Ness
@marsfox.bsky.social
Calligrapher, writer. Textbook & SFF editor, learning designer, historian. Professional DM. Ignyte winner. Wheelchair hotrod & super-Trekkie.
I still spend most days in bed. #MECFS #LongCovid
(ve/ve/vees/veeself)
I still spend most days in bed. #MECFS #LongCovid
(ve/ve/vees/veeself)
Reposted by Ness
Starred Review: CHILDREN OF OWL by Darcie Little Badger
Shelf Awareness: The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe…
Shelf Awareness: The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe…
Starred Review: CHILDREN OF OWL by Darcie Little Badger
Shelf Awareness: The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe to the dead. In a desert trailer park in Mockingtown, Tex., three Lipan Apache cousins battle with both personal and real ghosts.
maassagency.com
September 25, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Starred Review: CHILDREN OF OWL by Darcie Little Badger
Shelf Awareness: The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe…
Shelf Awareness: The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe…
The whole family is getting into re-arranging all the speculative fiction in the house by author last name (things get shuffled over the years). Overheard:
"Too many? Naw."
"The amount of Ws we have is nuts."
"You think Tolkien is thick? Try THIS one! Ooof."
"Dodge the dust tornado! Two!"
"Too many? Naw."
"The amount of Ws we have is nuts."
"You think Tolkien is thick? Try THIS one! Ooof."
"Dodge the dust tornado! Two!"
August 4, 2026 at 1:25 AM
The whole family is getting into re-arranging all the speculative fiction in the house by author last name (things get shuffled over the years). Overheard:
"Too many? Naw."
"The amount of Ws we have is nuts."
"You think Tolkien is thick? Try THIS one! Ooof."
"Dodge the dust tornado! Two!"
"Too many? Naw."
"The amount of Ws we have is nuts."
"You think Tolkien is thick? Try THIS one! Ooof."
"Dodge the dust tornado! Two!"
Reposted by Ness
For me, a reader is somebody who's actively looking for something. Something real, sometimes realer than real. To simply throw out a stale dog biscuit and call it a treat offends me to the marrow. Even worse is offering plastic as a flower when there's a whole field inside a'you. A whole damn field.
August 3, 2026 at 3:04 PM
For me, a reader is somebody who's actively looking for something. Something real, sometimes realer than real. To simply throw out a stale dog biscuit and call it a treat offends me to the marrow. Even worse is offering plastic as a flower when there's a whole field inside a'you. A whole damn field.
Reposted by Ness
Yeah definitely this... I've never understood why for *this* particular use there would be any sense of pleasure or accomplishment. "Oh look, something gave me some homework that I will now have to spend ages laboriously fact-checking rather than doing my own work" is not my idea of a good time.
Another thought: in his statement, Hank Green expressed quite a lot of shame about the "dopamine hit" he gets from using AI. As a non-AI user I don't really know what he's referring to here. Is the AI voice flattering him while also doing his job (presumably poorly)? Because that's big weird.
August 3, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Yeah definitely this... I've never understood why for *this* particular use there would be any sense of pleasure or accomplishment. "Oh look, something gave me some homework that I will now have to spend ages laboriously fact-checking rather than doing my own work" is not my idea of a good time.
Suddenly numb mouth for various foods. Is it histamine? Is it menopause? Is it B12? Is it hysteria? Find out 3+ doc visits later! Fun times.
August 3, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Suddenly numb mouth for various foods. Is it histamine? Is it menopause? Is it B12? Is it hysteria? Find out 3+ doc visits later! Fun times.
Reposted by Ness
You have to vote with your wallet, people.
The same goes for books — if you are mostly buying books that are already mega bestsellers or by mega-bestselling authors, then you're sending a message. Seek out the weird indie shit so we get more of it.
The same goes for books — if you are mostly buying books that are already mega bestsellers or by mega-bestselling authors, then you're sending a message. Seek out the weird indie shit so we get more of it.
August 2, 2026 at 10:27 PM
You have to vote with your wallet, people.
The same goes for books — if you are mostly buying books that are already mega bestsellers or by mega-bestselling authors, then you're sending a message. Seek out the weird indie shit so we get more of it.
The same goes for books — if you are mostly buying books that are already mega bestsellers or by mega-bestselling authors, then you're sending a message. Seek out the weird indie shit so we get more of it.
Reposted by Ness
Nobody ever contacted me about republishing any of my DSF stories. They are just stealing our stuff and hoping we don't notice.
In the comments, it looks like they're also hiding their identities. So that's fun.
In the comments, it looks like they're also hiding their identities. So that's fun.
They claim the stories are hosted with author consent, but that seems to be a flat out lie. They also tell authors to contact them for removal, but there is no contact on the site, no email or form.
July 30, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Nobody ever contacted me about republishing any of my DSF stories. They are just stealing our stuff and hoping we don't notice.
In the comments, it looks like they're also hiding their identities. So that's fun.
In the comments, it looks like they're also hiding their identities. So that's fun.
Reposted by Ness
Christ, what next? 13 of my 14 DSF stories are in there and I did not give consent for a single one (nor do I see any contact info where I could tell them to remove it).
Hey! If you were published at Daily Science Fiction, be aware that a site called Science Fiction Weekly has stolen the entire story database & posted it on their site.
All of my DSF stories are there without my permission.
sciencefictionweekly.com
All of my DSF stories are there without my permission.
sciencefictionweekly.com
Free short science fiction, published weekly · Science Fiction Weekly
Science Fiction Weekly publishes a free short story every weekday and a curated digest every Sunday. Subscribe by email.
sciencefictionweekly.com
July 30, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Christ, what next? 13 of my 14 DSF stories are in there and I did not give consent for a single one (nor do I see any contact info where I could tell them to remove it).
Reposted by Ness
ANYWAY.
Daily Science Fiction published between 44 to 47 of my short stories.
As far as I can tell, Science Fiction Weekly hasn't published ALL of them yet, but they have published MOST of them without my permission.
Daily Science Fiction published between 44 to 47 of my short stories.
As far as I can tell, Science Fiction Weekly hasn't published ALL of them yet, but they have published MOST of them without my permission.
Hey! If you were published at Daily Science Fiction, be aware that a site called Science Fiction Weekly has stolen the entire story database & posted it on their site.
All of my DSF stories are there without my permission.
sciencefictionweekly.com
All of my DSF stories are there without my permission.
sciencefictionweekly.com
Free short science fiction, published weekly · Science Fiction Weekly
Science Fiction Weekly publishes a free short story every weekday and a curated digest every Sunday. Subscribe by email.
sciencefictionweekly.com
July 30, 2026 at 7:39 PM
ANYWAY.
Daily Science Fiction published between 44 to 47 of my short stories.
As far as I can tell, Science Fiction Weekly hasn't published ALL of them yet, but they have published MOST of them without my permission.
Daily Science Fiction published between 44 to 47 of my short stories.
As far as I can tell, Science Fiction Weekly hasn't published ALL of them yet, but they have published MOST of them without my permission.
Reposted by Ness
If anybody was excited that Science Fiction Weekly is aiming to "revive" Daily Science Fiction, you should know they are straight-up lying about having gotten permission from writers to republish DSF stories on their website. (Yes, I have sent a DCMA takedown notice.)
July 30, 2026 at 7:46 PM
If anybody was excited that Science Fiction Weekly is aiming to "revive" Daily Science Fiction, you should know they are straight-up lying about having gotten permission from writers to republish DSF stories on their website. (Yes, I have sent a DCMA takedown notice.)
Reposted by Ness
According to the Marshall Project, the money Indiana was supposed to have spent on air filtration in schools and colleges at height of the pandemic (or at least public aware of the pandemic) was spent on police and prisons
Air quality is so important, both indoor and outdoor, and in a better universe the pandemic we're in would've inspired more work to be done to improve IAQ in schools, medical facilities, and all over the place. In some cases there was money in budgets . . . that wasn't used. Infuriating.
July 16, 2026 at 3:36 AM
According to the Marshall Project, the money Indiana was supposed to have spent on air filtration in schools and colleges at height of the pandemic (or at least public aware of the pandemic) was spent on police and prisons
Reposted by Ness
And then for speculative poetry I can’t stop thinking about The Emperor Penguins of Mars by Mary Soon Lee. It made me cry and feels really important for the moment. dreamforgemagazine.com/story/the-em...
The Emperor Penguins of Mars - Dreamforge Magazine
Keep vigil in the freezing depth of the Valles Marineris canyons four miles down, huddled together in stoic collectivist brotherhood standing shifts on the group’s edge<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […...
dreamforgemagazine.com
July 16, 2026 at 3:47 AM
And then for speculative poetry I can’t stop thinking about The Emperor Penguins of Mars by Mary Soon Lee. It made me cry and feels really important for the moment. dreamforgemagazine.com/story/the-em...
Reposted by Ness
This is so, so fucking good
It’s not a gallon of haterade, it’s a careful, thoughtful, *moving* dissection of the whole proposition and an explanation for precisely why writing produced with generative AI is shit and always will be no matter how much the tech “improves” youtu.be/V4gEZy4mnYo
It’s not a gallon of haterade, it’s a careful, thoughtful, *moving* dissection of the whole proposition and an explanation for precisely why writing produced with generative AI is shit and always will be no matter how much the tech “improves” youtu.be/V4gEZy4mnYo
I hate AI Books
YouTube video by Owl Criticism
youtu.be
July 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
This is so, so fucking good
It’s not a gallon of haterade, it’s a careful, thoughtful, *moving* dissection of the whole proposition and an explanation for precisely why writing produced with generative AI is shit and always will be no matter how much the tech “improves” youtu.be/V4gEZy4mnYo
It’s not a gallon of haterade, it’s a careful, thoughtful, *moving* dissection of the whole proposition and an explanation for precisely why writing produced with generative AI is shit and always will be no matter how much the tech “improves” youtu.be/V4gEZy4mnYo
Reposted by Ness
Link and thread. I was completely unsurprised by one of the names, and it drives me up the wall that these grifting dynamite fishers don't give fuck one about the consequences of their actions
AI fraud nearly derailed our next anthology.
Today we’re talking about what went down, the things we missed, and publishing the report we wish we’d had when it happened.
Read all about it on our new blog, and download the full report:
Today we’re talking about what went down, the things we missed, and publishing the report we wish we’d had when it happened.
Read all about it on our new blog, and download the full report:
Honey, We Bought an AI Story — Bona Books
The Queer Torments of the AI-sphere
www.bona-books.com
July 7, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Link and thread. I was completely unsurprised by one of the names, and it drives me up the wall that these grifting dynamite fishers don't give fuck one about the consequences of their actions
Reposted by Ness
The Final Chronicle of Yeneh is out today!
A genre-bender full of sentient alien plants & portal fantasy adventure. A duke’s granddaughter rushes to discover the truth about her planet’s native life before her family's terraforming wipes it out.
www.jomiles.com/yeneh
#booksky #newrelease
A genre-bender full of sentient alien plants & portal fantasy adventure. A duke’s granddaughter rushes to discover the truth about her planet’s native life before her family's terraforming wipes it out.
www.jomiles.com/yeneh
#booksky #newrelease
The Final Chronicle of Yeneh - Jo Miles
Buy it on:
www.jomiles.com
July 7, 2026 at 2:28 PM
The Final Chronicle of Yeneh is out today!
A genre-bender full of sentient alien plants & portal fantasy adventure. A duke’s granddaughter rushes to discover the truth about her planet’s native life before her family's terraforming wipes it out.
www.jomiles.com/yeneh
#booksky #newrelease
A genre-bender full of sentient alien plants & portal fantasy adventure. A duke’s granddaughter rushes to discover the truth about her planet’s native life before her family's terraforming wipes it out.
www.jomiles.com/yeneh
#booksky #newrelease
Reposted by Ness
happy birthday to the incredible, indelible, L.D. Lewis!!!! her books are amazing, full of characters that jumpstarted me into feeling and action (myself). please buy her books!!!
do you have them? leave her a birthday tip! as a constant community worker (one of the best), you WANT to do this.
yep
do you have them? leave her a birthday tip! as a constant community worker (one of the best), you WANT to do this.
yep
Not to be all "it's my birthday, buy my books" but it is and you should.
THE DEAD WITHHELD: tiny, quick read, queer, paranormal neo-noir, grumpy protag with questionable decision-making
YEAR OF THE MER: big, special editions, fantasy, slow burn sapphic tragedy, grumpy protag, worse decisions
THE DEAD WITHHELD: tiny, quick read, queer, paranormal neo-noir, grumpy protag with questionable decision-making
YEAR OF THE MER: big, special editions, fantasy, slow burn sapphic tragedy, grumpy protag, worse decisions
July 7, 2026 at 4:32 PM
happy birthday to the incredible, indelible, L.D. Lewis!!!! her books are amazing, full of characters that jumpstarted me into feeling and action (myself). please buy her books!!!
do you have them? leave her a birthday tip! as a constant community worker (one of the best), you WANT to do this.
yep
do you have them? leave her a birthday tip! as a constant community worker (one of the best), you WANT to do this.
yep
Reposted by Ness
🎙️ RELEASE THE PODCAST HOUNDS 🎙️
In this month’s Critical Friends, @deanleetal.bsky.social and @williamshaw.bsky.social discuss queer SFF with me - where it’s at, where it’s going … and how it might teach us to read all fiction more productively.
In this month’s Critical Friends, @deanleetal.bsky.social and @williamshaw.bsky.social discuss queer SFF with me - where it’s at, where it’s going … and how it might teach us to read all fiction more productively.
Critical Friends Episode 25: Reading Queerly
In this episode of Critical Friends, Dean Leetal and William Shaw join Dan Hartland to talk about reading queerly:
strangehorizons.com
July 7, 2026 at 5:07 PM
🎙️ RELEASE THE PODCAST HOUNDS 🎙️
In this month’s Critical Friends, @deanleetal.bsky.social and @williamshaw.bsky.social discuss queer SFF with me - where it’s at, where it’s going … and how it might teach us to read all fiction more productively.
In this month’s Critical Friends, @deanleetal.bsky.social and @williamshaw.bsky.social discuss queer SFF with me - where it’s at, where it’s going … and how it might teach us to read all fiction more productively.
Reposted by Ness
My latest Lightspeed aka @lightspeedmagazine.com review:
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II
ed. by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., pubbed by Vintage
TL;DR: It's AWESOME! Go get a copy, read it, enjoy!
www.lightspeedmagazine.com
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788213...
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II
ed. by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., pubbed by Vintage
TL;DR: It's AWESOME! Go get a copy, read it, enjoy!
www.lightspeedmagazine.com
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788213...
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II: 9798217007622 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The bestselling Indigenous dark fiction anthology returns with a new selection of even more daring and sinister stories. From monsters to mutilation, Never Whistle at Night is back for revenge. Fe...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
July 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
My latest Lightspeed aka @lightspeedmagazine.com review:
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II
ed. by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., pubbed by Vintage
TL;DR: It's AWESOME! Go get a copy, read it, enjoy!
www.lightspeedmagazine.com
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788213...
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II
ed. by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., pubbed by Vintage
TL;DR: It's AWESOME! Go get a copy, read it, enjoy!
www.lightspeedmagazine.com
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788213...
Reposted by Ness
Happy Disability Pride Month!
Here are some disabled SFF writers and writers who write SFF about disability to follow:
@jayeviner.bsky.social
@tjberry.bsky.social
@marsfox.bsky.social
@sarahgranger.com
@gwynnega.bsky.social
@snarkbat.bsky.social
4/
Here are some disabled SFF writers and writers who write SFF about disability to follow:
@jayeviner.bsky.social
@tjberry.bsky.social
@marsfox.bsky.social
@sarahgranger.com
@gwynnega.bsky.social
@snarkbat.bsky.social
4/
July 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Happy Disability Pride Month!
Here are some disabled SFF writers and writers who write SFF about disability to follow:
@jayeviner.bsky.social
@tjberry.bsky.social
@marsfox.bsky.social
@sarahgranger.com
@gwynnega.bsky.social
@snarkbat.bsky.social
4/
Here are some disabled SFF writers and writers who write SFF about disability to follow:
@jayeviner.bsky.social
@tjberry.bsky.social
@marsfox.bsky.social
@sarahgranger.com
@gwynnega.bsky.social
@snarkbat.bsky.social
4/
Adults with ADHD are 60% more likely to be fired from their jobs. And those repeated experiences add up, especially for the late-diagnosed. add.org/impact-of-ad...
Impact of ADHD at Work
The impacts of ADHD at work can be significant and wide-reaching across the organization. Here's everything you need to know.
add.org
April 10, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Adults with ADHD are 60% more likely to be fired from their jobs. And those repeated experiences add up, especially for the late-diagnosed. add.org/impact-of-ad...
If I'm a fungimancer, do I ponder questions of morel-ity?
March 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
If I'm a fungimancer, do I ponder questions of morel-ity?
Reposted by Ness
One of the words on this list is “historically”.
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
February 4, 2025 at 7:42 AM
One of the words on this list is “historically”.
Embroidery is like watercolor and (to some extent) calligraphy: I'm always tempted to add a few more stitches to "fix" things, but most of the time, if you don't get that first layer/stroke/stitch right, adding more will just make it look stiff and overwrought.
January 31, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Embroidery is like watercolor and (to some extent) calligraphy: I'm always tempted to add a few more stitches to "fix" things, but most of the time, if you don't get that first layer/stroke/stitch right, adding more will just make it look stiff and overwrought.
Reposted by Ness
Nobody has ever had to pass a law or issue an order to say that the earth moves around the sun, and yet it does so, despite any proclamations to the contrary.
You are real, I am real, we are here and we live, and even if they kill - including by degrees or decrees - they cannot undo our existence.
You are real, I am real, we are here and we live, and even if they kill - including by degrees or decrees - they cannot undo our existence.
this is the thing, they could pass a law saying the Earth is fucking flat (and if there were a way to make a buck on it, i'm sure they would.) but whatever happens in that court of the damned or thereafter, remember this-
our joy is fucking real. their laws arent.
and they will never take our joy!
our joy is fucking real. their laws arent.
and they will never take our joy!
January 21, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Nobody has ever had to pass a law or issue an order to say that the earth moves around the sun, and yet it does so, despite any proclamations to the contrary.
You are real, I am real, we are here and we live, and even if they kill - including by degrees or decrees - they cannot undo our existence.
You are real, I am real, we are here and we live, and even if they kill - including by degrees or decrees - they cannot undo our existence.
I have Noodler sequoia ink all over my fingers. No regrets. Fude nibs are cool, and art is messy.
January 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I have Noodler sequoia ink all over my fingers. No regrets. Fude nibs are cool, and art is messy.