of Books and Bots - Redux

Hello and welcome to the 2026 fresh new look (and website) for "of Books and Bots"!

This newsletter is now hosted on my very own domain henryneilsen.com, which includes details of my books, publications, bio and contact info.

Finally, some consolidated web presence! If you're a longtime subscriber, welcome back! I hope the transition was as simple as just seeing that this month's newsletter comes from noreply@henryneilsen.com instead of henryneilsen@substack.com – I really did try to make it as easy as possible.

This change has come about for a variety of reasons, but principle among them is that I think it's high time I stop relying on increasingly unstable social media platforms and try to carve out a corner of my own on the internet. Very 2004 of me, I know.

If you're a new visitor, welcome. Here's what this place is about:

I am a science fiction and horror writer from Melbourne, Australia, who has published two novels, had a short story make the finals list for the Aurealis awards, and who releases a monthly newsletter about technology, art, or whatever it is that's currently burning up the calories in my brain-meat.

Some of my most popular posts are about Why Tech Sucks Now, or The Problem with AI, but I also do reviews of books I like and talk more generally about art and culture. And, of course, I shout about my own books and my own work. So if that's your bag, feel free to sign up below.

If you like the work that you see here, please share it around with people, or leave a comment to let me know your thoughts. It's often quite "shout into the void" when you're a creator so hearing from enthusiastic readers is very welcome.

I used to have a "paid tier" to this newsletter but I have done away with that in the site migration, which is a risk I've taken for the sake of independence from platforms. If you would like to support this publication financially, the best way is to buy a book. If you aren't able to do that, not a problem at all. Subscription is free and I promise to do my best to bring interesting and entertaining content. The sign-up is at the bottom of the page.

Going forward, I'm going to be making some changes to my newsletter. Nothing major! Just a bit of a "general news" section about events, podcasts, speaking or selling things I've been up to, and a section where I shout about the coolest things I've read, seen, or listened to that month. But the main event will still be my monthly articles, so don't you fret.

Thanks for reading, and for coming along on the ride.

Welcome to henryneilsen.com