CL Hellisen
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clhellisen.bsky.social
CL Hellisen
@clhellisen.bsky.social
7.1K followers 670 following 13K posts
Stories in F&SF, Strange Horizons, Apex, Tor, Shimmer, BCS.

Repped by Caro Clarke

The Shape of Monsters out now https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Shape-of-Monsters-Audiobook/B0FGDJ5X1M

https://clhellisenlanding.carrd.co/

They/them, Scotland + S. Africa
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clhellisen.bsky.social
CL Hellisen @clhellisen.bsky.social · Jul 7
If you'd like to read my World Fantasy Award shortlisted story Godskin, then amble on over to @strangehorizons.bsky.social ...

strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Godskin
Sometimes among the fish and crabs, we trawl squid and octopus, or little sharks, all added to the pots. Sometimes it’s a fish person, a thing we cut free and do not talk of, pretend we never saw. …
strangehorizons.com
Reposted by CL Hellisen
pixelfish.bsky.social
But the AI bots are coming, and people using AI to grift you into trusting them are here…and you should be at least lightly vigilant or aware.

And regardless, if your gut says No Bueno, listen to your gut. It’s your life and energy & you don’t need to be tuned into every rando.
January 28, 2026 at 7:18 PM
clhellisen.bsky.social
Enjoyed this episode with Scotland's @lyndseycroal.bsky.social, talking novellas, short stories, closed room horror, her recent and upcoming releases, and her path of discovery writing.

(My own approach is similar - if I plot something out extensively, i get too bored to go back in and write it.)
ukpageone.bsky.social Page One @ukpageone.bsky.social · 5d
This week on the pod we talk with the brilliant @lyndseycroal.bsky.social, who was just yesterday nominated for a BSFA Award! She tells us about writing 100 published stories, and explains what her next book (out soon!) is about...

Watch now: youtu.be/oQkEzFDtyKE
Or listen: linktr.ee/ukpageone
January 28, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
drdeanburnett.bsky.social
Your brain thinks your cat is a baby.
Science says that’s…completely reasonable.

#CatScience #ScienceOfCats #Neuroscience
#BrainScience #PsychologyFacts
#ScienceCommunication #SciComm
#CatsOfInstagram #CatLovers
#CatParents #DidYouKnow
#FunScience #NerdyButCute
January 27, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
thedeadlands.com
in case you missed it!

check out this fantastic flash story by @amfisher.bsky.social 💀🖤
thedeadlands.com The Deadlands @thedeadlands.com · 2d
"I’d dropped hundreds, maybe thousands, of coins into the skull of Francisco Xalbec, and I still wasn’t sure how full it was, but I knew with profound certainty that I had to fill it."

TODAY beloveds!! new fiction 🖤💀

The Skull of Francisco Xalbec by Alan M. Fisher

psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...
The Skull of Francisco Xalbec - PSYCHOPOMP.COM
Every time I died, I received another coin to place in the skull of Francisco Xalbec.
psychopomp.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:44 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
don't need a free course to tell me LLMs are plagiarised slop and create *more* not less work to correct the flaws they make because they're glorified text-predictors.

how about the government put money into paid apprenticeships for older adults (not just young folk and new graduates).
peterstefanovic.bsky.social Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 12h
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 1:39 PM
clhellisen.bsky.social
I wrote a thing about short stories, why they get rejected, and what you can apply to your own work.

clhellisen.beehiiv.com/p/a-view-fro...
A View from the Slush
clhellisen.beehiiv.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
loottheroom.bsky.social
It comes from a livejournal post Cat Valente wrote when they were editing Apex (I'm horrified to learn that this is now 16 years old). It's basically what you're saying here - show us the cool shit up front, don't bury the lede, hook us early

catvalente.livejournal.com/590003.html?...
Adventures in Editing
I've been fiction and poetry editor over at Apex Magazine for several weeks now. I've accepted a story, asked for rewrites on a couple of stories, and rejected a whole lot of stories, and not a few po...
catvalente.livejournal.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:55 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
I've been slush reading for many years now, and I mostly say no to stories where the reward is all in the ending.

**A reader is only going to get a few lines in before they judge yea or nay.**

You need to set up the payoff of the ending in the first few lines.

And that's a tough one.
January 28, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
thisjulieday.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to discover that Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology is on the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards!
The works the authors brought to this book are unique and powerful and focus on voices that, like Tanith herself, seem to slip too easily beneath community awareness.
List of all anthologies on the stoker awards preliminary ballot
January 27, 2026 at 12:34 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
Today's good news is that @thisjulieday.bsky.social's Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute is on the Stoker long list for Superior Achievement in an Anthology.

I'm incredibly proud of having a short story (Makers) in this anthology packed with superstar writers.
January 27, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
kaleidotrope.bsky.social
“Magie Vol, Ogies Toe” by @clhellisen.bsky.social (Winter ‘26) “is another loss story, in which the lead and their sister must find a way to satisfy the ravenous ghost of their mother.”
tarvolon.bsky.social Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social · 2d
It’s a bit early to have a favorite story of the year, but my favorite of the sixteen 2026-published short works I’ve read is reviewed here in my Magazine Minis, featuring Asimov’s and Kaleidotrope www.tarvolon.com/2026/01/26/t...
Tar Vol's Magazine Minis: Asimov's and Kaleidotrope
Tar Vol's January 2026 Magazine Minis features reviews of sci-fi and fantasy short fiction from Asimov's and Kaleidotrope, with a standout tale by Dan Peacock
www.tarvolon.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
xanwriter.bsky.social
When a review of the anthology specifically mentions your story 😊

"Kyi’yaji by Xan van Rooyen was one of my favorite stories, equal parts chilling and mesmerizing. I loved the concept within and how music was used as the catalyst. I found this one profoundly moving."

Link 👇

#booksky #horror
01/25/2026 Recent Reads & Reviews: SAUUTI TERRORS
SAUUTI TERRORS Short Stories from the Unique Universe created by Contemporary African Writers. Edited by Eugen Bacon, Cheryl Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton.SAUUTI TERRORS, by its own description, is an a...
www.candacenolaauthor.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:01 PM
clhellisen.bsky.social
Just grabbed myself a ticket for this - an excellent group of writers
britfantasysoc.bsky.social British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 2d
BFS Online is excited to announce our next event, Faith, Science & Folklore, taking place Wednesday 28th January 2026, 7pm (GMT).

Ticket: tinyurl.com/fascifolk

@samkhorton.bsky.social @rainewilson.bsky.social @mkhardywrites.com @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social
Shown is a graphic of a stone maze with lava running between the gaps. In the centre is a golden tree with many leaves. Top left and right is the BFS logo, a silver dragon design curling around the letters ‘BFS’. Photos (left to right): David Green; MK Hardy; Sam K Horton; Lorraine Wilson.
January 26, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com
Fuck ICE, fuck Reform, and fuck anyone who actually wants this.
ayoub.bsky.social elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 2d
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.

It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
The Legislation Upon winning a general election, a Reform government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage will: 1) Leave the ECHR 2.) Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. 3.) Pass The Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill: This Bill will: Create a legal duty to remove illegal migrants for the Home Secretary The Bill opens with a blunt obligation for the Home Secretary: "The Secretary of State shall ensure the removal from the United Kingdom of each person who does not have extant leave to remain and is not an Irish citizen or otherwise protected by regulations made under this Act." The following parts of the legislation are introduced on an emergency basis, with an in-built sunset clause after 5 years: Disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention (ECAT) Derogation is justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state of necessity: Britain faces a national emergency in which uncontrolled illegal migration undermines public order. These treaties will otherwise be used by activist judges to frustrate deportations, even after the repeals of the HRA and ECHR. Create Detention Power Without Hardial Singh Constraints This means illegal migrants can be detained until they are deported. Activist lawyers routinely use Hardial Singh to secure their client's bail, after which the client absconds. If you came to the UK illegally, you are ineligible for asylum. End of story All asylum claims will become inadmissible if made by a person within the Act's scope. If you came to the country illegally, you are ineligible for asylum in the UK. This strips the Home Office, the immigration tribunals and the higher courts of jurisdiction to even consider claims. A claim that cannot be considered cannot suspend removal and therefore, cannot delay a flight. Re-entering after deportation and destroying ID becomes a serious criminal offence Re-entry after deportation will be… The Operational Plan We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will power bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power addresses a failure mode observed over the past decade - for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property. Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000 Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes. This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month. Initial Voluntary Return Window A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids. Illegal migrants will be offered a financial incentive to self-deport. An app will be launched to facilitate this. The Deportation Flights The Home Office will scale up charters to 5 flights per day. To guard against last-minute aircraft unserviceability, the RAF will keep one Voyager aircraft on six-hour 'hot-spare' readiness. If a commercial charter breaks down, detainees can still be flown out that night, preserving operational integrity. The legal reset will mean activist lawyers will no longer be able preven…
January 26, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
broci.bsky.social
Cheap Meat: Hollow
kneling person in a flowy dress with dettached legs, hands that are stabbed through with a knife and three heads, three light wings, surrounded by golden stars, a bunch of poppy flowers and a spider apple
March 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
clhellisen.bsky.social
i have evolved into a snot-based lifeform
January 26, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
sauutiverse.bsky.social
"[SAUÚTI TERRORS delves] into themes of feminine rage & empowerment, of self-identity & place, of family, societal expectations & everything in-between all while told through the lens of a new world with a lush history of lore, legend, & deities all its own."
Thank you to @candacenola.bsky.social 🔥
January 26, 2026 at 9:04 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
Cancer has already taken so many people I love, and another dear family member is going.

I just can't.

I hate it so much.

Hold your loved ones, you never know if that hug is going to be the last one you get.
January 26, 2026 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
bethkesh.bsky.social
Show your lockscreen seems like the most blatant social engineering way of getting hold of your device brand and mobile provider, with a bonus extra helping of maybe a picture of your kids or whatever. So maybe think about that in this time of no fed posting, eh.
January 25, 2026 at 11:41 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
Anyway, this is why I block people :)

What a fucking knob.
A comment in response to a picture of my cat. A man replies. That's a cat. A son would be a human. Again - that's a cat.
January 24, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
creatingelena.bsky.social
I made a needle felted apple axolotl this evening 🍎
Photograph of a little needle felted red axolotl that's made to look like an apple with green leaf fins/gills and an apple core belly
January 24, 2026 at 5:58 AM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
gailsimone.bsky.social
Transphobia is a cancer of the heart and mind.

It is a useless fear, based on ignorance and cruelty.

Trans people are not responsible for a single one of the problems we face.

Do the world a favor and grow the fuck up.
January 24, 2026 at 3:15 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
My extremely elegant son. He's legit just sitting like this, staring blankly, like he forgot what he was doing.

My sweet stupid son.
A large fluffy Siamese cross ragdoll is sitting on a black ottoman, one keg pointed to the sky. He looks confused.
January 24, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by CL Hellisen
jamesbennett.bsky.social
"It’s that my eyes have seen something through a lens the author does not have."

Honestly, I see this in modern fiction a lot. Research will only get you so far. That's why, when featuring diversity, you also should take care about which elements you're best placed to tell.
January 24, 2026 at 10:11 AM
clhellisen.bsky.social
A reminder that my story about grief, ghouls and diaspora is available free to read on @kaleidotrope.bsky.social

It's pronounced mar-ghi (guttaral like the ch in loch) fawl, oo-er ghis (guttaral ch) two. The i sound sound rhymes with quay/key

So helpful, I am

kaleidotrope.net/winter-2026/...
“Magie Vol, Ogies Toe” by CL Hellisen
kaleidotrope.net
January 24, 2026 at 10:21 AM