Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
@laurenwrites.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.7K following 2.6K posts
📝Writer, editor, proofreader, coach & mentor 👻Writes the dark stuff 😈TWF EIC at Horror Tree 📣Publicity at British Fantasy Society 🤘Founder, Society of Ink Slingers 🔮Curator, Writing the Occult 👩‍💻Day job: Content marketing & community management 🇦🇺in🇬🇧
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Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
theholmwoodfnd.bsky.social
THE HOLMWOOD FOUNDATION SEASON TWO IS NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER!

Help us reach our goal of 40k to create Season Two of our found footage horror fiction podcast, The Holmwood Foundation.

Click the link below for more information, and an array of exciting tier rewards!

tinyurl.com/THF-S2
Coming soon: The Holmwood Foundation - Season Two
Season Two of the horror-fiction audio drama about possession, queer identity, and Dracula's severed head!
tinyurl.com
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
lindzmcleod.bsky.social
Did you know that the audiobook for my sapphic pirate horror QUEEN O'NINE TAILS' just dropped? 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈

If you like snarky, good-with-their-hands spies who are Definitely, For Sure, Not At All attracted to the hot but unhinged pirate queens who capture them, then this is going to (ahem) float your boat.
Audible
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laurenwrites.bsky.social
Headed to the British Library again for research purposes. May as well use the technical unemployment for good purposes, right?
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Nuzo's new one is out! And you can win a copy!
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Queen of African horror @nuzo.bsky.social tells us about the genesis of her new novel, Futility, which hits shelves today via @titanbooks.bsky.social. Plus, your chance to win a copy!

britishfantasysociety.org/from-pen-to-...
Stylised text reads: From pen to print: Nuzo Onoh on Futility. Along the right side of the graphic are the cover of Futility, plus a photo of Nuzo herself: a black woman with long braids, wearing red lipstick, a blue shirt, and yellow necklace beads.
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Such a great day! And I’m glad I got to finally link you to the queen of historical polar horror themselves, @unheimlichmanvr.bsky.social 🖤
laurenwrites.bsky.social
This is a seriously great book. Seriously. Strong female rage.
vlatinalondon.bsky.social
Yes,it’s a lusty book but at its heart it’s about perseverance in the face of colonial oppression AND the lingering mindset.This is no slave and master romance. It’s I won’t be a slave or mastered by anything or anyone. We determine our worth even in the midst of erasure. Malinalli deserved to live
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
alexdavis1981.bsky.social
A weekend of folk horror goodness ahead this December, with DARKNESS IN THE FIELDS: MIDWINTER 2 running on the 6th and 7th, with a wide range of panels, workshops and interviews! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/darkness-i... #folkhorror #folklore #horror
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Allen Ashley's dipping into the influential stuff for this month's classic genre films column: without this one, he says, there'd be no Dr Who or Star Trek!
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Allen Ashley is training his eye on classic genre films, looking at not just the film but the context in which they were released. For the latest instalment in his new blog series, he's visiting an influential device - he's jumping into The Time Machine.

britishfantasysociety.org/classic-genr...
Three stills from the 1960 film The Time Machine
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
tadethompson.bsky.social
We are not trivialising LLMs.

Copyright theft is not trivial.

Environmental damage is not trivial.

Unreliability is not trivial.

Risk to human cognition is not trivial.

Ignoring consent when shoving it into every fucking thing while making us pay our hard-earned money for it is not trivial.
laurenwrites.bsky.social
So damn good! You need to plan a trip to London Town 😉
laurenwrites.bsky.social
I'm so excited to be heading to the press event for the Dark Secrets exhibition this morning, on behalf of @britfantasysoc.bsky.social. There's even going to be a Victorian-style seance! Stay tuned for my thoughts...

I'll have @unheimlichmanvr.bsky.social in tow. She is indifferent to the cause.
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Clive wrote for The Bill! Yes, that impressed me much.
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). This week we're talking scripts and classic horror films with Clive Dawson, whose work you've likely watched at some point.
britishfantasysociety.org/meet-clive-d...
On a black background with flourishes of red dots and lines is the text: Meet the BFS members! Clive Dawson. Clive is pictured in the centre: a traditional corporate headshot of an older white man wearing a shirt
laurenwrites.bsky.social
A pleasure, as always, to chat with Lee Murray and Dave Jeffery about these important matters.
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Ahead of tomorrow's World Mental Health Day, @laurenwrites.bsky.social caught up with @leemurraywriter.bsky.social & @davejeffery.bsky.social, editors of Flame Tree anthology This Way Lies Madness, to chat about stigmas & how horror can actually help us.

britishfantasysociety.org/this-way-lie...
A graphic representing mental health: a human head with green plant growth emerging from the brain
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
coyhall.bsky.social
In an age lit by fire, only the most curious and driven souls turned a flame to the unknown. The least fortunate peered beyond the veil.

This World of Vile Wonder: Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution releases October 20. Ebook preorder up now on Amazon & Kobo ⬇️
laurenwrites.bsky.social
What does it take to create the dark stuff? This month's BFS expert is @danielwillcocks.bsky.social, and he's ready to answer your questions...
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
It's October, which means - yes, you guessed it - we're going dark for this month's ask an expert column with @danielwillcocks.bsky.social !

Ever wondered why someone turns to the dark side of writing? How you can create tension? How you can unsettle, or even scare the pants off your reader? 🧵⬇️
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Awesome competition alert! You don't even need to be a BFS member to enter this one - it's open to all members of the BAME/Global Majority Community.
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Our fabulous outreach officer @justmarvewrites.bsky.social has secured tickets to this month’s Black British Book Festival at the Barbican in London—and she’s giving them away to two lucky people! Find out how to enter ⬇️

britishfantasysociety.org/win-a-ticket...
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
gretacolombani.bsky.social
Very new on these blue skies so I'm promoting just to the happy few, but this @britfantasysoc.bsky.social spooktacular event is happening tonight at Waterstones Covent Garden and I can't wait to peer behind the veil with these terrific authors 🌳🦀🔍

🎟️ Tickets here: www.waterstones.com/events/cross...
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Bah! I just shared the old version of this on the BFS account because I couldn't find the one with you in it! Sorry :(
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Started a course on writing dark fiction: Yay!
Homework for first week is to write a short synopsis of my idea: Boo!

What is my idea?! Brain is not working. Shit.
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Thanks to Gemma, aka @manylittlewords.bsky.social, for sharing more about ITCH! and her process with the BFS 🖤
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Acclaimed horror writer, editor, voice actor, podcaster, and artist @manylittlewords.bsky.social tells us about the genesis of ITCH!, her latest feminist horror hitting shelves just in time for spooky season.

britishfantasysociety.org/from-pen-to-...
On a white background is the text: From pen to print: Gemma Amor on ITCH! The book cover for ITCH! is pictured top right; it is a bright pink with black and yellow writing, and features a close-up of an eye. Gemma is pictured underneath this: she is a white woman with long brown hair; she has one hand on the side of her head and looks at the camera with one eyebrow slightly raised.
laurenwrites.bsky.social
I loved this chat! Could've gone for hours... Thanks to Marko, Lorraine and Suyi for sharing so freely 🖤
davidgreenwriter.bsky.social
Great panel with @rainewilson.bsky.social, @suyidavies.com and Marko Hautala, moderated by @laurenwrites.bsky.social: Dark Fantasy vs Horror.

No fighting yet, but excellent discussion on another @britfantasysoc.bsky.social online day 🙌
Reposted by Lauren (LJ) McMenemy
poopraven.bsky.social
It's a lovely morning on the internet and you are a horrible queer!

Drop your links to queer books! Yours, someone else's, tradpub, indie, share ALL THE QUEER BOOKS to make a fash shit themselves.

Go!!!
laurenwrites.bsky.social
Heads-up: @davidmbarnett.bsky.social will also be part of the BFS's Something Monstrous day tomorrow (online - the weather is shit, so you should totally come!), as well as joining @abeaumontbooks.bsky.social at Waterstones Covent Garden to chat supernatural stuff next Tuesday.
britfantasysoc.bsky.social
Every Friday, we meet a BFS member & peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Here's a commercial fiction writer who recently turned to folk horror - and became award-nominated as a result. It's @davidmbarnett.bsky.social!

britishfantasysociety.org/meet-david-b...
On a black background with flourishes of red dots and lines is the text: Meet the BFS members! David Barnett. David is pictured in the centre: he's a middle-aged white man with short greying hair and a trimmed beard. He wears a dark grey turtleneck and is looking into the camera at an angle.