Moving the recs to Bluesky!

November 11, 2024

B”H Dear everyone, Thank you for bearing with me! I know the past year has been frustrating. With Twitter crashing and burning, I moved my daily story...

No updates today - technical issues

March 25, 2024

Hi everyone, Sadly there will be no update today - I'm having some technical issues with Buttondown and Stripe. The free emails work well, but the...

All in caps - "THE MOST HOLY DAY OF THE TRANSSEXUAL CALENDAR" by Nora Hikari

March 21, 2024

Author: Nora Hikari Title: “THE MOST HOLY DAY OF THE TRANSSEXUAL CALENDAR” Venue: Beestung, Winter 2024 (ed. Sarah Clark) Type: Poem – Under 50 lines Themes:...

Bleeding ink onto skin - "What Tales Demand" by Rukman Ragas

March 20, 2024

Author: Rukman Ragas Title: “What Tales Demand” Venue: Tasavvur, Winter 2024 (ed. Kehkashan & Amal Singh) Type: Short story – 1401 words Themes: Fantasy,...

Bones cracking - "Through the Keyhole" by Lisa M. Bradley

March 18, 2024

Author: Lisa M. Bradley Title: “Through the Keyhole” Venue: F&SF, Nov/Dec 2023 (ed. Sheree Renée Thomas) Type: Poem – under 50 lines Themes: Horror, dark...

Taxes, body fluids, and happiness - "Interstitial Void Transit" by Jeremy Pak Nelson

March 14, 2024

Author: Jeremy Pak Nelson Title: “Interstitial Void Transit” Venue: Small Wonders, July 2023 (eds. Cislyn Smith & Stephen Granade) Type: Flash story – 976...

Love and maggots - "Interstate Mohinis" by M.L. Krishnan

March 13, 2024

Author: M.L. Krishnan Title: “Interstate Mohinis” Venue: Diabolical Plots, June 2023 (ed. Kel Coleman) Type: Short story – 3030 words Themes: Contemporary...

It's dark in the forest - "Red Rite" by Eva Papasoulioti

March 12, 2024

Author: Eva Papasoulioti Title: "Red Rite" Venue: Strange Horizons, Mar 2024 (eds. AJ Odasso, Romie Stott, Lisa M. Bradley, Vanessa Jae – I’m not sure who...

Mysterious contraptions! "Bird-Girl Builds a Machine" by Hannah Yang + Bonus book!

March 11, 2024

Author: Hannah Yang Title: “Bird-Girl Builds a Machine” Venue: Clarkesworld, Nov 2023 (ed. Neil Clarke) Type: Short story – 2940 words Themes: Science...

Meanwhile in Ukraine... "The Ghost Tenders of Chornobyl" by Nika Murphy

March 7, 2024

A quick note that there has been a major issue with paid subscription renewals, i.e., they just stopped working. The past few days have been very hectic for...

Get haunted! "The Haunting House" by David Ebenbach

March 6, 2024

Author: David Ebenbach Title: “The Haunting House” Venue: Weird Horror, Spring 2024 (ed. Michael Kelly) Type: Short story – unsure of the wordcount, I read...

Share your life with sea life! "Dream the Sea" by Clara Ward

March 5, 2024

Author: Clara Ward Title: “Dream the Sea” Venue: Small Wonders, Feb 2024 (eds. Cislyn Smith, Stephen Granade) Type: Flash story – 968 words Themes: Science...

Reduce your STRESS!!! "I Hope I Can Call You Back" by Tara Campbell

March 4, 2024

Author: Tara Campbell Title: “I Hope I Can Call You Back” Venue: Worlds of IF, February 2024 (eds. Justin T. O’Conor Sloane and Jean-Paul L. Garnier) Type:...

This week's paid update features some classic sense of wonder...

$ · March 1, 2024

Author: Chi Hui, translated by John Chu Title: “Stars Don’t Dream” Venue: Clarkesworld, January 2024 (ed. Neil Clarke) Type: Novelette – 11040 words Themes:...

Does your workplace need some... “D.E.I. (Death, Eternity, and Inclusion)” by N. Romaine White

February 29, 2024

Author: N. Romaine White Title: “D.E.I. (Death, Eternity, and Inclusion)” Venue: Fiyah, Winter 2024 (ed. Nelson Rolon) Type: Short story – 3884 words Themes:...

In prison with "The Cello in the Cell" by David Janisch

February 28, 2024

Author: David Janisch Title: “The Cello in the Cell” Venue: Nightmare, October 2023 (ed. Wendy N. Wagner) Type: Short story – 4800 words Themes: Horror,...

Not scorpions, but “The Six Most Common Questions Asked by...” by Mo Usavage

February 27, 2024

Author: Mo Usavage Title: “The Six Most Common Questions Asked by Customers in Rubian Brothels” Venue: Baffling, Jan 2024 (Dec 2023?) eds. Kel Coleman, dave...

Have some soup - "My Mother Fears the Vampires" by Julia Yuxuan

February 26, 2024

Author: Julia Yuxuan Title: “My Mother Fears the Vampires” Venue: Small Wonders, August 2023 (eds. Cislyn Smith, Stephen Granade) Type: Poem – Under 50 lines...

Today's paid rec is a glorious mess...

$ · February 23, 2024

Author: Jordan Kurella Title: I Never Liked You Anyway Venue: Vernacular Books, 2022; Lethe Press, 2023 Type: Novella – not sure of the wordcount, I read it...

Feral drones! “The Little Free Guide To Dronewatching...” by Ann LeBlanc

February 22, 2024

Author: Ann LeBlanc Title: “The Little Free Guide To Dronewatching, Abridged & Annotated” Venue: Baffling Magazine, March 2023 (eds. Craig Laurance Gidney,...

Plums in a loop! "Plums in Chocolate" by Ernestas Parulskis

February 21, 2024

Author: Ernestas Parulskis – translated by Kotryna Garanasvili Title: “Plums in Chocolate” Venue: Samovar, June 2023 (ed. Laura Friis, Greg West, Sarah Dodd)...

The time comes "To Eat Your Own Head" by Nkone Chaka

February 20, 2024

(Sorry today's email is a bit late! I mixed up the scheduling and didn't have a chance to manually poke at it because we are having enormous holes dug in our...

A rot in the ribs - "Untitled" by Abhinav

February 19, 2024

Author: Abhinav Title: “Untitled” Venue: The Deadlands, December 2023 (ed. Nicasio Andres Reed) Type: Poem – Under 50 lines Themes: Death, rebirth, family...

Today's paid recommendation is unusual and awesome!

$ · February 16, 2024

Author: Sarah Coolidge (ed.) Title: No Edges – Swahili Stories Venue: Two Lines Press, 2023. Type: Anthology – but a short one, with 8 stories Themes:...

More monsters, more love - "The Fall of Esther Park" by Lynn D. Jung

February 15, 2024

Author: Lynn D. Jung Title: “The Fall of Esther Park” Venue: Apparition Lit, July 2023 (eds. Rebecca Bennett, Tacoma Tomilson, Clarke Doty, Amy Henry...

Happy Valentine's Day! "The Monster Fucker Club" by A.V. Greene

February 14, 2024

Before today's recommendation, let me briefly note that my new collection Power to Yield and Other Stories is out today from Broken Eye Books, with beautiful...

Deniable mecha - "Rafi" by Amal Singh

February 13, 2024

Author: Amal Singh Title: “Rafi” Venue: Clarkesworld, October 2023 (ed. Neil Clarke) Type: Short story – 6110 words Themes: Science fiction, mecha, simulated...

Judgment from the heavens - "Tisha b'Av" by Esther Alter

February 12, 2024

Author: Esther Alter Title: “Tisha b’Av” Venue: Reckoning, January 2024 Type: Poem – Under 50 words Themes: History, religion, politics, Israel Where to...

Today's paid update features an intrepid bookkeeper...

$ · February 9, 2024

Author: Uchechukwu Nwaka Title: “The Rainbow Bank” Venue: Giganotosaurus, Aug 2023 (Edited by LaShawn M. Wanak) Type: Novelette – 10516 words Themes:...

Strictly temporary arrangements - "The Pigeon Wife" by Samantha H. Chung

February 8, 2024

Author: Samantha E. Chung Title: “The Pigeon Wife” Venue: F&SF, Nov/Dec 2023 (Edited by Sheree Renée Thomas) Type: Short story – not sure of the word count,...

Intrigue! "The Royal Wizard’s Apprentice Explains the Prophecy..." by Aidan Doyle

February 7, 2024

Author: Aidan Doyle Title: “The Royal Wizard’s Apprentice Explains the Prophecy of the Return of the Sorcerer King in Varying Levels of Complexity” Venue:...

Lost in the labyrinth? "The Maze of Many Faces" by M.S. Dean

February 6, 2024

Author: M.S. Dean Title: “The Maze of Many Faces” Venue: Hexagon, Winter 2023 (Edited by JW Stebner) Type: Short story – 3320 words Themes: Fantasy,...

But wait - “My First and Last Proclamation as the Child Freed and Crowned Queen of Omelas” by Palimrya

February 5, 2024

Author: Palimrya Title: “My First and Last Proclamation as the Child Freed and Crowned Queen of Omelas” Venue: Prismatica, February 2021 Type: Poem – Under...

AI tomorrow, or today? This week's paid recommendation

$ · February 2, 2024

Author: Greg Egan Title: “Death and the Gorgon” Venue: Asimov’s, Jan/Feb 2024 Type: Novella (Unsure of the wordcount, I read it in print Themes: Science...

Talk to the mountain - "Negotiations with a Volcano" by Naomi Shihab Nye

February 1, 2024

Author: Naomi Shihab Nye Title: “Negotiations with a Volcano” Venue: Words Under the Words – Selected Poems (Far Corner, 1995) (Amazon US / Bookshop.org...

Hero family? "Galaxy Girl and the November Monstrosity" by Aleksandra Hill

January 31, 2024

Author: Aleksandra Hill Title: “Galaxy Girl and the November Monstrosity” Venue: Uncharted, 2023 (it doesn’t list a publication month) – eds. Elizabeth...

The New Father steps up - "Your Good Neighbor" by Taylor Currey

January 30, 2024

Author: Taylor Currey Title: “Your Good Neighbor” Venue: Small Wonders, Dec 2023 (eds. Cislyn Smith, Stephen Granade) Type: Flash story Themes: Folklore,...

The infinite steppe! This week's paid recommendation...

$ · January 26, 2024

We get to the weekend! Remember, there won’t be an update on Monday because I accidentally posted two updates on Friday (sorry again!). This is the second...

whoops!

January 25, 2024

Hi everyone, Sorry for accidentally scheduling two emails on the same day! The poem was supposed to be for Monday, we'll skip Monday and you can save it...

Fantasy body horror - "The Blade and the Bloodwright" by Sloane Leong

January 25, 2024

Author: Sloane Leong Title: “The Blade and the Bloodwright” Venue: Lightspeed, Aug 2023 (ed. John Joseph Adams, Wendy N. Wagner) Type: Short story – 6213...

Contemplate space, and worry? "Gravity" by Francine Rubin

January 25, 2024

Author: Francine Rubin Title: “Gravity” Venue: Small Wonders, Dec 2023 (eds. Cislyn Smith, Stephen Granade) Type: Poem – under 50 lines Themes: Science...

The ghosts who watch - "Hijacked Interiors" by leena aboutaleb

January 24, 2024

Author: leena aboutaleb Title: “Hijacked Interiors” Venue: Strange Horizons, Jan 2024 Type: Poem – under 50 lines Themes: Haunting, ghosts, Palestine,...

What is your magical signature? "A Cure for Solastalgia" by E.M. Linden

January 23, 2024

Author: E.M. Linden Title: “A Cure for Solastalgia” Venue: Strange Horizons, Jan 2024 Type: Short story – 2426 words Themes: Fantasy, magic,...

Dying in space can get weird... "The World's Wife" by Ng Yi-Sheng

January 22, 2024

Author: Ng Yi-Sheng Title: “The World’s Wife” Venue: Clarkesworld, Dec 2023 Type: Flash story – 1060 words Themes: Science fiction, extraterrestrials,...

For the Friday paid recommendation, we have a story of future crime...

January 19, 2024

Before we take a look at the Friday paid recommendation, I just want to thank all of you – we got to the second week of the newsletter! I ironed out all the...

Teleportation by... "Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)" by Ben Francisco

January 18, 2024

Author: Ben Francisco Title: “Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)” Venue: Strange Horizons, Oct 2023 (Caribbean SFF special issue, ed. Suzan Palumbo & Marika...

That first sentence - "scythe" by Sodïq Oyèkànmí

January 17, 2024

Author: Sodïq Oyèkànmí Title: “scythe” Venue: Haven, August 2023 (eds. Leon Perniciaro, TJ Price, Danai Christopoulou, Ash Okada) Type: Poem – Under 50 lines...

MEAT SOUNDS! "They're Made Out of Meat" by Terry Bisson

January 16, 2024

Author: Terry Bisson Title: “They’re Made Out of Meat” Venue: Omni, 1991 Type: Flash story – 778 words Themes: First contact, defamiliarization, body horror...

Eating stories - "Thin Ice" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

January 15, 2024

Author: Kemi Ashing-Giwa Title: “Thin Ice” Venue: Clarkesworld, Nov 2023 (ed. Neil Clarke) Type: Short story – 2110 words Themes: Science fiction, AI, art,...

Indigenous science fiction horror from...

$ · January 12, 2024

Author: Sean and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley Title: “Lounge” Venue: Taaqtumi – An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories, edited by Neil Christopher. Type: Novella...