hana is OPEN to queries last week of every month!

that must feel so good! writing research is why i'm asking so thanks for sharing!

ooo, that sounds intriguing! ty!

posted this on the 📷 app but curious about responses on here too: what are some of your favourite fantasy novel opening scenes or chapters? prologues included because i'm not a monster!!!

Every writer I know, every artist I follow, is in the fucking trenches trying to survive this shit. GenAI is not the future because if it keeps going there is no future, and even if it was that would be no excuse.

Black text on a yellow background - This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

Heavy rainfall floods the camps of displaced Palestinians in Gaza | CNN Displaced Palestinians in Gaza woke up Friday morning to inches of water flooding their tents, after heavy rainfall overnight left their shelters and belongings soaked with no way to dry them out.

I usually share a new Palestinian account every day but today I am going to do a thread of people I’ve already verified impacted by the recent flooding in Gaza. If you can help any of these families- many who lost everything again- please do. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/14/m...

One way I have found to mourn someone is to set up a monthly sustaining donation to a mutual aid effort they cared about. If you can join me in honoring Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social with a sustaining donation today, please do. Thank you Alice, and I will not let the bastards grind me down.

$8,058.70 Raised 18 Donations $18,000 Goal

It's a tough time for non-profit, independent news outlets right now, but @globalvoices.org is nearly to halfway on our November fundraising goal! Help us keep providing free, ad-free, tracker-free, multilingual news and analysis from around the world!
globalvoices.org/donate/

Im so exhausted yall, I dont know how to tell you how desperate our friends in Gaza are, because prices haven't gone down, aid is not flowing freely, there is no infrastructure and no work, but no one is donating. The horrors continue, the stress accumulates and they are all confused and frustrated

A very timely ask. I’m extending the submission period for The Apocryphal, the sequel to the award winning Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction. I’ll have the details soon. But if you’re Palestinian and want to write horror, get in touch with me.

Anyone wanting to show solidarity to Sudan should challenge the "no one cares about Sudan/no one is helping" narrative. WE care. Sudanese people at home & in the diaspora & our comrades have worked relentlessly to support people & dream of justice & freedom for all of us.

'No shame': UK invites private firms to compete for Gaza reconstruction contracts As Britain positions itself as key player in the rebuilding of territory devastated by Israel's genocide, MPs point to its role in its destruction

'No shame': UK invites private firms to compete for Gaza reconstruction contracts - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-mps-slam-uks-private-finance-efforts-rebuilding-gaza

Boycott, Divest, Sanction: A ceasefire today will not stop Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, only meaningful accountability will. Our work is not done! The BDS movement calls on our millions of supporters worldwide to escalate pressure to end Israel’s genocide and its decades-old regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid, and ill...

Boycott, Divest, Sanction: A ceasefire today will not stop Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, only meaningful accountability will.

Our work is not done!

Read more: loom.ly/TsJOHwo

hello #amquerying friends! apologies for the late notice but i will be remaining closed to queries this month as i am in the depth of frankfurt book fair prep chaos (seriously, where has september gone, does it have somewhere to be?!?)

i will be back open at the end of oct for a week as per usual!

LOL i just noticed it's basically 4:30pm maybe what i have isn't task paralysis but a cry for help from my brain to take a break 🥲

ughhhhh been in calls and surprise meetings all day and now i have task paralysis at a time when i cannot afford task paralysis i love fall in publishing 🙃

Israel closes West Bank-Jordan crossing 'until further notice' <article data-history-node-id="429053" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-closes-west-bank-jordan-crossing-until-further-notice" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-closes-west-bank-jordan-crossing-until-further-notice" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Israel closes West Bank-Jordan crossing 'until further notice'</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Israel has closed the main crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan "until further notice."</p> <p>The Palestinian borders authority said the Allenby Bridge crossing&nbsp;had been shut "in both directions."</p> <p>"The chairman of the Palestinian General Authority for Crossings and Borders, Mr Nazmi Muhanna, announced that the Israeli side has informed us of the closure of the Al-Karama crossing starting tomorrow, Wednesday... until further notice," it said in a statement.</p> </div> </div> </article>

Israel closes West Bank-Jordan crossing 'until further notice' - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-closes-west-bank-jordan-crossing-until-further-notice

Spread of diseases overwhelms Khartoum hospitals in war-ravaged Sudan More than 5,000 cases of malaria, typhoid and dengue fever, causing dozens of deaths, were reported in last month.

More than 5,000 cases of malaria, typhoid and dengue fever, causing dozens of deaths, were reported in last month.

Opinion: At UN, western powers push phantom 'Palestine' recognition to safeguard Israel <article data-history-node-id="428946" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-un-western-powers-push-phantom-palestine-recognition-safeguard" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-un-western-powers-push-phantom-palestine-recognition-safeguard" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Opinion: At UN, western powers push phantom 'Palestine' recognition to safeguard Israel</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>On 12 September, the United Nations General Assembly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/12/un-general-assembly-backs-two-state-solution-for-israel-and-palestine" target="_blank">voted</a>&nbsp;overwhelmingly in support of a resolution to revive a two-state solution.</p> <p>Adopted by 142 states, the "<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165835" target="_blank">New York Declaration</a>" paves the way for a 22 September summit to push for greater recognition of a phantasmatic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/palestine-state" target="_blank">Palestinian state</a>.</p> <p>In recent months, a chorus of western governments has lined up behind this&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/france" target="_blank">French</a>- and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/saudi-arabia" target="_blank">Saudi</a>-led&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TabkZbBg3S8" target="_blank">statehood scheme</a>.</p> <p>The upcoming UN&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/high-level-conference-two-state-solution-july2025/" target="_blank">conference</a>&nbsp;comes as Israel's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-genocide-gaza" target="_blank">genocide in Gaza</a>&nbsp;nears its two-year mark, with at least 64,000&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestinians</a>&nbsp;killed and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis inflicted through weaponised&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/israel-war-gaza-how-starvation-used-war-crime-genocide" target="_blank">starvation</a>&nbsp;and the systematic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-destroys-gaza-last-lifelines-force-mass-displacement" target="_blank">destruction</a>&nbsp;of the territory.</p> <p>As&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israel</a>&nbsp;pursues its final solution against Palestinians, its belligerence has extended beyond Gaza to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-war-lebanon" target="_blank">Lebanon</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-strikes-damascus-different-vision-trump-syria" target="_blank">Syria</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-strikes-yemen-capital-sanaa" target="_blank">Yemen</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-attacks-iran" target="_blank">Iran</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-denounces-gaza-flotilla-strike-premeditated-aggression" target="_blank">Tunisia</a>&nbsp;and even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/qatar-emir-says-israel-attack-aimed-derail-gaza-ceasefire-talks" target="_blank">Qatar</a>, where its strikes in Doha last Tuesday targeted Hamas negotiators and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/11/qatar-holds-funeral-for-victims-of-israeli-attack-amid-regional-solidarity" target="_blank">killed</a>&nbsp;six people in the process.</p> <h3>Read more: <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/un-western-powers-recognise-phantom-palestine-state-safeguard-israel">At UN, western powers push phantom 'Palestine' recognition to safeguard Israel</a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/joseph-massad" title="View user profile.">Joseph Massad</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="Pro-Palestine activists gather outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City on 9 September 2025 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a98477bb-a23e-4d96-8c0b-3824919f7dd7" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-21%20at%2019.33.29.png" width="1258" height="709" alt="Pro-Palestine activists gather outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City on 9 September 2025 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Pro-Palestine activists gather outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City on 9 September 2025 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

Opinion: At UN, western powers push phantom 'Palestine' recognition to safeguard Israel - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-un-western-powers-push-phantom-palestine-recognition-safeguard

I'm about halfway thru this and it is incredible. A lifeline. Preorder it so it gets even more support!

A black and white photo of Melissa Ren from the middle of her face down with a dark grey border around it. In the upper left corner, white bold sans-serif font in all caps reads "Welcome to CookeMcDermid," followed by, in a white serif font in all caps, "Melissa Ren."

In the background, the photo of Melissa Ren blurred out with a dark grey filter overtop. On top of that, white serif font reads: "Melissa Ren is a Chinese-Canadian writer whose narratives tend to explore the intersection between belonging and becoming. She is a prize recipient of Room Magazine's Fiction Contest, a Tin House alum, and a senior editor at Augur Magazine. She is a grant recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Access Copyright Foundation. Find her at linktr.ee/MelissaRen or follow @melisfluous on socials. She is represented by Hana El Niwairi."

We are so thrilled to welcome @melisfluous.bsky.social to CookeMcDermid! She is represented by Hana El Niwairi.

Some news! 👀

In a crazy ass turn of events, I have somehow found myself ✨AGENTED!✨ I'm THRILLED to now be represented by Hana El Niwairi @hel-no-wai.bsky.social. I cannot wait to see what shenanigans we get up to together. 🥰

How Israel is ‘managing’ the famine in Gaza by using local merchants Israel is “managing” the famine in Gaza by targeting aid shipments while allowing some goods to reach local markets only if merchants pay the military an exorbitant fee. The system accomplishes two go...

You see, I get frustrated by those who imply Palestinians can't be trusted to relay their experiences reliably online. Because I knew the information in this article before I read it, having been told about it by people in Gaza.

mondoweiss.net/2025/09/how-...

A group of journalists gathered at Lebanon's Martyrs’ Square in Beirut to express support for their Palestinian colleagues reporting in Gaza, holding the pictures of some of the 274 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel since it began its war on the enclave.

Two Twitter posts, one is a response post. Original is by Nerdeen Kiswani and says “Hollywood making movies about a genocide that’s still happening is their way of absolving themselves. They profit, pat themselves on the back, and package it as history, while 100+ Palestinians are starved and bombed daily. Their responsibility is to stop it now.” Response is by Nerdeen again, stating “Look at No Other Land which won an Oscar, but what did that change for Palestinians? One co-director was beaten & detained after the win, another contributor was shot dead. Hollywood applauded, then moved on. Storytelling didn’t stop the violence. We need action, not applause.”

I love my fellow artists and writers but I do feel like sometimes we get lost in the power of story because it’s important to us and easier than the tangibility of action, pressure, protest, divestment, declining, standing up, and risking connections that might have been advantageous

The cover for "We Will Rise Again" edited by Karen Lord Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older. Abstract blobs of color from purple to blue to green and lighter top to bottom. There are also wavy lines and dots in green.

WE WILL RISE AGAIN: SPECULATIVE STORIES AND ESSAYS ON PROTEST, RESISTANCE, AND HOPE by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older is also on my radar as I love each of those authors individually and am interested in their message. #ewgc #booksky

i am once again here to let y'all know that all AI has done for me thus far in my life is MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT, like exponentially so, in every facet, i hate it so much 😭

If you’re drawn to otherworldly coming-of-age stories that blend myth and memory, then @indrapramitdas.bsky.social's The Last Dragoners of Bowbazaar is the perfect read for you!

Pick up your copy from your nearest bookstore or online.

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope|eBook From genre luminaries, esteemed organizers, and exciting new voices in fiction, an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer transformative visions of the future, fantastical alternate w...

oh hey it's pre-order sale time again at @barnesandnoble.com which makes it a great time to pre-order WE WILL RISE AGAIN, an anthology of speculative fiction, essays, interviews about activism, protest, and collective action, edited by @drkarenlord.bsky.social @annaleen.bsky.social & yours truly

I will never forget Hind as long as I live. And I will never forgive Israel.