I write epic and contemporary fantasy novels along with all sorts of varied shorter fiction - SF, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy. She/her. All opinions I post here are absolutely my own. You can find out a whole lot more at julietemckenna.com
Public Key
npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Profile Code
nprofile1qqsrv0p74l5mtlw79e7w4ffv4ma7e4k787nmslatz97jpxsxnrq8pgspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dskjun0y
Show more details
Published at
2026-08-31T04:32:43Z Event JSON
{
"id": "d5fae965450526fabff8dd474d1d10ad6964051db14f6e35e81684592fc5f5ea" ,
"pubkey": "363c3eafe9b5fdde2e7ceaa52caefbecd6de3fa7b87fab117d209a0698c070a2" ,
"created_at": 1788150763 ,
"kind": 0 ,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://wandering.shop/users/JulietEMcKenna",
"activitypub"
],
[
"L",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"l",
"pink.momostr.activitypub:https://wandering.shop/users/JulietEMcKenna",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"-"
]
],
"content": "{\"name\":\"Juliet E McKenna\",\"about\":\"I write epic and contemporary fantasy novels along with all sorts of varied shorter fiction - SF, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy. She/her. All opinions I post here are absolutely my own. You can find out a whole lot more at julietemckenna.com\",\"website\":\"https://wandering.shop/@JulietEMcKenna\",\"picture\":\"https://stockroom.wandering.shop/accounts/avatars/109/395/061/970/798/330/original/a94edaef8ca488ab.jpg\",\"banner\":\"https://stockroom.wandering.shop/accounts/headers/109/395/061/970/798/330/original/7f7266bd3c3e2036.png\",\"nip05\":\"[email protected] \"}" ,
"sig": "478d9b8eda7d0371e2cd2f8c653f14945e8e6aa2c28a56d68ecfa043b837cf569915d883a87fd94379888aa0862b2a5c6b1f7da27d4a183d3c10e847ed16471c"
}
Last Notes npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Here's an offer that's surely too good to miss? The fifth annual Best of British SF/F bundle. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Recollections and reflections are circulating after Anthony Head's untimely death. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I am old enough to remember when Google Search's arrival was a game changer for access to the truly global and astonishingly useful worldwide web of shared knowledge and expertise. I really did not expect to witness its death throes, poisoned by ignorance, arrogance and greed. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I learned over the weekend of a Swedish monumental rune stone in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Knowing so many artefacts now in UK museums were 'acquired' in highly dubious ways, I winced and wondered how some larcenous academic had hauled this one back to Oxford. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I gather the SF&F subgenre formerly referred to as 'blokes in cloaks' is now to be known as 'mantasy', and may be considered the counterpart to 'guy fi'. You may now go on with your day. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna From the BBC. "Organisations worldwide are racing to develop a universally recognised label for "human-made" products and services as part of the growing backlash against AI use." npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I am one of the nearly 10,000 authors contributing our names to Don't Steal This Book; a protest launched today at the London Book Fair. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna In case you were unaware that GenAI software developers are also exploiting and abusing workers in the global South to support their plausible word-mulch vending machines. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna UK pals, Can anyone give me an eyes-on-the-ground (you know what I mean) report on current road and driving conditions along the route of the M1 through Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, today Friday 9th January, please and thank you? npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna UK folk might like to watch Michael Palin's Venezuela travelogue on Channel 5's catch up service for some background round about now, or read his accompanying book - which is rather startlingly a Kindle ebook 99p deal at the moment. I have no idea when that price was set. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Tabletop game playing pals. Can you recommend a four player game that's focused on cooperation towards a common aim rather than doing down the other people around the table? Please and thank you. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Can anyone recommend an opensource/ shareware/cheap alternative to Adobe Acrobat, please and thank you? npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I'm taking the day off after a very busy weekend at MCM Comic Con, and Bristolcon, which was most enjoyable and ticked all the professional requirements for publicising my work in the week when The Green Man's Holiday is published. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna An update from the Society of Authors on licensing deals for AI training rights currently being offered by a couple of big trad publishers. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I follow @dieworkwear on Bluesky. While I have little interest in fashion, his expertise is fascinating, and frequently includes bits of social history. He also offers insightful observations beyond that. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna "If generative AI could REALLY make the next GTA in 6 months with 10 staff, or write the next bestseller, or produce 10 blockbusters a day? They wouldn't be trying to sell it to YOU. They would keep it for themselves and guard it from you ferociously." npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna So Google AI is no longer telling us Mary Shelley and Jane Austen were sisters*. That doesn't mean it's now 'right' or 'better'. It's just different, and there's no way to know why. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Bringing this from writer Joseph Malik over from Bluesky. I think it's spot on. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Every feminist I know supports their sisters, cis and trans, and their non-binary siblings, concerned with domestic violence, public safety, equal pay, employment protection, access to healthcare, and other discrimination issues. Obsessing over who uses which loo isn't feminism. It's bigotry. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna On Trans Day of Visibility, like every other day of the year, I continue to accept, respect and support trans people. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Checking a reference for something, I've had occasion to reread Ursula K Le Guin's Foreword to 'Tales from Earthsea'. The following passage struck me forcefully in the light of current international events. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna This morning's pause for thought. The techbros are selling generative AI to investors on the economic model of a primary school cake sale. Other people provide the essential ingredients and do the crucial work, bearing the costs, and the sellers keep the income. No. I am not their mum and this isn't funding for new gym equipment. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Fascinating article. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Fellow straight folk. Please read this article if you ever think your gay and lesbian friends are 'overreacting/oversensitive' to current right-wing attempts to relegitimise homophobia. This is recent history and these attitudes were everywhere, not just in the military https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70e0gep19xo npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Quick polite request: if you're recommending or discussing a TV show or movie that you're watching via streaming, could you please mention the platform it's on. Thanks. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna The Society of Authors has joined a new coalition of rights holders including publishers, authors, artists, music producers, specialist interest publications, unions, and photographers calling on government to spur growth in the creative and tech sectors by protecting copyright. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna In the UK, all a predatory man needs to get access to a Ladies loo is overalls, a bucket and mop. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Your reminder that legislation to curb the rights of trans people to use restrooms or do anything else means everyone's behaviour, clothing etc will be opened up to intrusive and unwanted scrutiny and potential challenge in our daily lives. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna So many good books! It can be hard to keep track 😊 npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna @npub1pq8…jykv that's from Wizard's Tower Press 😁 npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna This is completely brilliant. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna In case you were thinking generative 'AI' is created by clever software. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna I find people's 'my favourite whatever' lists interesting, but I find making these choices impossible personally. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna For the attention of those who are members of the UK's Society of Authors. Management Committee elections are underway, and I am one of nine candidates standing for four seats on the board. I have served my initial three year term, and am seeking re-election for a second and final term. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna Tom Gauld's cartoon for The Guardian 31st August 2024. npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna On Bluesky, author Hal Duncan writes "the non-gendered term Author's Pet is perfectly fine for a protagonist who has the entire reality of the novel warped around them to lavish this vehicle of vicarious gratification with unearned adoration at the expense of credibility and any consideration, on the author's part, of other characters." npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna In this news coverage of Imane Khelif and her participation in Olympic women's boxing, we are seeing a case study in real time for that adage about a lie going six times around the world before the truth has got its boots on (or whatever variant). npub1xc7ratlfkh7autnua2jjethmantdu0a8hpl6kytayzdqdxxqwz3q8ddf0l Juliet E McKenna can you point me towards a realistic assessment of insurance costs for various for different age groups? I only see figures for Teslas quoted which we couldn't possibly justify in the household budget. That's pretty much where the conversation about going electric stops.
