Liz Vaughan

tell me it's not true

Trans people deserve better.

Maps and Legends: The Spectacular Cartography of Ursula K. Le Guin - Library of America Mapmaking lay at the heart of Ursula K. Le Guin’s worldbuilding. An able illustrator whose subjects ranged from realist watercolors to cartoon cats, the author of such SFF classics as The Left Hand of...

Not just a novelist, @ursulakleguin.com was also a cartographer. Her fictional geographies were on display this fall at London’s Architectural Association Gallery, and a companion book on Silver Press sheds new light on her peerless world-building. Read our interview with editor/curator Sarah Shin.

First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.

The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.

And trans lives are grounded in reality.

We see y'all. No matter what.

www.popsci.com/science/tran...

From Sameer Project on X: Jesus was Palestinian. Consider making Christmas a little brighter this year for those who need it most. Support our winter campaign and help us spread some warmth and hope to those in Gaza.

Food for thought this holiday season Although Bethlehem is technically a Palestinian city, it is surrounded by Israeli checkpoints that severely restrict the movement and entry of Palestinians. A 27-kilometer journey from Ramallah can take up to five hours. Gaza's churches have historically doubled as shelters for families displaced by the Occupation's relentless targeting of Palestinians for almost a century. Since 2023, Israel has bombed every church in Gaza. The Christian community of Gaza is one of the oldest in the world, with almost 2,000 years of history. Israel has killed around 5% of Gaza's Christians. Christmas is inextricably linked to Palestine, both in its history and in the many ways it has been curated to distract us from the many crimes our governments are funding. This holiday season, consider starting a conversation, even if it's uncomfortable. And if you can, consider donating to mutual aid initiatives.

Sharing the Sameer Project/Translating Falasteen's holiday campaign (text and slides from their x page)

"The holiday season is filled with family, warmth, comfort, and memories to last a lifetime. You might get together with loved ones for a meal, you might exchange gifts…please keep Gaza in mind:

i’m so happy with how this turned out!! the best book cover illustration i could have imagined :)

thank you!! 💚

so cool!!! :D

"I can't afford to support my favorite author right now, I—"

Reviews.

Reviews are free AND they are a gift to authors that can keep on giving (i.e., exposure, marketing, algo boosts, etc.)

Please, give the gift of reviews to your authors this holiday season. It really can make a difference!

so lovely!! :)

a short story of mine was recently nominated for the AWP intro journals project!!

i received this news as i was feeling disheartened about this particular story’s chances of publication, given that it’s fairly niche + weird, but not strictly speculative either. now i’m feeling much more hopeful :)

Get more from Beneath Ceaseless Skies on Patreon creating an online fantasy magazine & podcast

BCS Patreon has fallen below the monthly amount we need to pay our authors a pro rate and our First Readers a worthy honorarium ($125/mo). Sometimes folks need to lower or pause their support; we understand. But less than 1% of BCS readership donates or supports. www.patreon.com/beneath_ceas... 1/3

What if buying a book was like a magic spell, and every time you did it an awesome social movement space got its wings, or could pay its water bill or something 💫 That would be pretty incredible, right?

Read Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List The following is a growing reading list for the #ReadPalestinianSpecFic challenge. This is a work in progress to create a list of all available Palestinian speculative fiction. Novels: Novels by Na…

Some of you may know that I curate a huge reading list if Palestinian fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It is not up to date… Please comment if you identify as Palestinian, or if you know of something that should be in the list! Please share for visibility. soniasulaiman.com/readpalestin...

Friends, this is a low hanging boycott action.

Similar to Hulu and Disney+ actions.

You can help turn the tide and it will make other platforms think twice.

The working class has much more power than they think.

SFWA Names N.K. Jemisin the 42nd Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master - Reactor The Broken Earth trilogy author joins a prestigious group of past recipients.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association has announced @nkjemisin.bsky.social as the 42nd recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. Congratulations!!

yallfest 2025 was very fun! met some lovely authors & collected some exciting arcs. i haven’t been since i was a teenager myself, so i enjoyed participating in the event with a deeper understanding of the book publishing industry :) & i got to accompany my partner to her first book festival!!

A Conversation With Vajra Chandrasekera, Author of Rakesfall - Reactor "I think writers, like all artists, have a responsibility to act as human cultural workers in an actual society"

Vajra Chandrasekera (@vajra.me)'s Rakesfall recently received the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. In this new interview, Senior Books Editor @cxorlando.bsky.social asks him the author about genre boundaries, violence in fiction, and how Le Guin has inspired his writing:

i’m reading the 2019 anthology right now, the one guest-edited by carmen maria machado—it’s making me want to collect the rest of the series! exciting that submissions are open for this year :D

Start Here (2025 Edition) Are you questioning your gender and searching for fiction that’ll help you figure out what a transition might look like? Are you a trans woman or a femmeby who’s never seen herself on the tradition…

After hundreds of hours of reading and research, my 2025 Starter Guide to transfeminine literature is finally live!

No matter your experience level, there's a book for you! 🏳️‍⚧️📚 #transbooks

The list covers a vast range of genres. There are 78 handcrafted recs on this list, and I've read all but two.

i got to meet carmen maria machado today!! :)

I know a lot of people are already spreading this info, but hoping to spread it a little further: donating to a food bank, food pantry, or food distribution mutual aid group is really important right now, as TFG and the fucking GOP are shutting down snap benefits on November 1. I'll link to a few

Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera, with the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction sticker on the cover

Vajra Chandrasekera, photo by Sanjeewa Weerasinghe. The author sits at a white table, arms resting in front of him, wearing a tan jacket and a white shirt.

Congratulations to Vajra Chandrasekera (@vajra.me), recipient of the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction for Rakesfall!

Chandrasekera's book was chosen by authors Matt Bell, Indra Das, Kelly Link, Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Rebecca Roanhorse.

since august i’ve been working in a publishing lab & i’m gaining SO much respect for designers; there are so many aspects to book creation that most writers don’t think about—not just cover art, but also like. paper thickness, text formatting, the evil beast that is indesign. designers do so much :)

Submission Guidelines - 100-Foot Crow Drabble submissions are open through October 15. We're looking for stories that fit the themes YARD SALE and HAUNT. You may submit one story per theme. All submissions must be submitted via our Google...

REMINDER: Today is the last day to submit for our HAUNT and YARD SALE themes! 100footcrow.com/submission-g...

Speak your 100 words now or forever hold your peace.

Congratulations to the “Waves”-Themed Short Story Contest Winners “Life is a wave, which in no two consecutive moments of its existence is composed of the same particles.”—John Tyndall

i’m very pleased to share that my short story “The Hollow Sea” was selected by judge Erica Simone Turnipseed for an honorable mention in The Vincent Brothers Review’s “Waves” contest last week!

kaws4tvbr.substack.com/p/congratula...

The devastating, shortsighted attack on literature continues. List from Magic City Books. Who'd they miss? Note: the small publishers selected here for financial attack include (among other very worthy and important presses) @transitbooks.bsky.social, publisher of 2023 Nobel laureate Jon Fosse.

a long poem, typed and formatted, entitled “Creaturefemme Lament” by Liz Vaughan. There is a square art piece in the lower right corner of two femmes holding each other on the bank of a pond as an alligator swims past, with stars overhead, that is credited as being created by Corey C.

A long poem, typed and formatted, entitled “Dancing to Summersong” by Liz Vaughan.

some poems about gender + love that came out a few weeks ago in lambda magazine :)

i’m officially going to grad school next year for an mfa in fiction & publishing!! :D

The Rapture - 100-Foot Crow By: Liz Vaughan. The angel appeared in Kira’s bedroom at midnight. Showering magnificent feathers upon her comforter, they explained: the end was here. Only one hundred other people would remain on Ea...

Come get your 100-word dose of fantasy with "The Rapture" by @creaturewriting.bsky.social.
100footcrow.com/the-rapture/