing book. #amwriting
Cover of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders. Light blue/purple base, with darker blue/purple image of an arch and stairs.
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Wole Talabi | Preorder THE FIST OF MEMORY @wtalabi.com · 29/03/2026
Thank you! And if youre looking for more traditional SF, you can preorder my forthcoming novel THE FIST OF MEMORY which has ancestors, assasins, AI and aliens! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688458...
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi: 9780756418243 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A strange alien spacecraft suddenly appears in the sky in this electrifying, action-packed first contact novel set in near-future Nigeria from award-winning author Wole Talabi A hard science-fiction...
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