Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 11h

Do you like awesome spec fiction? Do you like awesome spec magazines? Are you yourself awesome*?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then please consider donating to Apex's Kickstarter because they make the world awesome!

*Pro Tip: Awesome people donate to Apex. 😁

Apex Magazine (is funding for 2026!) 🎉 @apexmag.bsky.social · 1d

NEW KICKSTARTER TIER UNLOCKED! At 110%, each backer will receive a NEW BRAIN 🧠 with zero microplastics*🚮, a normal amount of dopamine**😃✨, and the ability to see shrimp colors***🦐🌈!

* okay maybe a few microplastics
**what is “normal” anyway?
*** 9 out of 10 shrimps recommend!

Apex Magazine 2026

An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

www.kickstarter.com

2 5

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 22h

Thank you!

2

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks! These are my favorite things to knit, I think.

Haha, I mean, maybe. I have made a bubble stitch adult beanie before. I'd just need to figure out the leaf top section...

1

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you! Giving these as gifts also guarantees I get some of the first baby pics when the little kiddos are born. Win win!

1

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 1d

Quick question: In the submission guidelines where it says "a short pitch/synopsis of the concept", do you mean you want BOTH a short (1-2 paragraph) pitch and a synopsis (1 page), or do you just want one of those?

1 3

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 1d

Grape Baby Beanie! 🧶🍇

Made this as a gift for a friend's baby shower. I used the bubble stitch for the grape cluster body. The stem is a continuation from decreasing the beanie down to 6 stitches, and the vines are i-cords that I cinched with a back and forth stitch to make them curly.

Knit baby beanie that looks like a bunch of grapes. The body is knit in purple yarn in the bubble stitch and the top is light green to look like leaves. A small stem and two curly vines stick out from the top of the beanie. It is the definition of adorable.

3 3 51

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 2d

Happy Birthday!

How about a tiny story about a secret hobby that brings a character joy.

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

V. Astor Solomon @howsweetthewords.bsky.social · 2d

It's my birthday!

And, becasue I'm me, I now want to write more tiny stories after catching up with ones I owed. So yes, let's do this thing.

Leave me a prompt of some kind and get a tiny story in exchange.

(Optional themes: trick or treat, or secrets and confessions)

6 3 11

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 3d

Some days* you just need to toss all responsibilities out the window and play video games.

*today

10

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 4d

Same!!! I can't wait to dive deeper into this new series.

1 1

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 4d

Look what I found in the bargain book bin! Hardcover! Glorious!! Only $12!!! I snatched that up SO FAST! 📖😁

I casually read the beginning while waiting in line and I am HOOKED! A moment of silence for the five other books I am currently reading. 😆

Hardcover copy of The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart.

1 4

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 5d

We reported on the spare the air days because those are all during the summer, no indoor heating necessary, and burning is not allowed on those days, but there's really no enforcement of it at all.

2 1

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 5d

It used to be worse. Someone used to burn their garbage. 💀

1

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 5d

There's someone in my neighborhood who burns CONSTANTLY (even on spare the air days 😒) and it makes it impossible to exist.

2 1

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

On Spec Magazine @onspecmag.bsky.social · 5d

With our new issue, we are making the sad announcement that this will be the final year for On Spec. See www.onspec.ca for details.

23 49 130

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 6d

The new nail polish reminds me of something...💅😆

(I swear this wasn't planned. Sometimes the marketing gods smile on me because they know I am so bad at it I need divine intervention to get folks to read my stuff. 😅)

Anyway, behold my awesome nails and go behold this awesome anthology! 💜

The purple cover of the Dark Hearts anthology with my hand over top of it showing off my dark iridescent purple nail polish that matches the cover.

4

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

Nico Martinez Nocito | Writer @nicowritesbooks.bsky.social · 7d

I'm absolutely thrilled that @apexmag.bsky.social Issue 151 is out - containing my drabble 'Don't Hide From the Mirror', the first piece I've published with Apex!

🏳️‍⚧️ trans euphoria
🩸body horror
✒️only 100 words!

Check out the full issue now!

Apex Magazine Issue 151

EDITORIALMusings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL FICTION"Liecraft" by Anita Moskát, translated by Austin Wagner"Ghosts of Summer" by Catherine Tavares "Code Green" by Rebecca Johnson "We Used ...

www.apexbookcompany.com

6 17

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

Apex Magazine (is funding for 2026!) 🎉 @apexmag.bsky.social · 6d

📢 Exciting book news alert!!

"Apex Book Company is thrilled to announce the reissue of Jason Sanford’s Plague Birds with an additional short story coming out June 2026. Additionally, Apex has acquired Jason Sanford’s sequel novel to Plague Birds, coming out October 2026." 🍾🎉📚

Apex Book Company 2026 Acquisitions

Apex Book Company is thrilled to announce the reissue of Jason Sanford’s Plague Birds with an additional short story, “Little Fathers of Darkness,” coming out June 2026. Additionally, Apex Book Compan...

www.apexbookcompany.com

2 5 33

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 6d

You made it halfway through the week *and* we still have free shipping? Sounds like the perfect time to treat yourself to a new book and support indie bookstores in the process. 📚

3 230 520

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 7d

"Ghosts of Summer" published in @apexmag.bsky.social. Summertime is for summoning ghosts.

Apex Magazine Issue 151

EDITORIALMusings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL FICTION"Liecraft" by Anita Moskát, translated by Austin Wagner"Ghosts of Summer" by Catherine Tavares "Code Green" by Rebecca Johnson "We Used ...

www.apexbookcompany.com

2 3

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

The Deadlands @thedeadlands.com · 8d

it's here, The Deadlands fundraiser 💀

buy your very 2026 coin for the ferryman and help support us

we've got signed books, deadlands issues + psychopomp book bundles, and more coming soon!

please like + RT this to help spread the word

psychopomp.com/the-deadland...

behold!

Illustration of a white skull partially obscured by colorful mushrooms and plants. Different fungi sprout from and around the skull, including red mushrooms with white spots, yellow fan-shaped mushrooms, gray cluster mushrooms, and orange bulbous mushrooms, with green and purple plants filling the background. A ribbon at the bottom of the skull reads “ADMIT ONE.”

8 120 140

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 7d

Shout-out to the bakery worker at the grocery store who, when I asked if they had any two-packs of their cookies, said no and then proceeded to open up one of the family packs and make me my own two-pack of cookies. You're the best! 🍪

6

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 7d

It's here! @apexmag.bsky.social issue 151 is out now and contains my story "Ghosts of Summer"!!! The end of summer and the beginning of spooky season collide as two witches try to beat the summer heat. But high temperatures and magic are a dangerous combination. 👻☀️

Check out the full issue below:

Apex Magazine Issue 151

EDITORIALMusings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL FICTION"Liecraft" by Anita Moskát, translated by Austin Wagner"Ghosts of Summer" by Catherine Tavares "Code Green" by Rebecca Johnson "We Used ...

www.apexbookcompany.com

9 17

Catherine Tavares @cjtavares.bsky.social · 7d

All right folks, I got all the info I needed, so the October newsletter will be coming out tomorrow. Not subscribed? Well, you can sign up for free and get a bonus sci-fi flash today and the October newsletter tomorrow!

Catherine Tavares' Newsletter

Updates, news, and insights from speculative fiction author Catherine Tavares

catherinetavares.beehiiv.com

3

Reposted by Catherine Tavares

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 7d

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

63 2.8K 7.8K