Jess Gofton

[Image desc: A stack of books (from top to bottom): IF FOUND, RETURN TO HELL by Em X. Liu, A THEORY OF HAUNTING by Sarah Monette, CRYPT OF THE MOON SPIDER by Nathan Ballingrud, LINGHUN by Ai Jiang, A VOICE CALLING by Christopher Barzak, YELLOW JESSAMINE by Caitlin Starling, HELPMEET by Naben Ruthnum, THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by Cassandra Khaw, THE WOODS ALL BLACK by Lee Mandelo.]

A novella for whatever your spooky season mood happens to be! Gothics, haunted houses, demonic possession, dark fairy tales, grief, madness, and mayhem. There’s something about frights that just lend themselves to short reads. For me at least. See any faves?

A deliciously gothic graphic sharing the details of Rhiannon's appearance at World Fantasy Con. It features images of her 2022 novella THE QUEEN OF THE HIGH FIELDS and her upcoming 2026 horror novel HOME SICK. She's on the British and Irish Folk panel on Thursday, October 30th at 6pm.

TOMORROW
See you at @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social folks!

atlantic article screenshot headline: no one knows how big pumpkins can get sub head: a decade ago, the worlds heaviest pumpkin weighed 2,000 pounds. now the 3,000 pound mark is within sight by yasmin tayag

this headline hums with ancient autumnal dread

For over 50 years, the Booker Prizes have recognised the best fiction for adults. Now, we're delighted to announce the Children’s Booker Prize, supported by AKO Foundation.

Find out more: thebookerprizes.com/children

RAKESFALL wins the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction RAKESFALL wins the Le Guin Prize!

I am delighted and honoured to say that my second novel RAKESFALL has won the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction! vajra.me/2025/10/21/r...

So beyond delighted for @vajra.me! RAKESFALL is an astounding piece of speculative fiction and it's an honour to be a small part of helping it find its UK readers.

neon hemlock logo novellas open for subissions october 15-30 most interested in queer speculative work all welcome to submit b&w staticy bg image

whoa october is around the corner!

reminder that we'll be open again for novellas soon.

more info here: www.neonhemlock.com/submissions

Thank you so much for the shout out! 💚 I still think about your version of Blodeuwedd frequently.

Rumpelstiltskin was one of my favourite fairy tales growing up, so I'll always mention Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver when it comes to retellings. I was completely swept away by it.

Against a red background, white text "Solaris Presents... Gothic Romance with Isabel Canas and MK Hardy. Wednesday 22nd October 2025 BST. Free - watch on Crowdcast live or on catch up! The book covers for THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ and THE NEEDFIRE next to headshots for the authors.

For our next Solaris Presents event we've come over all spooky!

In a fortnight, we'll be welcoming @isabelcanas.bsky.social & @mkhardywrites.com to talk all things gothic romance and celebrate their latest books:

Watch FREE live or on catch up anywhere in the world: geni.us/SPGRICMKH

I am not built to be a girl boss. I am built to eat shredded cheese directly out of the bag and sleep for 12 hours a day.

My kind of trouble held up before a banned books display reading “have you read these banned books?” With to kill a mockingbird and Matilda.

What’s wrong with this picture? While I’m a longtime supporter of Banned Books Week, I’d love to see more displays in libraries and bookstores showcasing the actually most commonly banned books—BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized books. Decades-old bestsellers aren’t truly in danger.

A grey skull sits in the bottom left corner of a black background. White text reads: "I am a vertebra crowning Sevilla's ghoulish horde. Ribs on a chandelier in Prague. Ten fingers twitching in ten churches. "The Saint of Nothing at All" Jess Gofton Haven Spec Magazine, Issue 15"

"The Saint of Nothing at All" is in Issue 15 of @havenspec.bsky.social and can be read online here: www.havenspec.com/the-saint-of..., for those of you who like a side of Catholicism with your guilt 💀 #NationalPoetryDay

"The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi as recorded by Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd" can be found in Issue 7 of @gwyllion.bsky.social #NationalPoetryDay

They're doing great work publishing SFFH from Wales, and I remain delighted that they gave this poem a home 💚

gwyllionmagazine.com/product/gwyl...

a cartoon of spongebob standing on top of a boat Alt: A GIF of Spongebob Squarepants dancing around a grumpy Squidward.

There's still 30 minutes left of #NationalPoetryDay, which means there's still 30 minutes left for me to annoy you with my two published poems (so far)!

To add to the discussion going on about what to have on short speculative fiction publisher websites, here's what I want as a reviewer and reader. I'm sure authors have other needs, but these in particular would make my life easier:

GORSE fans! Preorder the forthcoming sequel, RAGWORT by @samkhorton.bsky.social, in any format and submit your proof of purchase below to receive deleted scenes from GORSE 🧚

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

"You talkin' to me? To you? To me?"

Morning Womble! I'm romping my way through The Devils by Joe Abercrombie and having a great time

Hooray!!

Read an Excerpt From The Door on the Sea by Caskey Russell - Reactor An epic quest fantasy debut that is the Tlingit indigenous response to The Lord of the Rings

Christina Orlando highlighted Caskey Russell's The Door on the Sea as one of their most anticipated books of 2025, and now we're sharing an excerpt!! Check out a piece of this Tlingit-inspired epic quest fantasy 🌊

reactormag.com/excerpts-the...

Huge congratulations, so well deserved!!

THE NEEDFIRE is out in the wild!

If you're a fan of the legends that are Daphne du Maurier and Sarah Waters, or you love a book about a creepy house, or you just love a good story, @mkhardywrites.com have written a stonker. 🔥

Available now where all books are sold! (Or in your library!)

When a Type A character receives a completely unrelated compliment in the middle of a tirade and their brain short circuits

Canadian SFF writer friends, don't forget it's the last day to vote in the Aurora Awards! I mean don't forget like I, uh, almost did www.csffa.ca

Against a blue starry sky, white text "Indigo's Most Anticipated SciFi books. Preorder now for 25% off!" Across the middle of the page are 3D mockups of THE GANYMEDAN by R. T. Ester, THE HUNGRY GODS by Adrian Tchaikovsky and AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD by Ren Hutchings.

We've got THREE titles in Indigo's "Most Anticipated SciFi Books"!!!!

THE GANYMEDAN @shoutoutmapes.bsky.social
THE HUNGRY GODS by @aptshadow.bsky.social
AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD by @voidcricket.bsky.social

AND you can preorder them for 25% off for only 1 week only! bit.ly/4lyaTH4

I finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell so will patiently await my medal in the post.

(It's wonderful, but everyone already knew that.)

Morning Womble! I'm on the final 200 pages of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and having a brilliant time

Not sure how much reach this will get, but I'm going to give it a try. Publishing friends, I really need to find some additional work as a copy editor or proofreader. Ideally for SFF, because that's been my bread and butter for almost a decade, but I would consider other opportunities as well.

Augur press novella and novelette submissions now open! Be a part of augur press’ debut line up. We’re looking for works from 12,500-40,000 words to launch as print books in 2027-2029. Canadian & international authors welcomed. Open July 6-August 30. Guidelines at augursociety.org/press-submissions.

HEY SFF WRITERS 👋✨

We want your books.

So we can acquire them.

And print them.

For our ✨🪶 SOON TO BE LAUNCHED PRESS 🪶✨

Submissions are open until August 30. 12.5k-40k words.

Guidelines are live on our site, found down-thread.

Pass it on 👀

Against a watery undersea background, white text "One of Indigo's Most Anticipated Fantasy Books - preorder now for 25% off". Below, a gold arrow pointing to a 3D hardback of THE DOOR ON THE SEA by Caskey Russell. A red circle with white text "7th-13th July only". The white Solaris logo is in the bottom right corner.

We're so excited that Indigo Books have selected Caskey Russell's THE DOOR ON THE SEA as one of their "Most Anticipated Fantasy Books"!

To celebrate, from 7th-13th July you can preorder for 25% off exclusively through Indigo - what are you waiting for?! bit.ly/4euljo9