Laura Blackwell

@pronouncedlahra

Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer, manic pixie night hag. Copy editor, Hugo-nommed @thedeadlands.com. Cohost @storyhour.bsky.social. Website/newsletter: pronouncedlahra.com. HWA, SFWA. BLM. She/her. Photo: Jodi Foucher. Rep: @alexbrownwrites.bsky.social

2.534 Folgt4.853 Follower4.163 Posts

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Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir pronouncedlahra.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jul 3

I've never read a romantasy before, but this one looks like a great reason to start.

Hardcover of C.L. Polk's D&D romantasy novel THE FEYWILD JOB, which features a pointy-eared adventurer watching another play a violin. They're both sitting in a tree. The cover is mostly pink.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jun 18

Spotted in the @greenapplebooks.bsky.social at SFO: books by @meganeokeefe.bsky.social and Mary Berman!

Wooden bookshelves with "Science Fiction" tag. Visible titles include CHAOS VECTOR and THE FRACTURED DARK by Megan E. O'Keefe, DUNE by Frank Herbert, THE KINGDOMS by Natasha Pulley, abs CHILDREN OF RUIN by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Wooden bookshelf with tag advertising "Your Poolside Plus One." Titles displayed include STARTUP HELL (author's name obscured by tag), Lev AC Rosen's THE DISASTER GAY DETECTIVE AGENCY, and Mary Berman's UNTIL DEATH

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jun 18

From StokerCon: Laura disambiguation photo That's me on the left, taller and more silvered, wearing something melodramatic @lauracranehill.bsky.social is younger, darker-haired, and a cool dresser in a way I don't know how to describe. Maybe because she's from the Pacific Northwest?

Two writers stand side by side. On the left, the graying Laura Blackwell stands at 5'8"; she wears a black burnout velvet caftan in a skulls-and-spiderwebs pattern over a pale blue shift. On the right, the younger, brown-haired Laura Cranehill is a little shorter, wearing a black top under a botanical-patterned Western shirt (or maybe jean jacket?) and a silver necklace resembling two skeletal hands. LC holds up a paperback of Shirley Jackson Award-winning anthology Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic, ed. Jolie Toomajan. Both Lauras are fair-skinned women with shortish hair and glasses.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jun 13

We're just a few ticks of the minute hand from debut author Cynthia Gómez's event at Pegasus Books in Shattuck! If you're in Berkeley, stop in for a conversation between Cynthia and author Tamika Thompson! Celebrate the MUÑECA release with us!

Author Cynthia Gómez, a Latine woman with curly, dark brown hair, holds a copy of her debut novel, MUÑECA, right under her chin. Copies of MUÑECA and her fiction collection THE NIGHTMARE BOX sit on the bookstore counter behind her. A copy of interviewer Tamika Thompson's debut novel CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS is partially in frame.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jun 10

I donated a short story critique to Literary Agents of Change, a nonprofit working for greater diversity among literary agents. Greater diversity in publishing = more stories, more books, and a better society. Bid on critiques, calls, books, and more from agents and authors! www.32auctions.com/LAOC

Red and white text on an orange background says, "I donated to the Literary Auction for Change" and "Auction: June 8-June 12" and gives the website literaryagentsofchanges.org https://www.32auctions.com/LAOC

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Apr 28

without downloading anything new, where are you, mentally?

Still from video showing Joohoney, Korean man with short black hair wearing a black leather jacket. Someone off screen asks Joohoney who is a rapper in the idol group Monsta X, "How is it? Is it good?" as he makes a face of unbridled revulsion: his mouth a horrified trapezoid, his eyebrows raised, his nose scrunched, his eyes closed in a reflexive attempt to blot out all memories of whatever grotesquerie he has just sampled. I think it was butter beer.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Apr 27

Y'all, I think I found the perfect spot to see HADESTOWN.

Facade of the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Apr 24

I do, in fact, have a horse in this race.

A polybagged comic issue hangs on a wooden rack at Half Price Books. The comic is MONSTERPIECE THEATRE #1, "Godzilla vs. Gatsby" by Tom Scioli. The cover is Scioli's reimagining of the classic cover of THE GREAT GATSBY, you know, the blue one with the face. The face is Godzilla's (a classic rubber-suit Godzilla). It is priced at $10 US. I paid cash.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Apr 10

Join me to meet Tamika Thompson and hear about her superb debut novel THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS! RSVP advised, but just come to Orinda Books if you can. I can't wait to share this phenomenal book with you! www.eventbrite.com/e/1984075695...

Photo of author Tamika Thompson, a Black woman with long curly hair and a radiant smile, next to the cover for her novel THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS. Below that is a photo of writer Laura Blackwell, a bespectacled white woman looking upward with a stunned expression. Text reads: A conversation about Tamika Thompson's debut The Curse of Hester Gardens
Sat, 4/11/2026
Time:
2:00pm
Orinda Books
276 Village Square
Orinda, CA 94563-2504
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1984075695816?aff=oddtdtcreator

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Mar 11

Looks like we can add @lilithsaintcrow.com to the list of authors being impersonated by scammers. Email address blacked out in case it's spoofed and not just invented for the scam.

Screencap of email with header "A quick Hello from fellow author" and email address redacted. Body of email follows:
Hi

I hope this message finds you well.

I recently came across your work and felt compelled to reach out. As someone who also spends a good amount of time living in stories, I always appreciate the chance to connect with other writers and hear about what drives their creative process.

Every author’s journey is different, and that’s what I find most rewarding, learning how ideas take shape, what challenges sharpen our voices, and what keeps us returning to the page even when it’s difficult.

I’d genuinely love to hear what first drew you to writing, or what continues to inspire your work today. If you’re open to a brief exchange, I think it could be a meaningful conversation.

Wishing you continued inspiration, and I hope to hear from you when you have a moment

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Feb 28

I didn't write a whole lot last year, but I did work on some awesome projects! Behold!

Background of a blue-filtered street at night. Written on it:
Laura Blackwell / 2025 Roundup & Awards Eligibility
- "Breathing Night" at Simultaneous Times podcast, narr. Jean-Paul Garnier (Space Cowboy Books, 10/15/2025) Fantasy, 1100 words.
- The Deadlands, ed. E. Catherine Tobler (Psychopomp). Speculative fiction, poetry, nonfiction. Semipro, quarterly.
- Story Hour, cohosted with Daniel Marcus. Speculative short stories read by their authors. Fancast, weekly.
@pronouncedlahra

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Feb 14

My husband has been saying there's too much candy in the house, so I made him this Valentine and put a JAWS T-shirt in a candy box.

Homemade Valentine card made of a white foam heart with heart-shaped stickers in wavy-patterned pink and red. It reads in Sharpie: Roses are Red / Violets are Blue / You like Sharks / and I love You

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jan 26

I'm floored. My story "Breathing Night" is on the BSFA Longlist in the Short Fiction category! And thanks to its reading by @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social for Simultaneous Times, in Audio Fiction, too! And it's in such great company in both categories. I'm swooning. www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-...

Screencap of part of Best Audio Fiction category on 2025 BSFA Longlist. "Breathing Night" by Laura Blackwell, released by Space Cowboy Books, is circled in red.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Dec 6

I may have asked for this feature, and I do think it's a good thing, but somehow it wasn't a completely welcome surprise.

Dancebit app screen with new "senior friendly" designations and searches

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Nov 29

You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you? Here's hoping I get Zoe and not Sarah.

Apple TV banner for DOWN CEMETERY ROAD showing stars Ruth Wilson, looking mildly frumpy, and Emma Thompson, who wears jeans and a leather coat and looks tough and amazing.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 29

@anna-orridge.bsky.social Saw this while having lunch in San Francisco's Chinatown the other day, and item F2 made me think of you.

Menu at Chinese restaurant; the last item is "Orridge with Chicken and Mushrooms"

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 24

Saturday night plans: Show 'em what horror fiction can do. Come out and play!

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 13

Anthropic cried poor about paying damages to the writers from whom it stole. Many of us received nothing at all. But here Anthropic is, spending its stolen savings on to coat Powell Street BART in its appropriately poop-colored branding. "Keep thinking"? How about you *start* thinking, Anthropic.

Photo of the inside of Powell Street BART station in San Francisco shows columns covered in poop-colored wrap emblazoned "Claude" and "Keep thinking." The floor has received the same treatment in paint or a plastic rug.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 10

I contain multitudes.

A hardcover of Michael Wehunt's novel THE OCTOBER FILM HAUNT sits next to a white takeout cup and a cardboard takeout box open to show fairy bread, its sprinkles bright. The red and yellow sprinkles pick up colors from the book cover.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 4

I have been doing some important but not happy-making reposts today, so here: a little escape in a beautiful cape. Let's be aware of our real world and strive to improve it, but also occasionally venture beyond (last week, it was the Fantastique Starfall Ball for me).

Waist-up color photo, heavily backlit in purple, stands before part of a crescent moon frame decked with lavender sprigs and purple-black roses. She reaches up to a blossom, smiling slightly. She wears a lavender gown with a plunging neckline, gray fingerless gloves, pearl drop earrings, a crown with pearls forming flower shapes, and a handmade gray-and-purple lace cape with pearl edging and a silvery leather Dracula collar. Her eye makeup includes silver graphic liner and white mascara, making her eyes look dark and (she hopes) otherworldly. Marianne Kirby made the cape.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Oct 3

Walked into a local bookstore yesterday to see this—and I preordered it from somewhere else. Congratulations, @michaelwehunt.bsky.social!

Bookstore shelf labeled "Bestsellers." Visible covers are for Michael Wehunt's THE OCTOBER FILM HAUNT and the latest Andrzej Sapowsky WITCHER book.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Sep 27

Taking the fey train

Photo of Laura Blackwell, a middle-aged white woman with wavy brown hair going gray. She wears a pale blue shift dress, a lace-edged poncho with a butterfly pattern, a white N95 mask, large cat-eye glasses, and a crown of pink silk flowers. Camellias, maybe? Sort of like peonies, but smaller. She sits on a commuter train, looking out the window into the morning light.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Aug 26

w/o downloading anything new, where are you mentally?

Craft store shelf holding up Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween decorations: A sign that says "Drink me" and a teapot-shaped sign emblazoned "It's always tea time"

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jul 26

Sometimes the craft store gets me.

A plaque rests on a store shelf full of pink Halloween decorations. The plaque is white with a pink frame and says "The horrors persist but so do I" in black. There are also black bats on it.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Jun 1

Share one of your favourite quotes from a movie or TV show

Four alternating frames from TV show AGENT CARTER. Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell), a dark-haired white woman with 1950s hair and makeup wearing a purple coat over a burgundy dress with a key hold neckline, is speaking to Daniel Sousa (played by Enver Gjokaj), a dark-haired white man with short hair wearing a tan three-piece suit.
Frame 1, Peggy: I don't need a congressional honor.
Frame 2, Daniel Sousa listens to Peggy: I don't need Agent Thompson's approval, or the President's.
Frame 3: I know my value.
Frame 4: Anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· May 25

Ooh, you look fabulous! Oh, nobody asked me! I'm gate crashing. Hmm, maybe I should wear this instead

Comic book art by Alan Davis, inked by Paul Neary. Gatecrasher, a tall (?), muscular, heavyset, blue-skinned alien woman, stands in Wonder Woman pose in front of menacing silhouettes. She wears a black pantsuit with flared legs (she might have elephant-type feet? Not sure), a rectangular red element that secures the top to the bottoms while leaving most of her middriff exposed, red details on the flares, a red lining folder over at the waist of the pants, chunky pink bracelets, a pectoral in two shades of pink, a purple Magneto-style bucket helmet with a large stone set over the center of the forehead, and a purple cape. A timid, thin, yellow-skinned alien with three antennae on each side of its head clings to her shoulder, wincing at whatever it (he?) sees ahead. Gatecrasher wears red lipstick and red eyeshadow. She looks ahead with a confident expression.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· May 25

What are you wearing to Bluesky prom?

Still image from PENNY DREADFUL. Evelyn, played by Helen McCrory, wears a dark green satin dress with a deep V neckline and lace sleeves edged with large matching ribbon bows that might be painted with Egyptian-style lotuses in purple and gold. Dots of gold adorn the neckline and the sleeves. She also wears drop earrings with emeralds and pearls, a black velvet choker with an iridescent green pendant, a pendant hanging from her hair into her forehead, and an elaborate bejeweled updo that mimics the lotus motif. She sits at a glass table, candles before her, ready to hold a seance.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Mar 30

Pit two characters against each other in a fight who are played by the same voice actor.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Mar 27

Suzan, look at the way my feed just displayed your last two skeets. You may have to click to see what follows them. It's too perfect!

Suzan's two skeets are followed by a skeet from Girls Running From Houses: The Countess gestures.

Laura Blackwell@pronouncedlahra· Mar 17

Hey, what are you doing on Thursday? I'll be reading at Strong Women, Strange Worlds at 4:00 PDT/7:00 EDT—with all these writers of speculative fiction! These online readings are free—and there are prizes! Sign up at www.eventbrite.com/e/first-frid.... See you there! #AuthorReadings #Booksky