I know it’s difficult right now, but I insist that you seek and enjoy beautiful things, even if it seems frivolous or irresponsible in the face of overwhelming horror. I want you to feed yourself artistically, spiritually, and literally, because you can’t Do The Work when you’re starving.
26.02.2026 19:25 — 👍 8065 🔁 3609 💬 22 📌 0
Here's ep. 390C: Wen-yi Lee chats about WHEN THEY BURNED THE BUTTERFLY, the first book in THE BUTTERFLY DUET and a fierce, glamorous sapphic fantasy reimagining the secret societies of postcolonial Singapore. @wenyilee.bsky.social @torbooks.bsky.social
turnthepage.blubrry.net/2026/02/19/t...
finished, and greatly liked "When They Burned the Butterfly" by @wenyilee.bsky.social
hard to express how good it is. a dying romance between terrible people during the twilight of Singapore's Chinese criminal gangs.
incredibly courageous, passionate, and precise.
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
so late to this but ❤️🥺
26.02.2026 15:45 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
An advance copy of WHEN THEY BURNED THE BUTTERFLY by Wen-yi Lee alongside a pale yellow cocktail atop a rainbow silk scarf.
NEW VIDEO ALERT! Today on Bar Cart Bookshelf we're talking about WHEN THEY BURNED THE BUTTERFLY by Wen-yi Lee. A fantasy set in 70s Singapore, skillfully explores the solidarity of crime, the intersections of queer femininities, & a nation in transition. Plus fire! Our drink is the Madam Butterfly.
03.02.2026 17:10 — 👍 23 🔁 10 💬 1 📌 2
The cover for Uncanny Magazine Issue 63, “Blessed Universe" by Galen Dara: An ethereal figure stands front and center of the frame, behind here there is a shower of stars on a violet space-landscape. She is dressed in robes that blend into her, and she holds her palms open. On each hand and the center of her chest there are three sources of light, as if she has the moon for a heart, and stars on the palm of her hands, a mist rises from her open palms. The quote reads: "The British plucked us from our prisons and sailed us here, this jungle island in the Nanyang with their treasure striated into the bedrock. More precious than gold, they told us on the ship, as though we had a choice to leave if we disagreed."
ICYMI! Reading for the Uncanny Magazine Poll?
Try the short story "Red, Scuttle When the Ships Come Down" by Wen-yi Lee @wenyilee.bsky.social!
You can read it here!
buff.ly/VxV8OYv
Fiction Standout #3:
When They Burned the Butterfly by @wenyilee.bsky.social is a story about loss and love and finding your place. It's also a story about anger and revenge. It is well-grounded in its setting, and has multiple queer characters. Not a happy read, but a good one.
It's time to finally talk about my favourite books of 2025, so I made a list, without any kind of order, that pretty much covers it. It may be great to fill your TBR!
You can check it here:
jamreads.com/articles/my-...
💙📚
what a great list, thank you so much!
28.12.2025 13:26 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
"The girls' journey parallels that of their city in beautiful, bloody, haunting ways... this unity between self, place and history... seared When They Burned the Butterfly into my mind and made it my favorite book of 2025."
to be read & seen; thank you @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social ❤️
my novelette The Name Ziya: "jaw-droppingly sharp passages on cultural appropriation, and yet the tale somehow maintains the uncomfortable balance between the lead hating a society that takes so much and yet loving the life it gives her" ❤️
and such amazing recs on the rest of the list!
it's roundup season ✨️ thank you @cxorlando.bsky.social for pubbing my cannibalism essay, included on this list!
reactormag.com/tender-is-th...
this fantasy dark academia story is one of my favourites i've ever written and you can read it here with a lot of other writers i love!!
17.12.2025 16:27 — 👍 10 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0gay's the word, and daunt books is a classic with The classic tote bag. goldsboro books' physical shop also sits on this lovely street with other book & vintage stores!
13.12.2025 12:13 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0everything everywhere all at once because i went in blind & on a whim with my cousin after cocktails and by the end of it we were both just stricken & sobbing
13.12.2025 12:09 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
I'm seeing people posting their 2025 award eligibility, so here's mine. Please consider if any story touches your heart. Thank you! 🙏🏼
11.12.2025 17:35 — 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
The book cover for ASUNDER by Kerstin Hall against a background of a burning orange flower.
Our first release of 2025 will be @kerstinhall.bsky.social 's ASUNDER!
🏆 A Finalist for the Nebula & Locus Awards,
🖤 A Reactor Reviewer's Choice Best Book of 2024
📙 A New York Public Library Best-Of Pick
SABRIEL meets WITCH KING in this deliciously dark fantasy!
Preorder https://geni.us/asunder
thank you so much!
11.12.2025 17:07 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A paperback copy of Asunder held over clusters of blooming pink hydrangeas.
“I’m dying.”
His tone was matter-of-fact and his expression perfectly serious, but Karys had the feeling he might be making fun of her—exaggerating, or telling a strange sort of joke at her expense. Her mistrust mounted as she scrutinised his face.
“You talk a lot for a dying man,” she said.
as is yours !
11.12.2025 15:46 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
resurfacing the dark academia fantasy novelette i published earlier this year, about identity, assimilation & pursuit in a colonial institution ❤️
reactormag.com/the-name-ziy...
Announcing a BRAND NEW Gilded Age fantasy of ballrooms, bargains, and bloodshed from the one and only @nghivo.bsky.social!! The Scarlet Ball commences October 2026 🩸
09.12.2025 16:40 — 👍 127 🔁 32 💬 5 📌 17
Not only is this superb historical SFF, but @wenyilee.bsky.social also writes magnificent critical articles!? This essay is such a good introduction to the present media fascination with cannibalism & consumerism 🥀
reactormag.com/tender-is-th...
thank you so much!!! i have indeed watched (and loved) midnight mass, possibly my favourite of the flanagan set because of the religious themes
09.12.2025 17:23 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0you can take the girl out of the gothic but you can't take the gothic out of the girl! thank you @mollytempleton.com ❤️
09.12.2025 15:19 — 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
When They Burned the Butterfly, by @wenyilee.bsky.social (pub by @torbooks.bsky.social), is a great love letter to Singapore, a historical inspired fantasy that you will enjoy if you like sapphic romance, street gangs and grey characters.
Full thoughts:
jamreads.com/reviews/when...
💙📚
I expect nothing less from the brilliant @amalelmohtar.com, but this is gorgeous and heartbreaking in every way. You all should read it.
Free Palestine.
Today's Love Letter is a stunning meditation on birdwatching and the loss of a friendship, from the one and only @amalelmohtar.com
stone-soup.ghost.io/love-letter-...
On the surface, a dark academia story with a vicious bite and wistful reminiscence. Beneath the surface, a raw aching memory for anyone who had once sacrificed a part of themselves to survive and thrive on hostile soil.
Really love this story by @wenyilee.bsky.social
thank you champ!! 💕
23.11.2025 02:15 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0