iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Can't wait to read this. There's a new story by me in here, too (called Do Your Own Research). UNSEEN STORIES out this December from Crypsis Press.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This morning, I decided to introduce my books to each other. Foolish move. The chonkier one tried to consume the other. The slimmer one retaliated with a firm crane kick. They have since been disciplined and returned to separate regions of their living quarters.

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Cursed Morsels @cursedmorsels.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

D. Matthew Urban is one of my favorite Weird fiction writers, and this will be his second time publishing a collection through Cursed Morsels. Absolutely can't wait to share this book with y'all!

A multi-round job interview becomes a dizzying spiral into ominous realms. A child’s obsession with a neighbor’s death prompts an act of theatrical self-destruction. A spider-infested house draws an exterminator into webs stranger than any arachnid’s. A downwardly-mobile couple’s visit to an abandoned subdivision turns nightmarish when they encounter the empty homes’ new owners.

The stories in Nowhere’s Door Is Always Open unfold on thresholds, shifting sites of transition and change as mundane as a birthday, as momentous as first love, as terrifying as a swan dive into another world. Ranging from creeping unease to body-horror freakout, from small-town gothic to online Grand Guignol, this collection poses the question of any beckoning portal: are you ready for what’s on the other side?

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Trash Cat Lit @trashcatlit.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We are back after a speculative fiction festival in Derby 🦝 Trash Cat got to hang out with three amazing Trash Family and writing powerhouses, @leighloveday.bsky.social @meanerharker.bsky.social and @sjtownend.bsky.social DO meet your heroes - they'll inspire and invigorate you 💜

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JP Relph @therelphian.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Spent the weekend in Derby for the Edge-Lit spec fic festival. Did some decent thrifting and spent loads of time with these absolute legends. @mrlovelyday.bsky.social @meanerharker.bsky.social and @sjtownend.bsky.social I was inspired, invigorated, and laughed so much. Trash Family are the best 💜

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Zoe Davis @meanerharker.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Had the best day out in Derby yesterday, attending Edge-Lit 12. It was a chance to meet some wonderful people from @trashcatlit.bsky.social and attend some writing workshops. Couldn't have asked for better company. Already looking forward to the next one x

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Thanks for the excellent company, Zoe. xxx

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Leigh Loveday @leighloveday.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Edge-Lit '26 done! Banger panels, workshops and signings, sweet raffle madness and the company of superb humans @meanerharker.bsky.social, @sjtownend.bsky.social and @therelphian.bsky.social making it a special one.

Five panellists seated on stage under a big 'Edge-Lit Genre Fiction Festival' display: V Castro, Gemma Amor, Dan Coxon, Tim Lebbon and Priya Sharma

The QUAD building in Derby plus a bundle of five British Library Tales of the Weird books won in the infamous Edge-Lit raffle

Edge-Lit 12 brochure with a copy of the 'Unearthed' anthology edited by Dan Coxon and Philip Fracassi, a bunch of raffle tickets, a chaos raccoon badge from Zoe and a Bag of Bones Press sticker from Sarah

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I had a great time. Thanks for making it special!

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Great news! Looking forward to reading this.

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Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

some news!

Publisher's Marketplace Deal Report, Sons of Nod by Thomas Ha Imprint: Tordotcom, Imprint: Tordotcom. Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Thomas Ha's SONS OF NOD, a novella about a group of boys laboring to build machinery for a reckless corporation on a strange and desolate island, to Avery Davis at Tordotcom, with Ann VanderMeer editing, for publication in fall 2027, by Michael Curry at Donald Maass Literary Agency (world English).

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

No. Please just send us your best. Thanks :)

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Horror Tree @horrortree.com · 16/09/2026

What does it mean to be STUCK? @sjtownend.bsky.social seeks dark speculative stories for a charity anthology. Interpret the theme however you like. 📝 500–4,000 words 💰 0.5p/word 🗓️ Jan. 31, 2027 horrortree.com/taking-submi...

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

HORROR STORY CALL ALERT! Bag of Bones Press is back in action and after your darkest stories for our next paid, charity anthology. Working title: STUCK. Details can be found here: www.bagofbonespress.com/submission-c... Please like and share!

static.klipy.com

Person Deeply Stuck in Thick Mud

ALT: Person Deeply Stuck in Thick Mud

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Noon is always brilliant! Adding this to my tbr :)

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Small Wonders @smallwondersmag.com · 06/09/2026

We're accepting applications to join our first readers team! This is a great way to see what makes a magazine like ours work, read LOTS of different styles of flash fiction and poetry, refine your own tastes, and work with some nifty people: airtable.com/applzdlHLTpe...

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Authors from anywhere can submit.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

You're not alone in that, Steph!

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

static.klipy.com

Person Deeply Stuck in Thick Mud

ALT: Person Deeply Stuck in Thick Mud

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Thomas S Brown @tomsbrown.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Witches, We will have Samhain/Halloween cards for you. Also available to all who celebrate the spooky season. Doing the art now, will be based on this piece from The Emberlings (but with more cats.) Do not say we didn't warn you.

A floating witch figure with no visible face (but with visible eyes) in an arch of twisted branches tied to form a shrine with candle at the top.

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Horrific Scribblings @horrificscribs.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

NEW SCRIBBLING ALERT! Honored Scribe SJ Townend returns with her third HORRIFIC SCRIBES offering, “Bedroom Eyes.” horrificscribblings.com BONUS! Now in Horrific Bloggings: an interview the author! #quiethorror #domestichorror #folkhorror #psyschologicalhorror #horror @sjtownend.bsky.social

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

If you fancy something creepy to read with your morning coffee, a new story from me (Bedroom Eyes), is live today! Also, there's an interview I did recently with Horrific Scribes. Links below. 🖤🖤🖤

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Roald Dahl knew what was coming for the publishing industry re: the pervasive enslaught of AI slop. Has anyone here read his "The Great Automatic Grammatizator?" Originally published in 1948 I think.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Spare 10 mins? Why not check out my strange story, "My God, What Has Happenend?" in this month's Penumbric release? :)

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Today, I binge-read "I Who Have Not Known Men," (by Jacqueline Harpman) and I am not okay. What a story. Five out of five cracked spines from me.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Sometimes the particles of me spin in reverse and my joints reassemble. But it never lasts.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

My house and body are in entropy decay, for sure.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Get another cat. Do so on this day each year.

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Looking for a weird short read to start off your Wednesday? www.exposedbonemag.com/pieces/negle...

exposedbonemag.com

Neglect Takes the Form of the Recovery Position | My Site

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Frost Zone Stories @frostzonestories.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

p.s. (because no edit button!) I've read a lot of ghost stories, written some, but I smile when I think of this story - such an original idea for ghosts! 🖤👻

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Thank you so much for putting such a beautiful book together. I'm elated GOING LAST found a home with you, here. I'm quite proud of that piece x

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Frost Zone Stories @frostzonestories.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Happy Pub Day! TY for being part of FZS3: Jay McKenzie, @andyhumphrey11.bsky.social Thomas Nicholson, Damir Salkovic, E.F. Ritter, @improbablerex.bsky.social , @mikearhodes.bsky.social , Alistair Rey, Isabelle Nygren, @sjtownend.bsky.social @collyleonard.bsky.social @melodyemcintyre.bsky.social

2 copies of Frost Zone Stories paperback book upright showing back and front cover, 2 more copies places flat before them.

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Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Hey there. Latest story, now out, "Scion." Strangeness. Estrangement. And the history that gets lost in between. A son and father in a moving house. Deranged relatives at cross-purposes. A community fleeing a murderous intruder. A crumbling lunar colony in revolt. Hope folks enjoy. Twisty one.

clarkesworldmagazine.com

Scion by Thomas Ha

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

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Steve Rasnic Tem @stevetem.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

It's Women in Horror month. Remembering Melanie today. Here's a link to all her titles in print. www.amazon.com/stores/Melan...

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SJ Townend @sjtownend.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I've only read one of Melanie's stories - Lightning Rod (loved it), in this great book. Where would you recommend as a good place to start with Melanie's work for a fan (me) of weird short stories, please? Thanks, and sorry for your loss x

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Frost Zone Stories @frostzonestories.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Frost Zone Stories book 3 officially arrives on Tuesday, but you can pre-order/order now (currently at reduced price in some places) The digest-sized paperbacks are the best way to read these short stories by ten talented dark fiction & quiet horror authors. www.frostzonestories.com/p/issuesbook...

Image of Frost Zone Stories book 3 on left, on right: Ten tales of the unexpected, the chilling, the dreadful, and the strange. Stories by: Jay McKenzie, Andrew Humphrey, Thomas Nicholson, Damir Salkovic, E.F. Ritter, Rex Burrows, Mike A. Rhodes, Alistair Rey, Isabelle Nygren, SJ Townend. See the link in post for more info on ordering.

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