James Machell
@jamesmachell.bsky.social
"Be nice to him, you never know" - Amazing Stories
Writer, editor, interviewer (occasional YouTuber)
https://linktr.ee/jamesmachell
Writer, editor, interviewer (occasional YouTuber)
https://linktr.ee/jamesmachell
Reposted by James Machell
Coming up on Thursday
The Eaton Symposium returns!
Join us on 01/08/26 for this free online event on speculative fiction and scholarship, feat. a keynote from author Ken Liu, and panels with incredible editors such as Sheree Renée Thomas, John Joseph Adams, and many others!
Sign up: www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-virtu...
Join us on 01/08/26 for this free online event on speculative fiction and scholarship, feat. a keynote from author Ken Liu, and panels with incredible editors such as Sheree Renée Thomas, John Joseph Adams, and many others!
Sign up: www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-virtu...
January 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Coming up on Thursday
Reposted by James Machell
My interview with poetry Hugo winner @swantower.bsky.social is up on the SFPA blog
we've had some exciting stuff out on the blog the past couple of days, so be sure to check it out!
might we recommend this interview with Marie Brennan, winner of the Hugo award for poetry ✨
sfpoetry.org/wp/2026/01/0...
might we recommend this interview with Marie Brennan, winner of the Hugo award for poetry ✨
sfpoetry.org/wp/2026/01/0...
Interview with Marie Brennan, winner of the Hugo award for poetry – Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
sfpoetry.org
January 2, 2026 at 3:41 PM
My interview with poetry Hugo winner @swantower.bsky.social is up on the SFPA blog
Brilliant issue!
Issue 44 of Mythaxis Magazine is live!
mythaxis.co.uk/issue-44/
Six new crime stories in text & audio, plus long and short form fiction reviews!
Many thanks to Ayame, Mark H. Harris, Devin James Leonard, Shamus Maxwell, Donald McCarthy, Angus McIntyre, and Bill Ryan, with Micah Hyatt on voice!
mythaxis.co.uk/issue-44/
Six new crime stories in text & audio, plus long and short form fiction reviews!
Many thanks to Ayame, Mark H. Harris, Devin James Leonard, Shamus Maxwell, Donald McCarthy, Angus McIntyre, and Bill Ryan, with Micah Hyatt on voice!
January 2, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Brilliant issue!
New Star*Line out today. Honoured to be featured along with the likes of @spires.bsky.social, @bethcato.bsky.social, @marysoonlee.bsky.social, @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social and many other fantastic poets! #poetry
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
Star*Line 49.1 (Winter 2026) – Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
sfpoetry.org
January 1, 2026 at 3:12 PM
New Star*Line out today. Honoured to be featured along with the likes of @spires.bsky.social, @bethcato.bsky.social, @marysoonlee.bsky.social, @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social and many other fantastic poets! #poetry
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
Couldn't agree more!!!
One of the things I don't see talked about enough in the AI debate is that *even if* the labour politics and plagiarism question were solved it would still be bad for creative works. It cannot push new boundaries, it will be derivative in more egregious, less interesting ways than human art is.
December 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Couldn't agree more!!!
Just finished writing my intro to an interview with S. T. Joshi for the weird fiction issue of @utopiascifi.bsky.social. I think readers are going to be particularly interested to hear his thoughts on how the genre is to be properly defined #weirdfiction
December 15, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Just finished writing my intro to an interview with S. T. Joshi for the weird fiction issue of @utopiascifi.bsky.social. I think readers are going to be particularly interested to hear his thoughts on how the genre is to be properly defined #weirdfiction
Have my fingers crossed!
Chill Subs is running their third annual best lit mag awards. If you like the kind of stuff we do here at Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, we'd really appreciate your vote. Voting closes Dec 7. #sciencefiction #positivity
www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
Best Lit Mag Awards - Chill Subs
Welcome to Chill Subs' 3rd annual Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! Vote for your favorite literary magazines and celebrate the publications that make our community thrive.
www.chillsubs.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Have my fingers crossed!
The Daily Telegraph is running a poetry competition. Is it just me or is this part of the contract extremely dodgy?
November 29, 2025 at 7:52 AM
The Daily Telegraph is running a poetry competition. Is it just me or is this part of the contract extremely dodgy?
Thrilled to announce that "I Carried a Brain Under My Arm" will be appearing in an issue of Star*Line. This is my second poem for this excellent magazine, the first being "Einstein Dreaming." Link to the first one here! #poetry #sciencefiction
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
Star*Line 47.3 (Summer 2024) – Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
sfpoetry.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Thrilled to announce that "I Carried a Brain Under My Arm" will be appearing in an issue of Star*Line. This is my second poem for this excellent magazine, the first being "Einstein Dreaming." Link to the first one here! #poetry #sciencefiction
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
sfpoetry.org/wp/starline/...
Reposted by James Machell
The Big Idea: Ren Hutchings
The Big Idea: Ren Hutchings
amazingstories.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The Big Idea: Ren Hutchings
Very excited to be conducting this interview for @utopiascifi.bsky.social. Let me know if anyone has any burning questions about the history of Weird Fiction! #weird #sciencefiction
Great news! An interview with S. T. Joshi, the world's leading expert on the Weird will be appearing in our Weird Science Fiction Issue! #weird #sciencefiction
stjoshi.org
stjoshi.org
S. T. Joshi's Main Page
stjoshi.org
November 16, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Very excited to be conducting this interview for @utopiascifi.bsky.social. Let me know if anyone has any burning questions about the history of Weird Fiction! #weird #sciencefiction
William Hope Hodgson wrote brilliant stories, which may be slightly flawed and of their time, but few other writers have managed to channel such authentic weirdness into science fiction!
William Hope Hodgson sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hodgso... was born on this day, so here's some of the artwork (by Lawrence) for the reprint of his "The Boats of the Glen Carrig" in the June 1945 'Famous Fantastic Mysteries':
November 16, 2025 at 5:35 PM
William Hope Hodgson wrote brilliant stories, which may be slightly flawed and of their time, but few other writers have managed to channel such authentic weirdness into science fiction!
In case you missed it, "Trip Through Eternity" was performed on the Simultaneous Times Podcast - hosted by Jean-Paul L. Garnier @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social and featuring work by Ali Trotta @alwayscoffee.bsky.social as well as Toshiya Kamei! #sciencefiction
www.podomatic.com/podcasts/spa...
www.podomatic.com/podcasts/spa...
Space Cowboy Books Presents: Simultaneous Times Ep.89 - Toshiya Kamei, Ali Tr...
Stories and poetry featured in this episode:Beautiful Game by Toshiya Kamei - music by Phog Masheeen - https://phogmasheeen.com/ -read by the Jenna Hanchey -I, Robot by Ali Trotta - https://www.alitro...
www.podomatic.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
In case you missed it, "Trip Through Eternity" was performed on the Simultaneous Times Podcast - hosted by Jean-Paul L. Garnier @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social and featuring work by Ali Trotta @alwayscoffee.bsky.social as well as Toshiya Kamei! #sciencefiction
www.podomatic.com/podcasts/spa...
www.podomatic.com/podcasts/spa...
You can read my poem and many others in the first year anthology of Oatleaf poetry @oatleafpoetry.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 5:18 PM
You can read my poem and many others in the first year anthology of Oatleaf poetry @oatleafpoetry.bsky.social
My list of the 10 strangest positions in the SF workplace: #sciencefiction #work
listverse.com/2023/08/17/t...
listverse.com/2023/08/17/t...
Top 10 Weirdest Jobs in Science Fiction
Cities evolve. People evolve. Even the planet evolves. And so does the way we earn our money. The Golden Age of Science Fiction imagined a brighter future
listverse.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:08 PM
My list of the 10 strangest positions in the SF workplace: #sciencefiction #work
listverse.com/2023/08/17/t...
listverse.com/2023/08/17/t...
Reposted by James Machell
Another good #writing day for my #nanowrimo project -> 2252 words so far today, which brings me within about 750 words of where I should be. It's a lot closer than I've been for about 10 days. Catching up! And the story is cooking now, too. 😀
#amwriting #scifi #sff
#amwriting #scifi #sff
November 14, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Another good #writing day for my #nanowrimo project -> 2252 words so far today, which brings me within about 750 words of where I should be. It's a lot closer than I've been for about 10 days. Catching up! And the story is cooking now, too. 😀
#amwriting #scifi #sff
#amwriting #scifi #sff
Very excited by the enthusiasm for our Weird Issue. Can't wait to see the submissions!
Utopia Science Fiction Magazine is on the lookout for your weirdest writing and art! #sciencefiction
open.substack.com/pub/utopiasc...
open.substack.com/pub/utopiasc...
Weird Science Fiction Submission Call
Submit before 01/01/2026
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Very excited by the enthusiasm for our Weird Issue. Can't wait to see the submissions!
Reposted by James Machell
Chinese Astronauts Stranded In Orbit - C.J. Cheeryh Comments
Chinese Astronauts Stranded In Orbit - C.J. Cheeryh Comments
amazingstories.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Chinese Astronauts Stranded In Orbit - C.J. Cheeryh Comments
10 Most Controversial Writers of Science Fiction, featured in @theangrynoodle.com. #sciencefiction
theangrynoodle.com/10-most-cont...
theangrynoodle.com/10-most-cont...
10 Most Controversial Writers of Science Fiction - The Angry Noodle
A list of the ten most controversial writers of science fiction.
theangrynoodle.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:09 AM
10 Most Controversial Writers of Science Fiction, featured in @theangrynoodle.com. #sciencefiction
theangrynoodle.com/10-most-cont...
theangrynoodle.com/10-most-cont...
Big thanks to @amazingstories.bsky.social for helping promote the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Substack!
amazingstories.com/2025/10/the-...
amazingstories.com/2025/10/the-...
amazingstories.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Big thanks to @amazingstories.bsky.social for helping promote the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Substack!
amazingstories.com/2025/10/the-...
amazingstories.com/2025/10/the-...
"The Big Three of Fantasy," featured in @trollbreathmag.bsky.social. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and ...? #fantasy
magazine.trollbreath.com/the-big-thre...
magazine.trollbreath.com/the-big-thre...
The Big Three of Fantasy - Trollbreath Magazine
The Big Three of Fantasy
magazine.trollbreath.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:02 AM
"The Big Three of Fantasy," featured in @trollbreathmag.bsky.social. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and ...? #fantasy
magazine.trollbreath.com/the-big-thre...
magazine.trollbreath.com/the-big-thre...
Video essay of "Why Asimov Hate 1984" - first appeared in @utopiascifi.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNuO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNuO...
Why Asimov Hated 1984
YouTube video by Fell Purpose
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Video essay of "Why Asimov Hate 1984" - first appeared in @utopiascifi.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNuO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNuO...
SFE (@encylopediaofsciencefiction)
This week’s post. Expect a new one from John Clute on Wednesday!
substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Short story, a personal favourite:
www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/ta...
www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/ta...
james machell Archives - Sci Phi Journal
www.sciphijournal.org
November 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Short story, a personal favourite:
www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/ta...
www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/ta...
Short story - reprint of the first I ever published @metastellar.bsky.social
www.metastellar.com/author/james...
www.metastellar.com/author/james...
James Machell
James Machell is a British writer, born in London and matured in Seoul. He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and the outreach manager for Utopia Science Fiction Magazine for whic...
www.metastellar.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Short story - reprint of the first I ever published @metastellar.bsky.social
www.metastellar.com/author/james...
www.metastellar.com/author/james...