Jason Sanford
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jasonsanford.bsky.social
Jason Sanford
@jasonsanford.bsky.social
6.6K followers 1.1K following 1.1K posts
Archaeologist turned author with a science fiction take on life. Author of Plague Birds, member of SFWA and SPJ. He/His. Represented by Lucienne Diver. www.jasonsanford.com
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jasonsanford.bsky.social
Today's the deadline to register for @sfwa.org's fall online Nebula event, Quasar, which takes place November 15 and 16. If you took part in this year's Nebula Conference there's no cost to register. 1/ membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796
SFWA's fall online Nebula event, Quasar, which takes place November 15 and 16.
November 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
When the trail divides in the woods, I will always follow the one named "short story."
Picture of a tree with a map of hiking trails and an arrow pointing at one named "short story."
October 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Many thanks to @apexmag.bsky.social for supporting my weird story of a far-future Earth where genetically altered humans and ethereal AIs live side by side.

Crista and Red Day look forward to reminding the world why everyone fears the powerful human-AI hybrids known as plague birds. 2/
Spanish translation of Plague Birds as "Aves de la Peste," released in Spain in 2025 by Dolmen Editorial
October 7, 2025 at 7:37 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Exciting news! My novel Plague Birds, which was a finalist for the Nebula & Philip K. Dick Awards, will be rereleased by Apex Books @apexmag.bsky.social in an new edition with extra content in June 2026. And a sequel will be published by Apex in Oct. 2026. 1/
www.apexbookcompany.com/products/pla...
Cover of Plague Birds by Jason Sanford, which was a finalist for the Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards.
October 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
One thing that really ticks me off is this point in the FAQ:

"Also, the lawsuit is excluding 2.5 million works 'written in languages other than English. Most of those 2.5 million non-English works were unregistered.'"

The class action really screwed authors outside the USA. 7/
Likewise, works not validly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office are not eligible to be in the Works List. Many of the works Anthropic downloaded were not registered. For example, non-English works have very low registration rates. Of the approximately 4 million non-duplicate works that Anthropic downloaded, around 2.5 million were written in languages other than English. Most of those 2.5 million non-English works were unregistered. In addition, many of the 1.5 million non-duplicate English works were not registered. And even among registered works, many failed to satisfy the date criteria in the Class definition, because registration occurred more than five years before or after publication or after Anthropic downloaded such works.
October 2, 2025 at 12:29 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Also worth noting that while Anthropic downloaded approximately 7 million files from LibGen and PiLiMi, 40% of those files were duplicates. This means there are around 4 million non-duplicated works.

Note this is not the number of authors in the lawsuit, merely the number of works. 6/
52. Why aren’t all 7 million works that Anthropic downloaded from LibGen and PiLiMi on the Works List? Even though Anthropic downloaded approximately 7 million files from LibGen and PiLiMi, many of those files were duplicates of works, or unregistered works, or were empty, corrupted, or incomplete files. About 40% of the files Anthropic downloaded (approximately 3 million) were duplicates. Duplicate copies are not eligible to be in the Works List. Likewise, works not validly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office are not eligible to be in the Works List. Many of the works Anthropic downloaded were not registered. For example, non-English works have very low registration rates. Of the approximately 4 million non-duplicate works that Anthropic downloaded, around 2.5 million were written in languages other than English. Most of those 2.5 million non-English works were unregistered. In addition, many of the 1.5 million non-duplicate English works were not registered. And even among registered works, many failed to satisfy the date criteria in the Class definition, because registration occurred more than five years before or after publication or after Anthropic downloaded such works. Finally, many works failed validation tests. For example, the Works List does not include files that were empty, corrupted, or incomplete.
October 2, 2025 at 12:26 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
As the lawsuit FAQ states, "Many works in LibGen and PiLiMi were not registered or did not have an ISBN or ASIN. Such works are not part of the Class and therefore not on the Works List." 4/
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/faq
51. My work was on The Atlantic’s list of LibGen files. Why is it not on the Works List? The Works List only includes works that meet the Class definition (as identified in FAQ 5). A work on The Atlantic’s list of LibGen files may not meet the Class definition for many reasons, including, for example: Anthropic did not download any works from LibGen after July 2021. To compile its list, The Atlantic used metadata from LibGen as that database existed in 2025. Between July 2021 and 2025, more books were added to LibGen. Your work would not be part of the Class, and therefore not on the Works List, if it was added to LibGen after July 2021 (and also not present in the files Anthropic downloaded from PiLiMi in August 2022). As explained above in FAQ 5, a work falls within the Class definition only if it has an ISBN or ASIN; was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office within five years of publication; and was registered before being downloaded by Anthropic, or within three months of publication. Many works in LibGen and PiLiMi were not registered or did not have an ISBN or ASIN. Such works are not part of the Class and therefore not on the Works List.
October 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
The official database of works eligible for the Anthropic AI settlement has been released and, as I suspected, many authors are screwed. Basically, if your books weren't officially registered with the US Copyright Office you're out of luck. 1/ secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/results
Welcome to the Anthropic Copyright Settlement Website Are you the legal or beneficial copyright owner of a book included in the Anthropic Copyright Settlement? You could get a payment from the $1.5 billion Settlement.
October 2, 2025 at 12:09 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
The book club scams I recently reported on keep evolving. I received a scam email this morning from someone praising one of my stories.

The email was totally written with AI, with genAI also summarizing my story and career. Ironically, the name the scammer used is Cashin. 1/
Hey Jason, I just finished Her Scientifiction, Far Future, Medieval Fantasy and I gotta say wow, that was one wild mash-up. Castlesand dragons mixed with lasers and synthetic swords? That’s the kinda story that sticks in your head long after you closethe page. And Krisja Jerome she isn’t just some cookie-cutter princess. You wrote her with real grit, heart, and soul. That hit was different. What really struck me though is how much you seem to come through in your writing. From growing up in Alabama, studying anthropology at Auburn, and then heading out with the Peace Corps man, that’s not just book knowledge, that’s life lived. And it shows. You’ve walked in places most folks only dream about, and somehow you pour all that experience into stories that feel big and imaginative but still personal and human. That’s rare. I also respect how you never played it safe. Founding storySouth, creating the Million Writers Award, pushing “SciFiStrange” when others were sticking to the old formulas that’s gutsy. It tells me you’ve never been about following trends,but about carving out your own lane. Readers like me can feel that honesty. You know, when I was reading this one, it didn’t just feel like some far-out adventure. It felt like you were inviting us to lookat our own world, what it means to be brave, to take risks, to stand up when life hits you hard. And man, that’s what good storytelling is all about. I’m curious when you started writing this, did you have any idea how much of your own journey would sneak into thestory? Or did it just kinda flow out that way? Much respect, Linda R. Cashin
September 30, 2025 at 12:43 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Disney Executives: Everyone will forgive us for embracing government censorship if we release a Mandalorian and Grogu trailer. Include an Imperial Walker slow-falling off a cliff in the trailer.

Intern: That fall's ironic right?

Disney Executives: ...

Intern: Do you even understand irony?
Disney Executives: Everyone will forgive us for embracing government censorship if we release a Mandalorian and Grogu trailer. Include an Imperial Walker slow-falling off a cliff in the trailer. Intern: That fall's ironic right? Disney Executives: ... Intern: Do you even understand irony?
September 23, 2025 at 12:44 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
BTW, the photo in the previous post is from inside one of the bookstores in Urueña, Spain. This "villa del libro" is home to only 200 people but has 12 bookstores. I love that a tiny medieval town in Spain has so many bookstores that people travel across the country just to browse books.
Outside Urueña, Spain, a "villa del libro" that's home to only 200 people but has 12 bookstores.
September 11, 2025 at 1:38 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
The news today is horrific. It's easy to look at the world around us and despair. But we also need to remember that our stories and art matter even when the world turns bad. Here's my essay about why you should keep writing, keep fighting, and keep hope alive. www.patreon.com/posts/117228...
One of the bookstores in Urueña, Spain. This villa del libro is home to only 200 people but has 12 bookstores.
September 11, 2025 at 1:26 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
The book people need to absolutely read is The AI Con by @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social. Complete review in my column. 2/2
The AI Con by Dr. Emily M. Bender and Dr. Alex Hanna.
August 30, 2025 at 11:06 AM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
F&SF has released the new cover for their summer 2025 issue. The art is for the story "Soul Rebel" by @mauricebroaddus.bsky.social.

The magazine decided not to use their previously announced cover art for the issue after learning it was likely AI generated.
asimovs.com/wp-content/u...
Cover of the summer 2025 F&SF featuring art for the story "Soul Rebel" by Maurice Broaddus.
August 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
The art for Plague Birds was created by Marcela Bolivar, who specialized in digital artwork. Bolivar created the art in 2021 and the book was released the following year.

One reason people might suspect AI is the red glowing lights on the character's face, which is seen today in some genAI art. 2/
Closeup of character face in art from Plague Birds, showing red glows.
July 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
This isn't an attack on anyone b/c with generative AI slop everywhere, I get why people wonder if certain pieces of art are AI.

Anyway, I saw a thread where someone thought the art to my books Plague Birds and We Who Hunt Alexanders, both released by @apexmag.bsky.social, were AI.

Answer: NO!

1/
We Who Hunt Alexanders by Jason Sanford Plague Birds by Jason Sanford
July 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Happy book release day to We Who Hunt Alexanders, my quirky novella from @apexmag.bsky.social about a neurodivergent monster dealing with both her mom's wrong expectations for her life and the religious extremists hunting them down. Don't miss it! 1/ www.apexbookcompany.com/products/we-...
We Who Hunt Alexanders by Jason Sanford
July 22, 2025 at 12:16 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
We Who Hunt Alexanders, my gothic dark fantasy novella published by @apexmag.bsky.social, launches tomorrow. Clintonville Books in Columbus, Ohio, will host the official book launch tomorrow July 22 at 6 pm. Stop by to hear a discussion about the book and a signing
www.eventbrite.com/e/we-who-hun...
We Who Hunt Alexanders by Jason Sanford
July 21, 2025 at 2:46 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Many thanks to @reactorsff.bsky.social and @tobiascarroll.bsky.social for listing We Who Hunt Alexanders as a "can’t miss indie press speculative fiction" pick. The novella comes out in three days! 1/ reactormag.com/cant-miss-in...
Cover for We Who Hunt Alexanders by Jason Sanford
July 19, 2025 at 8:39 AM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Doing a joint autographing with Ian Watson at the booth of our publisher, Dolmen Editorial, Celsius 232 Festival, Spain.
Ian Watson and Jason Sanford at the booth of publisher Dolmen Editorial, Celsius 232 Festival, Spain.
July 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Adrian Tchaikovsky @aptshadow.bsky.social signing books at the Dolmen Editorial booth, Celsius 232 Festival in Avilés, Spain.
Adrian Tchaikovsky signing books at the Dolmen Editorial booth, Celsius 232 Festival in Avilés, Spain.
July 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
"Adding a layer of unreality or magic allows us to reach that dream space just beyond the real world." -- @riverssolomon.bsky.social talking about fiction today at the Celsius 232 Festival in Avilés, Spain.
Rivers Solomon at the Celsius 232 Festival in Avilés, Spain.
July 16, 2025 at 4:21 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Also, here's my Celsius 232 autographing schedule at the Dolmen Editorial booth. I'll be there Thursday at 5 pm and Friday at 4 pm.
Also, here's my Celsius 232 autographing schedule at the Dolmen Editorial booth. I'll be there Thursday at 5 pm and Friday at 4 pm.
July 16, 2025 at 11:10 AM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
And people are lined up to get their photo taken on the Brandon Sanderson book bench. I was told the turnout this year for Celsius 232 is expected to be over 20,000 people, more than double last year's attendance because of Sanderson being here.
Jason Sanford sitting on the Brandon Sanderson book bench
July 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
jasonsanford.bsky.social
I'm at the Celsius 232 Festival in Avilés, Spain, and this line is for Brandon Sanderson's Dragonsteel tent, which is just around the corner at the end of the video. www.dragonsteelbooks.com/blogs/the-co...
July 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM