CL Hellisen
@clhellisen.bsky.social
Stories in F&SF, Strange Horizons, Apex, Tor, Shimmer, BCS.
Repped by Caro Clarke
The Shape of Monsters out now https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Shape-of-Monsters-Audiobook/B0FGDJ5X1M
https://clhellisenlanding.carrd.co/
They/them, Scotland + S. Africa
Repped by Caro Clarke
The Shape of Monsters out now https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Shape-of-Monsters-Audiobook/B0FGDJ5X1M
https://clhellisenlanding.carrd.co/
They/them, Scotland + S. Africa
Pinned
CL Hellisen
@clhellisen.bsky.social
· Jul 7
Godskin
Sometimes among the fish and crabs, we trawl squid and octopus, or little sharks, all added to the pots. Sometimes it’s a fish person, a thing we cut free and do not talk of, pretend we never saw. …
strangehorizons.com
If you'd like to read my World Fantasy Award shortlisted story Godskin, then amble on over to @strangehorizons.bsky.social ...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Double checking the date because someone is letting off fireworks
December 30, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Double checking the date because someone is letting off fireworks
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Out of curiosity, I just ran a few paragraphs from The Butchering Art through an AI checker and it got flagged: 88% AI. This book was released in 2017, and AI machines were subsequently trained off it. How many writers are getting flagged for AI because of the literal theft of their work(s)? Insane.
OMG - f*ck AI for ruining the em-dash for writers. I use them all the time. Of course, what a shock that AI uses them since they were trained off my voice and other authors' voices.
I'm a writer who has specifically been directed *not* to use em-dashes because "they mean it was written by AI." I can detect AI writing, but it is not simply a matter of the punctuation used.
December 30, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Out of curiosity, I just ran a few paragraphs from The Butchering Art through an AI checker and it got flagged: 88% AI. This book was released in 2017, and AI machines were subsequently trained off it. How many writers are getting flagged for AI because of the literal theft of their work(s)? Insane.
I've decided on Fahrenheit 451 as my final book of the year. I have read Bradbury, but for some reason, never this one.
Usually I skip the forewords but decided not to, and I'm glad I read this one because it was lovely, and ended thus.
Usually I skip the forewords but decided not to, and I'm glad I read this one because it was lovely, and ended thus.
December 30, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I've decided on Fahrenheit 451 as my final book of the year. I have read Bradbury, but for some reason, never this one.
Usually I skip the forewords but decided not to, and I'm glad I read this one because it was lovely, and ended thus.
Usually I skip the forewords but decided not to, and I'm glad I read this one because it was lovely, and ended thus.
I loved this show, you should go see it
Some great news for 2026: my creepy li'l show is coming to Nottingham!
🎬
YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES
Fri 23 January, 8.30pm
Neville Studio, @nottmplayhouse.bsky.social
🎟️
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/you-o...
🎬
YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES
Fri 23 January, 8.30pm
Neville Studio, @nottmplayhouse.bsky.social
🎟️
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/you-o...
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I loved this show, you should go see it
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I've waited 3 years to make this post
December 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I've waited 3 years to make this post
Where do I begin...?
Seriously though, it was when I called a baked good by the correct name it was sold under in a South African bakery, and all of Canada descended to tell me I was wrong and also assumed I was an American in America?
Seriously though, it was when I called a baked good by the correct name it was sold under in a South African bakery, and all of Canada descended to tell me I was wrong and also assumed I was an American in America?
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Where do I begin...?
Seriously though, it was when I called a baked good by the correct name it was sold under in a South African bakery, and all of Canada descended to tell me I was wrong and also assumed I was an American in America?
Seriously though, it was when I called a baked good by the correct name it was sold under in a South African bakery, and all of Canada descended to tell me I was wrong and also assumed I was an American in America?
Reposted by CL Hellisen
If you see items in a black box like this on the Amazon app (presumably similar on desktop), do NOT use Amazon to purchase. Go to the artist's site directly to see what they actually have, buy more easily, and not support this garbage concept that big corps can scrape whatever they want.
December 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
If you see items in a black box like this on the Amazon app (presumably similar on desktop), do NOT use Amazon to purchase. Go to the artist's site directly to see what they actually have, buy more easily, and not support this garbage concept that big corps can scrape whatever they want.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Damon Knight: holy machine learning process! it seems that people don't AI slop being eligible for the nebula!
Knight: what to do?
Knight: i'll feed the question into the bat computer
Erin Underwood: never fear, erin underwood is here!
Knight: what to do?
Knight: i'll feed the question into the bat computer
Erin Underwood: never fear, erin underwood is here!
December 30, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Damon Knight: holy machine learning process! it seems that people don't AI slop being eligible for the nebula!
Knight: what to do?
Knight: i'll feed the question into the bat computer
Erin Underwood: never fear, erin underwood is here!
Knight: what to do?
Knight: i'll feed the question into the bat computer
Erin Underwood: never fear, erin underwood is here!
I got both my flu and covid jags this winter because I'm on the immunocompromised list and I still got whatever is going around and it sucks
December 30, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I got both my flu and covid jags this winter because I'm on the immunocompromised list and I still got whatever is going around and it sucks
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Today is my birthday! 🎂
I feel grateful for everyone who supports me, my art and the work I love. It makes even the hardest days brighter and gives me the strength to keep creating🫶
If you could spare a repost, it would mean a lot and help my work reach more people 🤗
I feel grateful for everyone who supports me, my art and the work I love. It makes even the hardest days brighter and gives me the strength to keep creating🫶
If you could spare a repost, it would mean a lot and help my work reach more people 🤗
December 29, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Today is my birthday! 🎂
I feel grateful for everyone who supports me, my art and the work I love. It makes even the hardest days brighter and gives me the strength to keep creating🫶
If you could spare a repost, it would mean a lot and help my work reach more people 🤗
I feel grateful for everyone who supports me, my art and the work I love. It makes even the hardest days brighter and gives me the strength to keep creating🫶
If you could spare a repost, it would mean a lot and help my work reach more people 🤗
Very much enjoyed The lamb by Lucy Rose.
Technically, a lesbian serial killer cannibal horror fairy tale.
In reality, an extended metaphor for the relationship between narcissistic mothers and their daughters when they stop being small children.
Technically, a lesbian serial killer cannibal horror fairy tale.
In reality, an extended metaphor for the relationship between narcissistic mothers and their daughters when they stop being small children.
December 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Very much enjoyed The lamb by Lucy Rose.
Technically, a lesbian serial killer cannibal horror fairy tale.
In reality, an extended metaphor for the relationship between narcissistic mothers and their daughters when they stop being small children.
Technically, a lesbian serial killer cannibal horror fairy tale.
In reality, an extended metaphor for the relationship between narcissistic mothers and their daughters when they stop being small children.
i am only doing this to keep you from making unhealthy choices it's not because i enjoy it i say as i unhinge my jaw so i can eat a whole terry's at once
It's a community service - for the good of all.
December 29, 2025 at 1:14 PM
i am only doing this to keep you from making unhealthy choices it's not because i enjoy it i say as i unhinge my jaw so i can eat a whole terry's at once
look the sooner I eat all the xmas chocolate the sooner I can start my road to health
December 29, 2025 at 11:57 AM
look the sooner I eat all the xmas chocolate the sooner I can start my road to health
Reposted by CL Hellisen
this essay is so embarrassingly bad, both in concept and execution, that it should torch whatever reputation this erin underwood has as a writer
Not only does this have the sing-songy rhetorical stylings of an LLM text itself, nothing about it appears to be true. Contracts are a 4000-year-old social practice; how did they become incomprehensible to the unaided human mind last year?
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 8:42 PM
this essay is so embarrassingly bad, both in concept and execution, that it should torch whatever reputation this erin underwood has as a writer
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Thank you for all the support and encouragement everyone! I'm about to get real shouty...
And look, I even added my neuroqueer dark fantasy, Born of Malice, to Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/books/b3a44d...
And look, I even added my neuroqueer dark fantasy, Born of Malice, to Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/books/b3a44d...
December 28, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Thank you for all the support and encouragement everyone! I'm about to get real shouty...
And look, I even added my neuroqueer dark fantasy, Born of Malice, to Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/books/b3a44d...
And look, I even added my neuroqueer dark fantasy, Born of Malice, to Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/books/b3a44d...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Umm, hi. So this list might have someone you know on it. Also a bunch of intriguing books I wasn’t aware of.
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
9 Books from 2025 You Shouldn't Overlook
As our editors continue to look back on the books published this year, we thought it would be worth shouting out these under-appreciated gems.
www.publishersweekly.com
December 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Umm, hi. So this list might have someone you know on it. Also a bunch of intriguing books I wasn’t aware of.
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
As we approach 2026, take note of our February zine submission call. I'm paying 10 cents per word for cunty horrors, cursed concerts, monstrous dating profiles, batshit LinkedIn posts, and nightmare grifters.
cursedmorsels.com/submission-c...
cursedmorsels.com/submission-c...
Submission Calls
OPEN Zine call (February 1st through 7th) Zine PromptsFor this zine bundle, I’m looking for written pieces about these five prompts: -Cunty Horrors (cunty horror microfiction and mini-essays …
cursedmorsels.com
December 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM
As we approach 2026, take note of our February zine submission call. I'm paying 10 cents per word for cunty horrors, cursed concerts, monstrous dating profiles, batshit LinkedIn posts, and nightmare grifters.
cursedmorsels.com/submission-c...
cursedmorsels.com/submission-c...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
To review:
Sincerely : formal
Best : neutral
All the best : positive
All the very best : can we be friends???
Regards : from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee
Sincerely : formal
Best : neutral
All the best : positive
All the very best : can we be friends???
Regards : from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee
December 9, 2025 at 10:45 PM
To review:
Sincerely : formal
Best : neutral
All the best : positive
All the very best : can we be friends???
Regards : from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee
Sincerely : formal
Best : neutral
All the best : positive
All the very best : can we be friends???
Regards : from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee
Just putting this out here for those who are new to my feed (hi! Welcome!)
I am virulently anti-AI.
I don't believe it's ethical to use generative AI in any aspect of your creative work, and I refuse to incorporate it.
You can tell me I'm going to be left behind, that's fine with me.
I am virulently anti-AI.
I don't believe it's ethical to use generative AI in any aspect of your creative work, and I refuse to incorporate it.
You can tell me I'm going to be left behind, that's fine with me.
December 29, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Just putting this out here for those who are new to my feed (hi! Welcome!)
I am virulently anti-AI.
I don't believe it's ethical to use generative AI in any aspect of your creative work, and I refuse to incorporate it.
You can tell me I'm going to be left behind, that's fine with me.
I am virulently anti-AI.
I don't believe it's ethical to use generative AI in any aspect of your creative work, and I refuse to incorporate it.
You can tell me I'm going to be left behind, that's fine with me.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Aleksandra Waliszewska
December 29, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Aleksandra Waliszewska
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Tis the season, so, some great books I read in 2025: ejswift.co.uk/2025/12/28/y...
December 28, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Tis the season, so, some great books I read in 2025: ejswift.co.uk/2025/12/28/y...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Sunrise after the ice storm.
December 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Sunrise after the ice storm.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Talking to one of these types at a con who asked how I 'got in' with so many 'famous writers' who I'd been talking to and I said "we made friends before anyone knew who we were decades ago by striking up interesting conversations and enjoying each other's company" and he kept re-asking the question.
They have come to the convention hoping to "break in" and then find themselves -- shocker! -- a "nobody in the book world." Yeah no shit! We all are! I have gently told guys like this a million times that it takes most of us *years* of hard work but they do not believe that could be true for them. +
December 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Talking to one of these types at a con who asked how I 'got in' with so many 'famous writers' who I'd been talking to and I said "we made friends before anyone knew who we were decades ago by striking up interesting conversations and enjoying each other's company" and he kept re-asking the question.
The entwittification of bluesky has now passed the point of no return
a man wearing sunglasses and a white shirt with the word block written on it
ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a white shirt with the word block written on it
media.tenor.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:28 AM
The entwittification of bluesky has now passed the point of no return
I have not existed on twitter for years now but...if this is true, how tf is it remotely legal? It's just straight up theft.
Anyway, I'm tired of the state of things. As a creative, all I can see is that AI is going to be the death of art in all its forms.
Anyway, I'm tired of the state of things. As a creative, all I can see is that AI is going to be the death of art in all its forms.
For further context twitter added a button that allows users to generate ai images using existing art posts from artists. It removes glaze and it basically reskins the artwork by using the existing work as a base. Twitter is no longer a safe space for art
December 28, 2025 at 8:24 AM
I have not existed on twitter for years now but...if this is true, how tf is it remotely legal? It's just straight up theft.
Anyway, I'm tired of the state of things. As a creative, all I can see is that AI is going to be the death of art in all its forms.
Anyway, I'm tired of the state of things. As a creative, all I can see is that AI is going to be the death of art in all its forms.