Scalzi, other spec fic authors head for the X-it

Twitter has been slowly imploding over the past few months but today’s rebranding to just “X” seems to have been the final straw for John Scalzi, author of The Kaiju Preservation Society, Redshirts, The Old Man’s War series, and too many other great books to list here.

“Musk will be an immediate business school case study for taking the value of a unique, universally-known and globally-appreciated brand and absolutely trashing it in exchange for a symbol best known for porn and/or the button you press on your computer whenever you want to leave something,” Scalzi wrote this morning in a post on his website, Whatever.Scalzi.com.

Scalzi says he’s going to be spending most of his time on Bluesky, on Mastodon, and on Facebook’s new Threads app.

Bluesky is currently in invite-only mode, Mastodon is too confusing to use, and Threads doesn’t even have a real website yet. There’s a page where you can see people’s posts — like my page here — but you can’t post anything, or comment or like other people’s posts, without using the mobile app.

Still, of the three, Threads seems to be the best bet right now.

If you just joined Threads for the first time and are looking for sci-fi and fantasy authors to follow, go to @metastellarmagazine, click on our followers number (in gray, right below the description line), then on the “Following” tab. You’ll see all the authors, publishers, and bookstores we’re following, to give you a quick entry point into the broader community.

Meanwhile, here are some speculative fiction writers I’ve found on the app whose feeds are worth checking out:

• Michael Chabon: Novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Oh, yeah, and he won a Pulitzer (@michael.chabon).
• Neil Gaiman: Author of American Gods and so many other things, winner of all the awards (@neilhimself).
• Jennifer Estep: Bestselling fantasy author (@jennifer_estep_author).
• Rick Riordan: Author of the Percy Jackson books (@rickriordan).
• Lindsay Buroker: Sci-fi and fantasy author, host of Six Figure Authors podcast (@lindsay_buroker).
• Felicia Day: Creator and star of the web series The Guild, among many, many other cool geek acting credits (@feliciaday).
• D. K. Holmberg: Fantasy author (@dkholmberg).
• Cavan Scott: New York Times bestselling sci-fi author (@cavanscottwriter).
• Victoria Aveyard: New York Times bestselling author of the Red Queen series and Realm Breaker series (@victoriaaveyard).
• Joseph Malik: Bestselling fantasy author (@jmalikauthor).
• Ian Hughes: Sci-fi author of Reconfigure and Cont3xt, metaverse evangelist, and technology analyst (@epredator).
• AJ Ashton: Author of slow-burn, medium-spicy high fantasy romantic adventure (@aashtonwriter).
• T.J. Fier: Author of The Bright One. and other works of sci-fi and horror (@tjfier_author).
• Wm. Brett Hill: Sci-fi short story author (@wmbretthillauthor).
• Jess Gardner: Romance and fantasy author (@authorjessgardner).
• Gareth L. Powell: Award-winning science fiction author (@garethlpowell).
• Jendia Gammon: Fantasy, science fiction, and horror author (@jendiagammon).
• Montrez: YA fantasy author (@authormontrez).
• Sera Amoroso: Sci-fi and fantasy author (@seraamoroso).
• Anna Hackett: Sci-fi romance author (@anna_hackett_author).
• Jennifer Ascienzo: YA sci-fi romance author (@themidnight_novelist).
• Peter J. Foote: Sci-fi author (@bluecollar.scifi.author).
• Vanessa Perry: Grimdark fantasy author (@proseandpumpkins).
• Dal Cecil Runo:  Sci-fi and thriller author (@dalcecilruno).
• Vivian Otoo: Dystopian sci-fi and fantasy author (@authorvivian.o.2).
• Sarina Dahlan: Science fiction and fantasy author (@sarina.dahlan).
• Renee Dugan: Fantasy author (@reneeduganwriting).
• Gemma Clatworthy: Urban fantasy author (@gemmaclatworthy).
• Eaton Krone: Sci-fi satire author (@eaton_krone).
• K.C. Woodruff: Dark fantasy author (@writerwoodruff).
• Ryan Cahill: Epic fantasy author (@ryancahillauthor).
• Nikki Jefford: Paranormal and fantasy romance author (@nikkijefford).
• Nicole Silver: Urban fantasy and fantasy romance author (@nicolesilverbooks).
• Katelyn Young: Fantasy author (@writerksy).
• Lindsey Brounstein: Fantasy author (@writerlindsey).
• Amy J. Murphy: Military sci-fi author (@amyjmurphyauthor).
• S.M. Warlow: Sci-fi author (@smwarlow_author).
• T. A. Bruno: Sci-fi author (@tabrunoauthor).
• Peter Hartog: Sci-fi author (@althazyr).
• K.E. Davenport: Fantasy and sci-fi author (@davenportwriter).
• Abelia Sumpter: Dark sci-fi and fantasy romance author (@abeliasumpter).
• M. S. Rayed: Fantasy and sci-fi author (@m.s.rayed).
• Arthur Slade: Fantasy author (@arthurslade).
• Chloe C. Peñaranda: Fantasy author (@chloecpenaranda).
• Paul Rix: Sci-fi author (@paulrixauthor).
• L. D. Boston: Sci-fi thriller author (@bostonscribbles).
• Brett Jackson: Sci-fi author (@brettjacksonauthor).
• Renee Barrette: Sci-fi thriller author (@renee.barrette.author).
• J. Lee Vayo: Fantasy and sci-fi writer (@jleevayo).
• Vanessa Rasanen: Fantasy romance author (@vanessarasanenauthor).
• J. J. Wade: Sci-fi and fantasy author (@jjwadeofficial).
• Keri Kruspe: Sci-fi romance author (@kerikruspe).
• D. G. Palmer: Fantasy author (@dgpalmerauthor).
• Jim Keen: Sci-fi author (@jimkeenauthor).
• A.W. Davidson: Sci-fi author (@aw.davidson).

Maria Korolov

MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist, writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel. Email her at maria@metastellar.com. She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.