- “Ten Reasons You Should Get Lasik Before the Apocalypse” by Jenna Hanchey & Marco Dehnert (fiction)
- “The Stars are Gone” by H.V. Patterson (poem)
- “Eight Reasons You are Alone” by Benjamin C. Kinney (fiction)
- “When the Tide Comes In” by Annika Barranti Klein (fiction)
- “Underworld Essentials” by Diana Olney (poem)
- “Southern Baptism” by Kathryn Healy (fiction)
- “A Memory Inscribed at the Time of the Rising Seas” by S.L. Harris (fiction)
- “On Tuesday, We Take a Trip to Saturn” by Eleanor Ball (poem)
- “When the Head Comes Knocking” by Sylvia Heike (fiction)
On Spec Magazine #130 VOL 34 No 4
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedVolume 34 No 4 issue of On Spec Magazine.
This issue features short stories by Kevin Cockle (“Stone Tablets”, Sarah Totton (“We Invited the Harbingers to Dinner”), J.A. Legg (“Raofin’s Daughter”), Jeanna Cammarano (“Taking Root”), Hava Steinmetz-Cumbo (“La Fiera di Mezzanote”), Cat Girczyc (“Shambolic Manor”, Jack Powers (“Push Hands”), Tom Brennan (“Toll of the Tides”), Dana Vickerson (“Muddy Memories”), Pascal Raud & Dave Cote (” A Ballad in Ten Acts”), and Mike Rimar (“Carol of the Hells”). Poetry by Tara Campbell (“The Snarling Stars”), Shantell Powell (“Angakkuq”), Crystal Sidell (“under a strawberry moon” and “What We Cultivate Will Love Us”), and E.J. Delaney (“At the Death, A Moon Daisy Plucked in Sijo”). Interview with Hava Syteinmetz-Cumbo by Roberta Laurie. Cover by Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk (“Dragon Reader”). Editorial by Diane L. Walton. Cartoon and featured ‘bot by Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk, with photography by Steve Fahnestalk.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #422
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #422 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring stories by R.K. Duncan and Shoshana Groom.
Luna Station Quarterly – Issue 060
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThese are stories of opposites, of contradictions. Of transitions and unexpected guests. Most of all, they are stories of courage in the face of uncertainties. We need stories like this.
Yes, there is grief, but there is sanctuary also. Yes, childhood ends, but we don’t have to pass into our next incarnation alone. And yes, there is love, and soul, and a lighthouse at the edge of the world. One day, we may meet there.
This is Luna Station. And we’re glad you’re here. Even if the magpies have started appearing everywhere you go.
Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 175 (December 2024)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedBoth of our science fiction original shorts contain a warning for our near future selves. In Pat Murphy’s “A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts,” a woman travels America searching for connection in an age of climate disaster—and finds it where she least expects it. Gene Doucette mixes comedy and concerns about privacy and AI in his story “Get Hyped!” Tamra Masri has her Lightspeed debut with “Inside the House of Wisdom,” a flash story that looks with hope toward a future Gaza. We also have a piece of dark flash (“What We Plan to Do to You”) by Adam-Troy Castro.
Melissa A Watkins launches off our fantasy short stories with “Ol’ Big Head,” the story of one young man’s education about family history . . . and the importance of taking care of one’s community. Cressida Blake Roe’s story “The Godhood of Ima Day” is set in a future where, for better or worse, people can host gods. In our fantasy flash, Lincoln Michel gives us a retelling of Sleeping Beauty (“Sleeping Beauty and the Restless Realm”) and David Anaxagoras spins an entirely modern fairy tale in “Three Birds That Came Out of Grayson Huff and a Bunch More That Fell from the Sky.”
All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with book reviews from our terrific review team. It’s a terrific way to wrap up 2024, and we couldn’t be more delighted to share all this fantastic spec fic with you.
Nightmare Magazine, Issue 147 (December 2024)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedWe have original short fiction from Adam-Troy Castro (“Amelia’s Story”) and Steve Rasnic Tem (“Before and After”). Our Horror Lab originals include a flash story (“Wait, Our Lord the Flayed One Comes”) from Tania Chen and a poem (“Mnemonic Burning”) from Angela Liu.
We also have the latest installment of our column on horror, “The H Word,” plus author spotlights with our authors, and a media review.
It’s another great issue, so be sure to check it out. And while you’re at it, tell a friend about Nightmare.
Looking ahead beyond next month, we’ve got new fiction on the way from Dan Stintzi, Leyla Hamedi, and Nuzo Onoh.
Locus December 2024 (#767)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThe December 2024 issue of Locus magazine has interviews with Paolo Bacigalupi and Vajra Chandrasekera, a spotlight on artist Christine Mitzuk, and a spotlight on book subscription box service Illumicrate and their quarterly science fiction subscription, Starbright. The issue lists US and UK forthcoming books titles through September 2025. News includes Samantha Harvey’s Booker win, SFWA’s special election results, the 2024 Ignyte Awards, the final Kitschies Awards shortlist, and more. Reports cover the World Fantasy Convention in Niagara Falls, Can*Con, and ICon and obituaries remember Greg Hildebrandt, Bruce Boston, Tim Sullivan, Phil Rickman, and Philippa Brewster. Reviews cover new titles by K.B. Wagers, Ruth Frances Long, Suzan Palumbo, Nnedi Okorafor, Erika Swyler, Tobi Ogundiran, Amy Goldsmith, Sarah Henning, Sarah Beth Durst, Romina Garber, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Eden Robins, Cary Groner, Andrew Joseph White, Alex Brown, Aislinn Brophy, David Ferraro, Chloe Gong, T.R. Napper, Sheri T. Joseph, Stephen Baxter, Margot Harrison, Matt Dinniman, Rivers Solomon, Dave McKean, Lafcadio Hearn, Adam Rowe, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Appupen & Laurent Daudet, Maurice Broaddus, Gabrielle Korn, a graphic novel by George R.R. Martin with art and adaptation by Raya Golden, and much more.
Small Wonders Magazine – Issue 18
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedSmall Wonders is a magazine of speculative flash fiction and poetry. Issue 18 (December 2024) contains:
Flash Fiction Online Issue #135 December 2024
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedFor the December 2024 issue of Flash Fiction Online, we have assembled stories moving forward in time in order to explore post-climate change futurescapes.
Stories this month include:
“The Caged Budgerigars” by Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar
“Plastic-eating fungus caused doomsday[2][3]” by Emma Burnett
“Why I Quit Teaching at the Villain Academy” by Tina S. Zhu
“Bone Birds Fly” by Malda Marlys, and
“A Soft and Silent Glow” by Liz J. Bradley
“A Year in the Life of the Drowned Wastewater Plant East of Bellmarsh Village” by D.A. Straith
Flash Fiction Online offers readers flash fiction stories from more established, award-winning authors and newer writers just emerging in the fiction story-scape. We publish literary, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, in a delicious mix of interesting characters, tantalizing plots, and wonderful world-building.
Flash fiction might be small, but each story packs an entire story arc into only a thousand words or fewer. Whether you call this art form a short-short, a micro-fiction, a drabble, or a smokelong, it spans all genres and literary styles.
The Dark – Issue 115
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedEach month The Dark brings you the best in dark fantasy and horror! Selected by award-winning editor Sean Wallace and published by Prime Books, this issue includes two all-new stories and two reprints:
“A Little Bit of What Killed Auntie” by R.L. Summerling
“P is for Phantasies” by Steve Rasnic Tem (reprint)
“What Things We Find in the Forest” by Abigail Kemske
“Jill” by Rob Costello (reprint)
Clarkesworld Magazine – Issue 219
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedClarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction, articles, interviews and art.
Our December 2024 issue (#219) contains:
* Original fiction by L Chan (“Stranger Seas Than These”), Chisom Umeh (“From Across Time”), Zhu Yixuan (“The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke”), Shari Paul (“Souljacker”), Thoraiya Dyer (“Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium”), Sameem Siddiqui (“Driver”), Celia Corral-Vázquez (“The Coffee Machine”), Gelian (“Life Sentence”), and Paul Starkey (“Retirement Plan”).
* Non-fiction includes an article by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, interviews with Donato Giancola and Erin K. Wagner, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
Forever Magazine Issue 119
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedForever is a monthly science fiction magazine that features previously published stories you might have missed. Edited by the Hugo and World Fantasy Award winning editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, Neil Clarke.
Our December 2024 issue features “Come the Revolution” by Ian Tregillis, “Winters are Hard” by Steven Popkes, and “Dead Worlds” by Jack Skillingstead. Cover art by Ron Guyatt.
Dirty Magick Magazine Volume One Issue Four
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedAbout Dirty Magick Magazine
Dirty Magick Magazine is a monthly fantasy, urban fantasy, and gothic horror magazine first published in September 2024. The editor and publisher is C.D. Brown.
Stories: Gary Battershell, Sonny Zae, John L. French
The Dusty Lens: Theater of Blood
Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet No. 49
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedA surprisingly quick turnaround from the previous issue, mere months, a blink in the (imagined) eye of a tree that one day may become a future issue of this zine. The chocolate has barely been bought but many stories have been read and these two (just two? one of them is quite long) rose to the top of our particular list. We have a suitcase full of stories to look in for the next issue which should be out next May.
This issue features Jessica Bromley Bartram’s nonchalant individual on, as are we all, their way somewhere. May the place we’re going be filled with excellent fiction, unexpected poetry and art, a helping hand from a fabulous cook, chocolate for those so inclined, and peace in our time.
Fiction
Dora Holland, Pomegranate Hearts
Susan DeFreitas, Hannah and Grackle, Lost in the Woods
Poetry
Jessy Randall, Five Poems
Seth Wade, Three Poems
Nonfiction
Nicole Kimberling, How to Knock a Feast Day Out the Park
About These Authors
Art
Jessica Bromley Bartram, Cover
Dawn Kimberling
Celebrating
Anya Johanna DeNiro’s OKPsyche received the Blurred Boundaries Award from the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards.
Masthead & colophon
Made by
Gavin J. Grant
& Kelly Link.
Memorization not expected but applauded. LCRW is (usually) published in June & November by Small Beer Press, 150 Pleasant St., #306, Easthampton, MA 01027 | info@smallbeerpress.com | smallbeerpress.com/lcrw. Printed by Paradise Copies. Subscriptions: $24/4 issues (see page 17 of this issue for options). Please make checks to Small Beer Press. Library & institutional subscriptions: EBSCO.
DRM-free ebooks available from the lovely weightlessbooks.com.
Contents © 2024 the authors. All rights reserved. Cover illustration © 2024 Jessica Bromley Bartram. All rights reserved.
Please send fiction and poetry submissions (especially weird and interesting work from women writers and writers of color), guideline requests, &c. to the address above. Thanks authors, artists, readers.
About These Authors
An American with roots in the Caribbean and upper Midwest, Susan DeFreitas is the author of the novel Hot Season, which won a Gold IPPY Award, as well as the editor of Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin, a finalist for the Foreword INDIES. Her work has been featured, or is upcoming, in the Writer’s Chronicle, LitHub, Story, StoryQuarterly, Daily Science Fiction, Oregon Humanities, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Pacific University and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dora Holland is a writer and editor. She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a PhD in Creative Writing in 2023. She lives in northern Virginia with two big, happy cats. She is currently working on a cyberpunk-fantasy novel. You can find her on Twitter @phantasmadora.
Nicole Kimberling is a novelist and publisher who catered her own wedding reception for one hundred. She does not recommend this at all.
Jessy Randall’s poems and stories have appeared in Asimov’s, LCRW, Nature, and Scientific American. In 2025, MIT will publish her new book, The Path of Most Resistance: Poems on Women in Science. She is a librarian at Colorado College and her website is bit.ly/JessyRandall.
Seth Wade is a tech ethicist studying and teaching philosophy at Bowling Green State University. You can read his fiction and poetry in publications such as Strange Horizons, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Hunger Mountain Review, Apparition Literary Magazine, HAD, hex, The Cafe Irreal, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, BAM Quarterly, Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, The Gateway Review, and now Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet. You can follow him on X @SethWade4Real or Instagram @chompchomp4u.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #421
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #421 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring stories by Avram Klein and Thomas Bales.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #420
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #420 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring stories by Will Greatwich and Miranda Rain.
Uncanny Magazine Issue 61
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThe November/December 2024 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine.
Featuring new fiction by Adrian Tchaikovsky, William Alexander, Sonya Taaffe, Lauren Beukes, Marissa Lingen, Naomi Day, and Angel Leal. Essays by Vivian Shaw, Tania Chen, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Alex Jennings, poetry by Brandon O’Brien, Sneha Mohidekar, Abu Bakr Sadiq, and Katherine James, interviews with William Alexander and Marissa Lingen by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by John Picacio, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.