SJ Groenewegen
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sjgroenewegen.co.uk
SJ Groenewegen
@sjgroenewegen.co.uk
SFF author, trans-inclusive feminist, gay, non-binary, autistic. BEM.
Website: https://www.sjgroenewegen.co.uk - includes links to all my publications.
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/sjgroenewegen - new posts every Wednesday on politics and/or writing.
Pinned
We are in a bad place but people are resisting. I wrote about how that's happening, & why we must keep going: ko-fi.com/post/Its-Bee...

Related reminder: UK Government consultation on immigration is ending on 12 Feb: ko-fi.com/post/How-to-... Link's in the article; please complete it if you can.
Reposted by SJ Groenewegen
On to the stretch goals!

Now the future of the project is secure we can start pushing to the extras that make everything even shinier!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...
February 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM
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February 3, 2026 at 11:22 AM
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🕝 #HouseOfLords from 2.30pm includes:

🟥 two-child benefit cap for foreign-born children
🟥 child poverty
🟥 AI superintelligence
🟥 Shamima Begum
🟥 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
🟥 Pensions Schemes Bill

➡️ See full schedule https://orlo.uk/G50rs
February 3, 2026 at 10:15 AM
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I'm so delighted to be joining the Luna Novella Series! Make sure to also check out @aknighton.bsky.social's SF novella out today too! www.lunapresspublishing.com/product-page...
Luna Novella 2026 (24,25) Bundle | Luna Press Publishing
Release date 3 February 2026Luna Novella 24, 25 discounted bundleOr you can buy them individually.Ebooks available in all the usual places. All That Is in the Earth (#24) Andrew Knighton When Clifford...
www.lunapresspublishing.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:23 AM
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It's publication day for In This City, Where it Rains out now from @lunapress.bsky.social! This is my Scottish gothic love letter to Edinburgh, a weird tale of ghosts, curses, family secrets, weird moths, & dark rituals 🖤 All links: linktr.ee/lyndseycroal Bonus Q: how many ghosts can you see here? 👀
February 3, 2026 at 10:23 AM
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🔎 Calling all crime and thriller writers!⁠ 🔎 Join us on 21st February at the Granite Noir festival! This year, we’re hosting an exciting panel exploring: Who has the right to seek revenge or express rage, and why? Find out more: scottishbpocwritersnetwork.org/sbwn-at-gran...
SBWN at Granite Noir 2026
SBWN is excited to be hosting an event as part of Granite Noir crime writing festival.
scottishbpocwritersnetwork.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:36 AM
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We're thrilled to announce the panel of authors who will select the recipient of the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:

Nicola Griffith
Mat Johnson
Fonda Lee
Darcie Little Badger
Peter Rock

Anyone can nominate work for this $25,000 prize; nominations will be open March 1st through 31st.
February 2, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by SJ Groenewegen
This place is getting much worse for alt-text recently! Include it for your own images and don't repost images that don't have it (except to add alt text yourself if you feel it's important to share it anyway).
February 2, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Alt-text for the image in the quoted post: CITY DROP
17TH - 18TH OCTOBER 2026

15% OFF ALL ENTRY TICKETS

15% SALE NOW ON

EXTENDED UNTIL 2ND FEB
WWW.CONFUZEDEVENTS.COM

#MotherlandFortSalem
We have extended our sale on entry tickets for 1 final day!

You now have until midnight tonight (pst) to grab your ticket at a 15% discount!

confuzedevents1.ticketspice.com/city-drop-mo...

#switches #talder #motherlandfortsalem
February 2, 2026 at 4:18 PM
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The Cymera Prize for Speculative Short Fiction is open to any writer living in Scotland or Scottish by birth or inclination, aged at least 14 years.

Submissions are open from Monday 12th January 2026 until 8pm BST on Sunday 22nd March 2026.

www.cymerafestival.co.uk/2026-prize
2026 Prize — CYMERA
www.cymerafestival.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 2:10 PM
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Trans in the Machine: Chronicling the new Cyberpunk Canon is now live!

The crowdfund runs all month.

Accessible pricing and a portion of funds go to good causes.

Let’s make this happen together!

🔗 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
February 2, 2026 at 7:20 AM
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There are only 4 spots left on the Milford Writer's Retreat, 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. Includes an en suite room, breakfast & dinner, & access to a SILENT library where you can write to your heart's content! More info here:
www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
February 2, 2026 at 10:47 AM
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The @kickstarter.com has launched!

For fans of Scotland, dark fantasy, folklore and mythology, haunted swords, talking cats, old cats, audiobooks, and indie productions.

Open to pledges big and small.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...
Call of the Black Wing - An Audiobook
Bringing the tale of Fiadh and her quest for revenge though Scottish folklore and mythology to your ears
www.kickstarter.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:50 AM
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Oh hey, is there a new Morag and Seamus story out?

There is!

Check out a cozy post-apocalyptic take on the legend of Tam Lin here:

clarkesworldmagazine.com/moore_02_26/
The Iron Piper by Fiona Moore
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Take heed of this if you're visiting the UK and want to hire a car...
I wrote last week about the ABYSMAL experience I had hiring a car through SIXT in a lengthy review.

SIXT got back to me, and I do believe in the right of reply, so I’ve updated the article with their reply (and my response to same)
#SIXT #EV #Rental #CarHire

alexreviewstech.com/sixt-ev-hire...
SIXT EV Hire UK Review: DO NOT HIRE - Alex Reviews Tech
Why you should NEVER hire an EV (or any other car) from SIXT UK -- plus bonus tourist UK EV charging tips for your next holiday!
alexreviewstech.com
February 1, 2026 at 10:18 PM
@tanaudel.bsky.social congratulations for those shortlistings!
February 1, 2026 at 9:40 PM
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They haven't posted yet, but the bluesky account for SMOFcon 43 -- a convention for convention runners to think and talk about how to run better conventions -- is now live. Follow

@smofcon43.bsky.social - this year will be in Lisbon 4-6 December www.smofconlisbon.org
SMOFcon 43
SMOFcon 43 - A convention for people who run science fiction, fantasy, and horror conventions. December 4-6, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal.
www.smofconlisbon.org
January 31, 2026 at 6:28 PM
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Our first newsletter just went out. As well as news about PictCon the newsletters will offer a round up of sf groups and events in Scotland. Please do sign up! PictCon.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:41 PM
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Please read this thread.
I qualify.

I'm obviously not going to go work for Grok, but boy, I certainly would like one of the writing jobs that everybody in the comments is being so sarcastic about making more than that, bc I tell you what, I sure as fuck am not making more than that and you guys KNOW how much I write.
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
January 31, 2026 at 9:11 AM
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Here's a free article about metaphor, from a linguistic point of view. It shows how metaphors work and the many things they can illuminate.

It also exposes a critical weakness of "AI."

Good for writers, and good for those who use metaphors, which is everyone!

www.patreon.com/posts/metaph...
Metaphor and your Mind (and a critical weakness of "AI") | Under the Surface - the Worlds of Juliette Wade
Get more from Under the Surface - the Worlds of Juliette Wade on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by SJ Groenewegen
To make a comparison reveals us.

With "AI," there's nothing to reveal.

Free article:
www.patreon.com/posts/metaph...
Metaphor and your Mind (and a critical weakness of "AI") | Under the Surface - the Worlds of Juliette Wade
Get more from Under the Surface - the Worlds of Juliette Wade on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 31, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by SJ Groenewegen
The Society of Authors joins forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch Brave New World?, a groundbreaking report on the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. More and a link to download the report here. Essential reading.
societyofauthors.org/2026/01/30/b...
#JusticeForCreators
Brave New World: Justice for creators in the age of GenAI   - The Society of Authors
We have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK.
societyofauthors.org
January 30, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Short, crucial thread.
Calling LLMs "AI" is a huge metaphorical trap.

Early uses of the phrase were more humble about what they were attempting and less self-aggrandizing.

The marketing of LLMs as "AI" is baiting your subconscious to believe they are actually intelligent - more than that, that they are people. 1/5
January 30, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Just watched The Magnificent Seven (1960) and was struck by how Mexican and mixed heritage it is, and it's message (from the Japanese original) is quite radical to keep for a US film.
January 29, 2026 at 10:18 PM
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The cost of the paperback version of my short story collection Into The Dark is going to rise at the end of Jan to $9.99 (or the equivalent in your local money). 📈

(The electronic version will stay at $2.99, so if you prefer reading on your Kindle there's no rush.)

books.fatpigeons.com/y14l8u74pl
Short Stories of Science Fiction and Horror
Seven thrilling stories of Science Fiction and Horror take you from the heart of a Large Hadron Supercollider in the present day to the darkness of the far future when time itself has stopped. Within ...
books.fatpigeons.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:15 PM