Newsletter, Issue 1: Vampires, zines, and graffiti

I’m going to have a go at sending semi-regular newsletters (one or two per month) with project updates, reflections on current events, and other things I think you might enjoy. These will be available to all Patreon subscribers, free and paid, and may occasionally include paywalled content or affiliate links that help me, you know, survive under capitalism.

In this issue, I share fresh work, highlight some news that’s been keeping me up at night, projects I’m working on, and a few things I’m currently enjoying.

🌱 Fresh Work

Newly released creations.

Article: Bluesky’s CEO meltdown: How leadership continues to fail its most marginalized users (Medium.com, open access)

tl;dr: Bluesky began with genuine promise: a new social media platform where users could feel safer, but inconsistent moderation quickly eroded trust. When systemically marginalized users pushed back, Bluesky’s leadership minimized concerns and began to target them for bans.

This was a depressing one to write. I really like(d) Bluesky and I want it to succeed, but its leadership has become openly hostile towards its own users and things are only getting worse. But it’s not over yet: the article includes links to key investors who could pressure Bluesky’s leadership to make real, substantive changes. It’s worked before.

Book review: Thirst, by Marina Yuszczu (Patreon supporters)

tl;dr: You ever find yourself reading a novel about a disaster bisexual vampire on Hallowe’en and then somehow it’s 2 am, and you’ve finished it, but you still can’t stop thinking about it? Yeah.

Marina Yuszczuk is an Argentinian novelist and poet, and the author of thirteen books. Thirst (La sed) is her second novel and first to appear in English. Given the strength of this novel and its favourable reception, I hope we’ll see more translations from her back catalogue as well as future works.

Digital exhibition: Community Ties: Our Future Together(The ArQuives, open acccess)

Earlier this year, I conducted a national consultation project for The ArQuives, hosting in-person and online community conversations. Participants at the in-person sessions in Ottawa, Montréal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Fredericton, Halifax, and St. John’s each created zine pages representing their communities, which were then compiled into bilingual zines for each city.

These zines present vibrant portraits of queer and trans life across Canada, and are freely available for download in two formats: a print-ready booklet you can print and fold into a physical zine, and a digital layout designed for easy reading on screen. (More here.)

😤 Frustrating News

Things that keep me up at night.

• Teen Vogue has fired all of its Black journalists and trans journalists amid layoffs and will no longer cover politics. Soon to be folded into Vogue‘s flagship website, it will instead focus on “career development” and “cultural leadership.” Defanged and made irrelevant, like every other billionaire-owned media outlet. (Hollywood Reporter)
• In a new anti-trans policy, the Québec government has banned the use of gender-neutral language in official communications. Nonbinary people will still be able use the gender marker “X” on some government documents, but pronouns like “iel” (the French equivalent of the English singular “they,” which I use) will not be permitted. The new policy also prohibits using the point médian to blend masculine and feminine word forms, such as “étudiant.e.s” to refer to students of any gender. (Global News)
• Alberta’s premiere passed a law last year requiring schools to out trans children under 16 to their parents and obtain parental permission before teachers can use the child’s correct name and pronouns. Students 16 and 17 don’t require permission, but the school must still out trans students to their parents, no matter what risks this poses to the child, and we know that queer and trans children face significantly greater risks of family abuse and homelessness. This anti-trans law is being challenged in court. (CBC)
• Nova Scotia’s education minister has abandoned long-awaited updates to its guidelines supporting transgender students. Initially released in 2014, they haven’t been updated since. This update was intended to fill gaps and provide clarity. The new code of conduct released in April is not sufficient to address the problems with the guidelines, argues Em Bailey, a spokesperson for the Gender Justice Coalition. (CBC)

Things that keep me going.

• Bluesky elder Zorhan Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City last night and affirmed that he will continue to stand up for transgender people. Throughout his campaign, Mamdani demonstrated knowledge and sensitivitiy to LGBTQ+ histories and the struggles our communities continue to face, and in response, they showed u, with 82% of the LGBTQ+ community casting their votes for him compared to just 15% for disgraced sex pest Andrew Cuomo. (Advocate, NBC News)
• The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives is launching its largest-ever digitization initiative, focusing on hidden Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ histories, thanks to the Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation. I worked on this US$231,438 grant, so I’m especially excited to see it come to life, though I won’t be working on the project itself. (The ArQuives)
• A 13th-century, eight-page book bound in furry seal skin was recently turned over to the National Library of Norway after being privately held at Hagenes farm in Bergen. Written in Latin and containing religious songs, the book’s seal-skin binding is highly unusual, and experts now consider it one of the oldest surviving books in Norway. (ScienceNorway)
• Earlier this year Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada put out a highly leading survey seeking public input on how AI should be developed and used in business, research, and the military. Though the survey closed at the end of October, more than 40 organizations and more than 100 leading experts, advocates, and representatives from equity-seeking communities penned a letter to Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, opposing the ISED’s “National Sprint” on AI strategy on the grounds that it is dangerously ill-conceived. It’s good to see advocates push back and demand greater accountability from our government.

🔧 In the Works

• I’m working on a zine that gathers together photos of graffiti from across Canada: small acts of resistance and affirmations of joy in an increasingly depresing world.
• I’m also working on an article that’s something of a love letter to zines themselves: ephemeral, DIY, political, and personal. Zines aren’t made to last, but they are meant to leave an impression.

🎵 Currently Enjoying

What I’m reading, watching, and listening to.

• Novel: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor, 2017). I’m one of those people who likes to read the book before watching the show, and Murderbot has been on my list since a friend lent me the series. It’s finally time, folks. (Affiliate link.)
• D&D: Campaign 4 (Critical Role, 2025-). Brennan Lee Mulligan is a phenomenal GM. While the four-episode overture has been a been a bit slow, the first episode of the campaign proper drops tomorrow. Aramán awaits, and it has me asking, “Is it Thursday yet?”
• Song: “Soleil Bleu,” by Bleu Soleil & Luiza (ODGPROD, 2025). A gorgeous, bright, dancy track that’s I’ve had on repeat since the summer, and it continues to hold those sunsoaked vibes. I love it.

That’s it from me for this issue, folks. If you have something you’d like to see included, please send it my way.

Stay safe and healthy, friends.

Nico Mara-McKay (they/iel)