iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 8h

🎶What a difference the paper makes🎶 Finally got a duplex printer, and I’m working on printing my own art art and hand-bound zines. Testing papers and y’all. I thought I had bought a haunted printer until I remembered to use the right paper 😅

Two prints of a watercolor illustration. The print on the left is crisp and vibrant, the print on the right is dull and faded

Two prints of a digital illustration. The print on the left is crisp and vibrant, the print on the right is dull and faded

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Wedding anniversary today which always leaves me feeling off kilter. Bittersweet. It’s been rough since Gina passed. So much loss and the world is near unrecognizable. It feels like an entirely different reality. Sometimes it’s hard to remember this is the universe we lived in together.

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Translunar Travelers Lounge @translunartl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Welcome to October! Translunar Travelers Lounge is open to submissions. We're looking for science fiction, fantasy and similar stories, 5000 words and under. Please read the guidelines before submitting. translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/

translunartravelerslounge.com

Submissions

Broadly defined, the type of fiction we are looking for is “fun”. [Go to Submissions]

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Tenebrous Press @tenebrouspress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's October🎃 which means, SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN FOR BRAVE NEW WEIRD Vol. 5! **This is our yearly Best-Of Weird Fiction anthology, only eligible REPRINTS will be considered** Get the full submissions details here, and check out the full cover reveal! tinyurl.com/4474xej6

THE CALL OF THE WEIRD
All October, Tenebrous Press is accepting submissions for the Fifth Volume of our Weird Fiction Award anthology, BRAVE NEW WEIRD.
This is a reprint anthology. Only works published between 10/31/25-10/31/26 will be considered.
Full details at www.tenebrouspress.com

Cover art by Matt Blairstone.
Beneath a swirling tile mosaic sea filled with fish and squid, two mountain giants surround a rural village who are burning a wicker man in their honor.
One of the giants eats the worshippers, while the other digs what they're throwin' down.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Fall 24-Hour Short Story contest was this weekend and I actually DID finish this time and y’all. It’s always weird when I write something and even I think “this might be too surreal even for my writing”

static.klipy.com

Why Am I Like This Cat

Alt: Why Am I Like This Cat

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I’d been noodling with making hand bound guided journals for nerds & neurospicy peeps cuz tbh most suck. And now I’m abso-forking-lutely making a Trickster journal cuz I have big feelings on tricksters in myth, storytelling and tbh life in general. (Where all my Loki and Hermes fans at??)

static.klipy.com

Hulk: I Was Made For This

Alt: Hulk: I Was Made For This

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The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship @thesfincs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

And it's time! Submit your novellas! #booksky #writingcommunity docs.google.com/forms/d/1tmf...

docs.google.com

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is either gonna be the best thing I’ve made all year… …or send me spiraling into abyss from which there is no escape. Hint: After that one TikTok edit I will never look at pufferfish the same again and now I have big big feels Hint 2: That hint was probs more confusing than helpful… ope

Craft table with a cassette tape, bone folder, exacto knife, paper, hole puncher, and string is displayed on a cutting board

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Disability Futurisms panel for @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social is in 2.5 hours! We'll chat about Disability Futurism (ofc,) writing/reading worlds that center disability, disabled astronauts, and more @ravenoak.bsky.social @risawolf.bsky.social @cjtavares.bsky.social @howsweetthewords.bsky.social

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Just finished up watching the The Charged Field session with Sid for @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social He presented a great framework for finding, developing, and evaluating ideas based off existing obsessions, observations, and unanswerable questions. Bonus: I loved the sciencey bits cuz I'm a nerd

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 19/09/2026

Every now and then I see myself referred to as an "AI Denier" and I want to be clear I acknowledge "AI" exists, it's just I think it's a massive energy drain, created from theft, implemented poorly for inappropriate tasks by loathsome tech executives who get hard at the idea of the rest of us dying

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The Orion @gettheorion.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

It would be irresponsible of me to spend weeks highlighting Deaf Culture without raising awareness for the need for ASL interpreters. In the US There are approximately 11 million deaf individuals against approximately 10 thousand interpreters. deafservicesunlimited.com/critical-car...

deafservicesunlimited.com

Critical Care, Critical Gap: The ASL Interpreter Shortage in Medicine – Deaf Services Unlimited

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Don’t know why, but I was thinking about memes and GIFs and how they’re basically a language at this point. Then had the thought “they’re basically modern, moving hieroglyphics” and now I can’t unthink it. Thanks brain. Definitely what I needed on a Friday night.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

As someone with a heap of religious trauma (preacher’s child, nuff said) I try to avoid saying “thank God.” No shade to anyone that does. But I try to say “thank the godS” or “thank goodness” instead. I was typing to a family member and it changed “goodness” to “giantess”… NGL I kinda dig it 🙃

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The livestream Elevator Pitch session with me and 4 other #zinesters for @queerzestzinefest.bsky.social is starting now! We’ll be chatting until 7pm (2 hours from now) (I have sassy Venn diagrams, a slideshow, and science fart jokes if relevant to your interests…) us06web.zoom.us/j/8203226323...

us06web.zoom.us

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I made a boo boo 💔 I submitted the wrong book link for this event. It should be Kofi and Itchio as I'm no longer on Draft2Digital for... reasons 🫠 As an apology ALL of my ebooks are free on Itchio & Kofi through tomorrow. Make sure to check out all the epic free queer books for #QueerYourEreader

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Like Queer books? Like FREE books?? Queer Your eReader is TODAY ONLY so go check out the site to fill your eReader with all the ✨🌈GAYNESS🌈✨ before times up. (Yes that does include a book from yours truly)

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

✨🌈📚TOMORROW (SAT 12th) 4pm ET📚🌈✨ Drop on by tomorrow for my Vendor Livestream for the @queerzestzinefest.bsky.social We'll nerd out about zines, story structure, franken-formats, science factoids, puns, SF/F allegories, and whatever other geekery comes up. And sass. As a treat.

Promotional poster for Rue Sparks’ Queer Zest Zine Fest vendor livestream, featuring an illustrated portrait in a comic book format. Text: Rue Sparks Vendor Livestream. Saturday September 12th 4pm ET. QueerZestZineFest.com 100% Online

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Charlie Knight [they/them] | Editor / Author 📚 @cknightwrites.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The 31K in 31 Days Writing Challenge in my Discord server is a fun, productive, community-driven event--and it is BACK in October! Now's the time to join because we spend September prepping with a new prompt every single day. More words, more friends, less pressure. Come Draft Your Heart Out!

Background is a gradiant of colors from blue in the bottom left to orange in the top right. There's a fountain pen graphic on the right side. Text:

31K in 31 Days Writing Challenge

Join Charlie in their Discord server for a month-long writing challenge.

September is for prep, and in October, we
DRAFT OUR HEARTS OUT!

31K words is the goal, but every single word gets celebrated.

Work directly with Charlie: Author and Editor of nearly two decades.

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Marlow Stern @marlownyc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

‘The Matrix’ creator Lilly Wachowski on J.K. Rowling and the new ‘Harry Potter’ series: “She is funding trans genocide. J.K. Rowling funds trans genocide, full stop. So, if you support ‘Harry Potter,’ you’re supporting trans genocide.” variety.com/2026/tv/feat...

variety.com

Lilly Wachowski on Her New Studio Anarchists United, the Black Power Origins of ‘The Matrix’ and How ‘Harry Potter’ Fans Are ‘Supporting Trans Genocide’

‘The Matrix’ filmmaker Lilly Wachowski opens up about her new studio for marginalized voices Anarchists United, J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I got a rejection on a state-wide short story contest where you had the option to see comments from the readers. Two people were utterly confused by the story, the other three loved it. I hated that there were people who were completely lost on the story and internalized that I failed to-

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Apropos of nothing: I will never forget Walden by Thoreau. Not because of anything in the book. But because my English teacher lost her shit at some point & said loud enough to hear outside the hall: “For the last time. WALDEN is the POND.” (We all kept referring to the author as Walden) 📚💙

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I can’t read without audiobooks. My health has made reading inaccessible except through audiobooks & ebooks. I’m so sick of the “Audiobooks aren’t reading” posts. It’s pedantic, ableist, and elitist. Stories were once oral traditions. Reading it as text isnt ethically or morally superior.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Keep an eye out this Saturday for Queer Your eReader!! Visit for free queer books (uncluding from yours truly.)

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Hayloft I & II inspired a massive plot line for my antagonist-but-not-really, and this mashup of the two is 🔥 (Plus the music video is suitably weird.) Revenge, generational trauma, toxic relationships… all the best (worst) stuff all in one. youtu.be/-yc0oNaVZvs?...

youtu.be

Mother Mother - Hayloft II (SMASHUP)

YouTube video by Mother Mother

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This week in weirdo ramblings: - Women in Refrigerators - Giving side characters autonomy beyond what they do for the MC - Story structures skewing our view of our lives - Song to scene pipeline - Reflections of our past in our characters - Bonus sassy asides www.patreon.com/archetypepro...

Dark stylized illustration of a seated woman holding an acoustic guitar, looking up. There is a burning barn overlapping her face at the top. Text: the seer in the refrigerator

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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 10/09/2026

HEY this seems like a good chance for you to get 20% off AND WHAT CAN WE OFFER YOU TONIGHT (with its incredibly cool cover from @carlydraws.bsky.social ) which won the Nebula and the World Fantasy award! :D www.neonhemlock.com/books/and-wh...

neonhemlock.com

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed — neon hemlock

Part of the 2021 Novella Series. Winner of the 2022 Nebula Award and World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. In a far future city, where you can fall to a government cull for a single mistake, A...

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Relevant to my interests for some reason. IYKYK

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Weeknight Writers @weeknightwriters.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

NaNoWriMo was great, but it had a lot of flaws. We built #FirstDraftFall to be a better, more welcoming challenge for ALL writers. Keep reading OR check out our official First Draft Fall page to find out how it works:

weeknightwriters.com

#FirstDraftFall - Weeknight Writers

The Weeknight Writers answer to NaNoWriMo, #FirstDraftFall is a challenge to write a first draft in October - December.

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tunes to make you run away @whippoorwont.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.

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Elise (they/them)🇦🇺 🏳️‍⚧️ @eliseswords.eurosky.social · 05/09/2026

Indie Authors, If you'd like to know more about Itchio Bundles, including my criteria for choosing, creating or marketing one successfully; its in here. In this blog post I talk dates, duration, pricing, choosing a theme, marketing focus and what I think made successful bundles so successful.

elisecarlson.com

Itchio Bundles: Many Authors Make Less Work - Elise Carlson

For many indie authors, the biggest stumbling block is marketing the book, so people know it exists. Paid advertising can easily waste money. The platform that works for one author doesn’t work for an...

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Weeknight Writers @weeknightwriters.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Good morning! It's finally Friday! Whether you're planning to rest or write (or do a little bit of both) this weekend, we hope you have a great time

Photo of a sunny summer beach overlaid with the words "Good morning! It's finally Friday! Whether you're planning to rest or write (or do a little bit of both) this weekend, we hope you have a great time"

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Apropos of nothing but my obsession w music for writing— Paloma's Silhouette on the Hill is inspiring me like woah for my WIP (this weird multi-POV-franken-format-epistolary THING.) It's heart is reconciling toxic relationships/heroism vs villainy/vengeance vs walking away. God I love music...

static.klipy.com

Mind Blown Reaction with Sparkle Effect

Alt: Mind Blown Reaction with Sparkle Effect

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What I want ppl to understand about a certain book by a certain author who will not be named: You can cherish the memory and connection without cherishing the catalyst. I of all people understand how important those books were to some of us. My late wife and I bonded over them-

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Truthfully the Bluesky option to force you to add alt text to images has been a godsend for me. I have memory issues sometimes so I tend to forget procedural stuff. But forcing me to add alt text on here jars enough it’s more a habit now. It got me better at adding it on other platforms too

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

There are some epic panels and workshops this year! They’re quite the Venn Diagram of craft, diversity, and nerdery. All free (with optional donation) (Yes, I AM running the Franken Formats workshop but have no fear, I have too little self confidence to be speaking about that specifically ahem)

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Weeknight Writers @weeknightwriters.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Good morning! The best ideas often don’t come when you’re staring at a blank page If you’re feeling stuck, go for a walk, take a shower, read a book You might be surprised at how fast the ideas come when you stop trying to force them

Photo of a sunny beach overlaid with the words "Good morning! The best ideas often don’t come when you’re staring at a blank page

If you’re feeling stuck, go for a walk, take a shower, read a book

You might be surprised at how fast the ideas come"

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Apparently being contrary AF is part of my base code. Any post/video that starts “don’t scroll” or “if you care about (blank) you’ll read/watch” my reflex is to scrolling immediately. It’s not even a conscious choice. My brain goes “dOn’T tElL mE wHaT tO dO” even if it’s something I care about 😅

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I am going to be tabling and doing a Livestream with @queerzestzinefest.bsky.social this month. It's an entirely online fest with streams every weekend in September! Besides my own stream I'm excited to see the workshops like Zine Making for Queer Survival and Storytelling Systems 💙📚

Queer Zest Zine Fest poster featuring five colorful illustrated characters, activity labels, and event details for an online event in September ’26. Text: Queer stories. Workshops and presentations. Affinity meetups. Zines DIY. Queer Zest Zine Fest, Online September 26th, QueerZestZineFest.com

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Divination Hollow Reviews @divinationhollow.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Curious about September's Queer Your eReader authors, and want to find out when our next event takes place? Then you need to check out our latest Substack post! divinationhollowreviews.substack.com/p/queer-your...

divinationhollowreviews.substack.com

Queer Your eReader September 2026 Authors

A special announcement today, as we reveal the authors taking part in September's Queer Your eReader free book blast event!

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Gary, Indiana is 77% percent Black. Thousands have been without power for nearly two weeks. Many are without safe water. Yet every data center is operational & using enormous amounts of both power and water. This is what oligarchy looks like. Everyone suffers so the 1% can make even more.

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

THIS 💯 If you know the actual history of Luddites, not the revisionism we hear today, they were kinda badass…

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

THIS 💯 If you know the actual history of Luddites, not the revisionism we hear today, they were kinda badass…

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Was doodling on the iPad and Dali decided I needed a critique. Appropriate given his name… “Needs more color contrast and your composition is derivative.” “Your overuse of saturated fuschia is so boring ima nap now.” (Cats are such opinionated art critic…)

Cat poking his head from behind an iPad where a painting app is open

Cat asleep on a table behind an iPad where a painting app is open

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Rue Sparks (They/Them) @ruesparks.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I'm a panelist or moderator on some cool talks for @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social and I'm so excited! I'm running a limited seating workshop 'Franken-Formats' about taking risks & challenging us to use our skills in innovative ways. Sign up for lottery by Sept 1st: flights-of-foundry.org/lottery/

flights-of-foundry.org

Limited Seating Sessions – Flights of Foundry

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