"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." – George R. R. Martin
A woman remembers what happened years ago when a former colleague tries to force her back to her old life.
“The Spoil Heap” by Fiona Moore (2023) — 6,640 words (about 26 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #198, March 2023.
A chronically ill woman learns at the same time something about the labor under her command on a moon and about her father.
“An Ode to Stardust” by R.P. Sand (2023) — 14,616 words (about 59 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #197, February 2023.
A Jesuit enclave on the moon discovers something that could shake the earth and the church.
“The Father Provincial of Mare Imbrium” by E. Lily Yu (2023) — 3,545 words (about 15 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #50, January 2023.
This feels appropriate on this day of standing up to oppression.
“Braid Me a Howling Tongue” by Maria Dong (2023) — 9,099 words (about 37 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #152, January 2023.
“Primitive” depends on your perspective.
“Learning Letters” by Carrie Vaughn (2023) — 4,384 words (about 18 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #153, February 2023.
An interesting take on post-mortem photography
“Pinocchio Photography” by Angela Liu (2023) — 6,450 words (about 26 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #198, March 2023.
A short story with a long title.
“A Man Walks Into a Bar; or, In Which More Than Four Decades After My Father’s Reluctant Night of Darts on West 54th Street, I Finally Understand What Needs to Be Done” by Scott Edelman (2023) — 5,977 words (about 24 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #152, January 2023.
This is sort of a companion piece or response to the classic Ursula K. Le Guin story “The Ones Who Walk Away form Omelas“.
“The Ones Who Stay and Fight” by N.K. Jemisin (2020) — 3,829 words (about 16 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #116, January 2020.
A story of siblings and magic.
“Cold Relations” by Mary Robinette Kowal (2023) — 8,256 words (about 3 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #50, January/Februaty 2023.
Last night the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) held its 60th Nebula Awards® Ceremony. The winners in the short fiction categories follow. Congratulations to the authors and to Clarkesworld magazine where both were originally published!
“Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being” by A.W. Prihandita (2024) — 8,730 words (about 35 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #218, November 2024.
“Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole”by Isabel J. Kim (2024) — 3,190 words (about 13 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #209, February 2024.