Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
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laurenwrites.bsky.social
Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
@laurenwrites.bsky.social
3.5K followers 1.8K following 3K posts
📝Writer, editor, proofreader, coach & mentor
👻Writes the dark stuff
😈TWF EIC @ Horror Tree
📣Online content ed @ British Fantasy Society
🤘Founder, Society of Ink Slingers
🔮Curator, Writing the Occult
👩‍💻Day job: Content marketing & community management
🇦🇺in🇬🇧
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laurenwrites.bsky.social
Lauren (LJ) McMenemy @laurenwrites.bsky.social · Mar 6
Songs that Spotify has chucked on that I'd forgotten were awesome tunes: a somewhat regular thread.
a man is holding a boombox above his head in front of a car .
Alt: a man is holding a boombox above his head in front of a car .
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
It's the first of a new month, which means a new expert is ready to field your questions! And given its February, we've asked the Dark Queen of Our Hearts, @pslivingstone.bsky.social, to answer your queries about romance in SFFH. 🧵⬇️
A text-heavy graphic features the bio for writer PS Livingstone. She is pictured in the centre; she's a white woman with long curled hair, and is wearing an off-the-shoulder dress. Bubbles float around her head.
February 1, 2026 at 2:06 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
News from TWF Towers at @horrortree.com: I've officially stepped down as editor.

Fear not, dear reader, for I leave you in safe hands: Jane Morecroft & @angela-e-zolner.bsky.social are now in charge. Please send them your best dark SFFH; they'll be waiting in the shadows...
February 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
juliebozza.bsky.social
Submissions are open for my anthology, "Passing Strange: Queer Weird Arthurian Tales"!

We want stories that include: an LGBTQ+ main character; a spec fic element; and an Arthurian element. Artworks or illustrations of stories also welcome!

Check out the details:
juliebozza.com/submissions-...
Call for Submissions banner
February 1, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
meanlouise.bsky.social
Please feel free to share this with colleagues who might be interested. I’d love to do it as a roundtable but it’s possible the organizers prefer individual paper proposals so I’ll get that sorted ASAP. I’ve only presented virtually at AnnRadCon & missed it last year.
meanlouise.bsky.social Rebecca Stone Gordon @meanlouise.bsky.social · 1d
If you’re planning to attend StokerCon 2026 in Pittsburgh & are interested in participating in an Ann Radcliffe Con panel on monstrosity, horror, & disability, please message me. Proposal is in early stages.
January 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
wnwagner.bsky.social
One day left to submit your work to Nightmare Magazine! We close at 11 pm tomorrow night.
As ever, we're looking for short stories under 7500 words, flash stories 0-1500 words long, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
January 31, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
tcparker.bsky.social
The Nine O'Clock Horses: still free today, if you get in there quick! ⬇️
tcparker.bsky.social TC Parker/Dr Nat Edwards (she/her) @tcparker.bsky.social · 2d
Completely forgot it was the US General Strike today

Want to read some short horror fic but don't want to buy anything?

We just made THE NINE O'CLOCK HORSES ebook free to download today and tomorrow at the digital Batcave

Have at it! (And solidarity, striking friends ✊)
The Nine O'Clock Horses & Other Stories
Urban legend, body horror and suburban paranoia collide in THE NINE O’CLOCK HORSES - a collection of short stories, novelettes and micro-fictions from the author of TRADWIFE, HUMMINGBIRD and SALTBLOOD...
payhip.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:31 AM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
And there you have it: the full line-up in all its gothic glory.

Get your tickets and more details about Writing the Occult: Love & Death, happening online on 14 February. Early bird ticket prices still available this week, making it just £35+bf!

Tickets and details: writingtheoccult.carrd.co
January 31, 2026 at 5:29 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
And yes: last but not least, I myself will step out of the host chair and into the presenter chair for a Writing the Occult: Love & Death session looking at all those horror urban legends that involve lovers.

Join us on Lurve day to talk about death! Tickets and details: writingtheoccult.carrd.co
A text-heavy graphic features a bio for writer Lauren McMenemy, who is pictured at right: she is a white woman with longish dark purple hair, wearing a tarot-inspired jumpsuit and dark glasses.
January 31, 2026 at 5:14 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
You can't discuss the Brontes without a Yorkshire writer - it's the law - and so of course we've asked @corinnepwriter.bsky.social to join our Wuthering Heights panel. Emily is Corinne's favourite Bronte, which is no surprise given she's partial to creating the spooky stuff herself.

⬇️🧵
January 31, 2026 at 5:01 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Also joining us to reflect on Emily Bronte's classic, Wuthering Heights, is @justinleeanderson.com, whose own works span the gamut of humour, epic fantasy, politics, animation, and TV & film scripts. Meet Justin in the thread below, or head straight to writingtheoccult.carrd.co to get details & tix!
A text-heavy graphic features a short bio for the writer Justin Lee Anderson. He is pictured at right: a man with shoulder-length curly hair, wearing glasses and a burgundy leather jacket, and standing in front of old stonework.
January 31, 2026 at 4:57 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
More love & death? Joining us to dissect Wuthering Heights is an Irish writer who says it's NOT romantic - and she'd know, since, as Jessica Thorne, she writes gothic romances!

Meet @rflong.bsky.social in the thread below, or get your tix and full details via writingtheoccult.carrd.co

🧵⬇️
January 31, 2026 at 4:40 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
I've been hard at work behind the scenes confirming the final few bits of Writing the Occult: Love & Death for your gothic delights. (Turns out a lot of people have plans on Valentine's Day - who'd have thunk it?!)

But here we go: the last few pieces of the love & death puzzle are incoming 🧵⬇️
January 31, 2026 at 4:25 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
NOOOOOOOOO!
January 30, 2026 at 6:39 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
*Runs off to find Breaking Infinity on a local streamer...*
britfantasysoc.bsky.social British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 2d
Every Friday, we meet a BFS member & peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). This week we're going all Hollywood: we meet actor Zoe Cunningham, whose last feature, Breaking Infinity, is available now on all good platforms.

britishfantasysociety.org/meet-zoe-cun...
On a black background with flourishes of red dots and lines is the text: Meet the BFS members! Zoe Cunningham. Zoe is pictured in the centre: she is a middle-aged white woman with long greying dark hair. She is smiling widely at the camera and is wearing a bright blue jumper with a red and pink butterfly on it.
January 30, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
forteanlondon.bsky.social
Events at The Bell in 2026
Feb - April

Feb 24 – Stevyn Colgan – A Policeman’s Progress from Law to Lore
Mar 31 – Dr Kate Cherrell – Celebrity Séances
Apr 28 – David Southwell – The Fortean and Folklore Origins of Hookland

Web: forteanlondon.blogspot.com or newsletter: eepurl.com/hV9OAr
January 29, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
hookland.bsky.social
If you have ever wanted to hear me talk about the role of Forteana and folklore within Hookland in an East End pub …. April is your lucky month.
forteanlondon.bsky.social London Fortean Society @forteanlondon.bsky.social · 2d
Events at The Bell in 2026
Feb - April

Feb 24 – Stevyn Colgan – A Policeman’s Progress from Law to Lore
Mar 31 – Dr Kate Cherrell – Celebrity Séances
Apr 28 – David Southwell – The Fortean and Folklore Origins of Hookland

Web: forteanlondon.blogspot.com or newsletter: eepurl.com/hV9OAr
January 30, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
xkcd.com
Early Arthropods

xkcd.com/3199/
3-panel comic. (1) [Three small arthropods on ocean floor.] ARTHROPOD 1: Now that we’re multicellular, what are your plans? I’m gonna evolve little legs and swim around with them! ARTHROPOD 2: I’m gonna evolve sharp pincers and use them to crunch stuff! ARTHROPOD 3: I’m gonna evolve glands to make string from my butt and use it to construct elaborate geometric nets hundreds of times my size to catch other animals. (2) [Silence] (3) ARTHROPOD 1: *Dude.* ARTHROPOD 2: Can you *please* just be normal about this? ARTHROPOD 3: *What??!*
January 28, 2026 at 7:57 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
So, I know we're all in fight mode by necessity, but I'm putting on another Writing the Occult on Valentine's Day and it turns out lots of people have plans on that day for some reason?! So I have a couple of spots to fill if anyone wants to hide from the world and come talk about love & death...
January 28, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
For this month's ask an expert column, we asked the multi-talented @alasdairstuart.com to field your questions about tabletop gaming and working with existing intellectual properties. This one is a mega edition, so strap yourselves in...

britishfantasysociety.org/ask-an-exper...
A text-heavy graphic features the bio of Alasdair Stuart, who is also pictured in the centre in a small inset: he's a middle-aged white man with close-cropped hair, wearing a purple t-shirt and wire-rimmed glasses.
January 28, 2026 at 2:45 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
@rickandwrite.bsky.social has more OPINIONS.
britfantasysoc.bsky.social British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 5d
Why do apology scenes in SFF suck so much? @rickandwrite.bsky.social has a few ideas—and a few examples of the writers who actually did it well.

britishfantasysociety.org/sorry-not-so...
The background image shows a close-up of paper in a typewriter. The keys have typed out I'M SORRY.
January 27, 2026 at 3:06 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Yup
“Why don’t you have children?” asks the text. There are 6 images of evil kids from classic horror films.
January 26, 2026 at 4:39 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Hiding from the world by hitting the library and keeping my head in books about the Victorian occult.
January 26, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com
Fuck ICE, fuck Reform, and fuck anyone who actually wants this.
ayoub.bsky.social elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 6d
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.

It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
The Legislation Upon winning a general election, a Reform government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage will: 1) Leave the ECHR 2.) Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. 3.) Pass The Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill: This Bill will: Create a legal duty to remove illegal migrants for the Home Secretary The Bill opens with a blunt obligation for the Home Secretary: "The Secretary of State shall ensure the removal from the United Kingdom of each person who does not have extant leave to remain and is not an Irish citizen or otherwise protected by regulations made under this Act." The following parts of the legislation are introduced on an emergency basis, with an in-built sunset clause after 5 years: Disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention (ECAT) Derogation is justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state of necessity: Britain faces a national emergency in which uncontrolled illegal migration undermines public order. These treaties will otherwise be used by activist judges to frustrate deportations, even after the repeals of the HRA and ECHR. Create Detention Power Without Hardial Singh Constraints This means illegal migrants can be detained until they are deported. Activist lawyers routinely use Hardial Singh to secure their client's bail, after which the client absconds. If you came to the UK illegally, you are ineligible for asylum. End of story All asylum claims will become inadmissible if made by a person within the Act's scope. If you came to the country illegally, you are ineligible for asylum in the UK. This strips the Home Office, the immigration tribunals and the higher courts of jurisdiction to even consider claims. A claim that cannot be considered cannot suspend removal and therefore, cannot delay a flight. Re-entering after deportation and destroying ID becomes a serious criminal offence Re-entry after deportation will be… The Operational Plan We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will power bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power addresses a failure mode observed over the past decade - for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property. Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000 Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes. This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month. Initial Voluntary Return Window A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids. Illegal migrants will be offered a financial incentive to self-deport. An app will be launched to facilitate this. The Deportation Flights The Home Office will scale up charters to 5 flights per day. To guard against last-minute aircraft unserviceability, the RAF will keep one Voyager aircraft on six-hour 'hot-spare' readiness. If a commercial charter breaks down, detainees can still be flown out that night, preserving operational integrity. The legal reset will mean activist lawyers will no longer be able preven…
January 26, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
claymcleod.bsky.social
To borrow a phrase from guest Bethany C. Morrow, “As long as the horrors persist, Horror must persist.” Today, at 1:30 PM/ET, join Morrow (THE BODY) and Gemma Amor (ITCH!) on Fearmongers. Monday, 1/26 @ 1:30 PM/ET. Register here: bit.ly/4jwqbeV @manylittlewords.bsky.social @bethanycmorrow.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:14 PM
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Where's @matthewspalmer.bsky.social spending most of his time these days? His new interview may give a clue...
britfantasysoc.bsky.social British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 7d
Cheshire-based @matthewspalmer.bsky.social was rather excited when a new fantasy-focused bookshop opened in a nearby village. Just before Christmas, he met with the owner, Abby Munro, and spoke about the journey to opening Paper+Word.

britishfantasysociety.org/how-to-make-...
A photo of the book shelves at Paper+Word, full of romantasy novels by the likes of Sarah J Maas. Superimposed over this is the text: Living the Dream - Opening a Fantasy-Focused Bookshop.
January 25, 2026 at 4:17 PM