Melinda Backer

Jeffrey Amos Jeffrey Amos Witness Trees The Town Charter. The town of Ada, Texas was founded in the shade of an apple tree on August 15th, 1887, when Arthur Gentry, Caleb Mills, and Levi Wilkes signed the...

I'm excited that my story "Witness Trees" is out today from American Literary Review. Partially inspired by the 1989 poisoning of Treaty Oak in Austin (I was in fifth grade when I wrote the tree a get well card), it's been haunting me for a while. I'm so thrilled that ALR has given it a home!

CEO Andrew Wilson's statement to employees on EA's future www.ea.com/news/excitin...

"Our values and our commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged."

"I am excited to continue as CEO, working alongside our leadership team to advance our strategy."

What to eat in order to see #ghosts 😆 🥩🥪🍵🍰 #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

A white mug with the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction logo holds a spray of lavender next to a stack of the eight books shortlisted for this year's prize: North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins The City in Glass by Nghi Vo Archangels of Funk by Andrea Hairston The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera The West Passage by Jared Pechaček Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson

We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:

Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Nnedi Okorafor

The literary giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (and one of my favorite authors) has passed. 😔

Wizard of the Crow is a masterpiece. He has many greats.

I'm glad I got to meet him a few times (I always encouraged him to write a science fiction novel...he said he'd consider it).

Teaching AI Ethics 2025: Bias This post initiates a nine-article series revisiting the "Teaching AI Ethics" resources from 2023 exploring bias in GenAI.

I appreciate the work of @leonfurze.com "we do not need specialised “AI literacy” classes to deliver quality instruction on AI ethics – we already have the expertise we need in schools and universities" is exactly the point I was trying to drive home in my presentation to college faculty yesterday.

This is bleak reading

mouse moon

A windy moon
#art #artists

All of BlueSky for the past month.

In the Catholic faith, today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, a time of reflection and penance. I hope all Christians take this time to reflect on the teachings of Christ, his suffering, and what the suffering was for.

Good morning. I mean, technically, Doomed Morning Under A Sky Of Roiling Blood, but look it's a rhetorical thing.

Elon Musk claims DOGE has saved $55 billion, but the numbers don’t add up. DOGE released a list of canceled contracts totaling $16 billion in supposed savings. However, nearly half of that came from an $8 billion ICE contract—except that contract was actually worth just $8 million.

I’m too sexy for my body.
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶

In some good news

Attn: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency full access to the federal payment system!

Netflix Cancels Sandman in Wake of Neil Gaiman Allegations The adaptation of Gaiman's fantasy DC Comics series will conclude with the upcoming season 2, after Gaiman was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

Netflix Cancels Sandman in Wake of Neil Gaiman Allegations

RIP David Lynch. The world is a little more dark without you.

Available February 4! A gorgeous book with 42 color plates and amazing essays.

Preorder at
https://dukeupress.edu/speculative-light#AdditionalInformation

The old year is dying. The new world struggles to be born. Now is the time for silly hats.

Pre-order!
https://dukeupress.edu/speculative-light#AdditionalInformation

Flute guy from last year is back on screen! YESSS #gameawards

First, let me say I'm excited about Slay the Spire 2! #gameawards

Announcing the CFP for ASAP/16: Worldmaking/Worldbreaking in Houston, TX, Oct 22-25, 2025! Click the link for more info!

artsofthepresent.org/conference/asa…

Please share!

I killed a spider Not a murderous brown recluse Nor even a black widow And if the truth were told this Was only a small spider Sort of papery spider Who should have run When I picked up the book But she didn't And she scared me And I smashed her I don't think I'm allowed To kill something Because I am Frightened.

"I don't think I'm allowed to kill something because I am frightened."
—Nikki Giovanni 💔

#poem #poems #poetry

I've been hesitant about what my first post to this site would be. How appropriate that I would see this story and feel compelled to announce its absurdity.

…And please protect their ability to work remotely where applicable.

At press and available in February from Duke UP! A gorgeous collection of essays by 20 world-renowned scholars including Pulitzer winners and authorized biographers, with 32 color plates. Get the introduction free at https://lnkd.in/e9RKAGNf