iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social · 1h

The ideal reader response

Homer, befuddled, is saying “brilliant. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

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PaAAAAAAAAH!!!z Pardo @pazsays.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

the child: when is this book from? me: the nineties the child, solemnly: almost a hundred years ago. at the beginning of electricity

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Usman T. Malik @usmantm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

it is a travesty that the brilliant Indrapramit Das is not more widely known in fantasy and horror fandom. The way Indra pulled South Asian history, politics, monstrosity, and queer love together in one book is a thing to behold

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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 09/09/2026

Happy WICKHILLS day @premeemohamed.com!!! everyone please buy a copy instantly and without delay. run, don't walk &c.

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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 14/09/2026

Tashan Mehta (@tashanmehta.bsky.social) reads from her novel Mad Sisters of Esi, which is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:

youtube.com

Tashan Mehta reads from Mad Sisters of Esi

YouTube video by Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This book is brilliant. I can’t wait for it to be out in the world!

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

A publisher's office.

The editor explains "Your draft has all the elements of a masterpiece, they're just not in the right order"
The writer looks at her draft on the table and asks "Elements?"
The editor clarifies, sadly "Letters".

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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 02/09/2026

This is not yet Officially Announced (the artist is hard at work on the cover!) but looks like it's already up for ebook/hardcover preorder in the US, so—this is a secret not-announcement that you totally did not hear from me! Out next July, my third novel. I was never here

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

So glad that @tashanmehta.bsky.social didn't hold back when asked if the Museum of Collective Memory in MAD SISTERS OF ESI was like genAI. Aanyway, enjoyed this exploration of some of the thought processes behind this wonderful novel.

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DAW Books @dawbooks.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Check out this fascinating piece that dives deep into Mad Sisters of Esi with author Tashan Mehta. This title is nominated for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction 🐋🌸 Read the article now: buff.ly/lIC4ohX Get a copy now: buff.ly/oEeadHV

livemint.com

My book is culturally rooted in India and the experience of being from the Parsi community: Tashan Mehta | Mint

Shortlisted for the prestigious Ursula Le Guin prize 2026, speculative fiction writer Tashan Mehta speaks about the role of myth, memory and Indianness in her book, 'Mad Sisters of Esi'

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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 20/08/2026

🌟Shortlisted for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction: Mad Sisters of Esi🌟 Using myth, fictional scholarship, alchemy, folktales, & animism, @tashanmehta.bsky.social creates a quantum form of storytelling that follows the relationship between two sets of sisters, generations & worlds apart.

The cover of Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta shows a bright pink whale leaping out of a colorful burst of flower-like shapes, all against a black, space-like background. The book stands next to a small glass vase with two flowers, one a pale carnation, one a round orange flower.

“To Esi, you are another soft animal, an element in a biodiverse landscape capable of flowing into another soft animal; there is no perspective of “apart” or “alone” or "distinct." There is no concept of “orphan.” Wisa wasn’t a hungry child lost on the harbors. She was simply Wisa, a bird in a human body, and if she opened herself to the island, it would teach her how to fly.”
from Mad Sisters of Esi, by Tashan Mehta

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kuzhali manickavel/குழலி மாணிக்கவேல் @kuzhalimanickavel.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

my deepest fried friendos, my novel got a starred review from Publisher's Weekly what is even happening in lyf im so ded please preorder it! www.blaft.com/products/a-c... angryrobotbooks.com/books/a-revi... www.publishersweekly.com/9781915998866

publishersweekly.com

A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School by Kuzhali Manickavel

Manickavel (Things We Found During the Autopsy, a story collection) makes her full-length debut with this wonderfully strange wo...

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Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE @thresholdrose.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Cover reveal for the @littlebrown.bsky.social edition of THE POISON PALACE, about Eka, a poison maiden who is sent to kill Alexander when he invades ancient India. Cover art by the brilliant @micaelaalcaino.bsky.social. Pre-orders: linktr.ee/shreyaila Out January 2027!

A book cover for THE POISON PALACE against a swirling yellow patterned background. The cover itself has a dark blue background with red and gold detailing. It shows a young femme person between two red pillars, wearing a red and gold outfit and wrapped all over with a green snake. The pillars are covered with gold leaves and white flowers, and have war helmets facing outward and accompanied by green snakes with their maws open on the bottom of each pillar. The author's name is written below the figure: Shreya Ila Anasuya.

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Tasavvur Magazine @tasavvurnama.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Read Mahdav Mehrotra's full review of Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta on our website. [🔮: #bookreview #madsistersofesi #speculativefiction #tasavvur #fyp]

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PaAAAAAAAAH!!!z Pardo @pazsays.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The other moral of the story is that you should read MAD SISTERS OF ESI

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A marvellous and singular book, that brings to mind PIRANESI as a galactic fantasy, a Calvino-esque epic adventure, but is very much its own thing.

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today marks the one year anniversary of this book coming out in the US/Canada, almost the three year anniversary of it being out in India, and nearly the nine year anniversary of when I started it in 2017. The moral of this story is I’m old.

Pictures of the book MAD SISTERS OF ESI: the US/Canada edition is on the left, and the Indian edition is on the right

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Dan Hartland @danhartland.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

🎛️ Crank up the volume, it's Critical Friends! 🏆 Uh-oh, it's some more awards chat. @abigailnussbaum.bsky.social and @amritesh.bsky.social talk to me about the Clarke, the Hugo, the Booker, the Le Guin ... ⁉️ What relationship between critic and award, award and reader? 🤔 Also: marketing. Again.

strangehorizons.com

Critical Friends Episode 26: On Awards

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Amritesh Mukherjee and Abigail Nussbaum join Dan Hartland to talk about literary awards.

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I can vouch for Archita, who recently lost her father to cancer & is the sole caregiver for her mother who's also suffering from cancer & needs extensive and very costly treatment. She's all alone and struggling to bear the costs. Please share widely & donate if you can:

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Story Hour @storyhour.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It's hard to keep up with awards news, but we are still awfully happy for all the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize finalists! Congratulations to all, including Story Hour guests @premeemohamed.com and @tashanmehta.bsky.social! locusmag.com/2026/06/2026...

locusmag.com

2026 Le Guin Prize for Fiction Shortlist

The Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust has announced the shortlist for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, awarding a $25,000 cash prize “to the author of a book that reflects the concepts…

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Gautam Bhatia @gautambhatia88.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Every cent above our base goal will go directly towards this. So if we make $25K, we’ll raise pay rates to 9c/word. At $30K, we’ll be able to pay writers 10c/word. To help us get there: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...

backerkit.com

Strange Horizons 2027 Fundraiser

The annual Strange Horizons fundraiser! Support this free, online, award-winning, weekly magazine of SFFH, which runs entirely on reader - YOUR - donations!

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Usman T. Malik @usmantm.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Only took fourteen years of dreaming & heeeeerrreee it is! Friends, I'm thrilled to share the cover of my debut novel with you all. The most desi haunted haveli ever! Haunted places. Haunted people. And some very haunting stories Preorder link in the thread

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kuzhali manickavel/குழலி மாணிக்கவேல் @kuzhalimanickavel.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

comrades, am extremely happy to report that i will now be represented by Michael Curry at DMLA @mkcurry.bsky.social

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Dan Hartland @danhartland.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Hot on the heels of its shortlisting for the @ursulakleguin.com Prize, here's Amritesh Mukherjee with a great, heartfelt piece on Mad Sisters of Esi. "Unlike traditional fantasy and sci-fi storytelling, with its tidy laws and ironclad rules, Mad Sisters thrives on chaos."

strangehorizons.com

Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta

How do you separate the one from many, the I from the we?

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D Franklin @dlibris.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

I am once again begging a UK publisher to give Indrapramit Das money for books *already written* that we *already know* are brilliant, but aren't in the UK! Please!

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Ronita Chattopadhyay @ronita.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Congratulations @tashanmehta.bsky.social for Mad Sisters of Esi getting shortlisted for the Ursula K. Guin Award 2026—Best Fiction. Good luck!

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Vivek Nityananda @viveknityananda.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

So happy to see Mad Sisters of Esi by @tashanmehta.bsky.social on this list. It's such a fascinating ambitious book!

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DAW Books @dawbooks.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta has been shortlisted for Best Fiction for the Ursula K. Guin Award 🥳 This masterful work of fantasy is a book you do not want to miss. buff.ly/NcGPtef Get a copy now: buff.ly/cuH3Tmd

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If any publisher in the UK wants to pick this up, rights are still available. It’s a weird one, but a sweet one.

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Congratulations to everyone on the shortlist & a shout-out to fellow Indian @tashanmehta.bsky.social, whose MAD SISTERS OF ESI is the only one I've read so far (it's beautiful, a Calvino-esque uncategorisable meta galactic fantasy). Very eager to get to the rest!

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

MAD SISTERS OF ESI has been shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize!! I adore this prize; their nominations have been incredible year on year. It’s so cool to be on one of these lists.* Congratulations to all the nominees! (LOOK AT THAT LIST)

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ddɐ˙ʎʞsʞɔɐlq˙uǝʌs@ @sven.blacksky.app · 25/06/2026

Men didn't blow mixtures of mineral pigments, including iron compounds like iron oxide, hematite and goethite, as well as pigments containing manganese, clay and water, into tubes on the walls of Lascaux caves between 17,000 and 22,000 years ago so you could tell me that AI is "inevitable."

Depiction of aurochs, horses and deer at Lascaux cave

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Isabel J. Kim @isabel.kim · 22/06/2026

hard magic systems....soft magic systems....secret third thing called "there are logical rules to the way everything works but the POV character simply isnt thinking about them so you, the reader, never get to learn them"

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

So delighted to see Helen Marshall on this list: THE LADY, THE TIGER, AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH is a beguiling piece of literature. And Hiron Ennes’s WORKS OF VERMIN is fantastic. Can’t wait to read the rest.

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Natalia Theodoridou @natalia-theodoridou.com · 31/05/2026

😳 SOUR CHERRY won the Locus Award for First Novel!! 😳 Thank you so much @locusmag.bsky.social and congratulations to all finalists and winners! I wish I could have been there with you all. 🚀💫🌗🍒

An image of thr Locus Award trophy next to the red cover of Natalia Theodoridou's debut novel, SOUR CHERRY, against a dark background.

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PaAAAAAAAAH!!!z Pardo @pazsays.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

if I used AI to write, how would I learn what it's like to spend a whole fucking day writing a sentence and then deciding it's terrible and throwing it away, as God intended?????

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Lauren Groff @legroff.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I’m filled with white-hot rage at Olga Tolarczuk. I’ve spent every day of three decades struggling with my art. The art lives in the struggle; the product is only the last traces of the art. If you’re not in the struggle, you’re not making art. All respect I’ve had for her has instantly vanished.

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Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE @thresholdrose.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

🐍 Cover Reveal 🐍 THE POISON PALACE retells the story of Alexander the Great's invasion of India from the point of view of a courtesan sent to assassinate him. Out with Dutton Books in Jan 2027, will link to pre-orders below. #booksky #amwriting #debutnovel #books

A book cover with a green background (and against a green background) and the image of a femme person with her back to the viewer. She is wearing a red upper garment and gold tone jewellery in her hair, ears, neck, and arms, and a five-headed snake is wrapped around her neck. On both sides of her are two crumbling ornate pillars, wrapped all over with oleander and datura flowers. The text says THE POISON PALACE: A NOVEL by Shreya Ila Anasuya

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I’ve found “Startpage” to be a really good alternative, especially for research questions. No AI, it’s private, and it gives useful results.

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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 19/05/2026

ALLO BONJOUR it seems I have won Le Grand Prix de L' Imaginaire for the French translations of THE ANNUAL MIGRATION OF CLOUDS and WE SPEAK THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN! Thank you @edlatalante.bsky.social @ecwpress.bsky.social and my translator Marie Surger! 😍 gpi.noosfere.org/gpi-2026/

Finalistes

Un lieu ensoleillé pour personnes sombres de Mariana ENRIQUEZ (Le Sous-Sol)

La Migration annuelle des nuages et Ce qui se dit par la montagne de Premee MOHAMED (L’Atalante)

La Vie secrète des robots de Suzanne PALMER (Le Bélial’)

Hard Mary de Sofia SAMATAR (Argyll)
Lauréat

La Migration annuelle des nuages et Ce qui se dit par la montagne
de Premee MOHAMED
(L’Atalante)

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Jenny with a Green Ribbon Around Her Neck @readingtheend.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

aaaaa how to choose only one Mad Sisters of Esi, Tashan Mehta Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir Little Eyes, Samanta Schweblin, trans. Megan McDowell A Skinful of Shadows, Frances Hardinge The Shamshine Blind, Paz Pardo Bunny, Mona Awad

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Tashan Mehta @tashanmehta.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Anyone have any books on typography and typesetting - history, practices, basic knowledge, expert knowledge, all knowledge - that they love? I am looking for recommendations.

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Anushree Nande @anushreenande.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

This book has firmly made me a fan of the author. What a treat to be able to read and review it for @strangehorizons.bsky.social 🧡🖤

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Usman T. Malik @usmantm.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Illustration: William Harvey, 1838–40, woodcut I finished final edits for A DARK AND NARROW HOUSE -- and with that a six year journey comes to an end. The book, started mid-pandemic in April 2020, has achieved its final strange shape at around 105,000 words.

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