Hari Conner

Hari Conner

@haridraws.bsky.social

Hopeless forest romantic, Scotland. ♿ 🏳️‍⚧️ (they) Award-winning author/ illustrator: queer historical romance & fantasy, comics & gamebooks. Tags > #books #art https://www.hari-illustration.com Repped by Jessica Mileo.

4.9K followers493 following1.8K posts

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Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

HELLO I'm so delighted to finally officially share A TRUE GENTLEMAN, the graphic novel I’ve been working on for the last few years & is very close to my heart. Inspired by a lot of real queer & trans history and my own disability, with big marsh, big ships & BIG YEARNING #books

Hari Conner reposted

Anine Bösenberg
@anineillustration.com

Hello #Portfolioday! I'm Anine, an illustrator based in Scotland, and I'm looking for work - email me if you think I'd be a good fit for your project ✨ 💻 www.anineillustration.com 💌 anine@anineillustration.com (I also do private commissions, email me for that too)

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

whenever I feel bleak about the current publishing landscape, I remind myself that as a queer kid who read tons, I saw so few queer characters in books I thought it wasn’t allowed

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

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Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

More frivolously I also often think about how vegetarian food used to be non existent or fucking terrible 20+ years ago. I remain grateful for fake chicken nuggets

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Even more frivolously, it’s WAY easier to get weird hair dye. (wizened old man voice) When I was a teen I had to get the bus for an hour to a goth shop on the other side of london to buy blue hair dye, and they usually didn’t have any…

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

whenever I feel bleak about the current publishing landscape, I remind myself that as a queer kid who read tons, I saw so few queer characters in books I thought it wasn’t allowed

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

I mean also obviously medicine, I have several close family members who’d be long gone if it wasn’t for in-my-lifetime medical developments

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

listening to a disability history book and the writing by 1800s ‘invalids’ feels SO familiar: The vast frustration at being bedbound & cut off from the world & ‘normal’ life, the pressure to be cheerfully resilient, dealing with toxic positivity & doctors with little to offer the chronically sick...

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

this is the book - I got it in audio (it's on libro fm) and really impressed how wide-ranging, engaging & accessible it is. Lots about ways people were able to claim agency in their own lives, but also never fails to think about how their position in society affected that bsky.app/profile/prof...

David Turner@profdavidturner.bsky.social

My 500 year history of disabled people's political activism is out now! Thanks to The Independent for making it their non-fiction book of the month! www.penguin.co.uk/books/455782... #disabilityhistory

penguin.co.ukDisabilityA ground-breaking history of modern Britain that puts the experiences of disabled people to the fore for the first time. Despite there being more than 16 million disabled people in the UK today, disa...
Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Finished the research for my disabled-lead regency book ages ago (though I want to squeeze in a rec for this at the back!) but it's satisfying to hear stuff I already knew or referenced on how disabled sailors were treated post-napoleonic wars, or a specific wheelchair type! bsky.app/profile/hari...

Hari Conner@haridraws.bsky.social

this disability pride month (just like the rest of this year) I'm mostly busy drawing a graphic novel about a character living with the same illness as me. Definitely simplified the 19thC wheelchair design so I could draw it 100+ times, but wanted to share some references it's based on! #books #atg

Hari Conner reposted

KJ Charles
@kjcharleswriter.com

The Society of Authors has withdrawn from the ill-conceived concession to the dark side that was the "ethical GenAI" charter because of the mass and vocal outrage of authors. Publishers need to be made afraid of this level of anger too.

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

while the buildings could benefit from repairs (& another ♿ entrance imo), the current plans look gutting, & would demolish, not restore, many weird cool historic parts, with hotel/student flats DOMINATING & replacing loads of venues and resident spaces from summerhall arts:

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

(it’s the old vet school and pre-illness I Loved the gig space, skulls in the pub, and life drawing & weird trans shows in a hundred year old semicircular wood lecture theatre) it's great to see community response online, but if you feel strongly, make sure to fill in the actual consult in time! ✌

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

fwiw this includes Squarespace, where 'block known AI crawlers' is under settings>website>crawlers

Cherae // C. L.@clclarkwrites.com

my partner, who works in tech, has been talking to me about this severe grab since it’s impacting their teams as well, and something you can do about it—check your website host and see what kinds of protections you can enable against AI crawling.

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Worth switching on even if sadly I doubt there’s any way to make online work truly un-scrapeable. (Personally I don’t want to let that stop me sharing art publicly - as someone disabled & bedbound it’s my main way to reach people...)

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Also to be clear I am not saying I recommend squarespace, but just IF by any chance you ALREADY set up your site there ages ago and have never left. FOR EXAMPLE

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

headed to @tagsfest.co.uk this morning and got some very nice normal pictures of #TheMurmuringDepths team (coming soon…) & some other pals! FREE & open till 5 at Out of the Blue in Leith, if you 🫵 live near & want to support your local weird arts scene, play games or see many good comics & zines

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

against a pretty gutting backdrop of Ominous Arts News in Edinburgh it's a balm to see a taste of all the cool and creative stuff being made in the indie comics & tabletop scene & SUCH a relief that precautions let me actually go to an event!!!! bsky.app/profile/tags...

TAGS Festival@tagsfest.co.uk

To make sure our vulnerable community members can still attend and enjoy TAGS Fest, we encourage you to wear a mask when you visit! Thank you to Edinburgh Mask Bloc and Air Library Scotland for working with us to create an accessible event. 🏷️ Learn more about TAGS Fest at tagsfest.co.uk

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

realllly trying my best to use my fury at the state of genAI, the arts, disabled & trans rights and everything else to actually engage in ways that could be heard or have impact, as opposed to my kneejerk instinct of ‘silently walk into the woods and never return’

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Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

I’m sure there were well-intentioned people involved with this but I’m tired of being nice. I simply think genAI is the enemy of creativity and human connection, and sucks all the way down

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

the SoA's response statement had a 'contact us by email' which I have, other members can too. Maybe it's long-emailing into the void or pointless trying to find terms they'll listen to, but I want them to know how many authors find the vague mildness of their anti-AI position egregiously lacking

Hari Conner reposted

Louie Stowell
@louiestowell.bsky.social

This is a very good thread on the Society of Authors business, including the latest statement from them

Nick Harkaway@nickharkaway.com

Pulling some thoughts together from disparate discussions on the SoA / AI Charter thing... (Full text here: societyofauthors.org/charter-of-e...)

societyofauthors.orgCharter of Ethical AI Use in the Creative Industries  - The Society of AuthorsCharter of Ethical AI Use in the Creative Industries International authors’ organisations and other creative industry bodies have joined forces to create an international charter setting out commitmen...

Hari Conner reposted

cancelled-by-elon.bsky.social
@cancelled-by-elon.bsky.social

Replying to @patricknessbooks.bsky.social

The wild thing to me is no cis people are remotely bothered by sharing a ward with a trans person. It's completely an elite manufactured problem. novaramedia.com/2023/10/04/t...

novaramedia.comThere Were No Complaints About Trans Women on Hospital Wards, Investigation FindsAn investigation asked 102 NHS trusts how many complaints there had been about trans women on women’s wards. There were none.
Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

‘where AI is used, it is used for good’ Is ‘getting a computer to write my book’ widening access? Is machine-summary, marketing, translation or illustration - instead of intentionally using words or pictures to mean something - increasing discoverability? Is discoverability over meaning 'good'?

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Even an imaginary world where big tech was lovely and the hardware had no problems and the models didn’t increase bias or cause harm, give me this ethical use case. I’m not worried about an existential threat, I’m aware of the reality of genAI’s material cost and impact on human fucking labour

Hari Conner reposted

Dr Chiara Bullen
@chiarab.bsky.social

Outrageous for a whole host of reasons, but this jumped out at me; "By signing up to this Charter your organisation commits to [...] to widen access, inclusion and opportunity and to increase discoverability, helping more creators, from more backgrounds, reach wider audiences." How can AI do this?

This post is unavailable.

Hari Conner reposted

Mad Rupert
@madrupert.bsky.social

Please get VERY HYPED for BUNT online!!! I worked very hard on the art for this book and Ngozi gave me free reign to draw all the dumb faces I wanted 😌👌🥎

ngoziu@ngoziu.com

WHOA. Heads up!!! ✨🥎✨ Our graphic novel BUNT is hitting the net! @madrupert.bsky.social and I are SO excited to share our hit graphic novel BUNT, for the *very* first time, page by page—as a webcomic!!!!! Posting starts next week 10/20! 🥎 buntcomic.com

Hari Conner reposted

Carey Pietsch
@careydraws.bsky.social

I end undergrad talks with the annoying 'comics advice' of: you have to sleep, you have to eat, you have to move your body in whatever way works for you, you have to engage with the world outside of your desk and outside of comics entirely. sleep is the foundation!! you can't compromise on that!!

Iaculus@iaculus.bsky.social

It was Shigeru Mizuki - comic artist, antiwar activist, folklore archivist, and general cultural titan.

Hari Conner reposted

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

it’s the book birthday of I Shall Never Fall in Love tomorrow! I recently realised there's a big preview readable online that I never posted here 👀 I love when you can actually see GN interiors, & wanted to make the preview easy findable here without having to trawl through amazon #books #isnfil

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

it’s the book birthday of I Shall Never Fall in Love tomorrow! I recently realised there's a big preview readable online that I never posted here 👀 I love when you can actually see GN interiors, & wanted to make the preview easy findable here without having to trawl through amazon #books #isnfil

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

Just to get real on a comic full of goofy faces. It's so rough out there, particularly for trans young people, and a strange time to be writing trans YA. Tbh I'm honoured by every lovely message & that my sometimes-silly books can be meaningful or comforting through grim times. x

Hari Conner reposted

Xtra
@xtramagazine.com

Changing online policy and social media platform moderation has drastically impacted the work of queer and trans indie webcomic artists. In a new comic, @bellhasabat.bsky.social and @raspberryhazel.bsky.social explore how they’re navigating this brave new world. xtramagazine.com/culture/onli...

xtramagazine.comOnline censorship is crushing indie webcomics | Xtra MagazineFrom social media platforms to payment processors, new restrictions are making it harder for webcomic artists to exist

Hari Conner reposted

taylor robin
@taylor-robin.bsky.social

IT'S ANTI-PRIME DAY ON BOOKSHOP!! Free shipping on all orders through MIDNIGHT, 10/7! Now's a great time to grab a copy of Hunger's Bite, or put in your pre-order for the upcoming sequel Fate's Run! Or anything! Whatever you buy with my link gives me an extra buck~ bookshop.org/shop/taylor-...

Hari Conner reposted

Hari Conner
@haridraws.bsky.social

hello! Today's the anniversary of my first wee trad published book. So for new followers: a gamebook thread This one's good for the: - ttRPG-curious but can't get a group together - DM who wants a night off - nerdy parent/ relative who wants to induct a young person into dungeon crawling life

Hari Conner reposted

Johanna T 🔜 LBX
@johannamation.bsky.social

Trans people and their right to life are not a political distraction. Period. Here’s a booklist of comics by trans creators/featuring trans and GNC characters and stories. Please support trans comic creators (and all trans ppl), now more than ever!! bookshop.org/lists/trans-...

bookshop.orgTrans & GNC ComicsA booklist of graphic novels with stories focusing on trans issues, featuring trans protagonists, and/or made by trans/gender-nonconforming creators.