Rakesh Khanna
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blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Rakesh Khanna
@blaftrakesh.bsky.social
710 followers 480 following 1.1K posts
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Books, ghosts, math, marine invertebrates. Co-founder & editor @blaft.bsky.social.

Author of Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738269/ghosts-monsters-and-demons-of-india-by-rakesh-khanna/
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blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Rakesh Khanna @blaftrakesh.bsky.social · Oct 31
The Bandigoat lives!

7 tales of weird fiction & horror by @kuzhalimanickavel.bsky.social, @emelkrishnan.bsky.social, Jugal Mody, Miriam Kumaradoss-Hohauser, Lungmying Lepcha, and Rashmi Ruth Devadasan

www.blaft.com/products/ban...
Bandigoat -- a glowing extradimensional rat-goat hybrid on a cloudy black background
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
Kolkata!!! We have a very special event scheduled for next Saturday! 3 contributors to THE BLAFT BOOK OF ANTI-CASTE SF will be discussing their work, including Nebula- and Hugo-nominated, Locus-Award-winning author @mimimondal.bsky.social on a rare India visit!

Head to Bahrisons on Feb 21, 5 PM!
Archita Mittra, Ipsa, & Mimi Mondal in conversation with Padmini Ray Murray on THE BLAFT BOOK OF ANTI-CASTE SF Bahrisons Booksellers Kolkata Feb 21, 5 pm
February 11, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺
February 10, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
older.bsky.social
Lovely write-up of the storybundle that supports @globalvoiceslingua.bsky.social !
StoryBundle Translation Project Features African Languages
A new, limited-time StoryBundle collection featuring works translated from three African languages is now available from February 5 through March 5, 2026.
www.writingafrica.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
ronita.bsky.social
India Street Lettering - A journey through typographic craft and culture from @blaft.bsky.social is put together by Pooja Saxena. Highly recommend for those of us who get lost in signs and fonts and the stories they tell.
February 8, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
ronita.bsky.social
And this arrived as well. Thanks a lot @blaft.bsky.social. The book looks amazing. And the stickers are already being put to use.
A book India Street Lettering placed on a bag with Blaft Publications Private Limited logo and name, placed on a red suitcase with two stickers (OK and ART).
February 8, 2026 at 2:50 PM
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
I understand if you are staying on Substack because you cannot afford to get off, but if you are not on it yet and considering getting on, please don't
February 8, 2026 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
The Bandigoat lives!

7 tales of weird fiction & horror by @kuzhalimanickavel.bsky.social, @emelkrishnan.bsky.social, Jugal Mody, Miriam Kumaradoss-Hohauser, Lungmying Lepcha, and Rashmi Ruth Devadasan

www.blaft.com/products/ban...
Bandigoat -- a glowing extradimensional rat-goat hybrid on a cloudy black background
October 31, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
storybundle.bsky.social
Our latest bundle contains 12 stories, all translated from their original languages, so you can explore different cultures and journeys all in one place! It even has 5 StoryBundle exclusives! storybundle.com/translation
February 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Met a guy from Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, who was telling me ghost stories. None of the folklore of this area is included in my Ghosts book and now I feel like I need to do a 3-volume second edition. This country has sooo many demons!!!
February 6, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
For The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction, @vishwambhari.bsky.social found and translated a 1924 story about an Indian scientist who builds a communication device and starts flirting with a lady alien from Saturn. "Message from the Stars" by Narad. Super fun!

www.blaft.com/products/the...
The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction, selected and translated by Vishwambhari S. Parmar. Cover by Nabi H. Ali.
February 6, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
atthisarts.com
On now, a StoryBundle curated by our own E.D.E. Bell and including our own The Factory, alongside wonderful, important stories from around the globe, and supporting @globalvoiceslingua.bsky.social. May the light of these stories shine brightly. #BookSky #Translation storybundle.com/translation
Shows 12 book covers in an array, with text: In Translation — To Benefit Global Voices Lingua, StoryBundle.com/Translation
February 5, 2026 at 5:10 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
We're doing a zine making shindig at The Bookshop in Vasant Kunj, Delhi on the 6th!

Register for ₹299, redeemable against book purchase

Come make art and stuph with us

pages.razorpay.com/zineswithblaft
Pay for February 6: Zines with Blaft by The Bookshop Inc
.
pages.razorpay.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
You too can dive into a world of murderous Gujarati ghosts, flirty aliens, genetically modified mermen, and jilted bar dancers out for revenge!

Buy here: www.blaft.com/products/the...

Includes a colour gallery of vintage covers by G. Sandhwani, N. Manwar, and other Rajkot/Ahmedabad pulp artists!
The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction Chhaya Padchhaya by H N Golibar, cover by N Manwar Gujarati pulp covers by N. Manwar and G. Sandhwani
February 4, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
gwensnyder.bsky.social
This is a mask *very* specifically associated with Atomwaffen and Nazi Terrorgram (as OP notes downthread)
westseattlebikeblg.bsky.social West Seattle Bike Blog @westseattlebikeblg.bsky.social · 7d
Fucking surreal that people dressed like this and carrying assault rifles are permitted to kidnap people off our streets
ICE agent wearing skull mask that is usually associated with the neo Nazi atomwaffen group
February 4, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
esqueer.net
We want ICE abolished and their agents hauled before Nuremberg style tribunals. Anything less is a policy failure.
schumer.senate.gov Chuck Schumer @schumer.senate.gov · 7d
Democrats want commonsense reform for ICE:

End the roving patrols and racial profiling.

Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.

Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
February 4, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
Hey yougaiz!!! BANDIGOAT made the Locus Magazine 2025 recommended reading list!!!

locusmag.com/2026/02/2025...
Welcome to the LOCUS Recommended Reading List (science fiction, fantasy, horror, YA, first novels, translated novels, collections, anthologies, non-fiction, art books, novellas, novelettes, short stories) ANTHOLOGIES Night & Day, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Saga) amazon / bookshop Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology, Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett & Craig Laurance Gidney, eds. (Essential Dreams) amazon / bookshop These Bodies Ain’t Broken, Madeline Dyer, ed. (Page Street) amazon / bookshop The End of the World As We Know It, Christopher Golden & Brian Keene, eds. (Gallery) amazon / bookshop Will This Be a Problem, Somto Ihezue & Olivia Kidula, eds. (Shilitza) amazon Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible Tales, Rakesh Khanna, ed. (Blaft) We Will Rise Again, Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz & Malka Older, eds. (Saga) amazon / bookshop Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, Lee Mandelo, ed. (Erewhon) amazon / bookshop Ellen Datlow Best Horror of the Year 17thAs the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, Terese Mason Pierre, ed. (Spiderline) amazon / bookshop Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino Supernatural, Tilde Acuña, John Bengan et al eds. (Radix) The Black Fantastic, andré m. carrington, ed. (Library of America) amazon / bookshop The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Night Shade) amazon / bookshop The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 9, Allan Kaster, ed. (Infinivox) amazon / bookshop The Year’s Top Tales of Space and Time 5, Allan Kaster, ed. (Infinivox) amazon / bookshop The Year’s Top Robot and AI Stories: Sixth Annual Collection, Allan Kaster, ed. (Infinivox) amazon / bookshop The Best Weird Fiction of the Year: Volume 1, Michael Kelly, ed. (Undertow) amazon / bookshop Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three, Stephen Kotowych, ed. (Ansible) amazon The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025, Nnedi Okorafor & John Joseph Adams, eds. (Mariner) amazon / bookshop Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible Tales front cover
February 1, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
bingingout.bsky.social
Excited and proud to announce that I'm guest editing @tasavvurnama.bsky.social's Spring 2026 issue.

Open for your South Asian SFF submissions now till the end of Feb.
Fiction - Tasavvur
Submissions – FICTION Submission Cycle for our Spring 2026 Issue will be from February 1st  – February 28th , 2026. What We’re Looking For: We love Dreamscapes and nightmares Soaring Read More
tasavvurnama.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:52 PM
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Irl horrors getting you down? Try some made up ones!

www.blaft.com/collections/...
hararereview.com Harare Review of Books @hararereview.com · 9d
For @thesundaylongread.bsky.social this weekend, my pick is @blaft.bsky.social's unexpectedly fun (I don't do horror) Bandigoat, edited by @blaftrakesh.bsky.social .
A screenshot from the SLR, text only: Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible Tales By Rakesh Khanna (Ed.) Sometimes what you need to take your mind off real-world horror is fictional horror from another part of the world—like Bandigoat, the (deliberate) mispronunciation of Bandicoot that collects stories from seven Indian authors. Monsters include: a woman who may be a demon that's a protector of workers (we hear about her at her funeral); a whole institute's worth of broken shape-shifters; Muloon Mung, another shape-shifter who eats people; a VERY strange dog (in my favourite story Miriam Kumaradoss-Hohauser's "Cur")--or perhaps it's the woman interacting with it that's strange; a boy made of ice cream who appears when there's unseasonal snow (barely a monster, to be honest, being made of ice-cream); and a Boochandi (bogeyman) that makes a deal with a grave-digger (in another excellent story, "The Legend of Rani Grace" by Rashmi Ruth Devadasan). Perhaps it's not quite correct to call these tales horror, since I read and loved them and I really don't do horror. These are imaginative tales of the weird and wonderful and decidedly strange world lurking at the edges of what we see. Since what we see is currently quite horrendous, it seems smart to look away for a bit to what lurks, I think. Bandigoat is a terrific way to do so. Jacqueline Nyathi has loved books for as long as she can remember, and writes about them for The Sunday Long Read, The Continent, Strange Horizons, and others. Check out her books newsletter, Harare Review of Books, here.
February 1, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
A memorial to Jugal Mody and his ridiculously fertile imagination. By Nisha Susan.

www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/...
Nisha Susan: The loss of a friend who was like sunshine | Mint
Remembering Jugal Mody, a friend whose enthusiasm was the hallmark of all his interactions with everyone he met, and a constant creator whom everybody loved.
www.livemint.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
casella.bsky.social
sorry but when anyone says "deep sea mining" what I hear is "mass extinction, w/unknown cascade effects, that's extremely difficult to raise public/political will to fight because of media/knowledge realities"
January 29, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
matratype.bsky.social
Even the monkeys are interested 🐒

You should get your copy of INDIA STREET LETTERING today! www.blaft.com/products/ind...
blaftrakesh.bsky.social Rakesh Khanna @blaftrakesh.bsky.social · 14d
Today we are packing India Street Lettering books for Kickstarter backers and a troop of monkeys has launched an assault on our mailroom. Chucking used tape rolls at them to keep them away from the bubble wrap 😂
January 28, 2026 at 8:57 AM
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Today we are packing India Street Lettering books for Kickstarter backers and a troop of monkeys has launched an assault on our mailroom. Chucking used tape rolls at them to keep them away from the bubble wrap 😂
January 28, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
Pooja Saxena's "India Street Lettering" is out in the mail to Kickstarter backers!

(If you ordered extras like bookmarks & postcards, please be patient--those are taking a bit longer to pack! 😅)

Order yours online! Or come to Delhi launch @ The Bookshop Inc, Feb 1

www.blaft.com/collections/...
Tamil and Latin sign by an unknown painter for Raj Trading Corporation in Chennai, which eschews visually-matching the two scripts. Painted boats in Kochi, painter unknown. Maximalist trollies in Lucknow for Amrit D.J. Band (painted by Anwar Art) India Street Lettering by Pooja Saxena, front cover
January 24, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
nhervieu.bsky.social
Oui, c’est abject.

Mais arrêter & placer des mômes en rétention car ils sont étrangers, la France fait cela aussi.

Elle a même été condamnée 12 fois (!) par la CEDH pour cela.

Et aujourd’hui encore, elle continue de le faire à Mayotte.

L’inhumanité contre les étrangers n’est pas qu’américaine.
January 24, 2026 at 6:18 AM
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Trump is evil, but I don't think he's stupid or has dementia. All these facepalms, mixing up Greenland & Iceland, penguins at the North Pole, calling Nepal "Nipple"--all these things are extremely calculated. It's just dark triad racist troll shit, the new fascist flavour. They get off on it.
January 24, 2026 at 7:22 AM