RJ Aurand
@rjaurand.bsky.social
Appalachian writer & poet | small press editor | Le Fanu studies | weird horror
Member SFPA & Codex
Words in The Deadlands, Small Wonders, Solstitia, Blanket Gravity
Soon in (s)crawl, manywor(l)ds, Tales & Feathers, & more!
rjaurand.com
Member SFPA & Codex
Words in The Deadlands, Small Wonders, Solstitia, Blanket Gravity
Soon in (s)crawl, manywor(l)ds, Tales & Feathers, & more!
rjaurand.com
Pinned
New flash piece out in manywor(l)ds today about the severe and lasting trauma healthcare workers experience on a daily basis. What if there was a way to compartmentalize those experiences digitally? Nothing bad could come of that, right?
Reposted by RJ Aurand
New flash piece out in manywor(l)ds today about the severe and lasting trauma healthcare workers experience on a daily basis. What if there was a way to compartmentalize those experiences digitally? Nothing bad could come of that, right?
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 AM
New flash piece out in manywor(l)ds today about the severe and lasting trauma healthcare workers experience on a daily basis. What if there was a way to compartmentalize those experiences digitally? Nothing bad could come of that, right?
New flash piece out in manywor(l)ds today about the severe and lasting trauma healthcare workers experience on a daily basis. What if there was a way to compartmentalize those experiences digitally? Nothing bad could come of that, right?
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 AM
New flash piece out in manywor(l)ds today about the severe and lasting trauma healthcare workers experience on a daily basis. What if there was a way to compartmentalize those experiences digitally? Nothing bad could come of that, right?
Reposted by RJ Aurand
We are so excited to share issue 10 with you, featuring brilliant creatives like @blackcattales.bsky.social, @kathrynreese.bsky.social, @pleomorphic2.bsky.social, @dihyatamaghza.bsky.social, @rjaurand.bsky.social, and more!
(anti-war dinosaur courtesy of Emma Johnson-Rivard)
(anti-war dinosaur courtesy of Emma Johnson-Rivard)
November 15, 2025 at 10:36 PM
We are so excited to share issue 10 with you, featuring brilliant creatives like @blackcattales.bsky.social, @kathrynreese.bsky.social, @pleomorphic2.bsky.social, @dihyatamaghza.bsky.social, @rjaurand.bsky.social, and more!
(anti-war dinosaur courtesy of Emma Johnson-Rivard)
(anti-war dinosaur courtesy of Emma Johnson-Rivard)
Contract signed! My story "If You Can't Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" will be appearing in a forthcoming issue of Inner Worlds. I'm so excited to share this one with you!
November 10, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Contract signed! My story "If You Can't Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine" will be appearing in a forthcoming issue of Inner Worlds. I'm so excited to share this one with you!
Reposted by RJ Aurand
I'm in the inaugural issue of this super cool new horror mag! Check out my gothic poem "Skull with Laurel, 1832" (and all the other cool pieces) below! It's perfect reading for spooky season.
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
October 27, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I'm in the inaugural issue of this super cool new horror mag! Check out my gothic poem "Skull with Laurel, 1832" (and all the other cool pieces) below! It's perfect reading for spooky season.
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
I'm in the inaugural issue of this super cool new horror mag! Check out my gothic poem "Skull with Laurel, 1832" (and all the other cool pieces) below! It's perfect reading for spooky season.
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
October 27, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I'm in the inaugural issue of this super cool new horror mag! Check out my gothic poem "Skull with Laurel, 1832" (and all the other cool pieces) below! It's perfect reading for spooky season.
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
💀 scrawlmag.com/issue-1/ 🥀
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
October 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
Two things:
1) I'm alive, the world is just Very Much to deal with lately. I cope with stress by knitting, and I've been making the most amazing sweater.
2) Now is a really good time to consider donating to your local food pantry. November is about to be a rough month for a lot of folks.
1) I'm alive, the world is just Very Much to deal with lately. I cope with stress by knitting, and I've been making the most amazing sweater.
2) Now is a really good time to consider donating to your local food pantry. November is about to be a rough month for a lot of folks.
October 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Two things:
1) I'm alive, the world is just Very Much to deal with lately. I cope with stress by knitting, and I've been making the most amazing sweater.
2) Now is a really good time to consider donating to your local food pantry. November is about to be a rough month for a lot of folks.
1) I'm alive, the world is just Very Much to deal with lately. I cope with stress by knitting, and I've been making the most amazing sweater.
2) Now is a really good time to consider donating to your local food pantry. November is about to be a rough month for a lot of folks.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
read the rest of “Skull with Laurel, 1832” by RJ Aurand (@rjaurand.bsky.social) in issue no. 01 of (s)crawl on 10.26.25
#scrawlmagazine #litmag #horrorpoetry #horrorwriters
#scrawlmagazine #litmag #horrorpoetry #horrorwriters
September 30, 2025 at 4:57 PM
read the rest of “Skull with Laurel, 1832” by RJ Aurand (@rjaurand.bsky.social) in issue no. 01 of (s)crawl on 10.26.25
#scrawlmagazine #litmag #horrorpoetry #horrorwriters
#scrawlmagazine #litmag #horrorpoetry #horrorwriters
Reposted by RJ Aurand
WE'RE LIVE! AND WE ARE SO EXCITED! Back now to support a new magazine of speculative fiction by 2SLGBTQIA+ authors and artists! Snag some amazing rewards, including discounted subscriptions! Support queer art! And help us SMASH DAY ONE!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyb...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyb...
September 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
WE'RE LIVE! AND WE ARE SO EXCITED! Back now to support a new magazine of speculative fiction by 2SLGBTQIA+ authors and artists! Snag some amazing rewards, including discounted subscriptions! Support queer art! And help us SMASH DAY ONE!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyb...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyb...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Photos of Hirohiko Araki's new lithograph artwork at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco (7-9/9)
7. Funny Valentine and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
8. Yasuho Hirose and Paisley Park
9. Dragona Joestar and Smooth Operators
7. Funny Valentine and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
8. Yasuho Hirose and Paisley Park
9. Dragona Joestar and Smooth Operators
September 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Photos of Hirohiko Araki's new lithograph artwork at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco (7-9/9)
7. Funny Valentine and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
8. Yasuho Hirose and Paisley Park
9. Dragona Joestar and Smooth Operators
7. Funny Valentine and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
8. Yasuho Hirose and Paisley Park
9. Dragona Joestar and Smooth Operators
After receiving five (5) rejections in a single day I think I deserve some nice news in my inbox... If you want to buy one of my stories now would be a great time ijs
September 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
After receiving five (5) rejections in a single day I think I deserve some nice news in my inbox... If you want to buy one of my stories now would be a great time ijs
Reposted by RJ Aurand
New #WriterBeware blog post: An update on the historic Bartz v. Anthropic settlement. It's been preliminarily approved by the court, but many questions remain about the claims process, the timeline, and exactly which works are included writerbeware.blog/2025/09/26/b...
Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement: An Update for Authors - Writer Beware
BACKGROUND A year ago, a group of authors filed suit against AI company Anthropic over its creation of an enormous library of digitized books to train its Claude LLMs, arguing that because Anthropic d...
writerbeware.blog
September 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
New #WriterBeware blog post: An update on the historic Bartz v. Anthropic settlement. It's been preliminarily approved by the court, but many questions remain about the claims process, the timeline, and exactly which works are included writerbeware.blog/2025/09/26/b...
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Change for the better.
Be a werewolf.
Happy werewolf Wednesday!!my art 2023
Be a werewolf.
Happy werewolf Wednesday!!my art 2023
September 24, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Change for the better.
Be a werewolf.
Happy werewolf Wednesday!!my art 2023
Be a werewolf.
Happy werewolf Wednesday!!my art 2023
Reposted by RJ Aurand
September 24, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Really, really excited about this piece of very small fiction out today w/ @matchbooklitmag.bsky.social. It's about high school wrestling, heart attacks, heaven, and close calls.
"Gregor does not believe in an afterlife, though he has more proof than most that one exists."
New fiction: "Gregor, the Saint of Close Calls" by Spencer Nitkey aka @spencerwriting.bsky.social
www.matchbooklitmag.com/mb/nitkey/gr...
New fiction: "Gregor, the Saint of Close Calls" by Spencer Nitkey aka @spencerwriting.bsky.social
www.matchbooklitmag.com/mb/nitkey/gr...
Gregor, the Saint of Close Calls | matchbook
www.matchbooklitmag.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Really, really excited about this piece of very small fiction out today w/ @matchbooklitmag.bsky.social. It's about high school wrestling, heart attacks, heaven, and close calls.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Vaccines cause adults
Tylenol causes pain relief
Neurodiversity is good
Tylenol causes pain relief
Neurodiversity is good
September 22, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Vaccines cause adults
Tylenol causes pain relief
Neurodiversity is good
Tylenol causes pain relief
Neurodiversity is good
Very pleased to say that someone did indeed want to buy it and it will be available for you to read in a couple of months!
I'm a former nurse with associated PTSD and have a banger of a flash story already written featuring this kind of tech if anybody wants to buy it. Just saying.
(This headline is also sensationalizing somewhat. Don't take the ragebait)
(This headline is also sensationalizing somewhat. Don't take the ragebait)
‘E-tattoo’ could track mental workload for people in high-stake jobs, study says
September 22, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Very pleased to say that someone did indeed want to buy it and it will be available for you to read in a couple of months!
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Honestly thinking a system that'll happily flag 'too round' breasts as suggestive would somehow handle censorship of any kind well is naive. Some identities and bodies are unfairly seen as inherently more explicit than others and you know they are always the ppl impacted in collateral damage
September 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Honestly thinking a system that'll happily flag 'too round' breasts as suggestive would somehow handle censorship of any kind well is naive. Some identities and bodies are unfairly seen as inherently more explicit than others and you know they are always the ppl impacted in collateral damage
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Some sketches before I disappear for a while.
September 21, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Some sketches before I disappear for a while.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
Reposted by RJ Aurand
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! I am delighted to be the guest editor for the 59th issue of Eye to the Telescope, which is seeking speculative poetry (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc) on the theme of "Immortality." This is a paid call, open from today through January 15th, 2026. Submissions link below.
September 18, 2025 at 12:21 AM
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! I am delighted to be the guest editor for the 59th issue of Eye to the Telescope, which is seeking speculative poetry (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc) on the theme of "Immortality." This is a paid call, open from today through January 15th, 2026. Submissions link below.
Reposted by RJ Aurand
I'm not participating in a blackout because the point is moderation and others want me and those like me gone, and I would much rather continue to occupy the space I helped build rather than give everyone a chance to feel how much "better" it is without me. why wither when you can be a thorn.
September 21, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I'm not participating in a blackout because the point is moderation and others want me and those like me gone, and I would much rather continue to occupy the space I helped build rather than give everyone a chance to feel how much "better" it is without me. why wither when you can be a thorn.