Alicia Spencer-Hall
@aspencerhall.bsky.social
Writer. Researcher. Editor. Genderqueer femme. Crip. She/they.
// medieval lit / media / gender / disability / pop culture //
https://linktr.ee/aspencerhall
// medieval lit / media / gender / disability / pop culture //
https://linktr.ee/aspencerhall
Pinned
So I wrote a book about Twitter. Medieval Twitter to be exact---the interconnections between Twitter's textual modes & medieval literary culture(s), plus medievalists' use of Twitter and the #MedievalTwitter hashtag
www.arc-humanities.org/978194240195...
@archumanities.bsky.social #MedievalSky 🗃️
www.arc-humanities.org/978194240195...
@archumanities.bsky.social #MedievalSky 🗃️
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
God this is so motivating.
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
God this is so motivating.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Just to note, it took me 6 years of consistently posting to get to $200 on Patreon. And I don't regret it but getting to this point was a lot of work.
November 26, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Just to note, it took me 6 years of consistently posting to get to $200 on Patreon. And I don't regret it but getting to this point was a lot of work.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
forgot about this old book riot post because we’ve been having these conversations for so long bookriot.com/book-pirates/
Book Pirates Buy More Books, and Other Unintuitive Book Piracy Facts
Contrary to most depictions of book piracy, this extensive survey suggests that book pirates buy more books than the average reader.
bookriot.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:05 AM
forgot about this old book riot post because we’ve been having these conversations for so long bookriot.com/book-pirates/
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
If you have ever thought that my journalism or my first book were net positives for the world, understand that they probably would not exist if I did not have a spouse who paid the mortgage. If I'd been a solo earner/parent, I likely would have left criticism, journalism or book writing long ago.
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 PM
If you have ever thought that my journalism or my first book were net positives for the world, understand that they probably would not exist if I did not have a spouse who paid the mortgage. If I'd been a solo earner/parent, I likely would have left criticism, journalism or book writing long ago.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Maybe it's mAIbelline, maybe it's vaporware? Finished my "Vaporware Luddites" print & it is very extra indeed:
November 25, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Maybe it's mAIbelline, maybe it's vaporware? Finished my "Vaporware Luddites" print & it is very extra indeed:
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
In stead of sending a link to old threads every time someone uses the term "Dark Ages", I decided to put it all in an article.
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”
This is not YET another article on why calling the early middle ages the dark ages is iffy, it’s a list of sources & references. These days most historians no longer use the term “D…
fakehistoryhunter.net
November 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
In stead of sending a link to old threads every time someone uses the term "Dark Ages", I decided to put it all in an article.
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Recently, Blake Gutt and I had the great fortune to sit down with @eocieslik.bsky.social & record a converation for the Whiplash pod with @maxwellkuzma.bsky.social on medieval trans & genderqueer saints--and why they matter today, more than ever
#MedievalSky 🗃️
#MedievalSky 🗃️
Full episode is on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube. Links and full episode description here:
open.substack.com/pub/maxwellk...
open.substack.com/pub/maxwellk...
Medieval Trans and Genderqueer Saints
Queer and trans people are often told that our lives have no place in the Christian past—that we’re modern disruptions, not part of the story. But when you look closely at the Middle Ages, that certai...
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Recently, Blake Gutt and I had the great fortune to sit down with @eocieslik.bsky.social & record a converation for the Whiplash pod with @maxwellkuzma.bsky.social on medieval trans & genderqueer saints--and why they matter today, more than ever
#MedievalSky 🗃️
#MedievalSky 🗃️
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Queer saints aren’t a modern invention, they’ve always been part of our story. And knowing that can save lives. Medieval scholar @aspencerhall.bsky.social breaks it down on our latest episode:
November 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Queer saints aren’t a modern invention, they’ve always been part of our story. And knowing that can save lives. Medieval scholar @aspencerhall.bsky.social breaks it down on our latest episode:
I keep forgetting that this is the season for buying all the shit. So if you want to shop queer, shop small, and shop medieval weird then Sticker Church is for you
Postcards! Stickers! Gift wrap, oh my!
👇👇👇
www.sticker.church
Postcards! Stickers! Gift wrap, oh my!
👇👇👇
www.sticker.church
November 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I keep forgetting that this is the season for buying all the shit. So if you want to shop queer, shop small, and shop medieval weird then Sticker Church is for you
Postcards! Stickers! Gift wrap, oh my!
👇👇👇
www.sticker.church
Postcards! Stickers! Gift wrap, oh my!
👇👇👇
www.sticker.church
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
All are encouraged to deadname the Department of Defense.
I will never ever call it the department of war. Never.
November 25, 2025 at 5:21 AM
All are encouraged to deadname the Department of Defense.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
'Robinson’s newfound faith mirrors an important development that is taking place among European far-right groups, which are shifting emphasis in their political messaging from ethnicity to religion....In its most nationalist guise, this new racism views Christianity as synonymous with whiteness'.
Is British politics immune to US-style rightwing Christianity? We’re about to find out | Lamorna Ash
Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson are increasingly espousing Christian ‘values’, and a wealthy US legal group is becoming influential – this could have dire consequences, says author Lamorna Ash
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:51 AM
'Robinson’s newfound faith mirrors an important development that is taking place among European far-right groups, which are shifting emphasis in their political messaging from ethnicity to religion....In its most nationalist guise, this new racism views Christianity as synonymous with whiteness'.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
This is so incredible. You have to see the photos. These workers held the line for THREE YEARS www.publicsource.org/post-gazette...
November 25, 2025 at 5:29 AM
This is so incredible. You have to see the photos. These workers held the line for THREE YEARS www.publicsource.org/post-gazette...
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Finds Trans Youth Care Lowers Suicidality, Few Detransition
The groundbreaking study found that suicidality dropped for transgender youth receiving hormone therapy by nearly 70%, with only 7 patients of 432 discontinuing treatment.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
People are always like real job stability is in medicine or the law, but the most secure job is actually white guy writes op-eds about how he’s sick of the minorities.
November 24, 2025 at 8:33 PM
People are always like real job stability is in medicine or the law, but the most secure job is actually white guy writes op-eds about how he’s sick of the minorities.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
The paperback of Medieval Twitter has landed omfg
Not quite a stocking stuffer price, but much much more affordable than before, thankfully
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270265...
#MedievalSky 🗃️ @archumanities.bsky.social
Not quite a stocking stuffer price, but much much more affordable than before, thankfully
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270265...
#MedievalSky 🗃️ @archumanities.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 11:51 AM
The paperback of Medieval Twitter has landed omfg
Not quite a stocking stuffer price, but much much more affordable than before, thankfully
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270265...
#MedievalSky 🗃️ @archumanities.bsky.social
Not quite a stocking stuffer price, but much much more affordable than before, thankfully
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270265...
#MedievalSky 🗃️ @archumanities.bsky.social
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Spiritualism skyrocketed in the US after its brutal Civil War killed roughly 750,000 people - and now in the wake of Covid’s million+ death toll, modern Americans are using ChatGPT to speak with the spirits. In this paper I will
I'm literally just living a normal life while also experiencing a theophany via communication with the satellite called VALIS.
November 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Spiritualism skyrocketed in the US after its brutal Civil War killed roughly 750,000 people - and now in the wake of Covid’s million+ death toll, modern Americans are using ChatGPT to speak with the spirits. In this paper I will
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
My team and I have been able to discern that sperm whales have their own alphabet and that this alphabet seems to be pillared by their own version of vowels. I’ve learned that humans are far from the only species intelligent and complex enough to develop a form of language and culture.
Opinion | I’m a Marine Biologist. This Is How I Talk to Whales.
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM
My team and I have been able to discern that sperm whales have their own alphabet and that this alphabet seems to be pillared by their own version of vowels. I’ve learned that humans are far from the only species intelligent and complex enough to develop a form of language and culture.
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
I got rejected for a job breeding crickets and mealworms for pet stores because they didn't like my "soft skills", do words have meaning anymore or am I just having a stroke
November 24, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I got rejected for a job breeding crickets and mealworms for pet stores because they didn't like my "soft skills", do words have meaning anymore or am I just having a stroke
And for academic authors, you typically get zero upfront and zero royalties
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
A profession struggling to sustain itself - The Society of Authors
ALCS report on author incomes shows 60% drop in median incomes since 2006
societyofauthors.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM
And for academic authors, you typically get zero upfront and zero royalties
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
Seeing how much of the right-wing on Twitter is just bot farms, kinda lays bare how much hate and hatred is a project that needs to be constantly maintained, a fire that needs to be fed all the time lest it go out for a moment, so much time, effort, and resources to keep people angry and hateful.
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Seeing how much of the right-wing on Twitter is just bot farms, kinda lays bare how much hate and hatred is a project that needs to be constantly maintained, a fire that needs to be fed all the time lest it go out for a moment, so much time, effort, and resources to keep people angry and hateful.
Just published 👉 "Thaúmata: Critical and Underrepresented Perspectives on Hagiographic Studies", edited by Aitor Boada-Benito
brill.com/display/titl...
brill.com/display/titl...
November 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Just published 👉 "Thaúmata: Critical and Underrepresented Perspectives on Hagiographic Studies", edited by Aitor Boada-Benito
brill.com/display/titl...
brill.com/display/titl...
Reposted by Alicia Spencer-Hall
do you have any idea how much you have to piss somebody off to make them change their gauge
#Finland will begin to #Russia - proof its rail network, integrate with EU train infrastructure.
The Finnish government has announced the conversion of its rail network from Russian gauge (1,524 mm) to European standard (1,435 mm).
www.trenvista.net/en/news/flas...
The Finnish government has announced the conversion of its rail network from Russian gauge (1,524 mm) to European standard (1,435 mm).
www.trenvista.net/en/news/flas...
November 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
do you have any idea how much you have to piss somebody off to make them change their gauge