RJ Aurand
@rjaurand.bsky.social
Appalachian writer & poet | small press editor | Le Fanu studies | weird horror
Member SFPA & Codex
Words in Inner Worlds, manywor(l)ds, (s)crawl, The Deadlands, Small Wonders, Solstitia, Blanket Gravity
Soon in Tales & Feathers & more!
rjaurand.com
Member SFPA & Codex
Words in Inner Worlds, manywor(l)ds, (s)crawl, The Deadlands, Small Wonders, Solstitia, Blanket Gravity
Soon in Tales & Feathers & more!
rjaurand.com
Pinned
It was a wonderful first year of publishing! I'm proud of everything that was released this year, but I would be especially grateful if you considered my poetry and my recent story in Inner Worlds as you nominate this awards season. Links to every piece in the thread below! 🧵
I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this story and even then it was one of my favorite stories of the year! Featuring a paper fortune teller and a fun mystery to solve.
It's here! Start your new year off with some mayhem with my horror debut: "The (Mis)Fortunes of Saint Ilia's School for Gifted Girls, In No Particular Order"-out now in the Jan 2026 issue of The Dark!
Ready to play?
Ready to play?
The (Mis)Fortunes of Saint Ilia’s School for Gifted Girls, In No Particular Order - The Dark Magazine
On June 17, 2004, six students and two faculty members from Saint Ilia’s School for Gifted Girls were found dead. A not altogether shocking occurrence, as mishaps of the fatal variety often happen whe...
www.thedarkmagazine.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:11 PM
I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this story and even then it was one of my favorite stories of the year! Featuring a paper fortune teller and a fun mystery to solve.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Reposted by RJ Aurand
happy new year horror-lovers!
submissions for the fall 2026 issue of (s)crawl will open on february 1st and close on march 15th.
check back here or on scrawlmag.com on feb 1st for more details!
submissions for the fall 2026 issue of (s)crawl will open on february 1st and close on march 15th.
check back here or on scrawlmag.com on feb 1st for more details!
January 1, 2026 at 6:29 PM
happy new year horror-lovers!
submissions for the fall 2026 issue of (s)crawl will open on february 1st and close on march 15th.
check back here or on scrawlmag.com on feb 1st for more details!
submissions for the fall 2026 issue of (s)crawl will open on february 1st and close on march 15th.
check back here or on scrawlmag.com on feb 1st for more details!
Reposted by RJ Aurand
OTHERSIDE is officially OPEN for fiction and poetry submissions 🪐🗡️
If you’re part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, send us your speculative fiction and poetry: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and everything in between!
📚 Open window: Jan 1-14
📑 See guidelines for details: othersidespec.com/guidelines/
If you’re part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, send us your speculative fiction and poetry: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and everything in between!
📚 Open window: Jan 1-14
📑 See guidelines for details: othersidespec.com/guidelines/
January 1, 2026 at 6:31 PM
OTHERSIDE is officially OPEN for fiction and poetry submissions 🪐🗡️
If you’re part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, send us your speculative fiction and poetry: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and everything in between!
📚 Open window: Jan 1-14
📑 See guidelines for details: othersidespec.com/guidelines/
If you’re part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, send us your speculative fiction and poetry: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and everything in between!
📚 Open window: Jan 1-14
📑 See guidelines for details: othersidespec.com/guidelines/
Reposted by RJ Aurand
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Reposted by RJ Aurand
I am still working hard on learning/improving with watercolors. I like how this one turned out; the flowers got a little messier than I'd have liked, but I still learned a lot. 👍 And I have a good scan of the sketch that I can print on watercolor paper if I ever want to take another crack at it.
January 1, 2026 at 2:56 PM
I am still working hard on learning/improving with watercolors. I like how this one turned out; the flowers got a little messier than I'd have liked, but I still learned a lot. 👍 And I have a good scan of the sketch that I can print on watercolor paper if I ever want to take another crack at it.
Please do one thing for me in 2026: use that nice thing you've been saving for a special occasion. We will not be dying with hoards of untouched notebooks, scented candles, fancy perfumes, nice whiskeys, cute craft supplies, etc etc etc. Use it today. You deserve a little luxury.
January 1, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Please do one thing for me in 2026: use that nice thing you've been saving for a special occasion. We will not be dying with hoards of untouched notebooks, scented candles, fancy perfumes, nice whiskeys, cute craft supplies, etc etc etc. Use it today. You deserve a little luxury.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Submissions are open now for our final issue! The theme for this issue is 'endings'
inner-worlds.ghost.io/submission-g...
inner-worlds.ghost.io/submission-g...
Submission guidelines
Our next issue will be our last one, so we are looking for stories on the theme of endings. We'd like to read about loss, change, grief, relief, hope, and possibility.
What to submit
* Sci...
inner-worlds.ghost.io
January 1, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Submissions are open now for our final issue! The theme for this issue is 'endings'
inner-worlds.ghost.io/submission-g...
inner-worlds.ghost.io/submission-g...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Rhysling Award nominations open in 2 days! If you're looking for work to recommend, my poems "False Beet" and "Skull with Laurel, 1832" are eligible for consideration!
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
It was a wonderful first year of publishing! I'm proud of everything that was released this year, but I would be especially grateful if you considered my poetry and my recent story in Inner Worlds as you nominate this awards season. Links to every piece in the thread below! 🧵
December 30, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Rhysling Award nominations open in 2 days! If you're looking for work to recommend, my poems "False Beet" and "Skull with Laurel, 1832" are eligible for consideration!
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
If you're missing Story Hour over the break, check out the replay of the September 3 episode, where I read my awards-eligible story "One for Sorrow" from Blanket Gravity Issue 1 and Karen Heuler reads her story "The Stray Curse," which cuts to the bone.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cutd...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cutd...
December 30, 2025 at 11:07 PM
If you're missing Story Hour over the break, check out the replay of the September 3 episode, where I read my awards-eligible story "One for Sorrow" from Blanket Gravity Issue 1 and Karen Heuler reads her story "The Stray Curse," which cuts to the bone.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cutd...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cutd...
Rhysling Award nominations open in 2 days! If you're looking for work to recommend, my poems "False Beet" and "Skull with Laurel, 1832" are eligible for consideration!
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
It was a wonderful first year of publishing! I'm proud of everything that was released this year, but I would be especially grateful if you considered my poetry and my recent story in Inner Worlds as you nominate this awards season. Links to every piece in the thread below! 🧵
December 30, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Rhysling Award nominations open in 2 days! If you're looking for work to recommend, my poems "False Beet" and "Skull with Laurel, 1832" are eligible for consideration!
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
smallwondersmag.com/piece/false-...
scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Also, not being precious about where or when you publish is not the same as not caring about your rights or community.
Only, there are more good editors than there are people who have the time and space to make a market pro.
And personally, my best editorial experiences have been semi-pro.
Only, there are more good editors than there are people who have the time and space to make a market pro.
And personally, my best editorial experiences have been semi-pro.
December 23, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Also, not being precious about where or when you publish is not the same as not caring about your rights or community.
Only, there are more good editors than there are people who have the time and space to make a market pro.
And personally, my best editorial experiences have been semi-pro.
Only, there are more good editors than there are people who have the time and space to make a market pro.
And personally, my best editorial experiences have been semi-pro.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Translators, illustrators, researchers and editors all do creative, human work that is important and cannot be reproduced in part or in whole by AI any more than writers. Their interests are our interests. To legitimize the use of AI to replace them is a failure of principle as much as strategy.
December 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Translators, illustrators, researchers and editors all do creative, human work that is important and cannot be reproduced in part or in whole by AI any more than writers. Their interests are our interests. To legitimize the use of AI to replace them is a failure of principle as much as strategy.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
"Silence, in the Doorway, with the Gun" by @nadiaradovich.bsky.social , about what would be different if you could make different choices, and whether having a choice itself is something you can choose-sometimes it is, and sometimes not. www.flashfictiononline.com/article/sile...
Silence, in the Doorway, with the Gun
The titular character of the thirteenth-century Le Roman de Silence is born female, at a time when women cannot inherit. To avoid disinheriting his child, Silence’s father raises him as a son. Pers…
www.flashfictiononline.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
"Silence, in the Doorway, with the Gun" by @nadiaradovich.bsky.social , about what would be different if you could make different choices, and whether having a choice itself is something you can choose-sometimes it is, and sometimes not. www.flashfictiononline.com/article/sile...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
"If You Can't Make Your Own, Store-Bought Is Fine" by @rjaurand.bsky.social, about processing emotions that the people you feel them towards might not deserve. inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine by RJ Aurand
The thing about regret was that it curdled. It couldn’t stand up to the harsh salts of traditional methods of preservation.
inner-worlds.ghost.io
December 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
"If You Can't Make Your Own, Store-Bought Is Fine" by @rjaurand.bsky.social, about processing emotions that the people you feel them towards might not deserve. inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
There's a subgenre of medieval lit that features god turning women into men. The result is incredible passages like this from the 14th century: "Jesus, who made the world, now asks you which you prefer – speak honestly: to remain a woman, as he created you, or to become a man? The choice is yours".
December 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
There's a subgenre of medieval lit that features god turning women into men. The result is incredible passages like this from the 14th century: "Jesus, who made the world, now asks you which you prefer – speak honestly: to remain a woman, as he created you, or to become a man? The choice is yours".
Reposted by RJ Aurand
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☀️ T H E S UN 🕯️
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R E T U R N I N G
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December 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
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Reposted by RJ Aurand
One of the things that gets me about this whole "replace people in publishing with AI" thing is that people in publishing (translators / editors / copy editors / authors / etc) are among the worst fucking paid people out there.
December 19, 2025 at 7:22 PM
One of the things that gets me about this whole "replace people in publishing with AI" thing is that people in publishing (translators / editors / copy editors / authors / etc) are among the worst fucking paid people out there.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Fresh water fishes 🐟
December 21, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Fresh water fishes 🐟
Reposted by RJ Aurand
"What do you do when you’re expected to honor the memory of someone who didn’t care for you the way you deserved?"
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
December 19, 2025 at 5:07 PM
"What do you do when you’re expected to honor the memory of someone who didn’t care for you the way you deserved?"
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
"What do you do when you’re expected to honor the memory of someone who didn’t care for you the way you deserved?"
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
December 19, 2025 at 5:07 PM
"What do you do when you’re expected to honor the memory of someone who didn’t care for you the way you deserved?"
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
You can read my Reactor-recommended (!!!!) story, "If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" in @innerworlds.bsky.social issue 9!
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-9-if-y...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Fabulous picks, including 'If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine' by @rjaurand.bsky.social from our latest issue!
It's my last short speculative fiction spotlight column of 2025 (my Dec picks will come out in Jan). I have 10 stories to tide you through the long, dark nights and short, cold days. reactormag.com/must-read-sh...
Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: November 2025 - Reactor
Add some of the best new short fiction stories to your end of year reading lists!
reactormag.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Fabulous picks, including 'If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine' by @rjaurand.bsky.social from our latest issue!
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Interview live on the (s)crawl blog as well! I really enjoyed answering these questions. If you've ever wanted to pick the goth side of my brain, this is your chance!
And if you haven't read "Skull with Laurel, 1832" it's a perfect little poem for these cold dark days. scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
And if you haven't read "Skull with Laurel, 1832" it's a perfect little poem for these cold dark days. scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
December 2, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Interview live on the (s)crawl blog as well! I really enjoyed answering these questions. If you've ever wanted to pick the goth side of my brain, this is your chance!
And if you haven't read "Skull with Laurel, 1832" it's a perfect little poem for these cold dark days. scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
And if you haven't read "Skull with Laurel, 1832" it's a perfect little poem for these cold dark days. scrawlmag.com/issues/issue...
Devastated that Inner Worlds is closing. Sarah's published such wonderful work. Thank you for all the incredible stories, and for giving mine a home!
I have some sad news to share, folks 😔
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-10-wil...
inner-worlds.ghost.io/issue-10-wil...
Issue 10 will be our last issue
I'm sad to say that after our next issue Inner Worlds will be on indefinite hiatus 😔
When I started the zine I made myself a promise that if it harmed my health in any way, I would stop. That hasn't ...
inner-worlds.ghost.io
December 19, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Devastated that Inner Worlds is closing. Sarah's published such wonderful work. Thank you for all the incredible stories, and for giving mine a home!