Fusion Fragment Monthly - December 2023
The Latest from Fusion Fragment HQ
FF#19 Released! Issue #19, the last of 2023, was released on November 30th and is packed full of great stories. I introduced the issue on social media with a couple threads, detailing what you'll find inside the issue (Twitter)(Bluesky) and introducing you to the authors (Twitter)(Bluesky). Grab the issue for free right here!
Enviable Biceps: They're all writers really want.
Reading Period News: The next reading period has been set for February 1st! But the big change here is that FF is going to make a go of staying open to subs on a mostly-permanent basis. Stay tuned for more!
Stats! A brief thread of my findings from having a look at where pieces rejected by FF eventually ended up being sold. (Twitter)(Bluesky)
CBC's Best Canadian Fiction of 2023: Last week, CBC Books posted their picks for best Canadian fiction of the year, and the list includes FFer Ai Jiang (FF#20) and her novella, Linghun!
November Published Works by FFers
Ian Donnell Arbuckle released his second short story collection, Escape to Melancholy Bay and Other Places! This one just so happens to feature Ian's FF#5 story "Animal Hour" along with a ton of other great stuff!
Gollitok, the latest novel by Andrew Najberg, arrived on the 24th! Here's Andrew's description of this post-apocalyptic read: "Set on a desolate island home to an abandoned prison, the novel follows a government survey team into a harrowing nightmare!"
"An Interrogation About a Monster During Sleep Paralysis" by Angela Liu in Strange Horizons
"Earth Begins with Ash" by Marisca Pichette in Inner Worlds
"Ferry to the Island of Ghosts" by Angela Liu in Uncanny
"History" by Lindz McLeod in HAD
"How to Be a Ghost" by Annika Barranti Klein in Worlds of Possibility (note: first pubbed in Feb, but you can read it for free now!)
"How to Haunt a Northern Lake" by Lora Gray in Uncanny
"Never Lie to Me" by Priya Chand in The Dark
"No Mercy to the Rest" by Bennett North in PodCastle
"Of Death Deserved We Will Not Die" by Bennett North in Lightspeed
"Shadows Like Hunting Sharks" by JL George in ZNB Presents
"The Mub" by Thomas Ha in Clarkesworld
"The Pigeon Wife" by Samantha H. Chung in F&SF
"Time is an Ocean" by Angela Liu in Strange Horizons
"Triple Knot" by Marisca Pichette in F&SF
"We Are Orphans" by Avra Margariti in Heartlines Spec
"What Will Bring You Home" by Jenny Rae Rappaport in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
"Yaka Mein Lady" by Vivian Chou in Heartlines Spec
Recommendations from FF HQ
My fave read from November was Raven Leilani's Luster. It follows a 20-something who gets involved with an older man and finds herself, under odd circumstances, living at his home, forming an uneasy alliance with his wife, and a connection with his adopted daughter. It deftly engages with sex and desire (a lot of it!), racism (the MC is Black, as is the daughter), and the power dynamics inherent in the central relationship. And the writing itself jumps off the page--it's an incredible debut.
Speaking of power dynamics, I finally got around to watching Tár, and it ended up as my fave movie watched last month. Having Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, and Nina Hoss all in the same movie is an absolute embarrassment of riches and they all turn in fantastic performances in this tale about a conductor's fall from grace.
Obligatory Photo of Associate Editor Henry
My Associate Editor is so lazy that he occasionally falls asleep when he's only halfway into bed.
Out of Context FF Story Signoff
