Kelly Robson

@kellyrobson

Science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer. Stories everywhere. Books: Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, High Times in the Low Parliament, Alias Space Trans rights are human rights ffs she/her in Toronto, Canada

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Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 7d

Just four more days to hit more stretch goals for the Locus anthology, all the way up to more art, a novella, and doubling the pay for authors! @locusmag.bsky.social locusmag.com/anthology

background: a mountain with trees growing on the side and dark sky with orange clouds. A graphic of a book cover featuring floating ruins and a person in a red cape. A green fundraiser thermometer with levels reading "sleek anthology, big ol book, more beautiful book, pay the editor" and unchecked levels "add a novella, variant covers, pay authors more!" a badge says "ending soon, kickstarter" and another green badge says "back us now on kickstarter". Link reads locusmag.com/anthology.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 8d

Linocut jelly plate Jimothies for your delight #jimothy

A blue and white, rather ragged print of a scabrous, hunched raccoon. It does not do Jimothy justice.

A red and white, rather less ragged, but still messy print of an adorable short-bodied raccoon.

A pink and rainbow, rather glossy print of an adorable short-bodied raccoon with a dark red tail.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 12d

NEWBRO'S HERPICIDE.

An ad from the May 8, 1922 edition of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. It shows a sketch of a white woman with luxuriant flowing waves cascading down her shoulders, she's looking at the viewer with quite the stunned expression. Text reads:

Hair that received applications of Newbro's Herpicide has life and snap-- radiates health -- is soft, fluffy, and abundant. Newbro's Herpicide is sold by all drug and Dept Stores. Men - applications at barber shops.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 12d

You know, they totally did take flash fiction and so will we. Great grandpa never credited his regional correspondents by name, so we are to understand that this piece is by their loyal Raft Lake reporter.

A column in an old newspaper:
The Ogopogo of Raft Lake
The ice on the lake which was never very thick is now apparently thawing from underneath, and is positively unsafe. Grain haulers cautiously hug the west shore and the other day we were perturbed to find that the fool proof family water hole had turned into a yawning gulf, with water weeds floating up from the bottom of the lake, and steam rising like a volcano. Several sleighs have broken through in shallow water, the nearest approach to catastrophe occurring when two of our local sportsmen drove a heavy team and a light cutter across the deep part of the lake, and one of the horses’ feet went through the ice, only presence of mind and a superlative luck adverting a nasty accident. The aforesaid sportsmen claim that the Ogopogo broke the ice and attempted deceased the horse by his hind legs, even going to the length of describing the serpent’s silvery horns and glassy eyes, and the way in which the water swirled through the crack. This suggests a new and really exciting line of big game hunting, and should greatly add to the attractions of the lake.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 13d

My Magnum Opus is complete #jimothy

A green easy-cut Lino cut of a rotund raccoon. The name “Jimothy“ and a heart is carved above the beast. This is not expert work.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 13d

Some obsessions cannot be denied. #jimothy

Work in progress shot of a piece of green, easy cut Lino, carved into it is the shape of a rotund raccoon. It is obviously very inexpert work.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 15d

Post a perfect album from the 90's that isn't Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, or Alice in Chains.

Cover of the album "Why do birds sing?" by Violent Femmes. It shows a black and white halftoned image, 1950s in style, of a man and woman, both smiling. The woman has her hands over the man's eyes. "Why do birds sing?" is is green sentence case, in a script font. VIOLENT FEMMES is in red all caps. The text is centered. It reads:

Why
VIOLENT
do birds
FEMMES
sing?

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· 29d

Here's the visual

Green leaves obscure a blue sky. We are looking up at the hard working Robin parent as she sits in her disordered nest. She looks DAMN tired.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jul 8

On my old newspaper kick: What the everlasting heck is this image?

Old time Dentistry ads from 1885, with a mysterious image that looks like the front of a slipper with teeth in the sole

Second image, even more obscure than the first

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jun 15

Interesting* design elements going in at Toronto’s most post apocalyptic subway station. Putting some icing over the cinder blocks cutting off the former murder slots. *to me

Three hunter-green trapezoidal wall coverings intermittently spaced over a grey cinder block wall. Bare metal struts above, and a mint green wall in the distance, where a few people are waiting for a train. On the left we glimpse the yellow safety strip and the subway track.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jun 11

Look at this insanely witchy Victorian beast. Yours for a mere 1.75m pounds. Its name? Caple ne Ferne. St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex #witchyskeet www.inigo.com/sales-list/c...

A huge Victorian faux-Tudor manor house, with a massive tower jutting from its face. Big banks of windows and a brown shake roof, which missing a few pieces, giving it a ramshackle air. Red brick mostly, with the Tudor details confined to a few lacy bits on the second floor, and then the top floor of the tower. The tower's roof is very pointy and looks so much like a hat I can't stand it.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jun 10

Not sure I've ever seen a mermaid with wings before. (ad in Canadian Printer & Publisher, December 1901)

A greyscale drawing of a bare-breasted mermaid with spiny-fin-like wings sitting on a can of Queen City Printing Ink, which is borne aloft on a wave. There's something weird going on with her legs, only one of which seems to be ending in a fin. The other is tucked behind and maybe the second fin is implied in the background. Anyway, she's a two legged/finned mermaid with wings.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jun 2

Great to see @isabel.kim's spanking new book SUBLIMATION on the main page of the NYT site Review: (free link) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/b...

A screen capture of the New York Times website, showing an item: BOOK REVIEW
"Sublimation" Reimagines the Dilemmas of Immigration
A woman's close is finally coming home. Should they merge back into one?

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· May 29

This morning's random witchy house is plain but has some intriguing, almost random details. Of course there are working shutters, because this is France. Annebault, Normandy, France. #witchyskeet

A higgledy piggledy, half-hearted fence with a low stone barrier topped by intermittent brown hurdles is in front of a plain-featured, half-timbered, two storey structure. It's likely a former barn. The long side faces the street. The roof is low-canted, and plain, with one chimney modestly sticking up from the middle. Originally old half-timbering covers the bottom storey, dark brown and beige, with dark brown wood walls above. The left quarter of the building has new half timbering on both levels, likely a new addition. There are two doors, one in the middle which is double wide, and one in the new addition, latter. Both are recessed. There's a little orangey brown roof over the middle door. The windows seem randomly spaced, and are covered with dark brown shutters. All shutters are closed except for the second window on the top floor, where a man is reaching out to close it.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· May 28

Been a long while since I've found a witchy beauty to share. Here's a sunny, five peaked treasure. Tallinn, Estonia. #witchyskeet

Under tall trees and a blue sky, a bright yellow house with a multiple-peaked roof. It's extremely inviting. The windows are trimmed in white, with narrow brown decorative shutters on the three leftmost windows. There's also an eyebrow-shaped porch over the brown door. The live roof peaks are all different heights, and roof is brown. On the right, there's a six-sided roof over a single-storey ground floor room which would be a turret if it were higher. Everything here is utterly adorable and I desire this house with all my acquisitive heart.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· May 14

Have some Canadian Rockies.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Apr 13

Surprised and gratified that my LANDLINE is a Locus Award finalist! Congratulations to fellows Nathan Ballingrud @tobiasbuckell.bsky.social @thomasha.bsky.social @isabel.kim @hildur.bsky.social @sentencebender.bsky.social @aimeeogdenwrites.com @tiatashiro.bsky.social Callie Vaughn

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Apr 6

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by @johnchu.bsky.social is out tomorrow, and I'm going to be freaking out about it.

Book cover of The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu, Nebula Award Winning Author -- bright blue and orange/yellow design showing dim sum buns in steamers receding down into a quantum space. Two hands with chopsticks reach into the steamers.

"A work of crystalline vision and meticulous humanity" says Max Gladstone

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Apr 1

And a month later:

Bring Us Your
Turkeys, Chickens, Vegetable and Wood

We will take any quantity on subscriptions to
The St. Paul Journal

Send the paper to your friends, pay your own subscription well in advance, and tell your neighbors that they can get the paper too by this means

(A full length photo of an older man in an old fashioned suit)
Bill Morris says it's a "Nachral" Grump

The St. Paul Journal

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Apr 1

A cajoling ad from my great-grandpa's country weekly newspaper. He looks sore!

$700 Arrears on our Subscription List

Among the large number in arrears with their subscription to The Journal are many who have no money and as an inducement to have them square their accounts we are asking them to bring wood, vegetables, turkeys or poultry

(A full length photo of an older man in an old fashioned suite)

He Looks Sore

(an old fashioned graphic of a hand pointing to the next paragraph)

So far the following were good enough to comply with our request:
(list in small type)

Many admit they cannot sell these things but surely they can pay their small accounts this way

There are a few who promised to bring wood even last year but have not yet done so. These will be cut off our lists as well as others who are stalling

The St. Paul Journal

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Mar 17

More right now!

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Mar 17

Right now!!

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Mar 16

Tomorrow night in Brooklyn! Come visit with me @bklynbooksbooze.bsky.social. With awesome authors @kristinaten.bsky.social @authorduderuss.bsky.social & @daphnefama.bsky.social !

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Mar 3

More delights from historical research: 1947 pharmacy was totally up on pronouns:

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Mar 3

Unintentional humor from early morning historical research. This is from the St. Paul Journal, May 1946 (St. Paul, Alberta)

A newspaper ad, all text, bounded by a fancy chain-like border:
Good Food Well
Prepared
is the only kind we serve
You Will Find THIS RESTAURANT not
"Another place to eat" but
"A place to eat another."
REO CAFE
St. Paul Alberta

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Feb 3

Yet more evidence of Google AI rot: I reverse-image-searched a painting I saw on IG, which is how I have fun around here. Google argues hard, claiming it’s by famous Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, but I’m pretty familiar with her style, so no way. Meanwhile, the original artist remains unfindable

In a cosy alcove, a round painting of three cartridges, eating berries

A screen capture of a bunch of incorrect bullet points by Google’s AI

A screen capture of a gallery webpage showing a beautiful stone cut print from 1972, by Kenojuak Ashevak, showing five gulls in green ink

A close-up of the original painting, or print, of three cartridges in a spiralling design, dark green with white outlines on a tan background. There are three red berries in among their beaks.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Jan 21

Today is our 37th wedding anniversary! I looked long and hard for a recent selfie that didn't make @alyxdellamonica.bsky.social and me look drunk and/or criminal, and this is the best I could find.

In front of an evergreen dusted with snow, two people wearing glasses (a woman and an non binary person) are dressed in bright red parkas and smile at the camera from under their hoods

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Dec 17

Yes, give me a witchy barn. Or sawmill, or something. Račak, Croatia. #witchyskeet

A green treed landscape, with a green lawn and shrubs. Blue sky above a large workshop-like barn structure made of caramel colored wood, with a wood shake roof. The long side is turned toward us, and has three butterscotch half doors or shutters, all closed. Above are two open dormers protruding from the roof like eyes, and between them is a small, narrow bell tower made of red brick. The third of the building on the right side is right open, with the roof held up by wooden pillars. The three pillars on the outside have red brick bases and have a low fence built between them. It's quite a lovely structure.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Dec 9

So imagine her delight when this year -- 2025! -- Alison Bechdel publishes the semi-autobiographical SPENT, and cleverly includes many of the Dykes to Watch Out For characters. It’s an utter delight. Buy it from your local independent bookstore.* *before it’s gone

Cover of SPENT, A COMIC NOVEL by the author of Fun Home Alison Bechdel is done is bright, high contrast comic book colours: On a bright blue background is a comic style illustration spoofing the classic American Gothic painting, with two short haired, older women gazing wearily at the viewer from behind a pitchfork.

Kelly Robson@kellyrobson· Dec 9

Our young lesbian was hooked. She returned to the resource centre over and over again read all the strips from in the back issues of OOB. When she got caught up, she desperately needed more. A cosmic force drew her to Common Woman Books,* Alberta’s Only Feminist Bookstore. *no longer exists