Joe Butler
Weird/Curio/Sci-Fi/Horror writer, novelist, & creator of the Haunted Hotel Project. Founder/editor/cover artist for @TLDRpress. Imperfect Creatures published by Diachroneity Books, OUT NOW! (He/Him)
www.writelikeashark.com
- I bought both the Duke Nukem Forever special edition, and the Colonial Marines special edition because I am an idiot.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerFrankly I think almost every writer I know and beta read for and cheer on deserves a deep dive like this one David gave my work. What an absolute fucking beautiful gift.
- I wrote an essay appreciating the works of @horrorsong.blog. I name drop @megapolisomancy.bsky.social, whose Weird scholarship has been a great boon 🖤 please enjoy!
- Reposted by Joe ButlerI wrote an essay appreciating the works of @horrorsong.blog. I name drop @megapolisomancy.bsky.social, whose Weird scholarship has been a great boon 🖤 please enjoy!
- Reposted by Joe Butlerwhat I read what I'm reading in January in February
- Reposted by Joe ButlerGet your copy of the award-winning novella (can not believe it's legal for me to say this) today:
- Reposted by Joe ButlerMy writing advice? Find an activity that fully empties your skull, and make it a part of your daily routine. Exercise, art, video games, snowboarding, cooking; anything that leaves NO ROOM for intrusive thoughts or obsession. Brains need oil changes to maintain peak performance. Be stupid once a day
- Reposted by Joe ButlerFor the @strangehorizons.bsky.social 2026 Criticism Special, I wrote about weird fiction being constituted by weird reading, vis a vis Sederholm and Woofter’s The Weird and @undertow.bsky.social’s The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Vol. 1., in tribute to Maureen Kincaid Speller. It’s a long one.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerFriends, if you have good news about your writing or art, we need to see that. The onslaught of political posting & rallying against fascism is important, but your happiness about your creative wins is part of what people are standing for. Don't let the bastards take that away from you.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerHey creatives! Keep writing. Keep painting. Keep making music. Art has always been a form of resistance. #resist
- Delighted to have an awesome review of Imperfect Creatures from Avereads!
- Reposted by Joe ButlerNew submission call for women: "Sexism, discrimination, harassment, misogyny... rape culture, glass ceilings, toxic masculinity, patriarchy. Blood boiling yet? We are seeking creative non-fiction by women that confront, interrogate, or give voice to their rage." dismantlingpress.com/Submissions/
- Gen AI doesn't democratise creativity. It hands the keys over to corrupt, greedy, soulless fuckers, whose sole aim is to dissolve and dilute creativity to the point that it becomes impossible to earn a living teaching it or doing it until no one knows how to anymore without them.
- They want you to eventually have to pay them to use their tools. To beg for consent from them to express yourself using the machinery of capitalism and preemptively negate any criticism of the system. They want to monitise every secret part of you. Fuck them.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerFeast your ears on Transmission zero, and welcome The Night Ship into the world! Released today wherever you can grab it, and ready to be just about the strangest journey into the vast of night you'll ever go through. www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ni...
- Happy book birthday, @alexwoodroe.com! Whisperwood is amazing, so I can't wait to get stuck into this.
- Calling out the boss here: As good as she is at supporting our writers, she is FOR SHIT at self-promoting, so allow me a moment of your time: Tenebrous EIC @alexwoodroe.com has a new book out tomorrow, THE NIGHT SHIP! It fucking rocks. If you dig what Tenebrous does, you’ll dig it. Link to buy ⬇️
- Reposted by Joe ButlerIT'S NIGHT SHIP DAY! You can put this beautiful gold-foiled/edge-sprayed book in your home for less than you'd spend on a medium-sized pizza. Act now and you'll also get a video of Alex telling me to stop promoting her book like the Slap Chop guy - a $49.95 value - absolutely free. Wow!
- Reposted by Joe ButlerJust a friendly reminder that today is the last day to recommend works for the Stoker Awards! bramstokerawards.horror.org/the-bram-sto...
- Reposted by Joe ButlerMe attempting to skirt award rules by using a gif to convey what I want you to do with this information today
- Just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to recommend works for the Stoker Awards! bramstokerawards.horror.org/the-bram-sto...
- Reposted by Joe ButlerHoly hell. Imperfect Creatures by Joe Butler (@writelikeashark.bsky.social) is truly incredible. Couldn’t put this thing down over this last week or so. What a fucking trip. Time to go replay a Remedy game. Shout out to @lucyjames.games for killing it with the book reccs on FPS
- Reposted by Joe ButlerThe audiobook of Coup de Grâce is out today! I got to speak with the production team about how to tackle the last act’s format (no spoilers—IYKYK!) but I haven’t listened to it yet. I think I understand actors who won’t rewatch their work in a movie now.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerHi #Booksky! 💙📚🪐🌈 It's my birthday today & if you're feeling it, I'd be so grateful if you added my epic fantasy, THE HERESY OF THIEVES, to your to-read on Goodreads! www.goodreads.com/book/show/24... In exchange, here is some delightful art of one of the book's characters, Byx 👇
- Reposted by Joe ButlerOver 10,000 people have added A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING on Goodreads!! If you heard screaming it wasn't a banshee, it was me!! 😭 Thank you to everyone who has been so kind. I had no idea if I'd reach 10k period, let alone while still in January!! I'm going to celebrate with some tiramisu later!!
- Reposted by Joe ButlerIt's the final day to enter the Goodreads giveaway for 15 print ARCs of A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING!! They're pretty cool if I say so myself 😎 (U.S. only!) www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho... ✍️📚
- Reposted by Joe Butler"A metafictional mind-melter where time means nothing and everything at once, Joe Butler’s third novel blends visual elements, epistolary sections, and cyclical narratives to plumb the depths of loss of grief of horror." #UKHorror #BritishHorror #Literature #Author #HWAUK #NewBooks
- RELEASE DAY!!! Imperfect Creatures is OUT NOW! My weird, Twin Peaks X House of Leaves novel is finally out in the world and wants to take up space in your brain. You can get it here: diachroneitybooks.com/Imperfect-Cr...
- Reposted by Joe ButlerDonated. It’s really easy to feel helpless in the face of such monstrous evil. Whatever bit you can do to fight against it, I truly believe it matters. Here is something that matters.
- This is a vetted fundraiser for the family of Renee Good, the woman who was killed by ICE in Minneapolis. www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
- Reposted by Joe ButlerI'm not saying that @writelikeashark.bsky.social's latest is haunted...but never have I had a book disappear on me so often. Leave it on the nightstand at night...next morning: gone. On the coffee table...turn around: gone. Turned up in the craziest of places, too. www.amazon.com/dp/173836092X 👻
- Reposted by Joe ButlerI have another #buyastrangerabook day offer to tell you about! @writelikeashark.bsky.social is offering to buy someone the book of their choice up to £15. That's right. Any book, not just the stuff on my website. Any book. So, if there's a particular book you want, get in touch. UK only
- IT'S WEDNESDAY! It's #buyastrangerabook day! The grooviest of all the days. I'll give out TWO books. FOR FREE. If you'd like one, let me know. Also, if you'd like to #BuyAStrangerABook too, let me know. It's a thing! Look. www.biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi... UK only.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerHi hey my new book comes out on Jan 20, and she's real pretty, and there's a giveaway of ten of these shiny sprayed hardcovers on GR, otherwise you can ask your local bookstore for one and that would mean the world to me! www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ni...
- Anthem is being sunset on the 12th, so I decided to mess around on it for a bit. They really did nail the flying mechanics. Shame they couldn't get 2.0 out.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerA new account, but we need this here in the UK, so I've subbed. British Horror Authors Guild britishhorror.substack.com?r=nuerk&utm_...
- Reposted by Joe ButlerMy feral 2026 resolution. Because I just want us all to succeed, friends and I'm super tired of the status quo as it is.
- Happy New Year to all my bluesky pals! I hope everyone has an amazing 2026.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerHappy New Year, everyone! Here's to a year of coolness, kindness, and kicking fascism's ass 🎉🖤🎉 I can't believe I have to write that in 2026! Let's take better care of each other. The world was a clusterfuck in '25. Let's make it better this year 🖤
- Reposted by Joe Butler[End of the year sappiness alert] If you've reached out to an author and told them how much their work means to you, or how excited for their next book you are, or just that you think of their writing journey and wish them the best? You're keeping the fires burning against some cold, harsh nights.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerAnd here is the ✨ link ✨: srcbks.com/4pkrQpM
- Reposted by Joe ButlerPre-order saaaale!! 🌊🌊👻🌊🌊 (Wild that I get to make this post now!) If you have a B&N Rewards or B&N Premium Membership you can save 25% when you pre-order A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING from today until January 1! Rewards membership is free. Use the code PREORDER25 at checkout ❤️🌊🔥👻💙
- Quote this with what you have accomplished in 2025 no matter how small. Not a LOT of publishing things, but a big one! - I published my third novel, Imperfect Creatures. It's the best, most ambitious thing I've ever done, and I'm super proud of it. - attended my first con as an author!
- Happy weirdmas, all! I hope you all get an actual break, and may all your artistic dreams come true, and the AI bubble bursts, and billionaires are taxed into oblivion.
- Reposted by Joe ButlerThis world is a True Terror, but we're grateful that you've kept it Weird in all the best ways with us. Thank you for all your support in 2025; we can't wait to share what's coming next. HAIL INDIE PUBLISHING. HAIL NEW WEIRD HORROR + MORE. HAIL THE TENEBROUS CULT. All our love- Alex + Matt 🖤☠️
