Richard Leis
@richardleis.com
Poet. Writer. Martian. (he/him)
richardleis.com
uahirise.org
My latest poem "Los Fantasmas en Su Boca" arrives December 16 in "Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane." Pre-orders available now.
richardleis.com
uahirise.org
My latest poem "Los Fantasmas en Su Boca" arrives December 16 in "Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane." Pre-orders available now.
Pinned
Richard Leis
@richardleis.com
· 24d
"Los Fantasmas en Su Boca," a poem about my great-grandmother protecting me from ghosts, arrives December 16 in "Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane" from @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social. Edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds, the anthology can be pre-ordered now.
Reposted by Richard Leis
This was one of the most interesting New Yorker articles of the year...
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rT56lu
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rT56lu
Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound
Research has linked the ability to visualize to a bewildering variety of human traits—how we experience trauma, hold grudges, and, above all, remember our lives.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
December 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
This was one of the most interesting New Yorker articles of the year...
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rT56lu
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rT56lu
Reposted by Richard Leis
LPL grad student Kayla Smith and I submitted our first paper together today on brown dwarf habitable zones. The literature on this topic is surprisingly thin and no one has really done it right yet. We move the ball forward and look forward to sharing more in the future.
December 29, 2025 at 11:11 PM
LPL grad student Kayla Smith and I submitted our first paper together today on brown dwarf habitable zones. The literature on this topic is surprisingly thin and no one has really done it right yet. We move the ball forward and look forward to sharing more in the future.
Reposted by Richard Leis
Any writer who thinks their cover is "nonessential" is in for a very rude awakening when they try to sell their book to readers. At point of sale, I would argue the cover is the most essential element, next to a great blurb/description.
Writers who advocate using genAI for covers and "nonessential" tasks are fuckin' traitors and not to be listened to.
December 28, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Any writer who thinks their cover is "nonessential" is in for a very rude awakening when they try to sell their book to readers. At point of sale, I would argue the cover is the most essential element, next to a great blurb/description.
Reposted by Richard Leis
Apparently I'm doing this -- my open letter to that open latter about AI in writing and publishing. I emerged from Hibernation Week to write it, so god only knows how much sense it makes. But at least a human wrote it, so that's nice.
Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.
Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.
My Open Letter To That Open Letter About AI In Writing And Publishing
The tl;dr before you get into this post is this: the SFWA came out, said that some AI usage was okay enough in books for the authors of those books to not to be disqualified from winning a Nebula a…
terribleminds.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Apparently I'm doing this -- my open letter to that open latter about AI in writing and publishing. I emerged from Hibernation Week to write it, so god only knows how much sense it makes. But at least a human wrote it, so that's nice.
Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.
Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.
Reposted by Richard Leis
#poetry. My poem "To Skeptics," first published in F&SF in 2019, has been reprinted in Solstitia :-)
For the curious
- written 12/2017
- accepted by F&SF in 3/2019, published there in 7/2019
- nominated for the Rhysling Award
- accepted by Solstitia in 12/2025
- has both dragons and cats!
🐉🐈✏️
For the curious
- written 12/2017
- accepted by F&SF in 3/2019, published there in 7/2019
- nominated for the Rhysling Award
- accepted by Solstitia in 12/2025
- has both dragons and cats!
🐉🐈✏️
December 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
#poetry. My poem "To Skeptics," first published in F&SF in 2019, has been reprinted in Solstitia :-)
For the curious
- written 12/2017
- accepted by F&SF in 3/2019, published there in 7/2019
- nominated for the Rhysling Award
- accepted by Solstitia in 12/2025
- has both dragons and cats!
🐉🐈✏️
For the curious
- written 12/2017
- accepted by F&SF in 3/2019, published there in 7/2019
- nominated for the Rhysling Award
- accepted by Solstitia in 12/2025
- has both dragons and cats!
🐉🐈✏️
Reposted by Richard Leis
Tonight's story comes to us from Mala Jay Suess about the "can't lose" opportunities friends and family may share with you this holiday season...
#Yule2025 #KingInYellow
#Yule2025 #KingInYellow
Yule 2025: "Yell-O" by Mala Jay Suess
Heed this cautionary tale from Mala Jay Seuss about "can't lose" opportunities you may be presented with over the holiday season.
weirdfictionquarterly.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Tonight's story comes to us from Mala Jay Suess about the "can't lose" opportunities friends and family may share with you this holiday season...
#Yule2025 #KingInYellow
#Yule2025 #KingInYellow
Reposted by Richard Leis
Two more new songs
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/3uqCLz...
Apple:
music.apple.com/us/album/pop...
Amazon:
music.amazon.com/albums/B0GB2...
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/3uqCLz...
Apple:
music.apple.com/us/album/pop...
Amazon:
music.amazon.com/albums/B0GB2...
December 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Two more new songs
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/3uqCLz...
Apple:
music.apple.com/us/album/pop...
Amazon:
music.amazon.com/albums/B0GB2...
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/3uqCLz...
Apple:
music.apple.com/us/album/pop...
Amazon:
music.amazon.com/albums/B0GB2...
Reposted by Richard Leis
Thanks to @sfwa.org for being so responsive to concerns around the Nebula Awards and LLM use. The Nebula should honor human creativity, as the revised rules now state. However, we also don't want to see writers tripped up on eligibility or hit by witch hunts over minor LLM usage like spell check. 1/
Thoughts on the Nebula Awards, LLM usage, and where we draw the line | Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine
Get more from Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Thanks to @sfwa.org for being so responsive to concerns around the Nebula Awards and LLM use. The Nebula should honor human creativity, as the revised rules now state. However, we also don't want to see writers tripped up on eligibility or hit by witch hunts over minor LLM usage like spell check. 1/
Reposted by Richard Leis
HiPOD: Banded Terrain in Hellas Planitia
This image shows a portion of an enigmatic formation called banded terrain, which is only observed in the northwest of the Hellas basin. This basin was formed by a giant impact around 4 billion years ago.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_068559_1405
This image shows a portion of an enigmatic formation called banded terrain, which is only observed in the northwest of the Hellas basin. This basin was formed by a giant impact around 4 billion years ago.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_068559_1405
December 20, 2025 at 3:01 PM
HiPOD: Banded Terrain in Hellas Planitia
This image shows a portion of an enigmatic formation called banded terrain, which is only observed in the northwest of the Hellas basin. This basin was formed by a giant impact around 4 billion years ago.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_068559_1405
This image shows a portion of an enigmatic formation called banded terrain, which is only observed in the northwest of the Hellas basin. This basin was formed by a giant impact around 4 billion years ago.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_068559_1405
Reposted by Richard Leis
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
Reposted by Richard Leis
2/2 Nor, when it comes to writing awards, will I nominate or vote to award, a piece of work partially or wholly written by LLM. Awards are for writers who make the effort, not those who offload the difficult aspects of creation to a program mining the work of others. Do the fucking work, people.
December 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
2/2 Nor, when it comes to writing awards, will I nominate or vote to award, a piece of work partially or wholly written by LLM. Awards are for writers who make the effort, not those who offload the difficult aspects of creation to a program mining the work of others. Do the fucking work, people.
Reposted by Richard Leis
1/2 Apropos of nothing in particular, I guarantee I will never write a piece of fiction with the "help" of a large language model because a) I spent too many years developing skills to just fuck off now, b) I don't plagiarize other authors, whether intentionally or by way of statistical matches.
December 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
1/2 Apropos of nothing in particular, I guarantee I will never write a piece of fiction with the "help" of a large language model because a) I spent too many years developing skills to just fuck off now, b) I don't plagiarize other authors, whether intentionally or by way of statistical matches.
Reposted by Richard Leis
Francine Rubin's poem "Gravity" is a beautiful meditation on how you might prepare to leave Earth.
Gravity - Small Wonders
When you need to feel roots grasping / Earth, when you must traverse muddy terrain / to feel fear leave your body, / think of sailors in their little boats
smallwondersmag.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Francine Rubin's poem "Gravity" is a beautiful meditation on how you might prepare to leave Earth.
Reposted by Richard Leis
Give the gift of adventure with award-winning author @pedroiniguez.bsky.social's Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories, a cross-genre collection. Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Learn more: www.starsandsabers.com/books/echoes...
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
December 19, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Give the gift of adventure with award-winning author @pedroiniguez.bsky.social's Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories, a cross-genre collection. Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Learn more: www.starsandsabers.com/books/echoes...
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
Reposted by Richard Leis
My latest collection includes military SF, Lovecraftian Cyberpunk, fantasy, magic realism, sword-and-planet adventure stories, and more!
Give the gift of adventure with award-winning author @pedroiniguez.bsky.social's Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories, a cross-genre collection. Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Learn more: www.starsandsabers.com/books/echoes...
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
#books #fantasy #scifi #SFF #givebooks #giftideas
December 19, 2025 at 3:44 AM
My latest collection includes military SF, Lovecraftian Cyberpunk, fantasy, magic realism, sword-and-planet adventure stories, and more!
Reposted by Richard Leis
When everyone else is chasing AI as the "new thing", Firefox's "new thing" could be providing a browser to render HTML on the Internet instead of chasing the crowd.
Let Firefox remain what it IS, instead of wishing that it was something else. I'm on Firefox PRECISELY because I want a 2019-era app.
Let Firefox remain what it IS, instead of wishing that it was something else. I'm on Firefox PRECISELY because I want a 2019-era app.
At this point the only browsers are functionally Chrome and Safari. It kind of makes sense that other browsers would try new things to survive and pursue their vision of the internet
December 18, 2025 at 6:03 AM
When everyone else is chasing AI as the "new thing", Firefox's "new thing" could be providing a browser to render HTML on the Internet instead of chasing the crowd.
Let Firefox remain what it IS, instead of wishing that it was something else. I'm on Firefox PRECISELY because I want a 2019-era app.
Let Firefox remain what it IS, instead of wishing that it was something else. I'm on Firefox PRECISELY because I want a 2019-era app.
Reposted by Richard Leis
Forgive me for tooting my own horn, but this is kind of a big deal for me.
This is the first Author Proof I have ever received for a work of original fiction.
This story will appear in the upcoming issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly. I'll let all y'all know when you can get a copy.
This is the first Author Proof I have ever received for a work of original fiction.
This story will appear in the upcoming issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly. I'll let all y'all know when you can get a copy.
December 15, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Forgive me for tooting my own horn, but this is kind of a big deal for me.
This is the first Author Proof I have ever received for a work of original fiction.
This story will appear in the upcoming issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly. I'll let all y'all know when you can get a copy.
This is the first Author Proof I have ever received for a work of original fiction.
This story will appear in the upcoming issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly. I'll let all y'all know when you can get a copy.
Reposted by Richard Leis
New book launch alert over on my blog, with links to where to buy Poisoned Soup! diebooth.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/p...
@brigidsgatepress.bsky.social #booksky #horrorsky #horrorbooks #nostalgichorror
@brigidsgatepress.bsky.social #booksky #horrorsky #horrorbooks #nostalgichorror
December 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
New book launch alert over on my blog, with links to where to buy Poisoned Soup! diebooth.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/p...
@brigidsgatepress.bsky.social #booksky #horrorsky #horrorbooks #nostalgichorror
@brigidsgatepress.bsky.social #booksky #horrorsky #horrorbooks #nostalgichorror
Reposted by Richard Leis
More new music streaming at the big three now. Hopefully streaming at other services too.
music.amazon.com/artists/B0G5...
music.apple.com/us/artist/sc...
open.spotify.com/album/0d1Ic6...
music.amazon.com/artists/B0G5...
music.apple.com/us/artist/sc...
open.spotify.com/album/0d1Ic6...
December 16, 2025 at 1:43 PM
More new music streaming at the big three now. Hopefully streaming at other services too.
music.amazon.com/artists/B0G5...
music.apple.com/us/artist/sc...
open.spotify.com/album/0d1Ic6...
music.amazon.com/artists/B0G5...
music.apple.com/us/artist/sc...
open.spotify.com/album/0d1Ic6...
Reposted by Richard Leis
Fabulous review of Poisoned Soup! "From cover to cover, the anthology feels like a chance to reconvene with long-lost friends for one last set of ghost stories, told around a bonfire of fading memories."
You can preorder here: doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781963...
#booksky #horrorsky #horror
You can preorder here: doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781963...
#booksky #horrorsky #horror
Look Out For ... Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane, edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds, releasing this month!
Look Out For … Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane; edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds
“This anthology of stories, poems and essays has a little something for everyone, and will definitely send a shiver down your spine.” Sprinkle a little bit of the macabre … Add a …
www.thisishorror.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Fabulous review of Poisoned Soup! "From cover to cover, the anthology feels like a chance to reconvene with long-lost friends for one last set of ghost stories, told around a bonfire of fading memories."
You can preorder here: doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781963...
#booksky #horrorsky #horror
You can preorder here: doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781963...
#booksky #horrorsky #horror
Reposted by Richard Leis
Happy release day to Poisoned Soup! I’m so grateful to be included with my first ever creative non-fic piece. I hope it gives everyone the feels🖤
Soup’s on. Happy release day to Wendy and Grace and all the authors who came to the table.
December 16, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Happy release day to Poisoned Soup! I’m so grateful to be included with my first ever creative non-fic piece. I hope it gives everyone the feels🖤
Reposted by Richard Leis
Soup’s on. Happy release day to Wendy and Grace and all the authors who came to the table.
December 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Soup’s on. Happy release day to Wendy and Grace and all the authors who came to the table.
I posted more details on my website about my new poem "Los Fantasmas en Su Boca" and where to buy Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane (Brigids Gate Press.)
“Los Fantasmas en Su Boca”
"Los Fantasmas en Su Boca" poem by Richard Leis. In Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane (Brigids Gate Press.) My great-grandmother, ghosts, gratefulness, and grief.
richardleis.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I posted more details on my website about my new poem "Los Fantasmas en Su Boca" and where to buy Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane (Brigids Gate Press.)
Paperback available today for purchase or order wherever books are sold!
"Los Fantasmas en Su Boca," a poem about my great-grandmother protecting me from ghosts, arrives December 16 in "Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane" from @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social. Edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds, the anthology can be pre-ordered now.
December 16, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Paperback available today for purchase or order wherever books are sold!
Reposted by Richard Leis
Do you think Steven Spielberg was pissed about all the clicky talking in Alien: Earth?
December 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Do you think Steven Spielberg was pissed about all the clicky talking in Alien: Earth?