Every other month, I read the latest issue of Uncanny Magazine. Why do I do this? Lots of reason, really. There are great stories in each issue by well-known and new writers. The non-fiction essays touch on topics modern with respect to our culture and how it is evolving. But mostly I love how new cultural and technical ideas are explored in its pages.

Speculative fiction is my favorite genre. I love it when a writer takes some idea, tool, or practice in today’s world and twists it with a “what if” that explores some aspect of that thing that most of us have yet to consider or think about. That’s why I read this magazine. Six times a year, I get to read the thoughts of people who have pondered these ideas deeply and share them through stories and essays. I encourage you to dive in and see for yourself.

Here are the pieces I most appreciated in the latest issue of Uncanny Magazine, Issue 49 November/December 2022.

• “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills – a timely tale of pregnancies and abortion.
• “The Other Side of Mictlān” by Matthew Olivas – an exploration of family and magic.
• “can i offer you a nice egg in this trying time” by Iori Kusano – a story of fast food, identity, and longing. (available online December 6).
  

I still subscribe to and read every issue of Uncanny Magazine. The latest is September/October 2022. Here are my favorite stories and essays.

• Girl, Cat, Wolf, Moon by Rati Mehrotra – a tale of cats, magic, and monsters
• The Portal Keeper by Lavie Tidhar – an exploration of duty and relationships
• As One Listens to the Rain by Andrea Chapela, translated by Emma Törzs – a look at the future and hard choices
• Radcliffe Hall by Miyuki Jane Pinckard – a gothic novella of love and hauntings
• Breaking Out of Capitalist Realism by Juliet Kemp – a provocative and compelling essay

I’ve been a subscriber to Uncanny magazine for a little over a year now. I just finished reading issue 47, the July/August 2022 issue. It is the best issue since I started subscribing. Here are my favorite stories from the issue.

• Fate, Hope, Friendship, Foe by Marie Brennan is a story about trickster gods in modern-day middle America.
• Family Cooking by AnaMaria Curtis tells the story of magic in the kitchen and how emotions between generations affect the culinary results.
• At the Lighthouse Out by the Othersea by Juliet Kemp gently embraces familial obligations from the point of view of both the lighthouse keeper and a visitor seeking to fulfill a siblings final wish.
• If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You by John Chu crosses a superhero story with racial issues in a way that connects and challenges.
• Bramblewilde by Jordan Taylor is an old-fashioned fairy tale told that way but with feminist sensibilities.

Every issue of this magazine uses speculative fiction to address the very human issues of today. Sometimes the stories are challenging and emotional. Sometimes they are just a romp. And more often than you might think, they are both. Each issue is reading. Consider supporting these writers by subscribing.

I am a huge fan of science fiction. I read many sci fi novels in high school, and recently subscribed to the semi-pro Uncanny Magazine. It publishes every other month and includes short stories, novellas, poetry, and essays on the topics of science fiction and fantasy. The latest issue is number 45, March/April 2022.

In this issue I dogeared five different pieces – two short stories and three essays. Flowerkicker by Stephen Graham Jones (available online April 5) is the story of a couple on a hike up a mountain. She is stopping to view every flower. He wants to get to the top and back before sunset. And they come across something out of the ordinary along the path.

In Requiem for a Dollface by Margaret Dunlap (also available online April 5) a teddy bear seeks the “murderer” of a child’s favorite doll. Upon discovering the perpetrator, he must make a very difficult ethical decision.

The essay Acknowledging Taiwanese-American Vampire Foodies by Jo Wu discusses explores cultural prejudice in the foods we eat and how they affect our attitudes toward those who eat differently. I thought the title absurd, not expecting much from the piece. Instead I found it poignant and insightful.

Resisting the Monolith: Collecting As Counter Narrative by Rebecca Romney is an essay by a collector of feminist science fiction. She traces the history back before Margaret Atwood to the nineteenth century. I added at least two titles to my “to read” pile after reading it.

Wax Sealed With a Kiss by Elsa Sjunneson (available online April 5) discusses the role of letters in general and love letters in particular throughout history and their use in fiction such as The Screwtape Letters and This is How You Lose the Time War. She even explores how her own letter writing helped her get perspective on her divorce.

I encourage anyone with an interest in contemporary science fiction and fantasy to read and subscribe to this excellent magazine.