Ellen Kushner
@ellenkushner.bsky.social
Author & woman around town. Married to Delia Sherman. Wrote Swordspoint. Host/writer of public radio’s Sound & Spirit. A new gig every 17 years. Back to writing novels. Seeking for further amusement.
I would probably like you.
I would probably like you.
Pinned
Ellen Kushner
@ellenkushner.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Paris to Italy, and back again. With poetry for comfort, and a very great loss . . .
. . . and the usual footnotes
open.substack.com
My esteemed spouse Delia Sherman does not indulge in social media to the rapt extent that I do. But you can keep up with our shenanigans here:
Trad music curious? The great Irish poet and musician Robbie O’Connell, whose deep, long friendship I cherish, now has a Substack that introduces each of his songs with an essay about some aspect of where tradition meets songwriting.
13. Keg of Brandy
Adapted with new music © Robbie O’Connell 1987 Slievenamon Music (BMI)
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Trad music curious? The great Irish poet and musician Robbie O’Connell, whose deep, long friendship I cherish, now has a Substack that introduces each of his songs with an essay about some aspect of where tradition meets songwriting.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
This is a really good thread, and it’s why I decided to go hybrid about 8 years ago. If you need a stable income from your writing, trad publishing on its own is heartbreakingly unreliable.
Sometimes it’s AMAZING. Sometimes it’s bleak. In a longterm career, you’ll see both extremes again & again.
Sometimes it’s AMAZING. Sometimes it’s bleak. In a longterm career, you’ll see both extremes again & again.
I think one of the hardest things about being a career writer in traditional publishing is that writing attracts the neurodivergent brain while the variable reinforcement schedule punishes it. We are all the rat at the water bottle, waiting for the hit of cocaine. You get one win, and you need MORE.
November 20, 2025 at 4:43 PM
This is a really good thread, and it’s why I decided to go hybrid about 8 years ago. If you need a stable income from your writing, trad publishing on its own is heartbreakingly unreliable.
Sometimes it’s AMAZING. Sometimes it’s bleak. In a longterm career, you’ll see both extremes again & again.
Sometimes it’s AMAZING. Sometimes it’s bleak. In a longterm career, you’ll see both extremes again & again.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
“Whenever I read her work, I am reminded why I read fantasy. And why—while I may take breaks, even stop reading fantasy for long periods—I always return to it, and always will.”
Revisiting Patricia McKillip's Timely, Timeless Fantasy - Reactor
A short tribute to the work of one of SFF's greatest writers and storytellers
reactormag.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
“Whenever I read her work, I am reminded why I read fantasy. And why—while I may take breaks, even stop reading fantasy for long periods—I always return to it, and always will.”
Got $5?
This woman’s endless struggle just breaks my heart! Nickels & dimes every month to survive… Could 10 people just throw $5 at her right now, please?
In the USA, there is no mercy for longterm illnesses. Fundraising for yourself is an endless slog, as your monthly needs are high, and there's no golden goal to achieve ahead.
If you can throw a few bucks Rachel's way, it will help.
If you can throw a few bucks Rachel's way, it will help.
November 28, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Got $5?
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
I approve this message.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
From ancient myth to fairy tales to modern fiction, there are many classic tales of singers working magic through their melodies; here are five more recent speculative short stories about the power of song 🎵
Musical Magic: Five SFF Stories About the Power of Song - Reactor
Tales about finding your voice and singing your heart out.
reactormag.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I approve this message.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
Quick, they can’t have gotten far
Thieves have stolen €90,000 worth of fine French snails destined for some of the country’s most prestigious restaurants
Thieves take €90,000 of snails meant for Michelin-starred restaurants
French police are on the trail of ‘experienced’ criminals who stole a whole year’s worth of produce from Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne’s L’Escargot des Grands Crus
www.thetimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Quick, they can’t have gotten far
My latest—just under the wire, as always: ellenkushner.substack.com/p/under-the-...
November 27, 2025 at 4:35 AM
My latest—just under the wire, as always: ellenkushner.substack.com/p/under-the-...
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NYC’s Lander Recommends Dropping $42 Billion BlackRock Mandate
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging three of the city’s pension funds to drop BlackRock Inc. because of “inadequate” climate plans, the latest move to penalize investment firms for failing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I just backed it. Karen's a great writer: "New York's newest neighborhood: When the Cataclysm brought magic roaring back to the world in the late 60s, one of the results was this strip of land heaving out of the Hudson River. Real estate developers rushed in. Now, in the post-Faerie Accords era...."
Magician First Class: Urban Fantasy With Heart
Sparks & Recreation: a new series about magic, community, and doing your best from award-winning author Kate (Karen) Healey
www.kickstarter.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I just backed it. Karen's a great writer: "New York's newest neighborhood: When the Cataclysm brought magic roaring back to the world in the late 60s, one of the results was this strip of land heaving out of the Hudson River. Real estate developers rushed in. Now, in the post-Faerie Accords era...."
what
narrator: 50 years ago...
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
November 25, 2025 at 4:53 AM
what
My passion for still life which in French is called “dead life” perfectly convenes in one of my favorite photographic subjects
November 24, 2025 at 10:26 PM
My passion for still life which in French is called “dead life” perfectly convenes in one of my favorite photographic subjects
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
Fifty percent off all books and ebooks from PM Press with the code GIFT pmpress.org/index.php?l=... includes Marge Piercy, Terry Bisson, Nicola Griffith, John Kessel, Nancy Kress, Vandana Singh, etc and Ann Vandermeer's brilliant SF anthology Sisters of the Revolution pmpress.org/index.php?l=...
New Books
pmpress.org
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Fifty percent off all books and ebooks from PM Press with the code GIFT pmpress.org/index.php?l=... includes Marge Piercy, Terry Bisson, Nicola Griffith, John Kessel, Nancy Kress, Vandana Singh, etc and Ann Vandermeer's brilliant SF anthology Sisters of the Revolution pmpress.org/index.php?l=...
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
we are just over a week out from publication of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the anthology of speculative fiction, essays, and interviews about collective action I co-edited with @annaleen.bsky.social and @drkarenlord.bsky.social which means THERE'S STILL TIME TO PREORDER!
We Will Rise Again
From genre luminaries, esteemed organizers, and exciting new voices in fiction, an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer transfor...
www.simonandschuster.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
we are just over a week out from publication of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the anthology of speculative fiction, essays, and interviews about collective action I co-edited with @annaleen.bsky.social and @drkarenlord.bsky.social which means THERE'S STILL TIME TO PREORDER!
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
Inspired by someone elsewhere, I hereby vow to try to avoid the terms "content" and "content creator," unless I *must* talk about work across so many fields that a generic term is the only one that will suffice. Let's not reduce art, criticism, journalism, etc. to an undifferentiated smear of Stuff.
November 23, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Inspired by someone elsewhere, I hereby vow to try to avoid the terms "content" and "content creator," unless I *must* talk about work across so many fields that a generic term is the only one that will suffice. Let's not reduce art, criticism, journalism, etc. to an undifferentiated smear of Stuff.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
We're at the Middle Earth map.
We're at the subway map.
We're at the combination Middle Earth and Subway map!
And you could be too! These maps and more are for sale on my Etsy page! They make great presents for yourself and others!
#LOTR #maps #subway
www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...
We're at the subway map.
We're at the combination Middle Earth and Subway map!
And you could be too! These maps and more are for sale on my Etsy page! They make great presents for yourself and others!
#LOTR #maps #subway
www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM
We're at the Middle Earth map.
We're at the subway map.
We're at the combination Middle Earth and Subway map!
And you could be too! These maps and more are for sale on my Etsy page! They make great presents for yourself and others!
#LOTR #maps #subway
www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...
We're at the subway map.
We're at the combination Middle Earth and Subway map!
And you could be too! These maps and more are for sale on my Etsy page! They make great presents for yourself and others!
#LOTR #maps #subway
www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
If you're buying gifts for the holidays, maybe consider supporting artists, writers, creators. Gift someone a Patreon, commission an art piece, buy a book, purchase handmade jewelry, etc. Your support means everything.
November 22, 2025 at 8:39 PM
If you're buying gifts for the holidays, maybe consider supporting artists, writers, creators. Gift someone a Patreon, commission an art piece, buy a book, purchase handmade jewelry, etc. Your support means everything.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
A fascinating human, a tremendous indie comics talent—and a writer so good you won’t be sorry to read the updates:
November 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
A fascinating human, a tremendous indie comics talent—and a writer so good you won’t be sorry to read the updates:
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
He knows it's all falling apart. This is a clear reaction to that. He's going to be lashing out more and more as things get worse and worse for him. As I said in a previous post, it's called an 'extinction burst'...and it's happening now in real time.
November 20, 2025 at 9:55 PM
He knows it's all falling apart. This is a clear reaction to that. He's going to be lashing out more and more as things get worse and worse for him. As I said in a previous post, it's called an 'extinction burst'...and it's happening now in real time.
November 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I approve this message.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
From ancient myth to fairy tales to modern fiction, there are many classic tales of singers working magic through their melodies; here are five more recent speculative short stories about the power of song 🎵
Musical Magic: Five SFF Stories About the Power of Song - Reactor
Tales about finding your voice and singing your heart out.
reactormag.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I approve this message.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
I’ve decided my mission this year is to get more people to accept that singing is our natural heritage.
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
"No longer 'socially acceptable' to carry around a cool rock & show it to people you meet."
🤨
🤨
One of the tragedies of growing up is it's apparently no longer "socially acceptable" to carry around a cool rock & show it to people you meet.
So I have to respect the Chinese, Korean & Japanese for having a tradition of finding cool rocks & displaying them.
Let's talk about scholar's stones.
So I have to respect the Chinese, Korean & Japanese for having a tradition of finding cool rocks & displaying them.
Let's talk about scholar's stones.
November 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"No longer 'socially acceptable' to carry around a cool rock & show it to people you meet."
🤨
🤨
WORD
I think one of the hardest things about being a career writer in traditional publishing is that writing attracts the neurodivergent brain while the variable reinforcement schedule punishes it. We are all the rat at the water bottle, waiting for the hit of cocaine. You get one win, and you need MORE.
November 20, 2025 at 3:28 PM
WORD
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
This woman’s endless struggle just breaks my heart! Nickels & dimes every month to survive… Could 10 people just throw $5 at her right now, please?
In the USA, there is no mercy for longterm illnesses. Fundraising for yourself is an endless slog, as your monthly needs are high, and there's no golden goal to achieve ahead.
If you can throw a few bucks Rachel's way, it will help.
If you can throw a few bucks Rachel's way, it will help.
Donate to Support Rachel's Medical Challenges and Recovery, organized by Rachel Kadushin
Almost an Emergency, and Heading Towards Recovery!
Medical issues… Rachel Kadushin needs your support for Support Rachel's Medical Challenges and Recovery
gofund.me
November 19, 2025 at 3:59 AM
This woman’s endless struggle just breaks my heart! Nickels & dimes every month to survive… Could 10 people just throw $5 at her right now, please?
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Ellen Kushner
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.