Fusion Fragment Monthly - March 2023
The Latest from Fusion Fragment HQ
Next Reading Period: As I write this, we're less than three weeks away from the next reading period, which runs from March 24th through to the 31st. I've got 3 slots left for FF#18 (including a reprint slot) and hope to fill a couple slots in FF#19 as well.
Aurora Awards: For my fellow Canadians, nominations for the Auroras opened on March 4th! FF is eligible in the Best Related Work category and has a handful of stories eligible for Best Short Story. The $10 membership is a steal of a deal, because it gets you a voter's package with electronic copies of all the novels and other works nominated. To become eligible to vote, you can register for membership in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.
February Published Works by FFers
February saw the release of tons of great fiction by FFers!
Christi Nogle's collection The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future was released by Flame Tree Press! (And also, FF staffer Zachary Rosenberg gets points for officially dubbing it tBOOP tWOOF)
The debut issue of Heartlines Spec dropped and featured a number of FFers in its first table of contents (not to mention FFer Heather Clitheroe serving as Senior Fiction Editor):
"And in the Silence After" by C.J. Lavigne
"I Think About You, Only Louder" by Jordan Kurella
"The Day Comes" by Shih-Li Kow
"The Price of Rent on Sarpedon" by Marisca Pichette
Dark Matter released Zero Dark Thirty, a collection of stories from their first two years, which includes works by FFers Thomas Ha, Ariel Marken Jack, Christi Nogle, Alexandra Seidel, and Mary G. Thompson.
"A Princess With a Nose Three Ells Long" by Malda Marlys in Fantasy
"Beyond the Abyss" by Katy Madgwick in Soft Star Magazine
"How to be a Ghost" by Annika Barranti Klein in Worlds of Possibility
"In(con)solation" by Octavia Cade in Lightspeed
"Portrait of the Scream Queens, With Apples" by Avra Margariti in Janus Literary
"Shut Mouths Sing Melodious" by Tiffany Morris in Apparition Lit
"Somewhere, It's About to Be Spring" by Samantha Murray in Clarkesworld
"The Monologue of a Moon Goddess in the Palace of Pervasive Cold" by Anja Hendrikse Liu in Diabolical Plots
"The Morthouse" by Maria Haskins in PodCastle
"The Omniscient Codex to the Perfect Relationship" by Uchechukwu Nwaka in Translunar Travelers Lounge
"The Wreck of the Medusa" by Jordan Kurella in Apex Magazine
Recommendations from FF HQ
According to my LibraryThing account, I've read 75 single-author short story collections over the course of my life. Mary South's You Will Never Be Forgotten is my new favourite. These stories are occasionally high-concept, and often weird, and chalk full of almost every CW you can imagine, but they're incredibly well-done, full of insight and understanding for their often troubled characters. My favourite story, "Frequently Asked Questions About Your Craniotomy", is a website FAQ written by a neurosurgeon whose life is spiraling out of control. Like many of the stories in this collection, it's a knockout.
I also recently read Jon McGregor's Reservoir 13. It starts off with all the trappings of a twisty mystery, but once you get to the second chapter, you realize this is no ordinary mystery. There's no central narrator(s), and each chapter charts one year in the life of a village following the disappearance of a teen girl. The book seeks to bring the village to life, with the disappearance serving only as a jumping off point. It's the type of book that seems like it just shouldn't work, but McGregor pulls it off.
Obligatory Photo of Associate Editor Henry
Basking in that early March sunshine.
Signoff Video
