Jordan Kurella

@jordankurella.com

6733 Followers 1774 Following

Trans Queerdo. Shirley Jackson Award Winner. Nebula, Sturgeon, Indie Book Prize, and L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist. Wrote I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY (Lethe Press), WHEN I WAS LOST (Trepidatio), and THE DEATH OF MOUNTAINS (Lethe). No AI. Fuck ICE.

a black labrador looks astonished, humbled, full of gratitude (also surprised) as a plastic trophy is placed in front of her. bookcases behind (blurry)
the 2025 Shirley Jackson Award for best novella The Death of Mountains awarded to me (a working astrolabe in a wood case with a brass plaque), sits on a fireplace mantle
photo of Patti Smith smiling with glasses and braids. she is wearing a black jacket. text: "Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don't abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book." ~Patti Smith
Yzma and Kronk from the Emperor's New Groove
an elder black lab takes shelter in some shade outside. she looks pensively off to the right of frame, silver-white snoot in full view
same selfie as before but this time i'm in the Mos Eisley Cantina
a selfie i took (i cut myself out of the background) pasted into a still of The Backrooms. i am wearing grey jorts, a black t-shirt, and glasses. looking upward and smiling with a flatcap on.
a pink and white and blue graphic with the cover of The Death of Mountains (by me!) on the right side. background is gradient blue fading to white. in bright pink it says: FINALIST FOR then in neon lettering: LA Times Book Prize Nebula Award Indie Book Prize Shirley Jackson Award
Renee Magritte "Empire of the Light" a house sits beside a river and one streetlight in darkness. it is white stone. lights on inside, tall cone shaped trees reach for a clear, blue, daylight sky
a photo of grey jeans and a little pale jumping spider, front legs raised. i am sitting down outside. shoe slightly visible against a weathered deck. spider is small/tiny.
a black labrador curled up with herself on a grey dog bed on a pale blue patterned area rug
Hi, most annoying person you've ever encountered here! I noticed this post you wrote in 3 seconds doesn't line up with every experience I've ever had. This is extremely harmful to me, the main character of the universe,
a white man stands against greenery. he has grey hair and glasses. wearing a brown camp shirt with his hand raised toward his face. other hand in his pocket.
the backrooms except its THE BRAKROOMS with Brak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast dancing right for you
a video of a white man standing outside next to a halloween decoration (skeleton). honeysuckle everywhere. the man is wearing a sleeveless dark grey pride shirt and black halloween meshback baseball cap. he says: "It's so damn hot..." and then pans the camera to the halloween decoration (skeleton) "Steve melted."
THE UPRISING CREATIVE marquee against a blue sky. it reads: ITS HARD TO BE A GOTH IN THIS DAMN HEAT
the poster for the movie MOON with Sam Rockwell. it has an astronaut holding his helmet against his hip, against a black & white spiral "moon" set against a black background. the tagline: 950,000 MILES FROM HOME, THE HARDEST THING TO FACE... IS YOURSELF. MOON
a screenshot taken directly from the Associated Press video of lightning striking the Eiffel Tower
a silver medallion hanging from a blue and white ribbon against a blue wall. the medallion/medal says "INDIE BOOK AWARD FINALIST" on it. just beyond the medal are two framed certificates, slightly out of focus
Rolling Stone VANILLA ICE'S CONCERT AT FREEDOM 250 CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER "Ice Ice Baby" rapper, one of the last music artists standing at the ill-fated Great American State Fair, has gig canceled Friday after inclement weather hits Washing-ton, D.C. BY DANIEL KREPS JUN 27, 2026 | 8:34 AM
four star review of "The Death of Mountains" with a quote from the book: "Life is too short to be good at my job."
mental age test: my mental age is 43 "back in my day"
woman yelling in man's ear meme. they are both white. man looks absolutely done. woman is excited and needs to say what she needs to say. speech bubble attached to woman it says: "MEOW!!!!!!"
several dead bugs in a shadow box artistically arranged. they are hanging in said shadow box against a green wall above a metal sign that says: "PLEASE ADJUST YOUR DRESS BEFORE LEAVING"
a white guy (me) wears a flat cap and KN-95 and a t-shirt (all black) in a white room. he is smiling but it's hard to tell. selfie.
a photo of Oliver Tree performing on keytar. Oliver Tree in Serbia in 2024 PHOTO: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Tree was among six passengers killed when two helicopters collided mid-air in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, a coastal area in the Southwest zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday. There were no survivors. The crash resulted in even more damage when the falling copters landed on an electric vehicle yard, causing at least 20 cars to catch fire, CNN Brazil reported.
a photo of me standing outside being nearly consumed by honeysuckle. wearing a black Three-Lobed Burning Eye magazine t-shirt and grey jeans. hands in pockets. smiling off to one side.
a black cat poses for a photo on a fireplace mantle. brick wall, wooden mantle with mirror inset. cat is sitting and looking off to the left. above the mantle, a bow and sword are crossed. on the mantle rests an axe
a wooden sculpture of a "cathedral" in many black parts. i remember it was meant to be a cathedral but dont recall the artist name or title of the work
Two of the original stories in Apex 152 stood out for me. Jordan Kurella's "Unsettled Nature" is a mystery set in an "un-natural place" where a jackalope rider is found dead. The narrator, who finds the body and subsequent victims, is immediately suspected. Meanwhile their jackalope is having violent nightmares, then takes ill. Obviously, we're in a strange world, one the author does an excellent job of hinting at well enough in less than 6000 words to satisfy. Similarly, he sketches just enough of the characters to tell this curious story well.
a "TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS" banner in pink and white and blue, hanging on a white wall over a couch with one solitary plant. to the left are several towers of VHS tapes (this photo was taken June 9, 2026).
me (left) in all dark clothes and a black mask. thick glasses and grey hair. double (right) in a fashionable yet bright color fit, grey hair, and thick rimmed glasses.
like: "Pastor Paul? If God's plan and making of the universe is ineffible and unknowable? How do you explain physics?" "Pastor Paul? If God made us all in his image? How do you explain the dinosaurs?"
finalist reception photo of the in-person finalists at the SFWA Nebula Conference
a woodcut of a quote from "The Death of Mountains" "We hold up the cares, so in turn, we care. It is the reciprocal nature of nature itself: to give and, in return. to give back." -Jordan Kurella, The Death of Mountains
a black backpack with a rainbow rocket cat on it. also on it: - 3 Nebula Finalist pins - 1 LA Times Festival of Books pin - Dragoon FFXIV pin (my main job) - Michael Meyers Halloween pin
SFWA Nebula Finalist Certificate for novella "The Death of Mountains" by me
a white horse with a long mane at Medieval Times
a dog poo recepticle that says "Please clean up!" with a cartoon of a dog throwing away her own poo
a man's hand against a pearly blank train wall. holding coffee. no window.
WHERE AT THE NEBULAS IS JORDAN KURELLA? Speculative Short Plays Reading! Friday, 1pm Autographing Session! Friday, 8pm Your First Paragraph: How to Start Your Next Story! Saturday, 1pm NEBULA AWARD FINALIST
the moon over Cleveland at night (because that's when the moon is out)
Jordan Kurella is a trans and disabled author who has lived all over the world (including Moscow and Manhattan). In his past lives, he was a photographer, radio DJ, and social worker. His fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Sturgeon Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the L.A. Times Book Prize. He is decisive, but couldn't decide in cat vs dog, so has both.
a tree hazy and violet lit. in a bend high up in the boughs and leaves is a little raccoon face
patch notes for FFXIV 7.51 where folks can use a shovel. a Roegadyn using the shovel, and a woman holding it. image below is Poppy doing Dinner Party hands from Mythic Quest and saying "Dinner party!"
atomic blonde movie poster with Charlize Theron looking amazing in sunglasses and platinum hair
me holding "One Message Remains" by Premee Mohamed the cover is a series of blues with a ghostly figure (also blue) reaching for... is that a flower or a glowing soul? read and find out i guess
Rolling Stone issue in advertising partnership with The Vampire Lestat has a very shirtless Lestat on it and an all Vampire Lestat issue with a lot of Lestat on it
Nebula Finalist and VIP Autographing from 8-10pm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chicago with NK Jemisin, Tannarive Due, Annalee Newitz, and Joe Haldeman
me (a white man) standing in a bathroom. wearing grey pants and a black t-shirt with the Franz Ferdinand band logo. except it says Franz Kafka
me in a green blazer and black pants and grey converse in front of the LA Times Book Prize backdrop. i am smiling SO BIG.
Amon Amarth on stage at the Newport Music Hall. lights are bright, crowd is PACKED
Silver Buffalo Visit the Store Silver Buffalo What We Do in the Shadows Disco Featuring Nadja, Guillermo de la Cruz, Nandor the Relentless, Laszlo Cravensworth, Colin Robinson 45"x 60" Fleece Throw, Soft and Cozy Blanket, 180 GSM FX WHAT WE DO ITHE SHROOWS typos not mine. i copied the text. the throw is a technicolor nightmare of hallucinatory proportions. all the vampires dancing and holding Guillermo aloft with distorted expressions in blues, purples, and greens. the Jonkler would LOVE this
a white man in a brown and black shirt leans over toward a senior dog. the dog looks absolutely done with these shenanigans. her (dog's) expression even has rolled eyes and unimpressed ear posture. man's expression is silly with wide eyes and surprised mouth.
when i was a kid, i liked the band best (i am tired and cant remember the name). but now i like Kermit and Rowlf my brain wants to say Electric Ladyfingers but that's not it ELECTRIC MAYHEM
a white man stands outside by an enormous potted plant. he is wearing black slacks and a black tee. hands in pockets, glancing off to the right with a black flatcap on.
things that will destroy your snails in your snail farm: pictured: rat frog beetle snail-eating-bird shrew slug not pictured: thieves
nine inch nails, trent reznor in four panels: "how are you tonight? having a good time? ready to party? having fun?" "well that was the last guy. wrong fucking band." "we're here to have a bad time." *synthesizer playing*
an archway made of plants off a dirt path. sunlight streaming through the arch. path overgrown with foliage.
a very large rubber plant in a blue pot cascading onto a deck