Vajra Chandrasekera
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Vajra Chandrasekera
@vajra.me
19K followers 3.7K following 5.6K posts
Writer. Revenant. Wrote THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS (2023, Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus awards) & RAKESFALL (2024, Le Guin Prize and Otherwise award.) Colombo/New York. https://vajra.me
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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 15d
we (will soon) have such sights to show you
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
indrapramitdas.bsky.social
I found the ep in PLURIBUS where Carol--white, American--meets 5 non-white, non-American survivors of the hivemind off-putting, but in a way that made me curious to see where Gilligan was going. Now that I have, I wrote about how empire, privilege, genAI, & resistance converge in the show's subtext:
Resisting the Hivemind: Pluribus, Generative AI, and Empire - Reactor
While its creator tell us that Pluribus is not about advent of generative AI, it's difficult not to spot the many places where the fledgling tech and extraterrestrial hivemind overlap.
reactormag.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
docvalentine.sevensided.net
Q: will this help?
A: yes. celebrating the misfortune of bad people is one of the ways society discourages antisocial behavior

Q: is it healthy?
A: also yes. one needs to pretend that the unaccountable can at least be laid low by chance
scottmccloud.bsky.social scott⚡️mccloud @scottmccloud.bsky.social · 2d
Before publicly celebrating terrible things happening to bad people, maybe don't just ask yourself if such statements are "fair" or if those people "deserve" what's happening to them...

Maybe ask yourself:
"Will this help?" and "Is this healthy?"

And take a moment if the answer to both is "No."
January 14, 2026 at 7:21 AM
vajra.me
Congrats PKD Award nominees!

SUNWARD, @willalex.bsky.social
OUTLAW PLANET, M.R. Carey
CASUAL, @kojiadae.bsky.social
THE IMMEASURABLE HEAVEN, @caspargeon.bsky.social
UNCERTAIN SONS, @thomasha.bsky.social
SCALES, Christopher Hinz
CITY OF ALL SEASONS, @oliverklangmead.bsky.social & Aliya Whiteley
locusmag.bsky.social Locus Magazine @locusmag.bsky.social · 2d
2026 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees locusmag.com/2026/01...
January 14, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
locusmag.bsky.social
2026 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees locusmag.com/2026/01...
January 14, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
solarisbooks.bsky.social
With THE MISHEARD WORLD out next month, it's the perfect time to explore the weird and wonderful worlds of Aliya Whiteley!

Each book is a standalone, wildly imaginative, mind-bending, and perfect for fans of @vajra.me and @oliverklangmead.bsky.social.

So why not dive in? https://geni.us/misheardw
White text against a multicoloured background: Explore the weird worlds of Aliya Whiteley. Across the middle, four book covers for her novels: SKYWARD INN, THREE EIGHT ONE, THE BEAUTY, THE MISHEARD WORLD.
January 13, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
hildur.bsky.social
A very important thing for you to know about Icelandic is that the word "rassgat" (butthole) is used as an endearment about cute things. So if you say someone is "algjört rassgat" (a total butthole) it means they are VERY cute. If the cuteness is overwhelming we say "rúsínurassgat" (raisin asshole).
January 13, 2026 at 12:07 PM
vajra.me
the fact that there are people who would (and did) buy this shit
leahmcelrath.bsky.social Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 3d
Eric Adams, former NYC mayor, launched a memecoin (cryptocurrency) today. He marketed it as an “NYC Token” and used media appearances and his social media to promote it.

Within hours, Adams then drained its liquidity, apparently having scammed investors out of $3.4 million—a move called a rug pull.
Eric Adams ® @ericadamsfornyc X.com We're about to change the game. NYC NYC Token Don't blink. @buynyctoken • 5h 0:31 2:59 PM • 1/12/26 • 349K Views Eric Adams @ericadamsfornyc X.com Proud to launch @buynyctoken, a new token built to fight the rapid spread of antisemitism and anti-Americanism across this country and now in New York City. Now live at BuyNYCtoken.com 1:03 4:59 PM • 1/12/26 • 464K Views Rune @RuneCrypto_ X.com Eric Adams has now drained over $3,400,000 from the liquidity pool of his memecoin: it's now a rug-pull funny enough, his networth was only $2,000,000 3.43M USDC (~$3.43M) ~ Q Search by name / symbol / address Tokens (2) Positions (1) USDC O 3,432,243.8443 USDC NYC 34,565,184.501296 SNYC tics $3,432,243.84 51 VIEW ALL HOLDINGS RONATOON 10 mainao 4:56 PM • 1/12/26 • 29K Views Zephyr @zephyr_z9•13m g Incredible rug pull Eric Adams @ericad... • 3h Proud to launch @buynyctoken, a new token built to 1:03
January 13, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
aliettedebodard.com
😂
cethanleahy.com Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 3d
Perhaps the surest sign of AI not being super intelligent is the amount of tailored scams targeting the finances of authors, which is as rewarding as trying to mug a seagull.
January 12, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
hironennes.bsky.social
Hey worms, give this a listen! A fascinating discussion of aesthetic regime change, the conflation of high art and realpolitik, mistranslating Gramsci, and, of course, spoilers for The Works of Vermin.

Really cool episode--can't wait to read the essay
January 12, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
drewsof.bsky.social
Oh shit I didn't realize Carmen Maria Machado won a Nobel Peace Prize but honestly I support it even as I wonder what she's doing in Venezuela instead of working on her next book.

(source: nymag.com/intelligence...)
dictator who held onto power after losing his 2024 reelection bid in a landslide, Trump has blithely dismissed Maduro’s main political opponent, Nobel Peace Prize winner Carmen María Machado, as “a very nice woman” who lacks “support or respect within the country.” Instead, Trump and Rubio have propped up Maduro’s vice-president
January 10, 2026 at 6:44 PM
vajra.me
Same. Third and fourth novel at different stages of edits, fifth being drafted. Multiple shorter projects also on the table (it's a big messy table)
kateelliottsff.bsky.social Kate Elliott @kateelliottsff.bsky.social · 5d
The true secret to my long career: As a midlist writer hanging on to my career one book at a time, I can only control the work I do, not outcomes.
So I work: Drafting Novel W while waiting for edit notes on Novel F. When edits & draft are done, I'll return to the half finished & overdue Novel L.
January 11, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
liasae.bsky.social
I fished out this excellent thread on the “but AI for medical uses is great” topic, highly recommend you read it
vajra.me Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · Jan 8
This is not an LLM—so it doesn't have language-related issues—but it's important to be clear that it is very much part of (and in fact represents a new spearhead into) the neoliberal drive to privatize essential public services, and represents tremendously harmful outcomes globally
hetanshah.bsky.social Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Jan 8
Using an AI tool, one additional case of cancer was spotted per 1,000 women screened. Crucially this was without increasing false positives - seems an excellent result
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
January 9, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
pavlovforgoths.com
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
recently my friend's comics professor told her that it's acceptable to use gen AI for script-writing but not for art, since a machine can't generate meaningful artistic work. meanwhile, my sister's screenwriting professor said that they can use gen AI for concept art and visualization, but that it won't be able to generate a script that's any good. and at my job, it seems like each department says that AI can be useful in every field except the one that they know best. It's only ever the jobs we're unfamiliar with that we assume can be replaced with automation. The more attuned we are with certain processes, crafts, and occupations, the more we realize that gen AI will never be able to provide a suitable replacement. The case for its existence lies on our ignorance of the work and skill required to do everything we don't. By magicmosshka, yesterday's
January 9, 2026 at 6:48 AM
vajra.me
congratulations everyone
kaleidotrope.bsky.social Kaleidotrope @kaleidotrope.bsky.social · 6d
I’d just like to say how happy it makes me that not a single person has even mentioned his tedious antiwoke rant this year. There is *some* good in this world.
jasonsanford.bsky.social Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · Jan 6
Reminder to the SF/F genre that Dave Truesdale emerges annually from his pearl-clutching, snowflake cave to write rambling rants for the Tangent Online Recommended Reading List.

This year he whines about SFWA for 2,000 words, using 7 of those words to admit he hasn't been a member in 22 years. 1/2
January 9, 2026 at 3:03 PM
vajra.me
that adds up to 100% commitment to the bit (the bit is empire)
January 9, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
natasharedmane.bsky.social
maybe the New Weird is dead in the same sense of the father in Rakesfall that keeps coming back to have tea in the kitchen
January 9, 2026 at 8:37 AM
vajra.me
Delighting in the perdurance of the critical essay as a form: Audsley King's “Sweet and Golden Dreams” is about Gene Wolfe’s PEACE (a book I am very much looking forward to reading) and my RAKESFALL greenpigsinheaven.wordpress.com/2026/01/06/s...
Sweet and Golden Dreams
empire and bloodline anxiety in vajra chandrasekera’s rakesfall and gene wolfe’s peace But long before this transfiguration had completed itself, Ashlyme had shrugged and turned his bac…
greenpigsinheaven.wordpress.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
danielsuitor.com
This is a vetted fundraiser for the family of Renee Good, the woman who was killed by ICE in Minneapolis.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Donate to Support for Renee Good’s wife and son, organized by Mattie Weiss
Please support the wife and son of Renee Good as they grapple with the devastating … Mattie Weiss needs your support for Support for Renee Good’s wife and son
www.gofundme.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
literaryhub.bsky.social
“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...”

A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.

lithub.com/renee-nicole...
Renee Nicole Good, murdered by ICE, was a prize-winning poet. Here’s that poem.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, mother to a six-year-old boy, was murdered earlier today by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, a few blocks from her home. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune: [An ICE agent] s…
lithub.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:54 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
alexbaumhardt.bsky.social
A friend in Minneapolis just sent me this video. Looks like thousands have come together for a vigil after an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. This was my neighborhood for several years before coming to Portland.
January 8, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Kicking off 2026 by writing about one of the best books of 2025. Also Walter Benjamin, baroque art, Alejo Carpentier, etc etc. The New Weird is back, baby (the New Weird never left because it's a methodology, not a periodization)
January 5, 2026 at 2:08 PM
vajra.me
did this late last year and it's been working well
tiffmorris.bsky.social Tiffany Morris @tiffmorris.bsky.social · 10d
One of the goals this year is to treat social media more like how we used to “go on the computer” in the olden days: brief and concentrated instead of diffuse over the course of the day
January 5, 2026 at 2:17 PM
vajra.me
This has been the default imperialist position for centuries, so really the oddity was that brief period of comfortable unipolar hegemony where it seemed gauche to say it out loud. No clearer sign of late imperial anxiety than the contemporary return of this old ass monocle and pith helmet blather
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 11d
On X, a senior U.S. Justice Department official is promoting a post that praises colonization as “one of the greatest things that ever happened to the backwards parts of the world.”👇
Eagle Ed Martin & @EagleEdMartin X.com A confident America! •8 Jesse Kelly • @JesseKellyDC •4h Colonization is one of the greatest things that ever happened to the backwards parts of the world and the only reason most don't know this is because they were educated by communists who hate Western civilization. x.com/billnehr/statu...
January 5, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Rakesfall, by @vajra.me

Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell. Two children meet during the Sri Lankan civil war & constantly run from & seek each other through their reincarnations, from the present into the distant future.

I was blown away. Do yourself a favour and read this!
💙📚🪐
Photo. The front cover of the novel Rakesfall, by Vajra Chandrasekera. With a background in reds and pinks, the cover shows green leaves and yellow flowers, with the skull of a herbivorous animal (probably a sheep) in the centre. The text and author's name are in white.
January 3, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Vajra Chandrasekera
solarisbooks.bsky.social
We asked Aliya Whiteley for her best books of 2025, a book she'd love for Xmas & her anticipated reads of 2026.

Read the full article https://geni.us/SolarisBks2025 to find out why she picked @vajra.me @bentufnell.bsky.social & @annecharnock.bsky.social !

https://geni.us/misheardw
The author and their books: Aliya Whiteley, author of THREE EIGHT ONE and THE MISHEARD WORLD The book they'd love for Xmas HAMMER HORROR Their favourite read of 2025 THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS RAKESFALL Their anticipated read of 2026 PARADISE ALSTON MOOR
January 4, 2026 at 4:32 PM