Thomas Wrightson (he/him)

Hey, writing community. Is it just me, or is it getting harder to find a publisher who takes a firm stance on AI and doesn't try to lock you into Amazon exclusively?

I just want my book to be published with a real ISBN and real artwork.

It's a mix of weird fiction and fantasy. Who should I query?

Been using this blocklist for awhile now and it's wonderful. A return to a better internet. Highly recommended.

I'm really proud of this book, and I can hardly believe it's been out a year already.

[BPM] AAA Q&A: Discussing Game Writing with Anna Megill, Thu, Feb 19, 2026, 6:00 PM | Meetup The BPM crew sit down with Anna Megill, a multi-award winning AAA game writer, to discuss her career, writing for games, and working within the AAA space. We will also have

Know anyone interested in writing video games? I'm chatting about it next Thursday, 6PM at MIT, so plan ahead #writing #gamedev

www.meetup.com/bostongamede...

Cropped art by Jimmy Makepeace of the Mongol nomad Goatskin standing at combat ready, a friend at her back, as the disembodied head of a statue spews violet light from its eyes. Overlaid are captions. Along the top reads "Just Launched on Backerkit. New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2026 is live" Along the bottom reads "Share this post to unlock bonus stories".

⚔️THE CROWDFUND FOR NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY 2026 IS LIVE⚔️

Three issues - our Timeworn Terra special - a New Jirel of Joiry story...

The more re-posts this gets, the more bonus content we'll add to this year's issues!

Go here to learn more and back the magazine👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...

Coming soon: We've Always Been Here: A multicultural LGBTQ+ art book 50+ artists worldwide have come together to illustrate how queer people have always existed, and always will, all around the world.

With this project, we aim to show queer joy from all over the world. It's a global celebration in times of censorship, and the resilience of Indigenous queer people amplifies this, making Gale's celebration of their Métis culture the perfect cover!

🔜 www.kickstarter.com/projects/tap...

Bronze and gold background with the cover for the Stars and Sabers anthology, OF SHADOWS, STARS, AND SABERS Congratulations to Stark Holborn whose short story "The Last Gasp" appears in The Best of British Science Fiction 2025 from NewCon Press First appearing in our landmark anthology, Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers

Congratulations to @starkholborn.bsky.social, whose short story “The Last Gasp“ is featured in The Best of British Science Fiction 2025 anthology from NewCon Press. First appearing in our anthology, Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers (edited by @jendiagammon.bsky.social and @garethlpowell.bsky.social).

Cover art by Ben Baldwin shows a creature crouching in a low tunnel entrance lined with grey stones and partly hidden by green undergrowth and white flowers. The creature has pale skin covered in sparse black hair and it looks a bit like an ape, a bit like a bear, and completely unlike either of those. Book extract reads: The copper wrote everything down and looked up. ‘Please can you tell me exactly what happened here this afternoon?’ That was easy enough. ‘We arrived a bit after five. We’ve rented the place for a week’s holiday. We were having a cup of tea when we heard a noise out the back. When we opened the door, there was a baby on the step.’ Saying that out loud, it did sound hard to believe. ‘What sort of noise did you hear?’ The policeman looked at me intently. ‘Voices? Footsteps? A car?’ ‘Nothing.’ I shook my head. ‘Sorry. I meant we heard the baby crying.’ ‘Nothing else?’ he persisted. I took a moment to think through everything again. ‘No. That’s all there was. Sorry.’ He should hear I was telling the truth. Fin would be saying exactly the same. I could hear low voices inside, even if I couldn’t make out her words. It was obvious these coppers had separated us to find out if our stories matched. I didn’t have to worry about that. But why had a baby been dumped on our doorstep? Who the hell had done this, and why? Now I was over the initial shock, I was getting uneasy.

Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'unbelievable' #BookQW #Booksky
Dan Mackmain is used to facing supernatural dangers which no one else can see. Now he has to convince the cops that this very real world crime is nothing to do with him.
See linked post for purchase options and February ebook offer.

“If you mean any potential gains on the stock market, I assumed that would go without saying, as humans put it.” “You are correct. When the time comes, we shall be ready to buy and sell just the right stocks. It could shift the economic balance of power for decades. And who knows, one step further up the ladder toward the Synod.” Bapti nodded, though she had disbelief in her eyes. For one such as Bapti, any but high-born Kavki reaching the Synod was laughable. There was something to be said for that attitude. It was the highest administrative authority in the Cluster, covering hundreds of solar systems, thousands of inhabited worlds and satellite bodies, perhaps millions of station colonies and other space-faring groups. But why then not reach for it? All the peoples had reached for the impossible before. They had reached for fire, hunting tools, farming, building, sea crossing, flying, and finally the transcendent step beyond the atmospheres of their worlds into the great unknown. To Laffw, the Synod was a trace of that ambition given physical form. It was a means to grasp the impossible, to fly close to and beyond the sun and find a seat in the very heavens. She spoke of it to her serfs, but very few others. Her dreams and ambitions were private, and to the world she showed only her veneer of false vapidity and the changes to her body. On an impulse, Laffw glanced down at the additional fingers she had added to her hand. Kavki were naturally born with four digits per hand. Now she had five. A useful tool when shaking hands with local dignitaries was not to startle them with an unfamiliar grasp. “Bapti, when is the appointment with my stylist?” “This evening. One hour after dinner.” “Good. That gives me plenty of time to see our dear baroness. I want some straight answers from her about that stunt she pulled with Andréa and Ali.”

It's Book Quote Wednesday #BookQW and the word is 'unbelievable', specifically the paraphrase 'disbelief'. An apt description of Ambassador Laffw's lofty ambitions.
Starborn Vendetta and its sequel are available now. #scifibooks #thriller #BookSky💙📚

It's similar to two sides in a war using the same reprehensible tactics, but expecting one of them to be the "hero" and the other a "villain" (one reason I dislike those terms). What's the point of choosing in that situation, both are culpable?

*sigh* Fiiiiine Discord, I'll verify that I am indeed an adult. You do you, you sensitive little thing.
#writerslife

Commission for Jakk

FFXIV
Color sketch commission.
Thank you so much!!!

Gravel Heart, Abdulrazak Gurnah; and Babal-17, Samuel R Delany

I've been reading Abdulrazak Gurnah's Gravel Heart for uni work, and for part work/part pleasure reading the poems of Li Po and Tu Fu. And my audiobook indulgence was a reading of Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes (his best IMO).

Good Morning Blue Sky! Hope you’re all ok? Today I’m currently reading Grace by A M Shine taking me off to Ireland for some horror. What are you reading at the moment?

Also on my alternate blog: thomaswrightson.blogspot.com/2026/02/plan...

This week's update, on a project that will be going ahead this year for your entertainment.
#writerslife #amwriting #update #sundayblog #BookSky💙📚
thomaswrightson.co.uk/2026/02/08/p...

Jitterbug In this twisty and action-packed adventure from the BSFA award-winning author of Descendant Machine and Future’s Edge, a crew of bounty hunters find themselves ensnared in a conspiracy on the very fri...

UK pals, you can preorder JITTERBUG via Forbidden Planet for £6.99, saving 30% on the RRP

forbiddenplanet.com/462525-jitte...

7: Best job system? FF5's probably not toppable. But maybe if the next mainline entry goes in that direction, we'll see.

This is actually brilliant and every self-employed person needs to read it and internalize it

Starting with me 😅

I'm no longer feeling sick and awful when submitting short fiction. Could it be...that I've grown as a writer?
#writerslife

Just ONE MORE WEEK!!! It's FREE! It takes only a minute! Go and do the thing, Space Unicorns!!!

Submission Calls OPEN Zine call (January 28th through February 14th) Zine PromptsFor this zine bundle, I’m looking for written pieces about these five prompts: -Cunty Horrors (cunty horror microfiction and mi…

Submissions for our zine call have been a little slow, so I've extended the call to February 14th. Check out our themes and guidelines here:
cursedmorsels.com/submission-c...

a drawing of a woman with white hair and ears ALT: a drawing of a woman with white hair and ears

When you've written over 4000 words today...
#writingcommunity #writerslife

Lolly Willowes at 100 An international conference to mark the centenary of the publication of Warner's first and still her best-known novel, Lolly Willowes.

Join the STW Society in London on 29th-30th May for a conference celebrating 100 years of Lolly Willowes. Keynote address by Adam Mars-Jones. Early bird tickets till 31st March. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lolly-will...

Not this week's new novella, but I'm very proud of this one too. A character grappling with his history & that of the society around him, as he matches the rhythm of the land.

‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI Women in rural communities describe trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies

In case you were unaware that GenAI software developers are also exploiting and abusing workers in the global South to support their plausible word-mulch vending machines.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Horseshoe Crab dragon

6: Worst FF NPC? Lunafreya Nox Fleuret without question. Very NP, and hardly any C.
#finalfantasy