Renan Bernardo
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renanbernardo.com
Renan Bernardo
@renanbernardo.com
4.3K followers 1.2K following 2.7K posts
Nebula and Ignyte Finalist • Reactor, Clarkesworld, Apex • DISGRACED RETURN OF THE KAP'S NEEDLE - NOW OUT! • DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEFIANCE also OUT! • Codex • He/him • Brazilian author

More: https://linktr.ee/renanbernardo1
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renanbernardo.com
Convincing you to read my novella with the first sentence. Add yours if you'd like.
November 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM
renanbernardo.com
Awards Season is upon us! My novella Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle (19,500 words), a dark space opera set in a generation spaceship returning to Earth after a failed expedition, is eligible as Best Novella in the Nebulas, Hugos, Locus and for Best Shorter Fiction in the BSFA.
A moodboard: the book in the center has a black cover with a skull inside a space helmet, and it's called Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle. Other elements: an astronaut on a deserted planet; the interior of a spaceship with lights beaming on the ceiling; a glazed space helmet; a planet; a mask showing a creepy smile; a woman breathing inside a space helmet; a silhouette of an astronaut wearing a spacesuit; shining stars. Myself, a white man in glasses with a beard wearing a t-shirt with a Stargate and a pyramid. I'm holding a book called Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle showing a skull inside a space helmet. Behind me there's a bookshelf with several books. A book cover: Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle showing a skull inside a space helmet. It's written "Eligible as novella for SFF awards like (but also others)" and then the symbols of the awards: Nebula (a circle with a nebula on the background), Hugo (a rocketship), Locus (an astronaut on a gleaming background), BSFA Awards (just the words).
October 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
renanbernardo.com
Almost 6 months later (due to issues with customs), I finally have my novella in my hands! Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle is a dark space opera about a ship returning to Earth after a failed expedition! 🌌👩‍🚀
A white man in glasses with a black, greying beard in front of a bookshelf. He's holding the book, Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle, which features a skull in a space helmet. The man's shirt contains two Egyptian figures and a Stargate with a pyramid on its center, plus two staves underneath it. A book, Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle, which features a skull in a space helmet. A hand is holding the book. The back cover of the book with a headshot of the author, his bio, the synopsis, and some blurbs. A page showing Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle with the publisher's logo: Dark Matter Ink
October 12, 2025 at 8:10 PM
renanbernardo.com
Julie sends her best wishes!!!
October 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
renanbernardo.com
Spooky season is finally ON! 🎃 If you want to be spooked by oxygen rationing in a spaceship, claustrophobic feelings, and a crew doing ANYTHING to survive, then you might enjoy my short novella, Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle. Or gift someone with it! 🖤

darkmattermagazine.shop/products/dis...
A black cover reading Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle. Author is Renan Bernardo, Nebula and Ignyte finalist. The cover contains a skull in a space helmet with colorful streaks leaking up and down. Tags around the cover: powerful narcotic, hostile fungus, coup in a generational ship, degenerate crew, noir vibes, doomed spaceship, dark space opera, sci-fi thriller.
October 1, 2025 at 4:01 PM
renanbernardo.com
Got my finalist certificate for the Argos Award 2024! The Argos Award is the oldest Brazilian SFF award and my novelette A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair was a finalist for it last year, for its Portuguese version in @samovarmag.bsky.social. 🪑
The certificate which reads, in Portuguese: "Prêmio Argos 2024 - clube de leitores de ficção científica. Por meio deste diploma o clube de leitores de ficção científica certifica breve biografia de uma cadeira lúcida (revista samovar), de Renan Bernardo, como obra finalista da categoria melhor conto do prêmio argos".
September 17, 2025 at 2:28 PM
renanbernardo.com
Starting this one.
An ereader showing a book called A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. It shows a domed settlement with an underground facility beneath it. Tagline reads: can we settle space, should we settle space and have we really thought this through.
August 23, 2025 at 1:15 AM
renanbernardo.com
My contributor copy of Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinite, by @starsandsabers.bsky.social, arrived!

It contains my fantasy piece The Crumbs of My Body about a tribe that can grow their food on their own body!

www.starsandsabers.com/books/of-enc...
A white hand holding a book cover. The book is called "Of enchantment, enigma, and the infinite, edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L Powell." It features butterflies, a dragon, and a crystal ball in the center with some other fantastic motifs all around. A page of the book with the story The Crumbs of My Body, by Renan Bernardo. The text follows.
August 14, 2025 at 9:55 PM
renanbernardo.com
I've finally got my contributor copy of Bright Green Futures, which features my solarpunk piece The Doglady and the Rainstorm about a dog walker that just wants to leave the dogs under her care in their homes… and stay away from the inevitable rainstorms. 🐶🌧️☀️
A white hand holding a book with a white cover with several flowers. It's called Bright Green Futures 2024. Edited by Susan Kaye Quinn. A book page with the story The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo. There's a thin stalk as a divider, and then the beginning of the story. The back cover of the book with more flowers on a white background.
August 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
renanbernardo.com
My fantasy piece The Crumbs of My Body is now out in @starsandsabers.bsky.social's Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinite!

Though Juruaru's body grows his own food, he knows his people's blessing is temporary. While on a quest to end famine in the forest, he's captured by a tribe in pain.
August 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM
renanbernardo.com
Already got my ebook copy of Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinity, a magic anthology by @starsandsabers.bsky.social, which will contain my piece The Crumbs of My Body about a tribe that grows food on their bodies—and what happens when that fails. Print copy is coming!
A cover in a e-reader held by a white hand. It contains butterflies on the left, a crystal ball on the center, and a dragon on the right, all surrounded by haze and sprinkes. It's called Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinite. A story loaded on an-reader. It's called The Crumbs of My Body by Renan Bernardo. It's on page 236.
July 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
renanbernardo.com
Got my swag from Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinite, a @starsandsabers.bsky.social anthology coming Aug 5th! My fantasy piece, "The Crumbs of My Body", about people who grow their food on their own body, will be in it! 🔮
July 26, 2025 at 1:17 AM
renanbernardo.com
Right-wing Brazilians took to the streets to manifest support for Donald Trump. Look at the multitudes.
A shot from above: Copacabana beach with a small group of people in green and yellow colors. They're on the sidewalk. There are cars parked nearby and some more people on the sand.
July 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
renanbernardo.com
I think I have a (very rough) first draft 👀
A dialog box with three tabs: compiled, selected docs, options. Compiled is selected. Words: 80.055 Characters: 465.198 Characters (No Spaces): 385.290
July 19, 2025 at 1:27 PM
renanbernardo.com
Name a film flop that you wish had done better at the box office.
July 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
renanbernardo.com
Thank you for the apologies, Gareth. We're on the same side on this fight.

About the cover, it was the version with the complete layout. It was just to show how these tools can fail, anyway. It doesn't mean anything, much less since it's from 2019.
July 7, 2025 at 10:14 AM
renanbernardo.com
Starting in about 45 minutes!
July 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
renanbernardo.com
Always happy to find a review like this for my (mostly forgotten) collection, Different Kinds of Defiance 🥰💚
An image with the following text: I bought this after reading Disgraced return as I really loved it. This was a wonderful collection of short stories. Such a rare treat to have environmental post apocalyptic fiction that ended up feeling postive and hopeful. The last story in particular stuck with me as a woman driven story, this wasn't a future where women were reduced to having children and the men were all warriors. It felt so much more realistic. There were still the now problems of money vs poverty, and the way both drove people to different types of crime. But also there was shared humanity and care for each other, and found family. I really enjoyed all the stories and will definitely pick up all the books Renan writes. I'm looking forward to reading what he does next.
June 25, 2025 at 6:24 PM
renanbernardo.com
I'm currently reading an advanced copy of @patrickbarb.bsky.social's new novel and really digging it! X-Files meets Gone Girl.
An e-reader showing a book called Abducted by Patrick Barb. There's a black sky with stars and a house with a silhouette by the window.
June 14, 2025 at 2:09 PM
renanbernardo.com
Today marks the one-month anniversary of my novella, Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle! I want to thank everyone who has take the time to read it, review it, and leave a comment about it.

You can get in paperback and ebook, but an audio version is coming!

darkmattermagazine.shop/products/dis...
Baloons with reviews around the book cover of Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle (a skull in a space helmet): "A claustrophobic sci-fi horror novella that will have you gasping for air." "An amazing, impactful novella. I wasn’t expecting that ending. Just, wow." "Bernardo really excels at creating a tense atmosphere." "Perfect if you are looking for an impactful bite of the genre; Bernardo is a voice to keep a tab on!" "A tense, clever, and dark exploration of the potential follies of space exploration." "The ending is a total gut punch! Truly a top read of the year!" Arrows pointing to the book cover (a skull in a space helmet) with the tags: hallucinations, walk of shame in space, deadly fungus, a game of interests for breathable air, too much greed, mother's quest to save her son, first officer's quest to get richer and more powerful, enemies to... even more enemies.
May 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
renanbernardo.com
Found this old pic from 2013 in NY, featuring @hntdove.bsky.social sneaking from the flank after an army of Tolkiens.
Two bookshelves with lots of JRR Tolkien books and a few from Harry Turtledove
May 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
renanbernardo.com
Some nice reviews of Kap's Needle popping out!

You can get the book in paperback and ebook!

darkmattermagazine.shop/products/dis...
Five stars with the text: "If you're looking for a story with no good guys, this could be for you. The motivations seem all to real and you get pulled along by the planet colonization adventure. Everyone gets what they deserve. Well paced and a satisfying quick read." Five stars with the text: "The title story is barely a novella, it's so short, but the tale of a spaceship forced to abort its mission to colonize a new planet and return - ten years in space each way - was so richly written that it didn't feel short at all. Broken people making difficult, even impossible, decisions."
May 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM
renanbernardo.com
"Pause! Before you scroll further, quote this with at least one book you're looking forward to in the rest of this year."

There are several, but I'll mention @lyndseycroal.bsky.social's collection!
May 9, 2025 at 12:56 PM
renanbernardo.com
Just realized I was in Vatican on May 8th, 2014.
Me, a white man with short black hair and short black beard, wearing an X-Men t-shirt, in front of St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican: a domed and large building made of white marble. I'm looking at the camera. There are empty chairs on my right.
May 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
renanbernardo.com
Bright Green Futures has been spotted in Brilliant Books at Traverse City, Michigan! 🔆🌏🌳
April 30, 2025 at 6:44 PM