Fusion Fragment Monthly - January 2024
The Latest from Fusion Fragment HQ
Next Reading Period: FF will re-open to submissions on January 29th! And this time around, we're going to make a go of staying open permanently! Please note that that means our response times maybe take a little longer than they have in the past, but the goal is to never take longer than 30 days to respond.
FFer Wins BookLife Prize: FFer Christopher Hawkins (FF#5) won the 2023 BookLife Prize, awarded by Publishers Weekly to the best indie book of the year. Congrats to Christopher! Go check out a copy of his winning book, Downpour!
December Published Works by FFers
"Beverly's Sonata" by Jennifer Hudak in PodCastle
"Challenges to Becoming a Pro Dragonracer in Apapa-Downtown" by Uchechukwu Nwaka in Escape Pod
"Do the Right Thing and Ride the Bomb the Roundabout Way to Hell" by Andrea Kriz in Lightspeed
"Embodied" by Spencer Nitkey in House of Zolo
"Halfway Back" by L.P. Melling in On Spec
"Harvest the Stars" by Mar Vincent in Escape Pod
"How to Safely Store Your Dragons" by Marisca Pichette in Flash Fiction Online
"Planetesimal" by Marisca Pichette in Small Wonders
"Prim Pressed Posies" by Ai Jiang in The Deadlands
"Pulmonary" by Avra Margariti in The Rumpus
"Solar Gravitational Lens" by Pauline Barmby in On Spec
"The Darkness Carried by the Beasts" by Maria Haskins in Sunday Morning Transport
"The Last Gamemaster in the World" by Angela Liu in Clarkesworld
"The Maze of Many Faces" by M.S. Dean in Hexagon
"The Sisters" by Ai Jiang in The Dark
"The Specimens of Red Hill" by Angela Liu in Dark Matter
"The Twelve Dying Princesses" by Marisca Pichette in Nightmare Magazine
"Troop No. 80085" by Marisca Pichette in The Deadlands
"Weekend, Ruined" by Christi Nogle in The Quiet Ones
"What We Hold On To" by Hannah Greer in MetaStellar
Recommendations from FF HQ
Since it's January, it's time for my big list of book recs. All the stuff I read in 2023 that I thought was amazing!
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: racism / theme parks / the best time loop story I've ever read
Alligator & Other Stories by Dima Alzayat: social injustice / racism / stylistically varied stories by a hugely talented writer
Bunny by Mona Awad: college creative writing classes / mean girls / absurd dark horror comedy that made me laugh out loud
Appleseed by Matt Bell: intertwined storylines / climate change / a masterful blending of its different characters and settings
Greenwood by Michael Christie: intertwined storylines / climate change / a page-turning multi-generational family saga
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi: the spirit inside / surviving abuse / gorgeous prose that absolutely floored me
Speak by Louisa Hall: intertwined storylines / communication (or the lack thereof) / varied and incredibly well-written characters
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey: space travel / what is real? / an amazing psychological dissection of its central characters
The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt: psychological breaks / separation / just hook Hustvedt novels to my veins; she's one of the best writers alive
The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob: family dynamics / intertwined storylines / novels on serious topics that'll make you laugh out loud
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: the opioid epidemic / poverty / you don't have to have read Dickens to appreciate this incredible Copperfield retelling
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon: college life / cults / startlingly well-written villains
Luster by Raven Leilani: power dynamics / open relationships / frank and amazing writing about sex and race
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor: village life / missing persons / a novel structure unlike anything I've seen before
The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness: the Romanian revolution / expat academics / an amazing outsider's view into communism under Ceaușescu
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: battling families / coming of age / amazing character writing
Lanny by Max Porter: village life / missing persons / the tree man hears everything
You Will Never Be Forgotten by Mary South: (mostly) SF stories with insane premises / dark comedy / the best story collection I've ever read
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots: superheroes / workplace comedies / page-turners with more drama than you'd expect
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer: college life / feminism / the way our idols form, shape, elevate, and fail us
Obligatory Photo of Associate Editor Henry
POV: You have tucked your Associated Editor into the blanket for his afternoon nap.
Out of Context FF Story Signoff
