Kat Kourbeti

@darthj

SF/F writer & narrator, Hugo Award-winning senior podcast editor @strangehorizons.bsky.social, host @thewritesong.co.uk. Lapsed film critic; now BSFA's theatre columnist. Team ADHD. Greek! 📍 London, UK ✨ she/her 🏳️‍🌈 🌍💌 darthj.uno 🔗 linktr.ee/darthjuno

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Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Dec 13

Just finished #MyHeroAcademia and I am still verklempt on my way to work. What a way to end a story about what being a hero is, using empathy to make the world a better place. Few series get to end on a high like that and feel relevant after so long. Top 3 anime for me. I will cry about it forever.

Cover image from an older season of My Hero Academia which depicts the core conflict between the class of heroes at UA High School on the bottom right, all poised to fight alongside the pros, and the League of Villains on the top left, enveloped in purple shadows and smoke.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Nov 24

2 months till my account turns 20! 🤯

Screenshot of my last.fm pro account (darthjuno) which shows I've been scrobbling since 18 January 2006. Other stats include: 140,277 scrobbles (or tracks played), 9,475 artists, and 264 loved tracks.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Nov 3

And last, thank you to my friends @janeymwriter.bsky.social, @sciencesquirrel.bsky.social and @spacecatchom.bsky.social for humoring me and coming with me to the Upside Down house on Brighton Beach - it was just a bit of silly fun but I'm glad we got to go! ❤️

Three women pose in an upside-down museum room. I don't know why I decided to be a gremlin, but 🤷🏻‍♀️ what can I say, maybe I am one!

Two women in maxi dresses stand on the ceiling of an entryway, while a dog, a spider, and a cat skeleton look up at us. Amy is falling into a shopping bag, while I am flummoxed at something someone said on the phone to me.

Four of us stand on the ceiling of a kitchen decorated in Halloween colours, with a garland of autumnal leabes wrapped around the dining table leg, and a little kitten skeleton is hiding behind a chair leg.

Three of us stand outside the Upside Down house, with the sea behind us, while on the ground there are swirling painted colours and the words "find joy in the small things" - something we definitely did that day!

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Nov 3

A big thank you also to my @spectrumwriters.com posse, both organisers and members alike. It was wonderful to see so many of us at a big convention like this, whether speaking at panels, launching books, or smashing it at karaoke!

We remembered to take some photos for once! A smiling group of people stand in front of a big hotel staircase - left to right: James Clark, Alan Laird, myself, Henry Sanders-Wright, Bex Clark/F.R. Darke, Janey Morecroft and Karin J. Robinson.

An organiser group photo! Left to right: myself, James Clark, Janey Morecroft, and Bex Clark/F.R. Darke.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Nov 3

Had a wonderful time at @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social, where I got to meet more people from the @strangehorizons.bsky.social far-flung, global team, revive the tradition of the SH tea party, and even hatch some schemes for next year. Thank you to everyone who came along and celebrated with us!

Myself, Michael Ireland, and Joyce Ch'ng from Strange Horizons pose for a photo at the mass author signing at World Fantasy Con.

Our setup of the Strange Horizons Tea Party, featuring boxes of teabags from Bird & Blend, recyclable paper stickers with the Strange Horizons podcast cover art in all 4 colourways (green for Critical Friends, blue for Fiction and Poetry, pink for SH@25, and gold for Writing While Disabled), and SH@25 business cards.

Me mid-speech at the SH tea party, with Poetry Editor Vanessa Jae, Articles and soon to be Fiction Editor Joyce Ch'ng, and fellow Podcast Editor Michael Ireland.

After dinner on the final day of the convention with Joyce Ch'ng and Vanessa Jae. We're all wearing coats and shivering in the wind 🥶

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Sep 11

Olive recommends dangling precariously while watching the rain outside

A tuxedo cat with white feet dangles on the top of a gray sofa while looking out the window at the rain outside.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Sep 6

Hello Reykjavík! 😍 It's my fourth time here in three years and I don't think I've ever chanced upon nicer weather while visiting... Love this city so much! #travel #iceland #reykjavik

Portrait photo of an Icelandic landscape zooming past from inside a car window: short greenery growing on volcanic flatlands under a bright blue sky with big fluffy white clouds.

The harbour at Reykjavík, from inside a food hall at the far end. Yellow picnic tables in the foreground, then a big boat docked at the end of the pier. In the distance you can see the cathedral, Hallgrímskirkja, towering over the short buildings of the rest of the city.

A tub of chocolate and blueberry ice cream, outside a lovely ice cream shop housed inside an old fishing warehouse in Reykjavík harbour.

The entrance of a coffee shop, with a big yellow rocket (think old school sci-fi) sign at the door. Next to it, a bike and an e-scooter lean against a graffitied wall.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Sep 2

Also saying "it's not because we didn't care or didn't bother to find out the right pronunciation" right after admitting that there were assumptions that no pronunciation guide was provided and no further follow up was made to make sure, is not the apology you think it is. It's admitting negligence.

From the Google doc apology: "There were some names without guides and we did our best to pronounce them correctly. There was one point during the ceremony where Tempest did apologize if they'd said a name wrong. The reason was that there was no guide. In instances where we didn't have a guide, we assumed that the nominee hadn't gotten back to the Hugo team.

If we mispronounced anyone's name, whether we had a guide or not, it was by mistake. Not because we didn't care or didn't bother to find out the correct pronunciation. If we mispronounced anyone's name, we deeply apologize and, if you reach out to one of us directly, we will apologize to you directly."

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Sep 2

Not to be that guy, but

Twitter post by K. Tempest Bradford, dated 31 July 2020 (after the now infamous GRRM-hosted ceremony where he mispronounced several nominees' names): "Can I get 80 authors to sign an open letter telling @TheHugoAwards to not allow people who allow presenters to mangle names to run this show, anymore?"

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Aug 29

Jetlagged af, but the work goes on! Rehearsal today for the Odyssey play I'm in on two dates next October at the Lambeth Fringe. Truly a SFF collab for the ages: I narrated Chris's story 'The Trauma Tourist' on @khoreo.bsky.social, and then he was like "do you wanna be in my show?" so.. here we are!

A brutalist building in the background under a blue sky and wisps of white clouds; it's the National Theatre in London. A meadow-like garden stretches across the bottom half, with some bright yellow flowers in the middle. Kat is on the left, with long brown-to-pink ombre hair, wearing black sweater and smiling while looking at Chris to the right. He is pointing to the center-left of the stage behind both of them while holding the script in his other hand; he wears a khaki short sleeved shirt and a black t-shirt, and has a full beard and fluffy dark brown hair.

The same setting. Kat and Chris are rehearsing a scene from 'Odysseus, Not Your Hero' while holding their scripts in hand. Kat is standing on the bench by the flower bed, with a hand on Chris's shoulder. They both look off in the distance at an imaginary audience.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jul 4

An Australian musician I really like named Toehider has a song about this, "Space Famous", on account of how most people who have heard of him are familiar with his guest vocals on the Ayreon concept albums. Tbf more people should know of him because he's insanely talented! Lyrics in the ALT:

Cover of 'Space Famous' by Toehider. A little green alien wearing an orange onesie sits cross-legged on a messy bed in a dark bedroom, wearing headphones and holding a tablet, surrounded by space paraphernalia: a lava lamp on his bedside table, a guitar and a gaming controller on the edge of the bed, space posters with legally distinct aliens on the walls, a ringed-planet-bong, a UFO mobile hanging from the ceiling, and two lightsabers (one blue, one red) framing a round window behind the bed that looks out into a colourful nebula with planets visible in the distance. Art by Andrew 'Salty' Saltmarsh, Toehider's longtime art collaborator.

LYRICS:

My picture ain't worth taking
My number's not worth saving
My work? It just evaporates
I'm terrible with greetings
I don't show up to meetings
They all hate my weathered ugly face
I'm done with earth these days though, it's no big deal
I don't really mind that I can't get arrested here
I've got no friends here - hey but I'm not too fazed
Coz on earth I'm a nobody, but I'm famous in space
Down here I'm a failure, but up there loves my face
I think it works really good for me
That I'm famous, famous in space
I'd grown tired of earthly pleasures
I went seeking space junk treasures
When I heard some star plants scream my name
A few autographs later
I picked up a space newspaper
And learnt I achieved intergalactic fame
(Sweet)
Now every summer I fire up my rocket-boat
And do a quite high-grossing tour of the milky way
Down here no-one loves me - I'm such a disgrace
I don't care that I'm a loser 'cause I'm famous in space
Maybe I should relocate there, but would I miss this place? Plus, all my stuff is here
Would you guys care to join me? Come Be showered with praise
Forget the dirty earth scene, we'll be famous in space
Let's shoot past the satellites, big smiles on our faces
It'll work out really great for us
Being famous, famous in space
Space famous

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 21

Using food to show where I grew up

Bougátsa, a custard-filled pastry sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon, is a specialty in my hometown of Thessaloníki, Greece. We also make savoury versions with feta cheese, spinach, and minced meat, but the cream one is the most traditional (and my favourite!). Folks from Athens/southern Greece make fun of us for the savoury options, as they only do the cream one down there, and the joke usually goes like "bougátsa with [insert random ingredient here]" - however the joke is on them, as what makes a bougátsa what it is (and not, say, a 'píta' or pie/pastry, is the very thin and layered pastry dough that is way more delicate and crispy than puff or filo. But oh well! We let them keep their superiority complex and we hold on to the superior food, so at the end of the day, who is the winner? ;)

A pita-gyro sandwich from my favourite gyro place in Thessaloníki (Food Plaza, for the curious). Gyro is similar to shawarma but the meat is marinaded in different spices, and it's usually pork (and less frequently, chicken); slices of meat are stacked on a giant skewer and roasted vertically, then sliced downwards to create small, delicious flakes of meat that can be then placed in a soft and thick pita bread along with fries, tomatoes, red onion, and—in Thessaloniki—ketchup and American-style mustard. In Athens (and the rest of the country, really) the sauce is tzatzíki, a yoghurt based sauce with garlic, dill, and cucumber, but our culinary departure (which I suspect is a modern invention) earns us some flak.

Kazán-dibi, a traditional Turkish desert in which milk and cream is boiled and thickened in a big pot or cauldron ('kazán'), and as the bottom caramelises and burns, it creates a crust which is then served as the top. Traditionally it is made with buffalo milk, pictured here from the best and oldest patisserie in the city, Hatzís, that specialises in deserts that harken back to the city's heritage: Thessaloníki was Turkish/Ottoman until 1912, and then received many ethnic Greek immigrants from present-day Turkiye during the 1922 Asia Minor 'Catastrophe' (including my family)—so our traditional deserts (and indeed, many of our people) have a strong Turkish connection. More modern versions might include dairy milk and mastic (sap from a local tree that only grows in our part of the world and has a distinct botanic aroma), but I've also had kazán-dibi plain, like a milkier crème brûlée.

The Greek frappé: a cold coffee drink made with instant coffee (usually Nescafé, for reasons) which is whipped in a small amount of water and your desired amount of sugar using a handheld milk frother, then topped up with cold water and milk (if desired). A quintessential Greek invention, very cheap and ubiquitous, which was actually invented by someone in my hometown! The story goes that this guy was working at the Thessaloníki Expo, an annual fair of technology and food, sometime in the 1960s, and he wanted coffee but didn't want to leave his position at the Nestle tent where they were promoting hot chocolate powder; since they had instant coffee lying around, he whipped this up using the shaker they were using to make the hot chocolates, and was like "!!! you guys I think I'm on to something!" Now it's the most popular coffee drink in Greece, and only recently started getting eclipsed by the espresso culture you may be more familiar with. I couldn't tell you a more Greek (in the modern sense) story if I tried!

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 19

We are live right now on Twitch and YouTube to celebrate 300 episodes of the @kneelbeforeblog.bsky.social podcast! Join us for some light-hearted (and very Scottish) shenanigans! twitch.tv/kneel_before_blog and youtube.com/@KneelBeforeBlog 🎉

A social media banner featuring Kneel Before Blog's mascot, the mad scientist Neil, and the text: "Kneel Before Pod presents... 300th Episode live!" with the Twitch and YouTube URLs.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 19

The absolute audacity of Nintendo to email me to ask if I want to PAY FOR A TOUR OF MY DEVICE 🤦🏻‍♀️ This should have been free and included on the Switch 2 by default. If you pay 8 quid for this you are a dummy tbh

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 18

Oh strange, I'm getting an error saying LDS claimed copyright infringement via that article/interview you gave on your work to OPB. See screenshot below. I hope that can be resolved; I don't think any clip or quote you used was infringing, so really not sure what they are trying to claim here 🤔

Screenshot from an article on OPB.org in which Dove is interviewed about her work bringing together her geography studies with in-depth analysis of the Hunger Games series (among other things).

The article starts: "What can the geography of the Hunger Games book series and movie franchise tell us about the culture and economics of our own world? Dove Makes has found an online audience making highly researched videos, exploring where the different districts in the Hunger Games might be based on and what that can reveal to us."

Here, an embed of her video on where the Capitol is located (in the video she argues it's Salt Lake City, because of Mormon culture connections she lays out in detail) shows up as unavailable, saying: "Video Unavailable; This video contains content from LDS, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds".

Underneath that, the article continues: "Dove Makes is a multimedia artist and writer and PSU graduate with a Bachelor of Science and Geography. She joined OPB “Weekend Edition” host Lillian Karabaic to discuss Hunger Games and cultural geography."

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 10

Also shout out to my lil Greek crew of SFF rebels @sophiamweaves.bsky.social @gtkorbin.bsky.social @ioannapauthor.bsky.social @spacecatchom.bsky.social and Foteini (who isn't on here) - I love you all and I can't wait to see what you do 💖

LtR: Sophia-Maria Nicolopoulos, me, Amy Topaloudi, Ioanna Papadopoulou, GT Korbin, and Foteini Oiko, sitting around a table having just finished dinner and talking shop. Photo by Hester Steel, our honorary Greek!

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Jun 10

Cymera was lovely - I didn't take lots of photos because I was busy learning things and talking to awesome people, but I wanted to shout out @rainewilson.bsky.social and @whyiwrite.bsky.social for their fantastic workshops! Oh and I won a signed Ambessa book by @clclark.bsky.social 😍

The only photo of me at Cymera Festival, posing with my Strange Horizons podcast colleague Michael Ireland (@mickallister.bsky.social on here) in front of the Cymera banner outside the Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh. He's like "yayyy" with his arms open wide, and I look like I am pleading to the camera person to ignore my existence... I have no idea how to pose for photos, lmao

The hardcover copy of Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by CL Clark that I won at auction, supporting Cymera which is a registered charity.

The signed first page of Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by CL Clark. The signature reads: "thank you for supporting Cymera!" and "be the Wolf!" alongside CL Clark's squiggle.

For those who don't know, I am OBSESSED with Arcane (it's been my hyperfixation since last year and it has single-handedly inspired me to get writing again) so I'm super stoked to have this and I can't wait to read it!

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 30

Thank you for 1000 Spotify followers! 😍 Not to get mushy on main but I wasn't sure what to expect with the relaunch last year, and I can tell you it wasn't this! We have so much great stuff still planned for the @strangehorizons.bsky.social podcast, so thank you for following along 💖

Graphic with the text "1000 followers" surrounded by little stars on either side, and below it the Strange Horizons podcast cover in blue watercolour by Tahlia Day.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 30

I would argue there is potential for the opposite

Jigglypuff draws with a permanent marker on a sleeping Ash's face, indignant that its own singing puts people to sleep.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 24

Crimson Peak is my absolute favourite Guillermo Del Toro film and it ticks all of your boxes, plus (imo) it's a pretty good film. Mia Wasikowska can see ghosts, she marries Tom Hiddleston who has a creepy hanger-on sister (Jessica Chastain), and surprise! they move to a decrepit (& haunted) manor.

Three stills of the lead actors in full, spectacular Victorian costume: Mia Wasikowska wears a gown in mustard gold, with big full sleeves and a high neckline, standing by a window, lit from behind; Tom Hiddleston is in all black, including a long coat, and stands in the middle of a decrepit hallway, littered with debris; Jessica Chastain wears a blood red satin gown with a long train, sitting sideways at a piano at a formal gathering with people in the background. These are their colours throughout the film, no matter how many times they change outfits, maintaining a throughline of brightness, darkness, and lust.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 20

When I came home last night, I was greeted by a lovely surprise: the Hugo Award trophy for @strangehorizons.bsky.social from @glasgow2024.bsky.social! Still a bit wowed that this is even real, if I'm honest. I'm in such awe of this team and so proud to be a part of it! I'll treasure this forever 💜🌌

Photo of me at my dining table grinning like a loon and holding the Hugo with both hands. The base is a square solid wood block, with a corner-shaped plexiglass structure featuring engravings of the Armadillo venue on one side and an industrial crane on the other, framing the rocket itself, which is screwed into the centre. In the front you can see a metal plaque as well - text in the next photo.

Close-up of the Hugo Award plaque that reads:
"2024 Hugo Award
Best Semiprozine
STRANGE HORIZONS
The Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon for our Futures"

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 20

Went to Oxford to hear the Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature yesterday, this year delivered wonderfully by @zenaldehyde.bsky.social. Caught up with my pal Amy McKenzie (pictured) and with @julietemckenna.bsky.social & @cherylmorgan.bsky.social (not pictured), and soaked in the love of stories 💖

The staircase at the exclusively SFFH Blackwell's shop in Oxford. Downstairs to the lower mezzanine are all the manga books, tabletop games, and gifts; upstairs to the upper mezzanine are all the graphic novels and SFFH books (and also a Dalek model! not pictured here though). At the top of the staircase, a sign drawn in chalk features a sketch of the Mandalorian, with the words "this is the way" and an arrow pointing to the right. Could all signs be like this please? Ta muchly.

The perfectly manicured courtyard lawn at Pembroke College, Oxford. Old castle-esque buildings surround a cropped grassy square, underneath a bright blue sky with big fluffy clouds.

Selfie of myself (with newly re-dyed magenta hair) and my friend Amy McKenzie in front of Pembroke College Hall, Oxford.

Zen Cho delivering her lecture at the podium in a packed out Pichette Auditorium in Pembroke College. Behind her, a projected sketch portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien and the words "The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature".

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· May 1

Happy May Day from 10 year old Kat! In Greece we traditionally make flower wreaths/crowns from wildflowers on this day, and celebrate labour activism and unions. My grandfather was a union rep his whole life, and he also taught me how to make wreaths. I try to follow his steps as much as I can.

A ten year old Kat stands awkwardly in the middle of a paved back yard at her grandparents' home in Thessaloniki, Greece. Behind her, a tall linden tree grows from a small square flower bed, and its leaves cast shadows through the sunlight onto the wall of the neighbouring building on her left. Kat wears a wildflower wreath on her head like a crown, a leopard print jacket (it was 1990, please forgive her), a black skirt, white tights and shiny red shoes. On her right, there is a plastic white outdoor chair.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Apr 18

Lovely first day of @easterconuk.bsky.social in Belfast. Went on a morning walk around the city and visited two lovely libraries, now listening to panels, seeing old friends in between, making new ones. The dismal weather will not stop the good times 💖 #eastercon

The science fiction and fantasy section of the Belfast Central Library.

A stand with SFF books advertising Eastercon in the Business Library (the most impressive room in the Belfast Central Library), and behind it the big blue and white dome of the ceiling, featuring a glass section in the centre.

Troubles-era posters at the Linen Hall Library (including one of Margaret Thatcher with the words "Northern Ireland is as British as Finchley" - which is where I live).

(Finchley is all Labour now so 🖕🖕 eat it Maggie)

The wooden harp at the centre of the oldest part of the building in Linen Hall Library.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Apr 9

oh great, we have learned nothing

poster image of the play 'Minority Report' by David Haig at the Lyric Hammersmith theatre in London, adapted from the short story by Philip K Dick

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Apr 7

Quote with a title screen that is important to you

Title screen of 'Syberia' by Benoit Sokal, a point-and-click mystery adventure game about an American lawyer, Kate Walker, who goes to Europe to get some papers signed and ends up being whisked away by automatons and woolly mammoths. The steampunk aesthetic and the storytelling (themes of forgotten/lost history, aging and memory, and the trappings of modern life keeping us away from the pursuit of art and joy) captivated me when I was a kid. Still one of my favourite games of all time.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Apr 2

mid bath blep

Olive, a tuxedo cat, sits on a gray couch in a moment of pause from her bath with her back leg in the air and her tongue fully out in a glorious blep. Her favourite colourful pillow is in front of her.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Apr 2

Someone at Wikipedia wasted no time with the past tense eh

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Mar 29

Spent the last few days in the lovely city of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands, the impetus being a #DevinTownsend concert. 60% of the population is students, and it was voted third happiest city in Europe last year! A delightful place, great for a short break. And the gig was great too 😄

Two small fuzzy dogs wait for their owner inside a bike basket fashioned out of a crate.

A man sits in a comfy chair reading a book inside the library section of Forum, a public space with multimedia offerings and a cinema that has been dubbed 'the living room of Groningen'. Through the tall windows in front of him is the Martini Tower, the city's longest standing landmark (which I also climbed today! 261 steps! I am so tired)

Curtain call at the second concert of The Moth, an ambitious concert-progressive rock opera piece by Canadian artist Devin Townsend. Sold out crowds cheer the Northern Netherlands orchestra and choir, as well as Townsend and his band as they take their bows.

View from a canal boat tour up at the street on the bank, with a row of bicycles parked all along the edge, and behind that a row of beautiful old Dutch townhouses, including one whose ground floor is a queer bar named Dorothy's.

Kat Kourbeti@darthj· Mar 26

Exactly meow