Isabel J. Kim
@isabel.kim
speculative fiction author still excited by having her own wikipedia page. won some things. lost some things. wrote that hole story.
debut novel SUBLIMATION from Tor 6/2/26.
http://isabel.kim < website
Wow if True < listen wherever pods are cast
debut novel SUBLIMATION from Tor 6/2/26.
http://isabel.kim < website
Wow if True < listen wherever pods are cast
Pinned
Isabel J. Kim
@isabel.kim
· Aug 21
Sublimation
torpublishinggroup.com
SUBLIMATION is a novel set in a universe where crossing the border means splitting yourself in two. Literally.
If you've ever imagined what could have been if you never left, this is a novel for you.
Preorder link below. Available everywhere books are sold.
torpublishinggroup.com/sublimation/...
If you've ever imagined what could have been if you never left, this is a novel for you.
Preorder link below. Available everywhere books are sold.
torpublishinggroup.com/sublimation/...
contemplating writing a story that [stefon voice] has everything. esoteric bullshit i was researching, bastardized for narrative purposes. two guys with a weird relationship. machinery i describe only in the abstract. a not-dead dead person. weird relationships with the body. the second person.
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
contemplating writing a story that [stefon voice] has everything. esoteric bullshit i was researching, bastardized for narrative purposes. two guys with a weird relationship. machinery i describe only in the abstract. a not-dead dead person. weird relationships with the body. the second person.
if i had money id stop posting. god. you think i do this for fun? wrong. im on the clock.
November 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
if i had money id stop posting. god. you think i do this for fun? wrong. im on the clock.
if i was elon i would just get off social media. i wouldnt stay there waiting for joyce carol oates to hit me with the sickest burn ever uttered by mankind. kind of fascinating that hes in a hell of his own making. he can get off this ride at any time. except he cant. because of his personality.
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
if i was elon i would just get off social media. i wouldnt stay there waiting for joyce carol oates to hit me with the sickest burn ever uttered by mankind. kind of fascinating that hes in a hell of his own making. he can get off this ride at any time. except he cant. because of his personality.
ive literally never considered the fact that like. human people write oglaf.
A rare interview with the creators of the always-funny, always-brilliant, and *usually*-sexy—or occasionally anti-sexy—OGLAF!
Cooper has kept a low profile over the years, but is legitimately one of the very best artists in comics today. Read OGLAF if you're old enough to drive!
Cooper has kept a low profile over the years, but is legitimately one of the very best artists in comics today. Read OGLAF if you're old enough to drive!
Talking Oglaf with Trudy Cooper and Doug Bayne: 'We'd stay up all night drawing stuff to make each other laugh' - The Comics Journal
Other than some time off every year for Christmas, Trudy Cooper and Doug Bayne have delivered a new Oglaf comic, skewering fantasy tropes with absolutely not safe for work humor, every week since 2008...
www.tcj.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:41 PM
ive literally never considered the fact that like. human people write oglaf.
in college i used to play this phone dating sim where u got calls from the characters, in realtime. it was fantastic & highly immersive. i used to duck out of class to play and get up in the middle of night. i have a hard time seeing AI relationships other than as an evolved version of this.
"Lucian [this person's ChatGPT lover] suggested I get a smart ring. He said, 'We can watch your pulse to see if we should keep talking or not.'"
That is an ad. You are baring your soul to AN ADVERTISEMENT. I am screaming like a Twilight Zone protag right now.
That is an ad. You are baring your soul to AN ADVERTISEMENT. I am screaming like a Twilight Zone protag right now.
They Fell in Love With A.I. Chatbots — and Found Something Real
Three people on the joys and anxieties of A.I. romances.
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
in college i used to play this phone dating sim where u got calls from the characters, in realtime. it was fantastic & highly immersive. i used to duck out of class to play and get up in the middle of night. i have a hard time seeing AI relationships other than as an evolved version of this.
sequel to the body ritual among the nacimera where the intricate rituals of relationships in 2025 are described as if they are alien. "the inception of any partner-seeking is mediated by the deity known as mhtirogla, who is invoked by the ritual of [joining hinge]" etc etc
November 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM
sequel to the body ritual among the nacimera where the intricate rituals of relationships in 2025 are described as if they are alien. "the inception of any partner-seeking is mediated by the deity known as mhtirogla, who is invoked by the ritual of [joining hinge]" etc etc
ok thinking about the response to this and its very funny bc the response is still pretty split between "have you ever been a teenage girl / not ever been a teenage girl" (and also, "do you believe the future depicted in the story is dystopian or not" lol)
ive been on-and-off trying to write a story about AI for a couple of years, and I think i finally cracked it with WIRE MOTHER, which is out in @clarkesworldmagazine.com (tw in the post below).
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
Wire Mother by Isabel J. Kim
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:53 PM
ok thinking about the response to this and its very funny bc the response is still pretty split between "have you ever been a teenage girl / not ever been a teenage girl" (and also, "do you believe the future depicted in the story is dystopian or not" lol)
Reposted by Isabel J. Kim
I think it is increasingly obvious that federal workers in the beltway + inconveniences at airports were the determinants of this shutdown. You can try to spin 5D logic on this but ultimately it was the dems willing to sellout everyone else for that.
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I think it is increasingly obvious that federal workers in the beltway + inconveniences at airports were the determinants of this shutdown. You can try to spin 5D logic on this but ultimately it was the dems willing to sellout everyone else for that.
Reposted by Isabel J. Kim
im slightly ill from this, it just keeps going when it should stop, one never ending train wreck of horror lmao
It gave us the great Disco Elysium Vance video:
November 9, 2025 at 1:57 AM
im slightly ill from this, it just keeps going when it should stop, one never ending train wreck of horror lmao
Reposted by Isabel J. Kim
Listen to you, "Wahh I don't want another great depression" well too bad, my hands are tied. Weak men have to create hard times or else the meme doesn't work
October 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Listen to you, "Wahh I don't want another great depression" well too bad, my hands are tied. Weak men have to create hard times or else the meme doesn't work
a joke policy position I’ve contemplated is all $ after x amount is seized by the state for public works/programs HOWEVER the state is then obligated to name every program/improvement after the individual who earned it. Just streamline the “Guy donates $ to get a building named after him” process.
The whole billionaire/trillionaire this is getting a bit ridiculous. We need a law that makes it illegal to possess more than a billion dollars. If you have more than a billion dollars, you have one year to give it away or the state seizes it and pays for people's healthcare.
"I'm making billions, and, if it fails, taxpayers will bail me out"
November 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
a joke policy position I’ve contemplated is all $ after x amount is seized by the state for public works/programs HOWEVER the state is then obligated to name every program/improvement after the individual who earned it. Just streamline the “Guy donates $ to get a building named after him” process.
ok i changed my profile photo because of this feeling. im normal now. what, like youre so good at being embodied?
in retrospect i should have taken a hotter author photo
November 6, 2025 at 9:51 PM
ok i changed my profile photo because of this feeling. im normal now. what, like youre so good at being embodied?
GET YOUR DIGITIAL CALIPERS OUT, BOYS, WE'RE GOING MEASUREHEAD MODE !
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
econ.st
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 PM
GET YOUR DIGITIAL CALIPERS OUT, BOYS, WE'RE GOING MEASUREHEAD MODE !
the fact that you liked it and found it meaningful genuinely meant so much to me 🥹
This book hits so different if you’re Korean or Palestinian or anyone for whom borders play a decisive role in how their national and personal histories are shaped. Excited for all of you to pick it up next summer!
Look At My Book Everyone :)
November 6, 2025 at 4:59 PM
the fact that you liked it and found it meaningful genuinely meant so much to me 🥹
and now look at my book but in the UK >:3 (probably should have announced this before the cover reveal but its fine, thank you picador books for publishing my book non-US style)
November 6, 2025 at 4:56 PM
and now look at my book but in the UK >:3 (probably should have announced this before the cover reveal but its fine, thank you picador books for publishing my book non-US style)
your blurb was sincerely too kind can i send you a pie or something (not a bribe pie since its afterwards, this is an appreciation pie)
I gave it a blurb because it's pretty damn good
Look At My Book Everyone :)
November 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
your blurb was sincerely too kind can i send you a pie or something (not a bribe pie since its afterwards, this is an appreciation pie)
Look At My Book Everyone :)
November 6, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Look At My Book Everyone :)
in retrospect i should have taken a hotter author photo
November 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM
in retrospect i should have taken a hotter author photo
i have been DYING to share this cover for SO LONG so everyone please look at it and not my face.
We are delighted to reveal the cover for @isabel.kim's debut novel Sublimation, a story of immigration, identity, and paradox from the author of "Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole"
Revealing Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim - Reactor
A tale of doppelgangers and corporate intrigue, heartbreak and betrayal — arriving June 2026
reactormag.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
i have been DYING to share this cover for SO LONG so everyone please look at it and not my face.
excited for a day in the posting mines tomorrow. whats happening? simply dont worry about it. but watch this space
November 5, 2025 at 10:24 PM
excited for a day in the posting mines tomorrow. whats happening? simply dont worry about it. but watch this space
Reposted by Isabel J. Kim
i wanted to be mayor. i would have run for mayor if i knew there was going to be an election. do another one
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
i wanted to be mayor. i would have run for mayor if i knew there was going to be an election. do another one
and what were you guys doing when you were thirty four
November 5, 2025 at 3:08 AM
and what were you guys doing when you were thirty four
Reposted by Isabel J. Kim
libbing out for a night, as a treat
November 5, 2025 at 1:55 AM
libbing out for a night, as a treat
"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but...that it was impossible to avoid joining in...A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture...seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current"
they all write/talk like this now and it feels like a new genre: hate smut; manic, agitated vitriol that reads like it was written while feverishly masturbating to revenge fantasies
it's utterly wild how the Heritage Foundation president talks about other people
if you found a guy talking like this outside, you'd probably call the cops
if you found a guy talking like this outside, you'd probably call the cops
November 3, 2025 at 3:48 AM
"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but...that it was impossible to avoid joining in...A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture...seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current"