Hussain A. Ayoub
@dreadunderarm.bsky.social
280 followers 64 following 58 posts
Syrian author | Historophile | Al Azhar Writing Prize winner | Pushcart Prize & #bestofthenet nominee | Quillers SWANA mentee | https://hussainaayoub.carrd.co
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dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Thrilled — and a little stunned — to have won first prize in the Al Azhar Writing Prize for a short story that’s part of the prequel novella to my #WIP, Clinging to the Stones.

So grateful to the judges & organisers!

And great many thanks for @mahmudelsayed.bsky.social!

#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
jelenawrites.bsky.social
Bookshop.org anti-Prime day.
Free shipping!
Grab my books!
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Halfway through rewrites. Way past my self-imposed deadline. Grinding hard, pushing toward the end.

#WritingCommunity #writing #fantasy
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
mahmudelsayed.bsky.social
"Well, it is a particular sin to permit grief for what is gone to poison the praise for what blessings remain to us."
- Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
markaz-review.bsky.social
📰 [TMR WEEKLY]

Today: two new short stories — Hussain A. Ayoub's war-torn dispatch and Sara Masry’s journey through memory — and Souseh’s advice column on love and survival in a time of genocide.

🔗 https://bit.ly/weekly-latest-articles

#TMRweekly #LatesArticles
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: the short story 'War & War', by Hussain A. Ayoub. Powerful and devastating.
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Delighted to share that my short story “War & War”, first place in the Azhar Writing Prize, is now published in
@markaz-review.bsky.social.

📖 Read it here: themarkaz.org/war-and-war

#AzharWritingPrize #MarkazReview #literaryaward #ArabWriters #creativewriting #WritingCommunity
War and War
Winner of the 2025 Azhar Writing Prize — A foreign correspondent confronts devastation and violence before crossing a line of no return.
themarkaz.org
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Delighted to share that my short story “War & War”, first place in the Azhar Writing Prize, is now published in
@markaz-review.bsky.social.

📖 Read it here: themarkaz.org/war-and-war

#AzharWritingPrize #MarkazReview #literaryaward #ArabWriters #creativewriting #WritingCommunity
War and War
Winner of the 2025 Azhar Writing Prize — A foreign correspondent confronts devastation and violence before crossing a line of no return.
themarkaz.org
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
madeehahwrites.bsky.social
I squealed when I saw this and had to take a seat on the stairs to read it. My novella has a review in Strange Horizons!!
strangehorizons.bsky.social
There are Reasons for This by Nini Berndt
reviewed by E. C. Barrett

Orphan Planet by Madeehah Reza
reviewed by Nileena Sunil

Memories From The Jungle by Tristan Garcia, trans. by Christopher Beach
reviewed by Will Emmons

Link to latest issue in bio!

#sciencefiction #scifi #sff #bookreviews
Left
cover of There are Reasons for This by Nini Berndt featuring a cloudy red background with the title in yellow letters all overlayed with red polka dots. 

Right
REVIEWS
Quote
"There Are Reasons for This is unmistakably a novel of our times. While that might sound depressing, thanks to Berndt’s vivid, unexpected writing and fully imagined misfits, her portrayal of what it’s like to have to keep on getting on with life while the world is ending is unexpectedly cathartic."
reviewer: E. C. Barrett

8 September 2025
Strange Horizons Left 
cover of Orphan Planet by Madeehah Reza featuring a white background with fold lines and a large purple dot in the upper left. 

Right 
REVIEWS
Quote
"I really appreciated how this book allowed us to watch Elif grow into her own person amid extraordinary circumstances, and I really enjoyed how the character dynamics were written. The novella as a whole was really engaging..."
reviewer: Nileena Sunil

8 September 2025
Strange Horizons Left
cover of Memories From The Jungle by Tristan Garcia, translated by Christopher Beach featuring a sketch of a chimpanzee looking up. 

Right 
REVIEWS 
Quote
"In Memories From The Jungle, there can be no synthesis between civilization and nature. They must be kept totally apart. Humans must live on space stations and animals on the Earth. Otherwise they must destroy each other."
reviewer: Will Emmons

8 September 2025
Strange Horizons
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
kindness is the priceless act that costs nothing. Be kind.
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Morfydd Clark is so underrated
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
"Those in power write the history, while those who suffer write the songs, and, given our history, we have an awful lot of songs."

Frank Harte
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
madeehahwrites.bsky.social
Buy my booooook it has strange planets and female protagonists and emotions

(And no romance)

And if you've already read it remember to leave a review 😇
lunapress.bsky.social
Discover #OrphanPlanet by @madeehahwrites.bsky.social 🪐
Elif is the warden of Maoira-I, a planet of interest for the spacefaring remnants of humanity seeking a new home.
But Elif is a child, and the only human inhabiting this world of violent seasons. www.lunapresspublishing.com/lunanovella
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
innerworlds.bsky.social
Have you reviewed us, or any of the stories we have published? If so, please send me a link!

I've made a new page on our website where I'm keeping track of recommendations, awards, and other nice things

inner-worlds.ghost.io/recognition/
Recognition
It makes us SO happy when the authors and works we have had the honour to publish are recognised with awards and reviews, so we're keeping a note of them here.
inner-worlds.ghost.io
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
mahmudelsayed.bsky.social
So proud of Hussain for this! Clinging to the Stones (a fantasy heist novel) is coming to an agent's inbox near you soon!
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Thrilled — and a little stunned — to have won first prize in the Al Azhar Writing Prize for a short story that’s part of the prequel novella to my #WIP, Clinging to the Stones.

So grateful to the judges & organisers!

And great many thanks for @mahmudelsayed.bsky.social!

#WritingCommunity
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Thrilled — and a little stunned — to have won first prize in the Al Azhar Writing Prize for a short story that’s part of the prequel novella to my #WIP, Clinging to the Stones.

So grateful to the judges & organisers!

And great many thanks for @mahmudelsayed.bsky.social!

#WritingCommunity
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
That stage in writing when ‘starting fresh’ is really just a polite way of admitting you have no idea what you’re doing. #WritingStruggles #AmWriting #CreativeProcess #WritersLife
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Today's writing caveat: Drones are more terrifying than dragons. You cannot reason with an algorithm.

#amwriting #fantasy #SciFiAuthor #WritingCommunity
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
"There is no better place to keep a secret than in an unfinished novel."

Italo Calvino
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
innerworlds.bsky.social
Past issues of Inner Worlds are now available to buy in EPUB and PDF form 📚🤖👻🧚🏻

innerworlds.gumroad.com
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
innerworlds.bsky.social
I know everyone's broke and everything's awful 🫠

But if you like what we're doing here and you have a few £ spare it would be wonderful to be able to pay our authors and artists a little more. Subscribe here 👇🏻

inner-worlds.ghost.io/support-inne...
Support Inner Worlds
1) Send us your words! We're not a pro rate paying market at this time, but we promise to treat all submitted stories with care. 2) Subscribe! There are a few different subscription levels available ...
inner-worlds.ghost.io
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub
innerworlds.bsky.social
All the stories from our previous issues are available to read online! 68 speculative stories about our inner lives ✨️🧠❤️✨️ inner-worlds.ghost.io/past-issues/
Collage of six Inner Worlds covers with different art styles and colourful mastheads.
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
After a lifetime studying politics, democracy, and propaganda, I can tell you—skip the books. Just watch #Andor. It’s all there. #StarWars #TV #PoliticalDrama #SciFi #Rebellion #WritingCommunity
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Just sat down to write again after two rough months. It feels like coming home to a place I forgot I missed. #WritingCommunity #amwriting #writerslife
A quote from a new WIP:
"Some unfortunate places remain unknown until a
massacre mark their name in blood. Karhae is one."