Cherae

Futurisms Intensive Writing Residency 2027 This residency supports writers exploring potential futures, perspectives, and narratives.

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has announced a two-week residency with Nalo Hopkinson @nalohop.bsky.social, Sheree Renee Thomas @shereereneethomas.bsky.social, and Joshua Whitehead. Yes you DO want to do this.

banffcentre.ca/programs/lit...

it was good shit, lads, put it on the list

Get your first look at our three new Story Engine Expansions in our February livestream series!

Up first: the Character Questions livestream on Friday, February 6 @ 2:30pm ET.

Join us live to help us peel back the layers with some pointed Character Questions!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULpI...

haha I’m already scheduled to go in May, but what’s one more trip?

my body is readyyyy

BETTER HANDS is about being queer, black, your mother's daughter, father's son, and the persistent desire to be and become more than either.

i'm nailah, a part time poet who writes for the world to come. this black history month, let these poems help reveal what you want that world to look like. 🖤

nonfic:
who’s afraid of gender by judith butler
the evil hours by david j. morris

fic:
the felicity complex by august clarke

Ohhhh, but that sounds delicioussssss! I have always wanted a special Elias Drink and I’m sure this one won’t miss.

Now…I just need someone to make it for me 😅

no greater compliment. 😘

I was so happy to get a final copy of FATE'S BANE by C. L. Clark after reading a proof before publication! This bite-sized epic packs so much worldbuilding and character and action and FEELINGS into one slim novella! Incredibly well-written and all-around amazing!

All the participants in this are so good. Do yourself a favor a look through them.

🙏 brent!!

an oldy, dredged from the depths! I still love this story…

We kept the prompts casual in yesterday's writing sprint.

You can mix and match as much as you'd like, or take only what you need to complete your story!

Watch the replay to use these cards, or tune in Wed., Jan 21 @ 3pmET for our next sprint!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_m...

Jan 2026: Welcome to the Playground VCFA Residency, the power of play and poetry

new newsletter went out yesterday! feat. a wild week at the VCFA residency and some good advice from one of my colleagues for artists who want to be a bulwark during these times, and feel a bit less ineffectual. Also, a side-by-side comparison of monster slayer ch.1 with the dice rolls that made it.

An oldie but a goodie, from this morning's 2025 recap newsletter from @clclark.bsky.social

psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...

A hand holds a copy of Fate's Bane and Mere together in front of bookshelves

Had a lovely cozy day off reading, & FLEW through @clclark.bsky.social's new novella Fate's Bane: a haunting sapphic tale of love, loss & rivalry in ancient fens.

(& my brain has decided it's totally the same eerie, unsettling fenland world as Mere by Danielle Giles, which I also loved!)

#SFF
💙📚🪐

Grimdark Magazine acquires world rights to a new C.L. Clark novella In August 2026, we will be publishing a new dark fantasy novella by BFA award-winning editor and Nebula-nominated author C.L. Clark.

Yop! New novella coming in Aug: “Kova wants to become a monster slayer for fame, fortune, and the love of her sweetheart. When she fails to win her apprenticeship, she goes back home with her tail between her legs–only to find the monsters are waiting. And you can’t fight monsters with love.”

there will eventually be an audiobook for fate’s bane! but i cannot tell you when.

eventually, but i cannot tell you when

I’d be grateful if folks followed this project on Kickstarter 🖤

Aiming right now to go live in January, depending on when I get all my materials ready.

We have some exciting invited authors and @mspencerdraws.bsky.social is on board for interior illustrations.

Yessssss!

Have fuuunnnn!

SENDITTOCANADA

😁😁😁😁😁😁

good luck!! 😆

For names, one thing I love using is the @storyenginedeck.bsky.social deck, this time mixing in the tides and tidings deck of worlds expansion pack. I won’t give away all that I’ve come up with, but I love the ironic name of the pirate islands. 😈

a spreadsheet screenshot depicting the wordcount per day of the novel, resulting in a novella of 36,600 words approximately.

whirlwind couple of weeks, faster than normal but having a blast and wanting to be done before christmas

and finally—

in a whirlwind turn of events, we have a finished draft!

Some work remains, like fleshing out some side characters and coming up with some area names (and maybe even a title), but I’m calling this draft done.

someone blessed me with another Sabine—and omg 🥵

my new website, has my new favorite thing—a “graffiti wall” showcasing some of the amazing work.

it’s such a wonderful gift to a creator, to receive the time and skill of your characters, and i’m grateful every time.

i loved these poems so so much.