Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
@jonolfert.bsky.social
Stories in Analog, Lightspeed, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Year's Best Canadian F&SF. History's 7th or 8th most prolific writer of speculative paleofiction. Polling and policy by day. If we pull this off, we'll eat like kings. http://jonathan-olfert.carrd.co
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
😮Wow! We hit 650 backers and then the very next minute we crossed $50,000.💪
Why...666 backers isn't that far off...🤘😈🤘
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Why...666 backers isn't that far off...🤘😈🤘
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
February 16, 2026 at 8:32 PM
😮Wow! We hit 650 backers and then the very next minute we crossed $50,000.💪
Why...666 backers isn't that far off...🤘😈🤘
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Why...666 backers isn't that far off...🤘😈🤘
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Made coffee, put Lorna Shore's heartbreaker 'Glenwood' on repeat, and clinched my first full-sized short story since August — my first Churchlands story since last February.
February 16, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Made coffee, put Lorna Shore's heartbreaker 'Glenwood' on repeat, and clinched my first full-sized short story since August — my first Churchlands story since last February.
I would be yelling about Canadian politics, polling, and university affairs much, much more than I do in public. You know what it's like to have special interests you can't actually talk about while everyone has an opinion? That's been my whole life since I went white-collar.
Hey artist/creator/writer/etc people: if tomorrow you were guaranteed a very comfortable living the rest of your life, how would that affect your relationship to social media?
February 16, 2026 at 12:34 AM
I would be yelling about Canadian politics, polling, and university affairs much, much more than I do in public. You know what it's like to have special interests you can't actually talk about while everyone has an opinion? That's been my whole life since I went white-collar.
As someone who was in Hexagon and On Spec before the end, can I just say how great it is to see a Canadian SFF magazine with cool covers reach its 10th issue in hard copy?
⚔️THE CROWDFUND FOR NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY 2026 IS LIVE⚔️
Three issues - our Timeworn Terra special - a New Jirel of Joiry story...
The more re-posts this gets, the more bonus content we'll add to this year's issues!
Go here to learn more and back the magazine👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Three issues - our Timeworn Terra special - a New Jirel of Joiry story...
The more re-posts this gets, the more bonus content we'll add to this year's issues!
Go here to learn more and back the magazine👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
February 16, 2026 at 12:18 AM
As someone who was in Hexagon and On Spec before the end, can I just say how great it is to see a Canadian SFF magazine with cool covers reach its 10th issue in hard copy?
Always love that NESS does author and artist raises as stretch goals. Think I got pro rate for the issue I was in.
🌿We're $420 from unlocking a second author raise...
...so if you want to GET HIGH, supporting authors (and an indie mag) is a helluva drug!🚬
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
...so if you want to GET HIGH, supporting authors (and an indie mag) is a helluva drug!🚬
👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
February 15, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Always love that NESS does author and artist raises as stretch goals. Think I got pro rate for the issue I was in.
My appreciation of Watership Down has shifted over the last, oh, almost 30 years now. This part, right here—more and more, to me this line is the soul of it. Any number of powers and forces will destroy you out of callousness or cruelty or inevitability. What matters is not making it easy for them.
If you see this, post a rabbit 🐰
February 14, 2026 at 7:51 PM
My appreciation of Watership Down has shifted over the last, oh, almost 30 years now. This part, right here—more and more, to me this line is the soul of it. Any number of powers and forces will destroy you out of callousness or cruelty or inevitability. What matters is not making it easy for them.
Out tonight: 'Erase the Slate,' a new Ander Carmora story, and actually the first Churchlands story to get illustrated. Also the angriest Churchlands piece to see print by a considerable margin, and will hold that honour until 'Fletcher's Flights.'
www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com?p=4577
www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com?p=4577
ERASE THE SLATE | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Out tonight: 'Erase the Slate,' a new Ander Carmora story, and actually the first Churchlands story to get illustrated. Also the angriest Churchlands piece to see print by a considerable margin, and will hold that honour until 'Fletcher's Flights.'
www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com?p=4577
www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com?p=4577
thelogic.co/news/dp-worl... "Bin Sulayem’s resignation, following a new release of Epstein’s messages and files by the U.S. Department of Justice, likely saves headaches for Canada’s leaders; with the Contrecoeur project, DP World is soon to become even more important to Canadian trade."
#canada
#canada
Head of Canada's top container-terminal operator resigns after emails show close ties to Epstein - The Logic
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem's exchanges with the convicted sex offender included plans for winning First Nations approval on projects, and networking with other members of "the Epstein club"
thelogic.co
February 13, 2026 at 8:36 PM
thelogic.co/news/dp-worl... "Bin Sulayem’s resignation, following a new release of Epstein’s messages and files by the U.S. Department of Justice, likely saves headaches for Canada’s leaders; with the Contrecoeur project, DP World is soon to become even more important to Canadian trade."
#canada
#canada
Reminds me of the part in Finlayson's The Smart Neanderthal where he says that Paleolithic people were the greatest naturalists ever because they had to be.
South Africa has yielded the oldest direct evidence of poisoned hunting weapons. The find pushes poison-based hunting deep into the Pleistocene and reveals sophisticated chemical knowledge, planning and tool use far earlier than previously documented. Ars Technica buff.ly/3ySienA
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
These 60,000-year-old poison arrows are oldest yet found
Hunter-gatherers probably derived the poison from the milky bulb extract of a Boophone disticha plant.
buff.ly
February 13, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Reminds me of the part in Finlayson's The Smart Neanderthal where he says that Paleolithic people were the greatest naturalists ever because they had to be.
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
Between the announced provincial cuts to student aid and the apparent reduction in federal aid back to pre-covid levels (which the feds claim they are still undecided on but come on), low-income Ontarians are looking at an aid cut (or net tuition increase if you prefer) of about $2500 next year.
February 13, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Between the announced provincial cuts to student aid and the apparent reduction in federal aid back to pre-covid levels (which the feds claim they are still undecided on but come on), low-income Ontarians are looking at an aid cut (or net tuition increase if you prefer) of about $2500 next year.
"Students involved say chapel administrators dismissed their concerns and, in some cases, responded with disciplinary actions."
February 13, 2026 at 11:12 AM
"Students involved say chapel administrators dismissed their concerns and, in some cases, responded with disciplinary actions."
Flashing back to all of last year's coverage of Gilbert's...work...to root out any whiff of heterodox thought in Brigham Young University faculty/staff/prospective hires.
A deliberate signal, drafting this guy to the 15 leaders-for-life of an institution worth over $300 billion (with a B) in 2025.
A deliberate signal, drafting this guy to the 15 leaders-for-life of an institution worth over $300 billion (with a B) in 2025.
BREAKING: Clark C. Gilbert, known for his crackdown on BYU professors, has been elevated to the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve.
LDS Church President Dallin Oaks makes a controversial pick for new apostle: Clark Gilbert
In naming the second new apostle of his four-month LDS Church presidency, Dallin H. Oaks selected Clark Gilbert, the controversial commissioner of church education.
www.sltrib.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Flashing back to all of last year's coverage of Gilbert's...work...to root out any whiff of heterodox thought in Brigham Young University faculty/staff/prospective hires.
A deliberate signal, drafting this guy to the 15 leaders-for-life of an institution worth over $300 billion (with a B) in 2025.
A deliberate signal, drafting this guy to the 15 leaders-for-life of an institution worth over $300 billion (with a B) in 2025.
Applies really well to writing short stories.
Put people in a situation they really care about. See how it plays out. Don't overcook. Take a look at what's best about the story and add some more of that thing. A lot more if you're feeling it.
Not much more to it than that. Easy 7/10 or better.
Put people in a situation they really care about. See how it plays out. Don't overcook. Take a look at what's best about the story and add some more of that thing. A lot more if you're feeling it.
Not much more to it than that. Easy 7/10 or better.
His notes are incredibly useful to everything:
1) You can get 7, 8, or 9 out of 10 by just doing the basics right
2) Keep things simple and don't overdue things that be messed up by fussing with them too much
3) When something is good and important, make sure there's plenty of it or more on tap.
1) You can get 7, 8, or 9 out of 10 by just doing the basics right
2) Keep things simple and don't overdue things that be messed up by fussing with them too much
3) When something is good and important, make sure there's plenty of it or more on tap.
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
February 12, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Applies really well to writing short stories.
Put people in a situation they really care about. See how it plays out. Don't overcook. Take a look at what's best about the story and add some more of that thing. A lot more if you're feeling it.
Not much more to it than that. Easy 7/10 or better.
Put people in a situation they really care about. See how it plays out. Don't overcook. Take a look at what's best about the story and add some more of that thing. A lot more if you're feeling it.
Not much more to it than that. Easy 7/10 or better.
Turns out God is real.
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
February 11, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Turns out God is real.
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
Bit my tongue and survived a public close encounter with the laziest bad-faith PSE policy argument I've seen yet. And I'm from Alberta.
a man is standing in front of a sign that says ' usted leadership for a stronger america '
Alt: Jeb Bush at a political event saying 'please clap.'
media.tenor.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Bit my tongue and survived a public close encounter with the laziest bad-faith PSE policy argument I've seen yet. And I'm from Alberta.
Just changed my desktop background to plain black after years of nice pictures and I can't express how rapidly, tangibly, and unexpectedly it reduced my stress.
February 9, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Just changed my desktop background to plain black after years of nice pictures and I can't express how rapidly, tangibly, and unexpectedly it reduced my stress.
Writers, we must carve out an Arctic passage to Geology.
February 8, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Writers, we must carve out an Arctic passage to Geology.
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
A new poem of mine went live today. wordflowerpoetry.com/2026/02/08/i...
I Am Pretty Sure Those are the Same Cops I Saw Dragging a Disabled Woman Across the Pavement By Her Dislocated Arm A Few Years Ago
Armed cops are basking in orange glory on Truth and Reconciliation Day. Squad cars are looking demure in their festive “Every Child Matters” vinyl wraps, and officers are smiling while I’m whisperi…
wordflowerpoetry.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:17 PM
A new poem of mine went live today. wordflowerpoetry.com/2026/02/08/i...
The clickbait title aside, this piece is an essential primer for what the Canadian immigration looks like toward Americans in this scenario right now. To the point that the next few times I get the question, it'll be on the 'read this first' list alongside certain IRCC pages.
This is something Americans thinking they can escape-hatch into Canada need to read.
We have a HOUSING shortage. We have HEALTHCARE shortage. We •cannot• throw open the doors without causing further strain on our system.
So… we aren’t. Not now, anyhow.
We have a HOUSING shortage. We have HEALTHCARE shortage. We •cannot• throw open the doors without causing further strain on our system.
So… we aren’t. Not now, anyhow.
American Refugees Aren’t Welcome - Macleans.ca
Why Canada won’t be a safe haven for U.S. residents fleeing ICE
macleans.ca
February 7, 2026 at 8:40 PM
The clickbait title aside, this piece is an essential primer for what the Canadian immigration looks like toward Americans in this scenario right now. To the point that the next few times I get the question, it'll be on the 'read this first' list alongside certain IRCC pages.
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
Just read Graham Thomas Wilcox's Feast of Saint Ottmer in @oldmoonquarterly.bsky.social, a stunning piece of fiction!
February 7, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Just read Graham Thomas Wilcox's Feast of Saint Ottmer in @oldmoonquarterly.bsky.social, a stunning piece of fiction!
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
YES. It drives me nuts when people tell me I'm talented, they've discounted all the hard work I did to get to this point. 5% a knack and 95% having no life
This quote I recently read in James Clear's newsletter sums it up: "The real talent is being obsessed with the thing."
This quote I recently read in James Clear's newsletter sums it up: "The real talent is being obsessed with the thing."
February 7, 2026 at 12:54 PM
YES. It drives me nuts when people tell me I'm talented, they've discounted all the hard work I did to get to this point. 5% a knack and 95% having no life
This quote I recently read in James Clear's newsletter sums it up: "The real talent is being obsessed with the thing."
This quote I recently read in James Clear's newsletter sums it up: "The real talent is being obsessed with the thing."
'Negative number of dancers' is such a great line, attached to such a useful principle, that this is going to stick with me for sure.
A very important thing that I've learned from decades in folk dance groups is that if you have a dancer whose behavior makes at least two other dancers uncomfortable enough to leave, then that dancer counts as *a negative number of dancers*, and kicking them out will increase the number of dancers.
February 6, 2026 at 12:46 AM
'Negative number of dancers' is such a great line, attached to such a useful principle, that this is going to stick with me for sure.
Reposted by Jon Olfert 🌾🍁
Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I just finished the line edits on it and if I see it again I'll meltdown like a toddler whose ice cream fell off the cone.
February 5, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I just finished the line edits on it and if I see it again I'll meltdown like a toddler whose ice cream fell off the cone.