Laura Blackwell
@pronouncedlahra.bsky.social
Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer, manic pixie night hag. Copy editor, Hugo-nommed @thedeadlands.com. Cohost @storyhour.bsky.social. Website: pronouncedlahra.com. HWA, SFWA. No AI. She/her. Rep: @alexbrownwrites.bsky.social
Pinned
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
This is TONIGHT! Join usssss!!!!
This was a creepy and delightful start to Spookymonth! I can't wait to share it with you. 🫀
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
October 8, 2026 at 3:26 AM
This was a creepy and delightful start to Spookymonth! I can't wait to share it with you. 🫀
In like nine minutes!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
October 8, 2026 at 1:51 AM
In like nine minutes!
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
elise was the very first editor to pluck me (and so many other writers!) out of the slush pile. give & share if you can 💙
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
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
www.gofundme.com
October 7, 2026 at 11:46 PM
elise was the very first editor to pluck me (and so many other writers!) out of the slush pile. give & share if you can 💙
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
At Monday's hearing, City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz repeatedly asked an OpenAI rep if this tech would write entire essays for students and she repeatedly avoided answering.
The entire company is predatory trash run by obfuscators and liars.
The entire company is predatory trash run by obfuscators and liars.
OpenAI know that one of the biggest criticisms of ChatGPT is how it undermines learning and is destroying education.
They've come up with "ChatGPT for teens" that is "built for learning"
The tl;dr is all of this is marketing until it's validated by independent research.
openai.com/index/chatgp...
They've come up with "ChatGPT for teens" that is "built for learning"
The tl;dr is all of this is marketing until it's validated by independent research.
openai.com/index/chatgp...
Introducing ChatGPT for Teens: Built for learning, backed by protections
ChatGPT for Teens helps teens learn, think critically, and use AI with confidence, with stronger built-in protections, healthy-use features, and additional controls for parents.
openai.com
October 7, 2026 at 11:19 PM
At Monday's hearing, City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz repeatedly asked an OpenAI rep if this tech would write entire essays for students and she repeatedly avoided answering.
The entire company is predatory trash run by obfuscators and liars.
The entire company is predatory trash run by obfuscators and liars.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
really amazed and overwhelmed and thankful
for everyone that has donated or shared
we can't wait to get back to publishing THE DEADLANDS under Elise's amazing leadership but EVEN MORE THAN THAT we can't wait for Elise to be
home
&
healed
&
ice cream doesn't start with "H" but you get it
🖤 🫵
for everyone that has donated or shared
we can't wait to get back to publishing THE DEADLANDS under Elise's amazing leadership but EVEN MORE THAN THAT we can't wait for Elise to be
home
&
healed
&
ice cream doesn't start with "H" but you get it
🖤 🫵
Donate to Help Support Elise While She Recovers, organized by Sean Markey
hello. friends
if you're reading this, you're likely a Friend of The Deadl… Sean Markey needs your support for Help Support Elise While She Recovers
www.gofundme.com
October 7, 2026 at 1:42 PM
really amazed and overwhelmed and thankful
for everyone that has donated or shared
we can't wait to get back to publishing THE DEADLANDS under Elise's amazing leadership but EVEN MORE THAN THAT we can't wait for Elise to be
home
&
healed
&
ice cream doesn't start with "H" but you get it
🖤 🫵
for everyone that has donated or shared
we can't wait to get back to publishing THE DEADLANDS under Elise's amazing leadership but EVEN MORE THAN THAT we can't wait for Elise to be
home
&
healed
&
ice cream doesn't start with "H" but you get it
🖤 🫵
This is TONIGHT! Join usssss!!!!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
October 7, 2026 at 2:23 PM
This is TONIGHT! Join usssss!!!!
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Banning a booke ys extinguishing a beacon. Banning a booke ys silencinge a thousand voyces speakinge yn the heart. Banning a booke ys refusinge to looke at the stars. Banning a booke ys damming a streame of feelinge and invitinge flood. Banning a booke ys making a violent litel shryne to ignorance.
October 6, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Banning a booke ys extinguishing a beacon. Banning a booke ys silencinge a thousand voyces speakinge yn the heart. Banning a booke ys refusinge to looke at the stars. Banning a booke ys damming a streame of feelinge and invitinge flood. Banning a booke ys making a violent litel shryne to ignorance.
Elise does so, so much for us as a writer, an editor, and a member of our community. Let's do something for her, shall we?
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
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
www.gofundme.com
October 7, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Elise does so, so much for us as a writer, an editor, and a member of our community. Let's do something for her, shall we?
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
October 7, 2026 at 1:01 AM
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: October! We welcome Spookymonth with the Story Hour debuts of Grace Daly and Nicole Givens Kurtz! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! @gracedalyauthor.bsky.social @nicolegkurtz.bsky.social
www.storyhour2020.com
www.storyhour2020.com
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Anti-Prime Day starts…NOW! 🥳 Today through midnight on 10/7, enjoy free shipping site-wide, all while supporting local, independent bookstores.
October 6, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Anti-Prime Day starts…NOW! 🥳 Today through midnight on 10/7, enjoy free shipping site-wide, all while supporting local, independent bookstores.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Please go to my friend’s book launch! She is amazing and a great writer!
It’s Book Launch-Tober and I kick things off Tuesday at the Rendezvous in Seattle. Total chaos will ensue! Please join us! ASL interpretation provided.
October 5, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Please go to my friend’s book launch! She is amazing and a great writer!
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
we fucking loved it, even when there was basically nothing on it, and let me tell you something else: we loved it because of human connection, human diversity, human creativity. WE DON'T NEED A SINGLE THING ANY OF THESE COMEMIERDAS HAVE MADE AND TRIED TO SELL US IN ORDER TO HAVE A GREAT INTERNET.
i especially love all the dopes saying “when the internet first went mainstream everyone hated it too” like it happened in the pioneer days so no one can dispute it, like mf’ers we were THERE
October 4, 2026 at 10:29 PM
we fucking loved it, even when there was basically nothing on it, and let me tell you something else: we loved it because of human connection, human diversity, human creativity. WE DON'T NEED A SINGLE THING ANY OF THESE COMEMIERDAS HAVE MADE AND TRIED TO SELL US IN ORDER TO HAVE A GREAT INTERNET.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
wowwwwwwwwww!!!
congrats to @angelaliu.bsky.social
well done to editor @nicasio.bsky.social and the whole deadlands team!!!
you can read this poem right here:
psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...
congrats to @angelaliu.bsky.social
well done to editor @nicasio.bsky.social and the whole deadlands team!!!
you can read this poem right here:
psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...
October 3, 2026 at 5:37 PM
wowwwwwwwwww!!!
congrats to @angelaliu.bsky.social
well done to editor @nicasio.bsky.social and the whole deadlands team!!!
you can read this poem right here:
psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...
congrats to @angelaliu.bsky.social
well done to editor @nicasio.bsky.social and the whole deadlands team!!!
you can read this poem right here:
psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Here's the thing: most books that are banned don't make the lists that get circulated each #BannedBooksWeek.
If you're a book creator and your book gets banned, please respond to this post with your book and its buy link on bookshop.org. That way we can support indies and banned books 💛
If you're a book creator and your book gets banned, please respond to this post with your book and its buy link on bookshop.org. That way we can support indies and banned books 💛
Bookshop.org: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
A better way to buy books online. Every purchase financially supports local independent bookstores.
bookshop.org
October 4, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Here's the thing: most books that are banned don't make the lists that get circulated each #BannedBooksWeek.
If you're a book creator and your book gets banned, please respond to this post with your book and its buy link on bookshop.org. That way we can support indies and banned books 💛
If you're a book creator and your book gets banned, please respond to this post with your book and its buy link on bookshop.org. That way we can support indies and banned books 💛
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
You guys want to hear a short but adorable story that happened right in front of me at the baggage claim in NYC yesterday?
I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
October 4, 2026 at 3:29 PM
You guys want to hear a short but adorable story that happened right in front of me at the baggage claim in NYC yesterday?
I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
It will be super fun! A cast member will be there! And lots of horror creatives who speak better Klaatu Barada Nikto than I do! Plus you can donate to help the IIA!
Fancypanters! Join Ricky Grove, @paultremblay.bsky.social, Grady Hendrix, @christaqua.bsky.social, @pronouncedlahra.bsky.social, Kourtnea Zinov'yevna, Andromeda Ruins, @michaelkingram.bsky.social, @garnetonwinter.bsky.social, Greg Greene & me to support the International Institute of Akron!
October 4, 2026 at 2:28 AM
It will be super fun! A cast member will be there! And lots of horror creatives who speak better Klaatu Barada Nikto than I do! Plus you can donate to help the IIA!
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
I'm with Carl Sagan on this:
October 3, 2026 at 8:25 AM
I'm with Carl Sagan on this:
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Happy Fullmetal Mean Girls Day, to all who celebrate.
October 3, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Happy Fullmetal Mean Girls Day, to all who celebrate.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
I did, in fact, bring a fan. And I had to use it.
This Story Hour, @jordankurella.com and @megelison.bsky.social read us powerful stories of things we don't expect to see (but need to). Phenomenal stories, beautifully read. You can still watch! youtu.be/Mccv-Ro6NTw
September 30, 2026 Story Hour: Jordan Kurella and Meg Elison
YouTube video by Story Hour
youtu.be
October 2, 2026 at 12:06 AM
I did, in fact, bring a fan. And I had to use it.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
Only two days left!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
Broom Book & Candle
Denver's New Horror Bookstore, Cafe and Wine Bar—Named a Kickstarter Project We Love.
www.kickstarter.com
October 2, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Only two days left!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/bro...
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
We’re living through a time when far too many men — including privileged young men at a frat house in an Ivy League university — feel impunity when it comes to attacking women.
I don’t think it unrelated to the impunity felt by the man now occupying the highest office in the land.
I don’t think it unrelated to the impunity felt by the man now occupying the highest office in the land.
Cornell, Rape, and Misogyny in the Age of Trump
Friends,
robertreich.substack.com
October 2, 2026 at 5:03 PM
We’re living through a time when far too many men — including privileged young men at a frat house in an Ivy League university — feel impunity when it comes to attacking women.
I don’t think it unrelated to the impunity felt by the man now occupying the highest office in the land.
I don’t think it unrelated to the impunity felt by the man now occupying the highest office in the land.
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
This is a better epilogue to my January story about the private equity firm profiting off of ICE's cruelest flights than I could have ever possibly hoped for.
CHICAGO: You went to the mat and protected (at a minimum!) thousands of immigrants from torture. Take a bow.
prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...
CHICAGO: You went to the mat and protected (at a minimum!) thousands of immigrants from torture. Take a bow.
prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...
The City That Brought Down an ICE Airline - The American Prospect
In Chicago, progressive alderpeople held up a contract until a private equity firm was forced to dispatch Omni Air International, protecting thousands of immigrants from deportation.
prospect.org
October 2, 2026 at 4:28 PM
This is a better epilogue to my January story about the private equity firm profiting off of ICE's cruelest flights than I could have ever possibly hoped for.
CHICAGO: You went to the mat and protected (at a minimum!) thousands of immigrants from torture. Take a bow.
prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...
CHICAGO: You went to the mat and protected (at a minimum!) thousands of immigrants from torture. Take a bow.
prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...
Reposted by Laura Blackwell
It's going to change you. Not for the better.
The best time to cut these guys off was four years ago.
The second best time is NOW.
The best time to cut these guys off was four years ago.
The second best time is NOW.
“…Muse and similar products like Microsoft’s Copilot and OpenAI’s two days-old Dots have a ‘normal-people problem,’ requiring the average user to adjust their private lives to have AI agents solve various problems.”
The AI Industry Has a Major Problem: Most People Aren't Freaks Who Want an AI Agent Running Their Whole Life
There's a problem for AI agents like Meta's Muse: ordinary people don't seem very interested in what they're offering.
futurism.com
October 2, 2026 at 4:05 AM
It's going to change you. Not for the better.
The best time to cut these guys off was four years ago.
The second best time is NOW.
The best time to cut these guys off was four years ago.
The second best time is NOW.
I did, in fact, bring a fan. And I had to use it.
This Story Hour, @jordankurella.com and @megelison.bsky.social read us powerful stories of things we don't expect to see (but need to). Phenomenal stories, beautifully read. You can still watch! youtu.be/Mccv-Ro6NTw
September 30, 2026 Story Hour: Jordan Kurella and Meg Elison
YouTube video by Story Hour
youtu.be
October 2, 2026 at 12:06 AM
I did, in fact, bring a fan. And I had to use it.