Kelly Robson's Blog

Recently, some writers I know described themselves as very much outside the writing community. I had questions, but didn’t want to interrogate them because my curiosity might be taken as criticism.

For anyone who wants to be in community with other writers, and doesn’t know how it works. Here’s my gentle take, organized from lowest bar to highest

1. Read and write short fiction, novels, and poetry

It’s as easy as that. You love it, you read it, you write it, you’re in the community. So how do yo...

Behold this beauty! The Book of the Dead, a short fiction anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by Galen Dara, is out October 6. It includes my story “Time is a Liquid.”

“Time is a Liquid” is about the avalanche-like power of grief, and the unanalyzable, unquantifiable connection that remains when those we love have been claimed by death.

Fresh as a daisy on Escape Pod, a three-part audio production of my Science Fiction novelette We Who Live in the Heart. Delightfully narrated by Ibba Armancas and hosted by Alasdair Stuart.

We Who Live in the Heart is the story of Doc, a former neurosurgeon who noped out of over-worked burnout on a crowded planet to task refuge in the belly of a space whale along with seven other misfits. It’s perhaps the most romantic story I’ve ever written.

Listen at Escape Pod: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

Fresh as a daisy on Escape Pod, a three-part audio production of my Science Fiction novelette We Who Live in the Heart. Delightfully narrated by Ibba Armancas and hosted by Alasdair Stuart.

We Who Live in the Heart is the story of Doc, a former neurosurgeon who noped out of over-worked burnout on a crowded planet to task refuge in the belly of a space whale along with seven other misfits. It’s perhaps the most romantic story I’ve ever written.

Listen at Escape Pod: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

A view down the Bow River valley from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, over the town of Banff.

The Banff Centre is a major Canadian institution for the continuing education and professional development of working artists. It’s been around since 1933, and has a huge, futuristic campus just above the town of Banff, in Banff National Park.

It’s gorgeous, of course. I’ve known about it my whole life because I grew up near the parks. For me, the Banff Centre is freighted with huge significan...

In September 2025, I’m going to be at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity for the two week Science Fiction residency with faculty Ai Jiang, Premee Mohamed, and Amal El-Mohtar.

I’m excited about this for a bunch of reasons. First, getting to hang out with Premee, Amal, and Ai for two weeks would be reason enough to go. (Not to  mention a bunch of other writers. I don’t know who else is going, is it you?). Writers, hanging out and writing. Yes, please.

The Banff Centre also has a lot of cache...

My new horror story LANDLINE is out now. A high school teacher is about to board a plane for school trip when her six year-old son phones from home to say the power is out and his dad has disappeared.

A true thrill of writing is getting covers like this:

LANDLINE cover by Elijah Boor

Art by the amazing Elijah Boor.

I guarantee this will scare the shit out of you, if it hasn’t already :D

If you’re an ebook reader, you can buy the story for your Kindle.

A true thrill of writing is getting covers like this:

LANDLINE cover by Elijah Boor

Art by the amazing Elijah Boor.

My new horror story LANDLINE will be out at Reactor next week. It’s about a high school teacher who’s about to board a plane for school trip to the UK, when her six year-old son phones from home to say his dad has disappeared and the power is out.

I guarantee this will scare the shit out of you, if it hasn’t already :D

If you’re an ebook reader, you can pre-order the story for your...

My new story “The High Cost of Heat” is coming to The Sunday Morning Transport very soon — June 2, 2024! Edited to add: Now out, link here!

The Sunday Morning Transport is an email magazine edited by Fran Wilde, and distributed via Substack. It does what it says on the box — a new story via email every Sunday Morning. You can sign up for a free 60 day trial subscription here, or choose the no cost subscription option which gives you the first story of the month for free. Either way, you get my n...

My new story “The High Cost of Heat” is coming to The Sunday Morning Transport very soon — June 2, 2024! Edited to add: Now out, link here!

The Sunday Morning Transport is an email magazine edited by Fran Wilde, and distributed via Substack. It does what it says on the box — a new story via email every Sunday Morning. You can sign up for a free 60 day trial subscription here, or choose the no cost subscription option which gives you the first story of the month for free. Either way, you get my n...