Louise Hughes
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trailofleaves.bsky.social
Louise Hughes
@trailofleaves.bsky.social
Time Traveller. Social Historian. Reader and Writer of Speculative Fiction.

North East England.

Stories in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Small Wonders, Interzone (print & digital), and more.

https://linktr.ee/louisehugheswrites
Reposted by Louise Hughes
On the beach.
February 5, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
Took a trip to the seaside yesterday. It started off pretty dreary on the walk from Redcar, but Saltburn was visible from the end of pier. Which was an improvement on a previous visit!
February 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Took a trip to the seaside yesterday. It started off pretty dreary on the walk from Redcar, but Saltburn was visible from the end of pier. Which was an improvement on a previous visit!
February 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
I'm working my way through issue 10 submissions, thank you everyone who sent something in!
February 5, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Replaced the battery in my laptop.

Wow.

Is this how long it actually used to last?? This is amazing!
February 4, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
Our ✨January 2026 Issue✨ is now free to read online!

Find it here:
havenspec.com/issues/issue...

Or get the PDF and EPUB:
ko-fi.com/s/c906166bff

The January Issyou features seven stories and four poems all written in second-person POV!
Issue Twenty-One, January 2026, Haven Spec Magazine
Fiction and poetry for the 21st century
havenspec.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:00 PM
My story made the 2025 Locus Recomended Reading List!
“The Nine Crashes of Flight Lieutenant Hilla Quinn” by @trailofleaves.bsky.social (Autumn ‘25)

kaleidotrope.net/archives/aut...
February 2, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
🔵Today is #WorldWetlandsDay
Peatlands are wetland ecosystems and we have them across the uplands of the North Pennines National Landscape. #northpenninespeatlands #celebratingwetlands #peatlands #wetlands #peatlandsmatter
February 2, 2026 at 7:15 PM
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Just popping in for a quick reminder that our submission portal is open to new, unpublished flash 500-1,000 words. Please visit our Submittable page for more info! Happy Writing!!
#writingcommunity #amwriting #literary #fantasy #horror #sciencefiction
ffo.submittable.com/submit
Flash Fiction Online Submission Manager
Update 2/1/2026: We are OPEN to general submissionsOur first call for general submissions has opened, and will remain open until we reach 1,000 submissions.Our first themed call is for speculative fic...
ffo.submittable.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
GUESS WHAT

we are OPEN for 2025 AFTERLIVES: The Year's Best Death Stories subs!!

BUT (and this is SUPER IMPORTANT)

we are asking EDITORS to send us work this time

so WRITERS, be in touch with your editors

and READ ON for more info:

psychopomp.com/afterlives-2...
Afterlives 2025: Reprint Call - PSYCHOPOMP.COM
You may have read about Psychopomp’s recent reorg, but we are still doing Afterlives 2025: The Year’s Best Death Stories!
psychopomp.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
Incidentally, if you're voting in the Locus Awards poll, you can select either of these stories, or write in up to 5 others from Kaleidotrope 2025. You can also rank Kaleidotrope under your Best Magazine nominees or—even more shockingly—me, Fred Coppersmith, under Best Editor.
February 1, 2026 at 6:29 PM
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2025 Recommended Reading List locusmag.com/2026/02...
February 1, 2026 at 3:32 PM
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Congratulations to both @plangdineple.bsky.social and @trailofleaves.bsky.social for being on Locus Magazine’s 2025 Recommended Reading List for their fantastic short stories last year in Kaleidotrope!
2025 Recommended Reading List
Welcome to the Locus Recommended Reading List… We saw some fabulous books come out last year and are so pleased to let you know about them! Our recommendations are compiled annually by the Locus re…
locusmag.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:09 PM
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✨ I’m excited to share that Orion’s Belt will reopen for submissions from March 1 to May 15! We’ll be seeking spec flash, micro, & poetry, as well as translations & reviews! Most importantly, our payment for poetry & art will increase. Follow us on this new adventure and for more exciting news! ✨
January 31, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
Friends!! Now that the fabulous @gessicasakamoto.bsky.social has taken the helm, @orionsbeltmagazine.bsky.social is on Bluesky!

We've got amazing plans for the year, including adding *reviews* and *a podcast*, both of which I'll be heading up!

We're so excited -- follow us and stay tuned!
January 31, 2026 at 3:05 PM
No, Adobe, you absolute fools, I do not want you to "summarise" a knitting pattern.

I don't want you to summarise anything.

F, all the way, off.
January 29, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
In an effort to keep up with submissions and be open on a consistent schedule, we've decided that @apexmag.bsky.social will be open to short fiction subs on an every other month schedule. We will be open in Jan, March, May, July, Sept, and Nov. We're closed the other months.
January 29, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
I think I might take one of these "under 20 minutes" AI skills courses the UK Govt. seems very keen on everyone doing and live-post it here... Maybe we can all learn something together! The press release sends me to aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/ - let's go and see!
AI Skills Boost - AI Skills Hub
aiskillshub.org.uk
January 28, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Well, that book would've worked better if I'd known the last 50 pages was an excerpt! Where's this plot going to go now...oh, oops, it ended.
January 28, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
Two fantastic stories from Kaleidotrope are on the short fiction longlist—“The Nine Crashes of Flight Lieutenant Hilla Quinn” by @trailofleaves.bsky.social and “The Hunting of the Phoenix” by @slharris.bsky.social. If you’re a BSFA member, I hope you’ll consider voting for them by February 19th
Second Round of 2025 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins
file770.com/second-round...
January 27, 2026 at 7:38 PM
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I'm feeling very blessed to have five items on the longlist for the @bsfa.bsky.social awards.

If you're voting please consider my works. Congratulations to everyone on the long list, it's full of great works! (It does make a fantastic reading list.)
January 23, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Read my BSFA longlisted story here for free. It'll only take a few minutes!

(And then there's a new issue of great stories to read after that)
January 23, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
"The Nine Crashes of Flight Lieutenant Hilla Quinn" (Kaleidotrope, @kaleidotrope.bsky.social, Autumn 2025) made the @bsfa.bsky.social Longlist.

Thank you to whoever nominated it!

Fellow BSFA members, I'd be delighted if you read and considered it when voting!
January 22, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
I am exTREMEly flattered and touched that someone thought my piece on reskinned fanfic was worth a BSFA nom! I'll link it in a reply and would be thrilled if anyone wants to vote for it for the shortlist. <3
January 22, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Louise Hughes
🚀 Congratulations to all those longlisted for BSFA Awards!

Check out the complete list here 👇and enjoy this celebration of diverse and exciting works!

bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-...
Vote for the BSFA Awards
bsfa.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 6:22 PM