Sara Norja

@saranorja

PhD in English ☆ Speculative fiction & poetry ☆ Tietokirjailija ☆ Historical linguistics ☆ History of alchemy ☆ Manuscript studies ☆ English/suomi ☆ Queer ☆ She/her ☆

776 Siguiendo2246 Seguidores1051 Publicaciones

Bluesky

lesbian

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Sara Norja@saranorja· 13d

New pfp! I got some amazing author photos taken by the legendary Henry Söderlund ✨️

Photo of author Sara Norja by Henry Söderlund. Sara has dark-and-fuchsia hair, a flowery dress and a big grin on her face. She stands framed by shadowy birch trees.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Jul 20

SE ON OLEMASSA! Keijut -- myyttinen historia -tietokirjan tekijänkappaleet saapuivat, ja oli pakko kuvata perinteinen kirjailijan unboxing. Tämä kirja on niin kaunis, että meinaan itkeä!! #kirjailijaelämää #unboxingvideo #keijutmyyttinenhistoria

Sara Norja@saranorja· Dec 22

Pidän alkemiaesitelmän Helsingin Tieteiden yössä torstaina 22.1.2026! ⚗️ Puhun aiheesta "Kullan kiiltoa ja transmutaatiokieltoja: Keskiajan alkemia tieteenalana" Tieteiden talon Lisa Hagman -juhlasalissa klo 18.30-19. Luento myös striimataan!

18.30-19.00

Kullan kiiltoa ja transmutaatiokieltoja: Keskiajan alkemia tieteenalana

Lisa Hagman -juhlasali, 1. krs
Tilaisuus myös verkossa

Sara Norja@saranorja· Aug 26

Foraging: best afterwork activity

Photo of a big, gloriously red toadstool in a Finnish forest

Sara Norja@saranorja· Aug 24

What a joy a new T. Kingfisher novel is! I just finished Hemlock & Silver and am very happy. So many things I love in this book, though they're slight spoilers so let me just heartily recommend this for your next fairytale-inspired read! (It's creepy Snow White vibes)

Photo of T. Kingfisher's novel Hemlock & Silver

Sara Norja@saranorja· May 26

So, I started to read @kateelliottsff.bsky.social's Spiritwalker collection and was quickly consumed by the need to binge-reread the entire trilogy. Which I did, with utter delight, and then went back to the collection. Which is to say, this is one of my all-time favourite worlds!

Closeup photo of a bookshelf with Kate Elliott books, focused on the Spiritwalker trilogy: Cold Magic, Cold Fire, and Cold Steel, as well as the collection The History of the World Begins in Ice.

Sara Norja@saranorja· May 18

Become a PhD in Finland, get that sword and hat! (You need to pay out of your nose for them & attend the official conferment ceremony but I've literally never felt this cool)

Photo of a very happy, smiling Sara in her doctoral top hat, wearing a long black skirt and a historically inspired black coat - with a ceremonial doctoral sword at her waist.

Sara Norja@saranorja· May 5

Viime aikoina on riittänyt niin paljon kirjoitus- ja tutkimushommia, että mainostus on jäänyt vähemmälle. Mutta siltä varalta, että joku kaipaa huomisillalle tekemistä: tiistaina 6.5.2025 klo 18 puhun Alkemian historiasta Helsingin Kannelmäen kirjastossa! Hauska päästä puhumaan alkemiahommista!

Sara Norja kirjailijavieraana
6.5.2025 - klo 18-19 - aikuiset

Valokuvassa Sara Norjan kasvokuva (kuvaaja: Tuukka Lindholm). Sara on valkoinen, silmälasipäinen nainen, jolla on hiukset kiinni ja riikinkukkokuvioinen sininen mekko.

Sara Norja@saranorja· May 4

If you see this post a sword. (This is my own longsword!)

Photo of Sara Norja, a white woman in a long skirt wielding a longsword with a green grip. In the background: bookshelves full of books and knicknacks.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Apr 25

Let's get this war criminal arrested. Netanyahu needs to go to court for his crimes in the continuing genocide in Palestine. #stopgenocideingaza🇵🇸 #arrestnetanyahu #freepalestine

Sara Norja@saranorja· Mar 23

So, @amalelmohtar.com has written the book of my heart in THE RIVER HAS ROOTS: sisters, folk songs, Faerie, grammar as magic. I can't praise this novella enough. Poetry blending with prose, song as story. YES.

Cover of Amal El-Mohtar's novella The River Has Roots, photographed laying flat on a William Morris patterned yellow cushion.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Mar 21

Just finished this highly enjoyable historical fantasy! Tailored to my interests: early modern occult sciences, Emperor Rudolf, queerness, multilingualism... Angeli Primlani weaves a convincing and delightful historical atmosphere here! Loved Kit Marlowe as the main character.

Cover of Angeli Primlani's novel The Marlen of Prague: Christopher Marlowe and the City of Gold

Sara Norja@saranorja· Mar 11

Nyt se on virallista! Olen solminut @skskirjat.bsky.social kanssa sopimuksen uudesta tietokirjasta: Keijut maailman myyteissä ja tarinoissa. Kirjaan tulee niiiin paljon jännää keijulorea!

KUSTANNUSSOPIMUS

SKS Oppi ja Tieto Oy / SKS Kirjat (edempänä kustantaja) ja Sara Norja (edempänä tekijä) ovat tänään tehneet sopimuksen Keijut maailman myyteissä ja tarinoissa-nimisestä teoksesta (työnimi, edempänä teos), johon tekijällä on täysi tekijänoikeus.

Kyseessä on narratiivinen populaari tietokirja, kokonaislaajuus 150 000–200 000 merkkiä välilyönteineen. Käsikirjoitus sisältää tekijän kuvitussuunnitelman.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Feb 13

Fun times writing about Tolkien and Old English (in Finnish, for our nonfiction book). Back to my roots as a Tolkien-inspired philologist <3

Closeup photo of Sara's desk with some Tolkien-related books, a notebook, and a mug of tea (the mug is from Gladstone's Library).

Sara Norja@saranorja· Feb 7

Myös, todella myöhäinen mainostus mutta: esiinnyn huomenna 8.2. Elävän kirjallisuuden festivaalilla Tampereella! Juttelen suomalaisesta kansanperinteestä kanssakirjailijoideni Rimma Erkon ja Juha Jyrkkään kanssa.

13.30 – 14.15
Seksi, kuolema ja queerius suomalaisessa kansanperinteessä
Paneeli katsoo ruumista historiasta käsin. Mitä on suomalainen kansanperinne, ja miten vaikeita aiheita käsiteltiin? Onko ihmisruumista koskevan keskustelun moninainen näkökulma jotain uutta? Keskustelemassa väitöskirjatutkija ja kirjailija Rimma Erkko sekä kirjailijat Juha Jyrkäs ja Sara Norja. Haastattelemassa Sara Snellman.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Jan 5

Also, lol: did you know that Charles II loved his spaniels even as a wee babby? Look at him in this adorable portrait!

Portrait of Charles II as an infant by an unknown artist, 1630. He's got a spaniel in his lap, is grasping them by one ear, and has a teething toy in his other hand. See https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw09919/King-Charles-II

Sara Norja@saranorja· Jan 5

Here the alchemical imagery is a phoenix. I've also seen the Pelican Portrait of Elizabeth in Liverpool. Both are such cool uses of alchemical imagery in early modern pop culture!

Detail of the phoenix among Elizabeth I's sumptuously embroidered dress, from Hilliard's Phoenix Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Jan 5

I'm passing through London for a work trip and had time for some art therapy at the National Portrait Gallery; found the second of Nicholas Hilliard's alchemical portraits of Liz I!

The Phoenix Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1575

Sara Norja@saranorja· Nov 21

Just finished reading Bruce Holsinger's thicc book On Parchment (Yale UP, 2022). A wonderful journey through parchment from ancient to modern, through book history, literature and art!

A picture of a title-page with the text

On Parchment
Animals, Archives, and the Making of Culture
from Herodotus to the Digital Age

Bruce Holsinger

Sara Norja@saranorja· Nov 19

Hey #medievalsky #bookhistory peeps! I found this sheet of parchment for really cheap at a flea market years ago and it has lain forgotten in my archives... The dating puzzles me! Halp! 1/

The recto side (flesh) of a 55 by 40 cm sheet of parchment with musical notation, some Latin lyrics and a couple of large initials in blue and red ink. The folio number 211 has been written in the right margin twice. Dating: ??

The verso side (hair) of a 55 by 40 cm sheet of parchment with musical notation, some Latin lyrics and one large initials in red ink. Dating: ??

Sara Norja@saranorja· Oct 10

You know your project's symposium on the intersections of science and magic is a success when you end up sharing ghost stories over a beer

Kirjastosilta bridge in Turku, Finland, lit a ghostly blue on a rainy October night

Sara Norja@saranorja· Sep 23

So it's bisexual visibility day? Here's me being visible ON A BOAT (I'm on my way to Denmark for an academic conference)

A three-quarter photo of Sara, looking to the sea with wind-whipped short hair and shades of blue, purple and green in her clothes. In the background is a receding Helsinki and the Baltic Sea.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Sep 17

First platform ever I've been an early adopter on 🙀

Bluesky image celebrating million users, showing that Sara was #460,424!

Sara Norja@saranorja· Sep 16

So my Finnish verse novel Kummajaisten kesä ("The Summer of Strangelings", I'm still not sure how to translate the title) is a nominee for a major Finnish fantasy book award, Kuvastaja!!! This is my debut novel. I'm absolutely stunned that it's now got national recognition through this nomination.

Sara Norja, baffled and happy with her debut Finnish verse novel Kummajaisten kesä

Sara Norja@saranorja· Sep 3

Check out the cover of Breaking Through: a punk anthology featuring many kinds of -punk stories! The antho includes my solarpunk retelling of Snow White, "This House Is Your Haven". I look forward to sharing this story with you! Preorders are now open: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFB6YP1S

Cover image for the -punk anthology Breaking Through, featuring a green-haired, punky white person's face broken up like mirror shards.

Pre-order now - out 10/17

Sara Norja@saranorja· Aug 16

Post a nonreligious picture you think of as holy.

Photo of a moss-covered tree in a green Scottish forest. Its branches stretch out, forming a complex lattice against the background of green leaf and mist.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Aug 10

Met up with some wonderful people at Worldcon today!! I've had great luck meeting friends here 😭💖 @amalelmohtar.com @didichanoch.bsky.social @alwayscoffee.bsky.social @macey.bsky.social @mytherea.bsky.social @mariness.bsky.social @omgjulia.bsky.social

A selfie of some excellent and wonderful writers at Worldcon in Glasgow, sitting at a picnic table outside, grinning despite the stiff wind

Sara Norja@saranorja· Jun 15

A long-awaited reread. Today's the perfect day to dive back into This Is How You Lose the Time War by @amalelmohtar.com & @maxgladstone.bsky.social. Oh how I love this book, its weird poetry and dreamlike visions and puns ✨️❤️💙✨️

The cover of This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, held up by my hand against a background of my lounging legs on my balcony sofa, green plants in the background.

Sara Norja@saranorja· Apr 27

Working on my disaster poet novel. Aiming to finish this second draft and craft a proper pitch for it before Worldcon. Writing is the best ✨️ Pleased that my matcha and the tarot card for this scene match 💚

Closeup of a writer's desk, with a scrawled-upon manuscript draft, a mug of matcha for fuel, and a tarot card (the Knight of Coins).

Sara Norja@saranorja· Mar 10

Really enjoyed The Butcher of the Forest by @premeemohamed.com ! Premee is so great with novellas, this was tight and super atmospheric. Love a creepy fae forest, and the prose is delicious.