Stephi Cham
@stephicham.com
Editor by day and night | LGBTQ+ Editors Association secretary, board of directors
Published by Publishers Weekly, Capstone Press, Strange Horizons, JAMA, et al.
Former medical end-of-life music therapist
she/her | StephiCham.com
Published by Publishers Weekly, Capstone Press, Strange Horizons, JAMA, et al.
Former medical end-of-life music therapist
she/her | StephiCham.com
I ordered something via DoorDash today and 😭😭😭
January 8, 2026 at 4:25 AM
I ordered something via DoorDash today and 😭😭😭
I don't (and prob won't) understand what anyone thinks they accomplish by telling me "You can't help that you're not pretty. But you CAN choose not to be ugly. You just need discipline."
Kind =/= nice, but that feels very much like it's neither.
Kind =/= nice, but that feels very much like it's neither.
January 5, 2026 at 12:13 AM
I don't (and prob won't) understand what anyone thinks they accomplish by telling me "You can't help that you're not pretty. But you CAN choose not to be ugly. You just need discipline."
Kind =/= nice, but that feels very much like it's neither.
Kind =/= nice, but that feels very much like it's neither.
I love your handwriting!!
January 2, 2026 at 2:39 AM
I love your handwriting!!
May 2026 be much kinder to us. I don't want to forget or stop carrying the grief of 2025, but I hope the weight of it won't be so heavy anymore.
January 2, 2026 at 2:38 AM
May 2026 be much kinder to us. I don't want to forget or stop carrying the grief of 2025, but I hope the weight of it won't be so heavy anymore.
🫂 words are inadequate but just want to send you so much support. I feel this grief and anger with you, esp working in health care
January 2, 2026 at 2:35 AM
🫂 words are inadequate but just want to send you so much support. I feel this grief and anger with you, esp working in health care
it's just a day. I don't need to feel panic and guilt. nothing has to change. I can forgive who I am and who I couldn't become.
...right?
...right?
December 31, 2025 at 3:42 PM
it's just a day. I don't need to feel panic and guilt. nothing has to change. I can forgive who I am and who I couldn't become.
...right?
...right?
but like, what do you do with the two wolves inside you when everyone around you is a cat person?
December 31, 2025 at 1:00 AM
but like, what do you do with the two wolves inside you when everyone around you is a cat person?
your life is not ruined, and neither are you.
December 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
your life is not ruined, and neither are you.
If I can't be happy I'm alive, I can at least be happy that others are.
December 28, 2025 at 5:25 AM
If I can't be happy I'm alive, I can at least be happy that others are.
you need this!!!
youtu.be/ifKKlhYF53w
youtu.be/ifKKlhYF53w
IGUDESMAN & JOO - Rachmaninov had big Hands
YouTube video by byseb
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
you need this!!!
youtu.be/ifKKlhYF53w
youtu.be/ifKKlhYF53w
I'm hearing talk about a baby? Just one? If this guy's on our side, we've got great odds.
December 24, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I'm hearing talk about a baby? Just one? If this guy's on our side, we've got great odds.
“Officer Rudolph, is it raining or snowing?”
“Definitely raining,” Officer Rudolph replies before walking off.
The man turns to his wife with a smile. “See? Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”
“Definitely raining,” Officer Rudolph replies before walking off.
The man turns to his wife with a smile. “See? Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”
December 24, 2025 at 9:52 PM
“Officer Rudolph, is it raining or snowing?”
“Definitely raining,” Officer Rudolph replies before walking off.
The man turns to his wife with a smile. “See? Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”
“Definitely raining,” Officer Rudolph replies before walking off.
The man turns to his wife with a smile. “See? Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”
A couple is walking in St. Petersburg Square on Christmas Eve. They feel a slight precipitation.
“I think it’s raining,” says the man.
“No, it’s snowing,” replies the woman.
“How about we ask this Communist officer here? He is always right!” exclaims the man...
“I think it’s raining,” says the man.
“No, it’s snowing,” replies the woman.
“How about we ask this Communist officer here? He is always right!” exclaims the man...
December 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
A couple is walking in St. Petersburg Square on Christmas Eve. They feel a slight precipitation.
“I think it’s raining,” says the man.
“No, it’s snowing,” replies the woman.
“How about we ask this Communist officer here? He is always right!” exclaims the man...
“I think it’s raining,” says the man.
“No, it’s snowing,” replies the woman.
“How about we ask this Communist officer here? He is always right!” exclaims the man...
weirdly this is something I've said to my therapist
December 24, 2025 at 7:59 PM
weirdly this is something I've said to my therapist
I'd argue that there's a sixth type: "we're not sus I swear"
hey what's up guys—
uh *frantic whispers* SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME
hey what's up guys—
uh *frantic whispers* SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME
December 23, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I'd argue that there's a sixth type: "we're not sus I swear"
hey what's up guys—
uh *frantic whispers* SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME
hey what's up guys—
uh *frantic whispers* SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME
ok for anyone who likes to laugh, here's a random drop of Christmas posts I've saved
December 23, 2025 at 11:35 PM
ok for anyone who likes to laugh, here's a random drop of Christmas posts I've saved
these kinds of posts always make me ugly-cry if I let myself pause because it's like... Bob... you don't even know but you're about to have such a good life 😭🩷
My friend just rescued a cat who had been in a hoarder’s house and then in a shelter’s cage for five months. Came home today.
I haven’t wanted to hug something more in my entire life than I want to hug Bob.
I haven’t wanted to hug something more in my entire life than I want to hug Bob.
December 23, 2025 at 1:59 AM
these kinds of posts always make me ugly-cry if I let myself pause because it's like... Bob... you don't even know but you're about to have such a good life 😭🩷
Christmas Shoes and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah do NOT belong on holiday playlists imo, unless what you're going for isn't so much "merry" as it is "death humbles us all"
December 22, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Christmas Shoes and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah do NOT belong on holiday playlists imo, unless what you're going for isn't so much "merry" as it is "death humbles us all"
I play "spotted in the bookstore" too with publishing friends for anything they've worked on! It's so fun to see others doing the same 😄
December 22, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I play "spotted in the bookstore" too with publishing friends for anything they've worked on! It's so fun to see others doing the same 😄
I'm not sure what IS fair, tbh. my (ex-)close friend said "I haven't decided how much space I need in the wake of your attempt" & that even being my friend is above and beyond what anyone would do. I was so so sorry and guilty, but other friends were horrified when I eventually told them about him.
December 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I'm not sure what IS fair, tbh. my (ex-)close friend said "I haven't decided how much space I need in the wake of your attempt" & that even being my friend is above and beyond what anyone would do. I was so so sorry and guilty, but other friends were horrified when I eventually told them about him.
and I'm not saying that's the point. I'd still have depression even if I weren't a burden to the people I love. but like, you can leave whenever you're sick of me. I can't.
December 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
and I'm not saying that's the point. I'd still have depression even if I weren't a burden to the people I love. but like, you can leave whenever you're sick of me. I can't.
"you've been suicidal for so long and it's exhausting for us"
I can't possibly emphasize enough how WELL AWARE of this I already am.
I can't possibly emphasize enough how WELL AWARE of this I already am.
December 21, 2025 at 3:54 AM
"you've been suicidal for so long and it's exhausting for us"
I can't possibly emphasize enough how WELL AWARE of this I already am.
I can't possibly emphasize enough how WELL AWARE of this I already am.
I know AI isn't a monolith and it's not all generative, but this is an astoundingly poor choice of topic given the CONTEXT of AI usage in publishing. Yes, AI is already here, but there's a reason we're not celebrating.
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December 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM
I know AI isn't a monolith and it's not all generative, but this is an astoundingly poor choice of topic given the CONTEXT of AI usage in publishing. Yes, AI is already here, but there's a reason we're not celebrating.