Ann Leckie
@annleckie.com
Author of the award-winning Ancillary Justice. Lives in St Louis.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
It's weird as a biologist to say "ignore the science part" but here we are
Science: Vaccines don't cause autism.
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. If vaccines caused autism I would still recommend them. Dying of preventable disease is bad. Autism isn't a disease and most of the "bad" of autism is society.
Science: Vaccines don't cause autism.
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. If vaccines caused autism I would still recommend them. Dying of preventable disease is bad. Autism isn't a disease and most of the "bad" of autism is society.
February 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
It's weird as a biologist to say "ignore the science part" but here we are
Science: Vaccines don't cause autism.
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. If vaccines caused autism I would still recommend them. Dying of preventable disease is bad. Autism isn't a disease and most of the "bad" of autism is society.
Science: Vaccines don't cause autism.
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. If vaccines caused autism I would still recommend them. Dying of preventable disease is bad. Autism isn't a disease and most of the "bad" of autism is society.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
All else aside, I ALSO dispute the idea that non-fiction &/or communications writing is not "artistic creation."
Writing is creation, whether emotional lyrics, an engrossing novel, a taut screenplay, a rich science/history/non-fic book, a deft memo, a snappy ad, or an effective announcement.
Writing is creation, whether emotional lyrics, an engrossing novel, a taut screenplay, a rich science/history/non-fic book, a deft memo, a snappy ad, or an effective announcement.
Erin Underwood: Open Letter to the Science Fiction Writers Association and Community on AI
file770.com/erin-underwo...
Erin's core thesis is "There are responsible ways to use AI that support creators without replacing creative labor."
file770.com/erin-underwo...
Erin's core thesis is "There are responsible ways to use AI that support creators without replacing creative labor."
Erin Underwood: Open Letter to the Science Fiction Writers Association and Community
Hi Friends, Erin Underwood After writing the letter below, I thought rather than sending it to SFWA only, I’d share it with Mike at File 770 along with a note that read: “Am I crazy? Will this blow…
file770.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
All else aside, I ALSO dispute the idea that non-fiction &/or communications writing is not "artistic creation."
Writing is creation, whether emotional lyrics, an engrossing novel, a taut screenplay, a rich science/history/non-fic book, a deft memo, a snappy ad, or an effective announcement.
Writing is creation, whether emotional lyrics, an engrossing novel, a taut screenplay, a rich science/history/non-fic book, a deft memo, a snappy ad, or an effective announcement.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
Yes, this forever!
This will forever be my favorite way to explain why I don’t get competitive as an artist.
December 28, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Yes, this forever!
Reposted by Ann Leckie
Definitely DO NOT outsource the reading/summarization of the legal contract to which you will be bound to a pattern matching program that can AND DOES willfully create misinformation when its algorithm tells it the misinformation is the statistically mostly likely next set of words.
a man with long hair and a beard is saying i 'm trying to help you
Alt: Gandalf saying "I'm trying to help you"
media.tenor.com
December 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Definitely DO NOT outsource the reading/summarization of the legal contract to which you will be bound to a pattern matching program that can AND DOES willfully create misinformation when its algorithm tells it the misinformation is the statistically mostly likely next set of words.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
I don't know how many times it needs to be said that you absolutely should not let fucking "AI" anywhere near your legal contracts, either in creating them or evaluating them, but apparently it needs to be said at least one more time, so allow me to say it again, here, right now
December 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I don't know how many times it needs to be said that you absolutely should not let fucking "AI" anywhere near your legal contracts, either in creating them or evaluating them, but apparently it needs to be said at least one more time, so allow me to say it again, here, right now
Reposted by Ann Leckie
These motherfuckers who shill AI keep saying 'the genie is out of the bottle'.
You realise that stories are full of ways to trick the fucking genie back into the bottle, right?
You keep using that metaphor but I do not think it means what you think it means.
You realise that stories are full of ways to trick the fucking genie back into the bottle, right?
You keep using that metaphor but I do not think it means what you think it means.
December 28, 2025 at 3:38 PM
These motherfuckers who shill AI keep saying 'the genie is out of the bottle'.
You realise that stories are full of ways to trick the fucking genie back into the bottle, right?
You keep using that metaphor but I do not think it means what you think it means.
You realise that stories are full of ways to trick the fucking genie back into the bottle, right?
You keep using that metaphor but I do not think it means what you think it means.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
Folk have confirmed that this applies to ebooks from Apple & Bookshop as well!
If you’re in the UK & are so inclined, from Dec 25 to Jan 5 you can get the Kindle edition of THE RIVER HAS ROOTS for 99p as part of their 12 Days of Kindle event! This means in the UK you can also get that price matched at other etailers, like Kobo! Merry Christmas!
www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
The River Has Roots ebook by Amal El-Mohtar - Rakuten Kobo
Read "The River Has Roots The Sweeping, Magical Solo Debut by the Best-Selling Co-Author of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR" by Amal El-Mohtar available from Rakuten Kobo. Follow the river Liss to t...
www.kobo.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Folk have confirmed that this applies to ebooks from Apple & Bookshop as well!
Reposted by Ann Leckie
SO, you want to network but don't know where to begin.
1. DON'T. Make friends instead
2. It's not about what they can do for you
3. Famous people are just people first
4. If you do have to gush, don't just say 'i love your work' , pick one thing and say why. Open ended compliments are awkward
1. DON'T. Make friends instead
2. It's not about what they can do for you
3. Famous people are just people first
4. If you do have to gush, don't just say 'i love your work' , pick one thing and say why. Open ended compliments are awkward
December 27, 2025 at 9:33 AM
SO, you want to network but don't know where to begin.
1. DON'T. Make friends instead
2. It's not about what they can do for you
3. Famous people are just people first
4. If you do have to gush, don't just say 'i love your work' , pick one thing and say why. Open ended compliments are awkward
1. DON'T. Make friends instead
2. It's not about what they can do for you
3. Famous people are just people first
4. If you do have to gush, don't just say 'i love your work' , pick one thing and say why. Open ended compliments are awkward
Reposted by Ann Leckie
Here's a simple happiness hack:
Do something for someone that is truly altruistic. Do it in secret if you can, and take no credit, if you can manage that in a world that sees everything.
Do this as often as your circumstances allow, which may be once a year or once a day.
Try it and see.
Do something for someone that is truly altruistic. Do it in secret if you can, and take no credit, if you can manage that in a world that sees everything.
Do this as often as your circumstances allow, which may be once a year or once a day.
Try it and see.
December 28, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Here's a simple happiness hack:
Do something for someone that is truly altruistic. Do it in secret if you can, and take no credit, if you can manage that in a world that sees everything.
Do this as often as your circumstances allow, which may be once a year or once a day.
Try it and see.
Do something for someone that is truly altruistic. Do it in secret if you can, and take no credit, if you can manage that in a world that sees everything.
Do this as often as your circumstances allow, which may be once a year or once a day.
Try it and see.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
We didn't survive and thrive as a species because we had warriors or hunters - pretty much every omnivore can manage that.
We did so because we developed Grandmothers, and domesticated Dogs.
Community is what defines us as a species, and every "self-reliant" libertarian shitweasel be damned.
We did so because we developed Grandmothers, and domesticated Dogs.
Community is what defines us as a species, and every "self-reliant" libertarian shitweasel be damned.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
December 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM
We didn't survive and thrive as a species because we had warriors or hunters - pretty much every omnivore can manage that.
We did so because we developed Grandmothers, and domesticated Dogs.
Community is what defines us as a species, and every "self-reliant" libertarian shitweasel be damned.
We did so because we developed Grandmothers, and domesticated Dogs.
Community is what defines us as a species, and every "self-reliant" libertarian shitweasel be damned.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
TL;DR be a decent human, do the work, and make some friends. The rest is just dumb fucking luck, but even if you don’t have the dumb fucking luck, *you will have been a decent human, done some work, and made some friends.*
December 27, 2025 at 6:29 PM
TL;DR be a decent human, do the work, and make some friends. The rest is just dumb fucking luck, but even if you don’t have the dumb fucking luck, *you will have been a decent human, done some work, and made some friends.*
Oh, and incidentally. Those other writers, they are not your competition. They are your colleagues, and the kinder, more generous you are to them the better things will go for you.
2/2 "fame" is not evenly temporally distributed; some people are hot out of the gate, some build over time, some get hot years or even decades after their debut. Every writer you meet, "famous" or not, will remember how you treated them, their friends, and why. Treat everyone as having value.
December 27, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Oh, and incidentally. Those other writers, they are not your competition. They are your colleagues, and the kinder, more generous you are to them the better things will go for you.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
2/2 "fame" is not evenly temporally distributed; some people are hot out of the gate, some build over time, some get hot years or even decades after their debut. Every writer you meet, "famous" or not, will remember how you treated them, their friends, and why. Treat everyone as having value.
December 26, 2025 at 10:03 PM
2/2 "fame" is not evenly temporally distributed; some people are hot out of the gate, some build over time, some get hot years or even decades after their debut. Every writer you meet, "famous" or not, will remember how you treated them, their friends, and why. Treat everyone as having value.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
Thank you so much, Nicole!
I spent a good chunk of my Christmas binging A Philosophy of Thieves by @franwilde.bsky.social! HIGHLY recommend to any lover of great heists, complex families (biological and found), and interesting social questions through the lens of speculative fiction. I couldn't put it down!
December 26, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Thank you so much, Nicole!
Reposted by Ann Leckie
true. that's bc you've allowed your sense of style to be narrowly defined by fashion brands, instead of thinking about it in terms of cultural history. over the course of the 20th century, many groups have dressed well, even if they didn't conform to fashion trends or bourgeois respectability
December 26, 2025 at 11:37 AM
true. that's bc you've allowed your sense of style to be narrowly defined by fashion brands, instead of thinking about it in terms of cultural history. over the course of the 20th century, many groups have dressed well, even if they didn't conform to fashion trends or bourgeois respectability
Reposted by Ann Leckie
He ys ridinge a horse
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
December 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
He ys ridinge a horse
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
First, the Christmas Ham. Next, the St Stephen's Day ham and potato soup.
December 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
First, the Christmas Ham. Next, the St Stephen's Day ham and potato soup.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
This is a really good thread about a thing that I've noticed, but have not had a good word for.
My experience of my various disabilities is not as uniformly negative as the OP's, but I certainly do get hungry for more portrayals of disability that make room for messiness, confusion, and struggle.
My experience of my various disabilities is not as uniformly negative as the OP's, but I certainly do get hungry for more portrayals of disability that make room for messiness, confusion, and struggle.
there's a certain way certain people write fiction about disability that really sets my teeth on edge, and it's an approach that I can only describe as 'educational hugboxing'
in this, portrayal of disability must be constantly affirming, and it must use specific and correct terminology
(🧵)
in this, portrayal of disability must be constantly affirming, and it must use specific and correct terminology
(🧵)
December 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
This is a really good thread about a thing that I've noticed, but have not had a good word for.
My experience of my various disabilities is not as uniformly negative as the OP's, but I certainly do get hungry for more portrayals of disability that make room for messiness, confusion, and struggle.
My experience of my various disabilities is not as uniformly negative as the OP's, but I certainly do get hungry for more portrayals of disability that make room for messiness, confusion, and struggle.
I LOVE my under-thumb trackball mouse and you will not even pry it from my cold, dead hands.
(For those new to the home game, the reason I'm SO much a convert to trackball mice, the under-thumb version in specific, is that it is a MASSIVE improvement to the wrist, elbow and shoulder discomfort or pain all-day mouse usage used to cause: situate the mouse right, and those are GONE. And this
December 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I LOVE my under-thumb trackball mouse and you will not even pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
We're all descendants of a bunch of Mesozoic mammals who scrambled around trying to avoid being lunch for dinosaurs.
I don't know what that makes you feel, but remember how far your DNA has come, and that there lies within you a plucky survivor.
I don't know what that makes you feel, but remember how far your DNA has come, and that there lies within you a plucky survivor.
December 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
We're all descendants of a bunch of Mesozoic mammals who scrambled around trying to avoid being lunch for dinosaurs.
I don't know what that makes you feel, but remember how far your DNA has come, and that there lies within you a plucky survivor.
I don't know what that makes you feel, but remember how far your DNA has come, and that there lies within you a plucky survivor.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
The news about Harlequin translators getting fired en masse?
You should care about that. They're doing it there because they think nobody gives a shit about romance and so it's fine to experiment with it first.
You should care about that. They're doing it there because they think nobody gives a shit about romance and so it's fine to experiment with it first.
December 24, 2025 at 2:53 AM
The news about Harlequin translators getting fired en masse?
You should care about that. They're doing it there because they think nobody gives a shit about romance and so it's fine to experiment with it first.
You should care about that. They're doing it there because they think nobody gives a shit about romance and so it's fine to experiment with it first.
INCIDENTALLY for those who don't know--Yes, Ancillary Justice WAS optioned and WAS greenlit and there were scripts and concept art and talks with actors and then...the streamer decided not to do it.
Yes, I was a bit miffed. But the experience of meeting folks and learning things was amazing.
Yes, I was a bit miffed. But the experience of meeting folks and learning things was amazing.
December 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
INCIDENTALLY for those who don't know--Yes, Ancillary Justice WAS optioned and WAS greenlit and there were scripts and concept art and talks with actors and then...the streamer decided not to do it.
Yes, I was a bit miffed. But the experience of meeting folks and learning things was amazing.
Yes, I was a bit miffed. But the experience of meeting folks and learning things was amazing.
So, for a while, Ancillary Justice was optioned for TV. Or, actually, streaming. And I had a chance to talk to the people who were writing the screenplay(s), and the person who was in charge of the project. They were all super smart and very very good at what they did.
December 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM
So, for a while, Ancillary Justice was optioned for TV. Or, actually, streaming. And I had a chance to talk to the people who were writing the screenplay(s), and the person who was in charge of the project. They were all super smart and very very good at what they did.
Reposted by Ann Leckie
I'd argue it's worse than a blank page, in the same way that garment pieces cut slightly off the grain are worse than not having cut yet.
When a thing is wrong, it will suck your energy into making it Less Wrong, which is often not the same as making it right.
When a thing is wrong, it will suck your energy into making it Less Wrong, which is often not the same as making it right.
Just a thing about this: a common statement in writing is that you can fix crap, but you can't fix a blank page.
I have heard AI apologists claim that this is why it's fine to generate a first draft.
Now, to be clear, fuck this.
But also: an AI draft is a fucking blank page.
I have heard AI apologists claim that this is why it's fine to generate a first draft.
Now, to be clear, fuck this.
But also: an AI draft is a fucking blank page.
I know I don’t talk about writing much. It is because I am writing so slowly.
But I want you to know that I am taking a part of this story that absolutely sucked and took me months to produce four of the worst chapters I have ever written and in the edit I figured out how to fix it.
But I want you to know that I am taking a part of this story that absolutely sucked and took me months to produce four of the worst chapters I have ever written and in the edit I figured out how to fix it.
December 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I'd argue it's worse than a blank page, in the same way that garment pieces cut slightly off the grain are worse than not having cut yet.
When a thing is wrong, it will suck your energy into making it Less Wrong, which is often not the same as making it right.
When a thing is wrong, it will suck your energy into making it Less Wrong, which is often not the same as making it right.