Worrye not about 'being productive,' for thou art not a product. Thou art a star daunsinge yn a hopeful skye. A signal blinking across centuryes and worldes. Thou art a song performid just once and perfectlye.
i printed lots of zines today
i ran out of toner
i still want to print more zines
i cannot :(
Fresh-baked breads vied with vegetable salads, cheeses, tarts, and trifles, plus a huge cauldron of the moles' favorite deeper'n'ever turnip'n'tater'n'beetroot pie. There were hot herbal teas, cordials of all types, and a barrel of special dandelion ale on tap for the Elders.
I'm not claiming to be a hero, but with every Cadbury MiniEgg I eat, that's a dog not getting chocolate poisoning.
I've saved so many dogs.
for no particular reason here are some nostalgic fantasy books from my childhood that i have read to my kids!
the enchanted forest chronicles
the chrestomanci books
the dark is rising series
the hobbit
gregor the overlander
percy jackson
the black cauldron
inkheart
island of the aunts
an old wooden cathedral door with a hole in the bottom through which a cat pokes its head
thinking about the medieval cat door in Exeter cathedral again
Me in a hospital bed post surgery in 2023.
3 years ago today I took a long nap and woke up with something I struggled with and caused me anguish for 41 years gone from my life.
Gender affirming care is life saving and game changing. I've experienced it first hand. And that's why we continue to fight to not see it stripped away for others.
3) Imaginarias: Antología de mujeres en mundos peligrosos is a Spanish-language anthology from 2019 of speculative fiction by female Chilean authors published by Triada Ediciones. This anthology is full of speculative gems from the Cono Sur - 10/10 recommend!
www.buscalibre.us/libro-imagin...
2) Due to the nature of classified info, The CIA Book Club by Charlie English is far less about the CIA and WAY more about how important indie publishing was to the Polish resistance during the Cold War. Another 10/10 recommend.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
(The timing of everything going to hell in a handbasket underscores the need to read more Iranian speculative fiction)
Iran +100 from @commapress.bsky.social features Persian #SFinTranslation. There's magical realism, horror, fantasy, hard sci-fi, and heartbreak. 10/10 recommend.
I was so excited for this anthology that I accidentally preordered 2 copies & gave the 2nd to a pal 😅
(commapress.co.uk/books/iran100)
A few books I've read recently & loved:
1) Iran +100
2) The CIA Book Club
3) Imaginarias: Antología de mujeres en mundos peligrosos
Links + TL;DRs 👇
Maybe with age comes increased appreciation for the little things in life, like afternoon naps?
I'm quite partial to afternoon floor naps, myself.
I have a new essay out! In this one, I highlight why ISFDB's indexing of translations frustrates me, and straightforward fix the admins could implement that would eliminate this problem.
Includes two novels about witches in translation:
#SFinTranslation by Olga Ravn and Marie Ndiaye
My translation of Isis Aquino's sci-fi story "The Abyss in the Depths of Her Eyes" is available now in @foofarawpress.bsky.social's Mindlessly Massive March issue, as are interviews foofaraw did with each of us!
weightlessbooks.com/mindlessly-m...
#SFinTranslation
The headless body of a giant mechanical woman washes ashore, and the villagers find themselves slowly transformed as they are drawn to it. An enigmatic, dreamy history of a strange occurrence by @ramirosanchiz.bsky.social translated by @molowrites.bsky.social
Crouton is a brown and gray tabby cat with a white face, sitting in a fabric cat house and staring out with enormous empty eyeballs
👀 #caturday Crouton
Cover of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 1, Summer 2025, with Nnedi Okorafor, Maurice Broaddus, Justin C. Key, Matthew Kressel & Mercurio D. Rivera, John Shirley, Inda Lauryn all listed on the cover. A Black cyberpunk-ish figure is in the front, full, long dreadlocks, trench coat, having pulled a sword with an umbrella handle from its sheath, against a futuristic cityscape and a stunning orange-red sky with turquoise touches.
Just posted "By the Numbers 10: Why We Need To Count on Each Other" to my site!
arleysorg.com/by-the-numbe...
This was published in the recent F&SF (Summer 2025, edited by the amazing Sheree Renée Thomas aka @shereereneethomas.bsky.social ) and is posted with permission of the publisher.
(And a thought re: repetition - it can often be an intentional rhythmic/narrative feature in Spanish, but to an extent that English-speaking readers are not as comfortable/patient with.)
(For my translating process, I do my best to have as close to a literal translation of the original work as possible, and then do editing passes to fix rough patches + typos, all while keeping an eye out for spots to remove passive voice or unnecessary repetition)
for short fiction, there are SO MANY submissions in the slush piles that the translator does really have to decide how much they want to stay true to the author's writing style vs. what will help the story feel more polished to English-language editors.
When we're talking about novel-length works or single-author/translator collections, I think you're definitely right. I think short fiction readers & editors are much more open to taking risks than publishers committing to longer works, because it's less of a time or financial commitment. That said,
Oh, wow! Of course, I'd be thrilled!!! Happy to exchange contact info via DM if you need it.
(Don't mind me, just over here fangirling! XD )
#7) I wholeheartedly agree with Rachel that "the art of translation should be celebrated wherever one finds it[...] We're all living on the same planet; shouldn't we know what the people on the next continent are writing and thinking about?"
PS: @rachelcordasco.bsky.social thank you for this essay!
RILL publishes an award-winning Spanish story translated into Italian in each of its annual publications!
Include translations in @sfwa.org 's annual Nebula anthologies! @asociacionportico.com does this with their annual Visiones anthologies! Through a partnership with RILL (Italy's SFWA equivalent), Pórtico includes an award-winning Italian story translated into Spanish in each Visiones anthology, and
#6) A few things @sfwa.org and other professional organizations could do to help raise visibility of translated speculative fiction:
Add award categories for best translated novels & short fiction (like @asociacionportico.com has done with the Ignotus Awards since 1994!)
Include translations in...
translated speculative fiction available in that library system. Most of it wasn't tagged as speculative fiction, and in many cases, the translator was only identified in tiny text on the copyright page.
The reader would REALLY have to want to find out if the book was translated to notice that!