Sara Norja
@saranorja.bsky.social
Tietokirja: Alkemian historia ☆ PhD in English ☆ Speculative fiction & poetry ☆ Historical linguistics ☆ History of alchemy ☆ Manuscript studies ☆ English/suomi ☆ Queer ☆ She/her ☆
Pinned
Sara Norja
@saranorja.bsky.social
· Nov 21
Hi hello new people! Time for a new intro I think. I'm Sara, a queer, bilingual writer and researcher! I write SFF stories and poetry in Fin & Eng as well as nonfiction in Fin, and I study the history of English (mainly through alchemical manuscript texts).
Reposted by Sara Norja
Today Psychopomp & Circumstance hits UK shelves!
A Southern Gothic with family secrets, Gullah funeral traditions, a beautifully strange house & a sprinkling of magic. In hardcover, eBook, & audio.
Thank you to the phenomenal @csecooney.bsky.social for these lovely words.
#booksky #Blackbooksky
A Southern Gothic with family secrets, Gullah funeral traditions, a beautifully strange house & a sprinkling of magic. In hardcover, eBook, & audio.
Thank you to the phenomenal @csecooney.bsky.social for these lovely words.
#booksky #Blackbooksky
November 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Today Psychopomp & Circumstance hits UK shelves!
A Southern Gothic with family secrets, Gullah funeral traditions, a beautifully strange house & a sprinkling of magic. In hardcover, eBook, & audio.
Thank you to the phenomenal @csecooney.bsky.social for these lovely words.
#booksky #Blackbooksky
A Southern Gothic with family secrets, Gullah funeral traditions, a beautifully strange house & a sprinkling of magic. In hardcover, eBook, & audio.
Thank you to the phenomenal @csecooney.bsky.social for these lovely words.
#booksky #Blackbooksky
Reposted by Sara Norja
Thrilled to post that PSYCHOPOMP & CIRCUMSTANCE has made NPR's list of Books We Love!
It's one of over 300 books handpicked by NPR staffers and trusted critics. See the full list here:
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
It's one of over 300 books handpicked by NPR staffers and trusted critics. See the full list here:
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Thrilled to post that PSYCHOPOMP & CIRCUMSTANCE has made NPR's list of Books We Love!
It's one of over 300 books handpicked by NPR staffers and trusted critics. See the full list here:
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
It's one of over 300 books handpicked by NPR staffers and trusted critics. See the full list here:
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Reposted by Sara Norja
This has brought me great joy.
Netsuke of a Rat Grasping a Soybean Pod, 19th century Japan
November 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
This has brought me great joy.
Reposted by Sara Norja
TELL ME YOUR 🏳️🌈QUEER SHORT SFF🏳️🌈 OUT IN OCTOBER 2025!!! Originals only pls, up to novella in length, indie okay. Just reply with the author, title, and a link to read and/or buy and I'll get them on the list. Here's September's list for context & more info: www.patreon.com/posts/some-q...
Some Queer Short SFF - September 2025 | Charles Payseur
Get more from Charles Payseur on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:43 PM
TELL ME YOUR 🏳️🌈QUEER SHORT SFF🏳️🌈 OUT IN OCTOBER 2025!!! Originals only pls, up to novella in length, indie okay. Just reply with the author, title, and a link to read and/or buy and I'll get them on the list. Here's September's list for context & more info: www.patreon.com/posts/some-q...
Reposted by Sara Norja
This. I've been working with "machine learning" since before the current AI-fever and it's an invaluable tool in science and engineering.
LLMs and GenAI are being misused in a criminally negligent way and using misplaced legitimacy to do it, and that misdirect cannot be allowed to continue.
LLMs and GenAI are being misused in a criminally negligent way and using misplaced legitimacy to do it, and that misdirect cannot be allowed to continue.
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This. I've been working with "machine learning" since before the current AI-fever and it's an invaluable tool in science and engineering.
LLMs and GenAI are being misused in a criminally negligent way and using misplaced legitimacy to do it, and that misdirect cannot be allowed to continue.
LLMs and GenAI are being misused in a criminally negligent way and using misplaced legitimacy to do it, and that misdirect cannot be allowed to continue.
I just read this. Utterly stunning as a work of prose, and heartbreaking.
Today's Love Letter is a stunning meditation on birdwatching and the loss of a friendship, from the one and only @amalelmohtar.com
stone-soup.ghost.io/love-letter-...
stone-soup.ghost.io/love-letter-...
Why I Need the Birds
A Love Letters Feature by Amal El-Mohtar - November 2025
stone-soup.ghost.io
November 26, 2025 at 8:23 PM
I just read this. Utterly stunning as a work of prose, and heartbreaking.
Reposted by Sara Norja
Please help @lpkindred.bsky.social stay in school in these difficult times. He's a great person who's had a rough go and deserves all the good things.
www.gofundme.com/f/keep-lp-in...
www.gofundme.com/f/keep-lp-in...
Donate to Keep LP in School Spring 2026, organized by LP Kindred
Hey y'all,
I'm LP Kindred, a Chicagoan-Angeleno writer/editor/teaching artist/culture work… LP Kindred needs your support for Keep LP in School Spring 2026
www.gofundme.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Please help @lpkindred.bsky.social stay in school in these difficult times. He's a great person who's had a rough go and deserves all the good things.
www.gofundme.com/f/keep-lp-in...
www.gofundme.com/f/keep-lp-in...
Reposted by Sara Norja
Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but @saranorja.bsky.social and I just ordered a million nematodes
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but @saranorja.bsky.social and I just ordered a million nematodes
Reposted by Sara Norja
You might not think you needed to see Kate Bush dressed as a bat today, but you were wrong.
November 22, 2025 at 6:46 PM
You might not think you needed to see Kate Bush dressed as a bat today, but you were wrong.
Reposted by Sara Norja
The reality for speculative fiction zines and publishers is pretty damn terrible right now. I know many of us are struggling to keep it together, and they are too.
Read this, mourn what we lost, and, as much as you can, support the zines and publishers you love.
Read this, mourn what we lost, and, as much as you can, support the zines and publishers you love.
a post about Psychopomp in 2026
please read and share
thank you very much
please read and share
thank you very much
what's next for Psychopomp - PSYCHOPOMP.COM
what to expect from Psychopomp (and The Deadlands and Fantasy Magazine) in 2026.
psychopomp.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The reality for speculative fiction zines and publishers is pretty damn terrible right now. I know many of us are struggling to keep it together, and they are too.
Read this, mourn what we lost, and, as much as you can, support the zines and publishers you love.
Read this, mourn what we lost, and, as much as you can, support the zines and publishers you love.
Reposted by Sara Norja
Airstrikes don’t “test” a ceasefire. They break a ceasefire. Language isn’t that hard, media. Neither is professionalism and bravery.
BREAKING: At least 24 people are dead and 54 wounded after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, testing the ceasefire that began in October, officials say.
Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire's latest test as hospitals say 20 killed
Israel's military says it has launched new airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza, testing the ceasefire that began on October 10.
bit.ly
November 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Airstrikes don’t “test” a ceasefire. They break a ceasefire. Language isn’t that hard, media. Neither is professionalism and bravery.
Reposted by Sara Norja
With the disappointing progress at Cop30, evergreen reminder it isn't "we" or "humanity" failing to address the climate crisis — oil-producing nations and fossil fuel interests are actively obstructing action, despite heroic efforts by developing nations, Indigenous peoples, and many, many others.
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:45 PM
With the disappointing progress at Cop30, evergreen reminder it isn't "we" or "humanity" failing to address the climate crisis — oil-producing nations and fossil fuel interests are actively obstructing action, despite heroic efforts by developing nations, Indigenous peoples, and many, many others.
Reposted by Sara Norja
Polycules? Is that some obscure hero from Greek mythology?
October 24, 2023 at 3:20 PM
Polycules? Is that some obscure hero from Greek mythology?
Reposted by Sara Norja
After two weeks of #COP30 negotiations, countries agreed to BEGIN DISCUSSIONS on fossil fuel phase out. And as the article says, "they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries."
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries agree to triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
After two weeks of #COP30 negotiations, countries agreed to BEGIN DISCUSSIONS on fossil fuel phase out. And as the article says, "they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries."
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
Reposted by Sara Norja
hey
hey guys...
how did Genghis Khan outwit his enemies?
by always being three steppes ahead
hey guys...
how did Genghis Khan outwit his enemies?
by always being three steppes ahead
November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
hey
hey guys...
how did Genghis Khan outwit his enemies?
by always being three steppes ahead
hey guys...
how did Genghis Khan outwit his enemies?
by always being three steppes ahead
Reposted by Sara Norja
👩🌾 Grab your tools
November 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
👩🌾 Grab your tools
Reposted by Sara Norja
Truly devastating news. Fantasy is such a great magazine and I'll miss reading all the novellas/novelettes coming out with Psychopomp.
a post about Psychopomp in 2026
please read and share
thank you very much
please read and share
thank you very much
what's next for Psychopomp - PSYCHOPOMP.COM
what to expect from Psychopomp (and The Deadlands and Fantasy Magazine) in 2026.
psychopomp.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Truly devastating news. Fantasy is such a great magazine and I'll miss reading all the novellas/novelettes coming out with Psychopomp.
Reposted by Sara Norja
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 PM
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
Reposted by Sara Norja
I reckon you can learn a lot about the atmosphere in various Oxford colleges by looking at what they choose to name their cats (courtesy of @oxfordclarion.bsky.social ). We should all aspire to the energy of a Teabag, Isambard Kitten Brunel, or an Admiral Flapjack
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I reckon you can learn a lot about the atmosphere in various Oxford colleges by looking at what they choose to name their cats (courtesy of @oxfordclarion.bsky.social ). We should all aspire to the energy of a Teabag, Isambard Kitten Brunel, or an Admiral Flapjack
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
Reposted by Sara Norja
Story day!! I’m so delighted to debut in @unchartedmag.bsky.social with ‘Love Story in Colored Glass:’ an inter-dimensional love story about a starship that breaks reality - and a pair of lovers who find themselves, again and again, across the fracture.
www.unchartedmag.com/stories/love...
www.unchartedmag.com/stories/love...
Love Story in Colored Glass - Uncharted
“This,” her father says, the stone a matte black promise in his hand, “is how your ship will travel.” With a bravura flick, he throws it out onto the lake, but all she can focus on is the spike of ten...
www.unchartedmag.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Story day!! I’m so delighted to debut in @unchartedmag.bsky.social with ‘Love Story in Colored Glass:’ an inter-dimensional love story about a starship that breaks reality - and a pair of lovers who find themselves, again and again, across the fracture.
www.unchartedmag.com/stories/love...
www.unchartedmag.com/stories/love...
Reposted by Sara Norja
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Sara Norja
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
November 20, 2025 at 10:20 PM
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
Reposted by Sara Norja
Suomalaisilta kustantamoilta siirtyi valtava määrä nimekkeitä suoratoistopalveluiden uuden tekijän, Spotifyn, katalogiin.
Lue kannanotto: kirjailijaliitto.fi/blog/ajankoh...
Lue kannanotto: kirjailijaliitto.fi/blog/ajankoh...
November 19, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Suomalaisilta kustantamoilta siirtyi valtava määrä nimekkeitä suoratoistopalveluiden uuden tekijän, Spotifyn, katalogiin.
Lue kannanotto: kirjailijaliitto.fi/blog/ajankoh...
Lue kannanotto: kirjailijaliitto.fi/blog/ajankoh...
Reposted by Sara Norja
I hear this *constantly* as an “aha! got ya!” and maybe I’ll just start handing out QR codes for this essay.
What, exactly, does this string of words mean? Why does everyone who stands to profit from selling "AI" love to repeat it? And what's the value of slogans that masquerade as history?
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...
"The Printing Press Democratized Knowledge": When Slogans Masquerade as History — Sonja Drimmer
The phrase is said so frequently it seems, like the mechanism it celebrates, to mechanically replicate itself. It's become a favorite catchphrase among tech boosters of any sort (see my post on...
sonjadrimmer.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I hear this *constantly* as an “aha! got ya!” and maybe I’ll just start handing out QR codes for this essay.
Reposted by Sara Norja
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."