M. Ian Bell

M. Ian Bell

@mianbell.bsky.social

writer, educator, submissions editor @ Apex Magazine. he/him

82 Followers 115 Following 11 Posts Joined Sep 2023
4 months ago
Preview
a black and white drawing of a television with static on it Alt: A black and white drawing of an old-fashioned antennae TV. The static fills the screen, and drips onto the floor.

๐Ÿ“บ๐ŸŒ€ ARE YOU RECEIVING US? ๐ŸŒ€๐Ÿ“บ

We're sending you a SUBliminal reminder to SUBscribe to Apex Magazine! Receive a full year of spine-tingling fiction delivered right to your inbox via our website or Patreon! ๐Ÿ“ฅ๐Ÿ‘ฝ

Patreon: www.patreon.com/apexbookcomp...

Website: www.apexbookcompany.com/products/ape...

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5 months ago
A cow is lifted into space by a UFO tractor beam. Two little ghost friends are following. The cow's thought bubble reads, "$5,140!"

25% THERE!! ๐Ÿพ๐ŸŽ‰ That means we're only 5% away from opening to NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS for the first time EVER! Thank you all so much for your support ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ‘ฝ

๐ŸŒ™๐Ÿ„ Come fly to the moon with us! www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

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5 months ago
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two skeletons are shaking hands in a cemetery . Alt: spooky scary skeletons silly symphony dance

HAPPY KICKSTARTER DAY!! ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰

Kick(start) the first day of Spooky Month with us and come check out the cool stuff we've got planned for you!! ๐ŸŽƒโœจ

๐Ÿ‘ฝ www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

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5 months ago

Gorgeous and haunting and yes, very close to home

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5 months ago
A painting of a grandmother growing out of a hedgerow at night. A cloud of golden fireflies floats out of her ribcage.

APEX MAGAZINE OCTOBER ISSUE COVER REVEAL!!! ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽƒ๐ŸŒณ

Starring the whimsical, Autumnal comfort of "Hedge Grandmother" by @natasailincic.bsky.social! ๐ŸŽจ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ Cover Design by Justin Stewart.

For more information on our upcoming issue, read "Apex in October 2025" on www.patreon.com/posts/apex-i...

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5 months ago
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a drawing of a question mark surrounded by magnifying glasses and circles Alt: a drawing of a purple question mark surrounded by magnifying glasses and circles

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!! ๐Ÿ“ข๐Ÿ“ข๐Ÿ“ข

We're hosting an AMA here with Apex Magazine Editor and EIC of Crepuscular @retreasure.bsky.social TOMORROW!! ๐Ÿ“šโœจ

Got any writing, editing, or publishing questions burning a hole in your pocket? Reply to this post with your question, and Becky may select yours to answer!

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6 months ago

Our 2026 Kickstarter page is live! Be sure to click that "Notify me on launch" button so you don't miss out on any of our backer rewards, as some will be extremely limited! โฐ

Visit our Kickstarter page HERE: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

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6 months ago

follow us here on bsky if:

BONES

you have them

+

like / RT if

deep down, underneath it all

you are SKELETON

or a future ghost

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6 months ago
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6 months ago

๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ™…๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ™…๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ

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6 months ago

This was a great read. Thank you for this ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ

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6 months ago
Preview
World Photo Day! Calling all Apex readersโ€”we have a challenge for you, and the chance to win some free merch! In honor of World Photo Day, we want you to share your love for Apex with us. Here's what you need to do: ย ...

Are you the proud owner of some Apex swag, or have one (or several!) of our titles? ๐Ÿ‘•๐Ÿ“š Snap a photo and send it to darian@apexbookcompany.com to be entered into a draw for some free new merch! ๐Ÿ“ธ

Contest closes on Aug. 26th, so don't miss out! Details below! โฌ‡๏ธ

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6 months ago
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Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners The winners of the Hugo Awards, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book were announced on August 16, 2025 by Seattle Worldcon 2025, the 83rd Worldโ€ฆ

Congratulations to all of the #HugoAward finalists and winners!!

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7 months ago

Thank you so much Myna!! Truly grateful for your support and guidance ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿฅฐ

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7 months ago

This was a joy to write. Spoilers for my Analog story within!

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7 months ago
YouTube
12 Hours Of Bloody-Belly Comb Jellies + Ambient Music To Vibe With | Littoral Relaxocean YouTube video by Monterey Bay Aquarium

It's time to announce the August flash fiction theme! Submerge yourself in some haunting jellyfish lofi because...๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ‹๐Ÿซง

August's flash fiction theme is DEEP SEA! ๐Ÿชผ๐Ÿฆ‘

Heat vents! Whale fall! Doomed sub voyages! Send it all! Submissions are open until August 31st!

www.patreon.com/posts/135291...

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7 months ago
Space Unicorn!

PLEASE REPOST! WRITERS! Uncanny Magazine will be open to Short Story Submissions from August 25 to September 8! Uncanny Magazine will be open to Poetry Submissions from August 9 to August 26. WE WANT TO SEE YOUR SHINY WORDS! buff.ly/9AyStcb

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7 months ago

So excited about this week's Electric Sheep guest, Sheree Renรฉe Thomas!

The selected stories will knock the breath out of you.

@shereereneethomas.bsky.social @electricsheepsf.bsky.social

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7 months ago

A great-looking project with only human art. Definitely worth supporting! ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ™Œ

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7 months ago

Guidelines for Saros #5 have arrived!

We open on August 22nd for stories 500-2500 words in length centered on the theme of Sound/Silence. Payment will be $25 CAD for both originals and reprints.

The period will stay open until we've collected 111 subs.

Full details at sarossf.com/submissions/

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7 months ago

โ€œwhat her bottles couldnโ€™t do was change other peopleโ€™s beliefsโ€ โ€ฆ love this. Good read!

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7 months ago

"The Marks We Leave" by @mianbell.bsky.social (6,768 words)ย โ€” Rylek seeks to assuage his pain of the loss of his lover by saving some of the people in the simulation on which he works. A compassionate exploration and portrayal of deep grief. (My rating: 5/5)

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7 months ago

My every-couple-months reminder: FF is always bringing in new submissions readers. Details in the quoted thread!

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7 months ago
Preview
Contract Controversy (and Change) at Must Read Magazines - Writer Beware In a surprise move this past February, a new group called Must Read Magazines acquired five genre magazines: Asimovโ€™s Science Fiction,ย Analog Science Fiction and Fact,ย The Magazine of Fantasy & Scienc...

SFWA educates authors about industry matters through many venues, including Writer Bewareยฎ, a service helmed by @victoriastrauss.com. It is a gift to be in dialogue as writers and other industry participants about the issues that matter most to our genre's future thriving.

Read WB's latest here:

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7 months ago
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celebrate a small victory with me? Analog has been a dream since I was a wee tot ๐Ÿฅบ very pleased this story landed with @analogsf.bsky.social

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7 months ago

truly moving!! ๐Ÿฅฐ (and I love seeing aikidoka in the wild!!)

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7 months ago

Rereading Didion this sweltering summer afternoonโ€ฆ โ€œThe impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself.โ€ Oh yesโ€ฆ compulsionโ€ฆ hello ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ™ˆ

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7 months ago
Preview
a man in a striped suit is riding a yellow toy horse with a woman in a white dress behind him . Alt: A clip from the Disney film Mary Poppins. Burt (played by Dick van Dyke) is riding a yellow carousel horse while wearing a pinstriped suit and straw boater hat. He hangs his bamboo cane on the horse's ear and puts his feet up on its head, reclining back lazily.

This week went by so fast, it's making our heads spin! ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ

There's just TWO WEEKS LEFT to submit your flash fiction! The theme for July is CAROUSEL. You have until the end of the month to submit!

www.patreon.com/posts/july-f...

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7 months ago

gorgeous, lyrical, the palpable complexities of intimate relationships, nature vs nurture, (aikido! ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿฅ‹) and wow what an endingโ€ฆ pls read this lovely tale by @tiatashiro.bsky.social

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8 months ago

i mightttt have a story in this issue ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ‘€

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