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voidcricket.bsky.social
Ren Hutchings
@voidcricket.bsky.social
2.8K followers 340 following 110 posts
SFF writer, writing mentor, editor, reader, fan 🪐 Author of Under Fortunate Stars, An Unbreakable World, The Legend Liminal, more to come 💫 Rep: Ernie Chiara @ Fuse Literary 🚀 she/they 🏳️‍🌈

website: renhutchings.com
links: linktr.ee/voidcricket
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voidcricket.bsky.social
My soft sci-fi novella, THE LEGEND LIMINAL, is out today from @starsandsabers.bsky.social! 💫

Climb into the camper van for a surreal roadtrip that slides out of time & reality. TLL is a story about grief, hope, and the shining lifeline of human connection.

🔗: www.starsandsabers.com/books/the-le...
Ren holds up a copy of The Legend Liminal, with an empty desert highway in the background. The cover of the book features a camper van driving on a road shaped like an infinity symbol, in front of a vaporwave-style sunset. The cover of The Legend Liminal by Ren Hutchings is superimposed on an image of an empty desert highway, surrounded by text that says: ➜ Surreal contemporary speculative novella ➜ A slip out of time & reality ➜ Friends on a fateful roadtrip ➜ An unsettling liminal world ➜ A mysterious spooky cat ➜ Messy sibling relationships ➜ Vibes: Donnie Darko meets FINNA ➜ Navigating grief & finding lifelines in one another The cover of the book features a camper van driving on a road shaped like an infinity symbol, in front of a vaporwave-style sunset.
September 30, 2025 at 4:41 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Thank you to these incredible authors who blurbed THE LEGEND LIMINAL 🥹

@khanwong.bsky.social
@aijiang.bsky.social
@rebeccafraimow.bsky.social
@clairewinn.bsky.social
@katemurray.bsky.social
Check out these SFF books for your TBR! Image: book covers arranged against the backdrop of an empty nighttime highway. The books are Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong, A Palace Near The Wind by Ai Jiang, The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow, City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn, We Who Hunt the Hollow by Kate Murray.
September 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
My surreal roadtrip novella is out soon! Enormous thanks goes out to the brilliant SFF authors who read this weird little book & gave it such heartfelt blurbs.

Please follow them & check out their books! (Tagging them below)

🧭 THE LEGEND LIMINAL is out Sep 30th from @starsandsabers.bsky.social 💫
A stack of books piled up on a wooden desk with a blue cosmic backdrop. THE LEGEND LIMINAL by Ren Hutchings is facing out. Books in the stack are: Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong, A Palace Near The Wind by Ai Jiang, The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow, City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn, We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray.
September 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
📖Storygraph giveaway!🚀 Enter for a chance to win a physical print copy of An Unbreakable World, my new standalone space opera set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars!

🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇸UK/Canada/US

AUW is out now from @solarisbooks.bsky.social 💫

app.thestorygraph.com/giveaways/b3...
Storygraph Giveaway! Win a free copy of my book, An Unbreakable World! (UK/CAN/US only, terms & conditions apply.) An Unbreakable World is: - Standalone space opera - For readers who love K.B. Wagers, Alex White & Becky chambers - Set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars An image of the book An Unbreakable World by Ren Hutchings is surrounded by the information above about the giveaway, on a cosmic background. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
September 20, 2025 at 7:12 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Thanks so much to the readers who came to see @garethlpowell.bsky.social & me in Bristol, & to @forbiddenplanet.bsky.social for hosting!

Signed copies of An Unbreakable World will be at FP shops, keep an eye out at your local one 👀

📸 3rd left pic by Heather Child, thanks @heatherika.bsky.social!
A collage of images of Gareth Powell & Ren Hutchings at their book signing event at Forbidden Planet. The authors sitting together at a table with stacks of their books & tall bookshelves in the background, the authors in a closeup selfie, the authors signing & dedicating copies of Who Will You Save? and An Unbreakable World. The images are arranged on a starry backdrop. A display showing the book An Unbreakable World by Ren Hutchings at Forbidden Planet, and several copies of the book propped up on a plinth. The cover features a planet with an orbiting moon seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
September 19, 2025 at 10:37 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
⭐️BOOK LAUNCH incoming!⭐️

See you this evening, Bristol!! Come see @garethlpowell.bsky.social & me in conversation, hear us reading from our new books & pick up a signed copy at Forbidden Planet, 5:30 pm!👋

🚀WHO WILL YOU SAVE?
Gareth L. Powell

🚀AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD
Ren Hutchings
GARETH L. POWELL & REN HUTCHINGS BOOK LAUNCH THURS. 18 SEPT. 5:30PM FORBIDDEN PLANET BRISTOL UNITS 4&5 CLIFTON HEIGHTS TRIANGLE WEST BRISTOL, BS8 1EJ FORBIDDENPLANET.COM/EVENTS
September 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
I wrote about some of the themes & ideas in AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD for "The Big Idea."🪐 Thank you @scalzi.com for the feature!

An Unbreakable World is a standalone novel set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars.
Out now from @solarisbooks.bsky.social

🔗: whatever.scalzi.com/2025/09/11/t...
A hand holds up a copy of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD, against a green cosmic background. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft. An Unbreakable World is a standalone novel set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars. An excerpt of the Big Idea post appears above the book cover: "Both of the Union Quadrant books touch on themes about storytelling, memory, and the historical record. But the thing I really wanted to explore in An Unbreakable World is the way our search for a bigger meaning often begins with our most personal choices.”
September 12, 2025 at 10:46 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
🪐💫 AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD is out now! @solarisbooks.bsky.social

It's a standalone space opera set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars. I hope you'll love Page, Maelle, Dalya & the Storyteller!

September 9th:
📱🎧 Ebook & audiobook
📖 US/Canada paperback

September 11th:
📖 UK/Europe paperback
Ren holds up a copy of An Unbreakable World against a pink cosmic background. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft. A new standalone space opera set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars, available in ebook, audio & paperback. Out now from Solaris Books! Image: A hand holds up a copy of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD, against a pink cosmic background. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
September 9, 2025 at 12:57 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Thanks so much to these amazing authors!💫

@unamccormack.bsky.social
@kbwagers.com
@essahansen.bsky.social
@katemurray.bsky.social
@khanwong.bsky.social
@taranhunt.bsky.social
@clairewinn.bsky.social
@dr-bethany-jacobs.bsky.social
@rebeccafraimow.bsky.social
@garethlpowell.bsky.social
Check out these SFF books for your TBR! Image: 10 book covers arranged in a square around the text. The books are Star Trek Picard: Second Self by Una McCormack, Hold Fast Through the Fire by K.B. Wagers, Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen, We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray, Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong, The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt, City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn, These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs, Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow, Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell.
September 7, 2025 at 2:21 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
I want to send out a huge thank you to all the incredible SFF authors who read AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD early & offered such lovely words about it in their blurbs!📖💫

Please give them a follow & check out their fab books (I'll tag them all below!)

🪐 AUW is out on Sep 9th from @solarisbooks.bsky.social
A stack of books is piled up on a wooden desk with a blue cosmic backdrop. AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD by Ren Hutchings is facing out; the cover features an image of a planet with an orbiting moon seen from above through the window of a spacecraft. Books in the stack are: These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs, Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen, The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt, Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong, Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow, Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell, City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn, We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray, Star Trek Picard: Second Self by Una McCormack, Hold Fast Through the Fire by K.B. Wagers.
September 7, 2025 at 2:21 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
OUT NOW! 🎶 "You'll Know It When It's Over" is on streaming platforms!

A fictional classic hit song from my sci-fi book An Unbreakable World, brought to life by the inimitable Mathias Kom of The Burning Hell!

📖 AUW is out Sep 9th from @solarisbooks.bsky.social

▶️ open.spotify.com/track/6EXtHc...
Mathias & Ren hold up a copy of the book An Unbreakable World, in a photo next to the cover of the music single for "You'll Know It When It's Over." Both the book cover & the music cover feature a space/planet motif. "You'll Know It When It's Over" An original song from An Unbreakable World - The Burning Hell Now streaming on Spotify, Apple & Youtube
September 4, 2025 at 9:49 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Fall TBR time!🍁🪐

🍸Local Heavens
@kmfajardo.bsky.social

⚡️One Last Game
@authortachan.bsky.social

🌲The First Thousand Trees
@premeemohamed.com

💫Terms of Service
@cielpierlot.bsky.social

⛵️Saltcrop
@yumewrites.bsky.social

🍄Human Scars on Planet Skin
@nathanielluscombe.bsky.social /Effie Joe Stock
2D book covers on a space background, surrounding the words “FALL 2025 SCIENCE FICTION TBR.” The books are the following upcoming sci-fi titles: - Local Heavens by K.M Fajardo - One Last Game by T.A. Chan - The First Thousand Trees by Premee Mohamed - Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei - Terms of Service by Ciel Pierlot - Human Scars on Planet Skin by Effie Joe Stock & Nathaniel Luscombe
September 3, 2025 at 10:54 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
I found another vintage Bradbury pic from 2022! 😄
A tiny stuffed narwhal sits with a purple astronaut doll, surrounded by book swag from Under Fortunate Stars
September 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Unboxing finished copies of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD, a new standalone novel set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars! 🪐

A petty thief with missing memories is pulled into a risky scheme that might just change everything...

Coming Sep 9th from @solarisbooks.bsky.social

🔗: geni.us/unbrw
Ren holds three copies of An Unbreakable World, showing the cover to the camera. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft. A copy of An Unbreakable World held up against a brick wall. The book cover features a planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
August 27, 2025 at 8:03 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Two strips of photobooth-style pictures show Ren unboxing a stack of copies of The Legend Liminal and holding the book up to the camera.
August 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
THEY’RE HERE! 🌅🚙♾️ Unboxing my author copies in all their vaporwave glory!

THE LEGEND LIMINAL is my surreal weird-roadtrip novella with Donnie Darko x FINNA vibes, out Sep 30th from @starsandsabers.bsky.social

🎨 Cover art by @kiwifruitbird.bsky.social

🔗 www.starsandsabers.com/books/the-le...
Ren holds up several copies of The Legend Liminal. The cover shows a sunset scene of a highway in the shape of an infinity symbol and a van with headlights on. A bright pink vaporwave sun is in the sky, and there is a lit-up motel in the background. Two strips of photobooth-style pictures show Ren unboxing a stack of copies of The Legend Liminal and holding the book up to the camera. A copy of the Legend Liminal held up against a brick wall. The cover shows a sunset scene of a highway in the shape of an infinity symbol and a van with headlights on. A bright pink vaporwave sun is in the sky, and there is a lit-up motel in the background. A stack of copies of The Legend Liminal, showing the spines with the title on them.
August 16, 2025 at 3:45 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
It's out today! 🔮 I have a short story in here, alongside an absolutely fabulous list of contributors! "The Brightest and Most Remarkable" is about a pair of rival student mages in a sentient library... 📖
It's out now! 31 magical stories! My hand holding up the anthology titled "OF ENCHANTMENT, ENIGMA, AND THE INFINITE," against a purple sparkly background. The book cover features purple and gold images including moths, a crystal ball & a dragon. A picture of the anthology open to my story, "The Brightest and Most Remarkable" by Ren Hutchings, with a purple bookmark holding it open. My story is about a pair of rival student mages in a sentient library!
August 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Come see our panel on SATURDAY at MCM London!
I’ll be on the Writers Block stage with some incredible authors to talk about writing in genre fiction 🚀🧛‍♂️⏱️

@mcmcomiccon.bsky.social

Space, Vampires and Time Travel: Writing in Genre Fiction
Saturday, May 24, 2025
6:00 PM - 6:45 PM
Space, Vampires and Time Travel: Writing in Genre Fiction MCM Comic Con London Sat, May 24, 2025 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM Writers Block Stage Guests: Adrian Tchaikovsky Gareth L. Powell Helen Glynn Jones Ren Hutchings Genre fiction is increasingly popular, with sci-fi, fantasy and romantasy dominating the best-seller lists. Our panel of authors will discuss how they got into their relative spaces, how to find an audience and what it is that keeps readers coming back for more. MCM Comic Con London Sat, May 24, 2025 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM Writers Block Stage
May 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD is available for request on NetGalley! If you’re a SF-loving reviewer, book blogger, author, librarian, or bookseller who’d like to read it early, I’d love it if you had a look 🚀

www.netgalley.co.uk/catalog/book...

Coming September 2025 from @solarisbooks.bsky.social💫
AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD is available to request now on Netgalley! The cover of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD is shown on an e-reader. The book cover features a green planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft. The cover of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD surrounded by arrows pointing to words: ➜Standalone space opera ➜Set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars ➜A petty thief with lost memories ➜Complicated families ➜Unlikely allies ➜An isolated world with big secrets ➜A galaxy fractured by an interstellar war ➜A revenge scheme worth risking it all The book cover features a green planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
May 21, 2025 at 11:49 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
If you loved Under Fortunate Stars, my next space opera is set in the same universe! They’re both standalones, so you can read them in either order🚀

I can’t wait to share this one with new & returning readers!

💫 AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD is out Sep 2025 from @solarisbooks.bsky.social

geni.us/unbrw
AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD: A collage of images including a starry galaxy, a bird flying across a sunset, a sunlit path through the woods, an armillary sphere, a closeup of greenery, two people holding hands, a pair of hands holding a fern, an intricately embroidered dress, and a view out of the porthole of a space vessel. The cover of AN UNBREAKABLE WORLD surrounded by arrows pointing to words: ➜Standalone space opera ➜Set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars ➜A petty thief with lost memories ➜Complicated families ➜Unlikely allies ➜An isolated world with big secrets ➜A galaxy fractured by an interstellar war ➜A revenge scheme worth risking it all The book cover features a green planet with an orbiting moon, seen from above through the window of a spacecraft.
May 10, 2025 at 11:39 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
#UnderFortunateStars is a character-focused space opera about accidental time travel, a history nerd to the rescue, & the perils of meeting your heroes.

If this sounds like your jam, you can find it wherever you get your books! I'd love it if you added it to your TBR💕📚💫

@solarisbooks.bsky.social
A square collage of nine images, with the Under Fortunate Stars title text in the center: a pile of old books, a starchart, a figure holding a helmet, a technical blueprint, a spaceship seen from outside, a woman looking up at clouds, a control screen, a closeup of the definition of ‘history.’ A blurb from K.B. Wagers reads: “A perfect novel featuring my favorite time-travel paradox. This is an absolute must-read for anyone needing a little hope.” A starred review from Library Journal reads: “An engaging space saga with time-travel twists, and a compelling look at how past and future are created not only by those who live it but by those who record it.” A collage of various images of Under Fortunate Stars books, including bookstore displays, bookshelves, a hand holding up the book, UFS bookmarks, an image of the advance reader copy, and a photo of a sketch where a makeup artist has used the bright colours from the UFS cover to create an alien-looking makeup look.
May 10, 2025 at 11:23 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
🎂 3 years since Under Fortunate Stars! My debut time-hopping space opera was first published on May 10, 2022 🚀

Thank you so much to all the incredible readers, sci-fi fans, book reviewers, booksellers, librarians & friends who have made these three years such a joy!

🚀 @solarisbooks.bsky.social
An image of Ren holding up the hardcover and paperback editions of Under Fortunate Stars, and the same image reversed in negative on the other side of the frame, echoing the image on the UFS cover which has two mirrored spaceships in the top and bottom corners. Colourful text says “Happy Birthday Under Fortunate Stars”
May 10, 2025 at 10:51 AM
voidcricket.bsky.social
Both of my amazing covers for the Union Quadrant books are designed by Dominic Forbes!

Here's a blog post about the cover design process for Under Fortunate Stars: www.renhutchings.com/post/creatin...
Cover of Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings: two spaceships mirrored on a blue, pink and green space background Cover of An Unbreakable World by Ren Hutchings: the view from a spaceship window, showing a planet and an orbiting moon against a pink, green and blue space background
April 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
The @barnesandnoble.com preorder sale is back! Upcoming titles are on special sale from April 23-25, and B&N rewards members get 25% off with the code PREORDER25💫

If twisty, character-driven space opera is your jam, you can preorder #AnUnbreakableWorld right here:

tinyurl.com/ys7e57dw
An Unbreakable World by Ren Hutchings: Preorders are 25% off at Barnes & Noble from April 23-25 with the code PREORDER25 An Unbreakable World by Ren Hutchings: ➜ Standalone space opera ➜ Set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars ➜ A petty thief with lost memories ➜ Complicated families ➜ Unlikely allies ➜ An isolated world with big secrets ➜ A galaxy fractured by an interstellar war ➜ A revenge scheme worth risking it all
April 23, 2025 at 12:10 PM
voidcricket.bsky.social
An Unbreakable World is a standalone novel set in the same universe as Under Fortunate Stars; they can be read in either order 💫

Under Fortunate Stars is out now from @solarisbooks.bsky.social; #AnUnbreakableWorld is out Fall 2025!

Can't wait to share this story with new & returning readers💕
An Unbreakable World and Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings. A venn diagram shows An Unbreakable World at the top and Under Fortunate Stars at the bottom. In the Unbreakable World slice: a revenge scheme worth risking it all, a petty thief with lost memories & a mysterious past, an isolated planet with big secrets, complicated families. In the shared center: standalone space opera, twisty plot, character-focused SF, themes of memory, choice & history, set in the same universe. In the Under Fortunate Stars slice: accidental time travel, the perils of meeting your heroes, a history nerd to the rescue, one chance to save the future.
April 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM