I... I don't even know who to blame for this graphic. I mean I know I made it, yes, but everything looks... wonky and... listen, anyway, fiction is wonky. Life is wonky.
But yes! I have fourteen things (?!) eligible for award consideration this year! One short story collection and thirteen original pieces of fiction. I have marked off the ones you can read online with an asterisk... alert readers will note that this is not, actually, very many, so let me just say that if you are reading for award voting purposes and would like a copy of a text that is in an anthology, let me know via my contact form and I will send it to you!
Big big thanks of course to the many editors who solicited me for work this year and were so thoughtful and prompt in editing my stories -- it has been an amazing year for short fiction over in the Land Of The Bugge!
COLLECTION
NO ONE WILL COME BACK FOR US — short story collection, Undertow Publications
17 stories plus author notes! One new story, the rest previously published.
https://undertowpublications.com/shop/no-one-will-come-back-for-us
SHORT FICTION
(Quick note: as far as I know, The Youngest Son Misses His Boat to the Crusades came out in December 2022. I am checking with Tales & Feathers because at this point I literally cannot remember if it was December 2022 or January 2023 and it's not clear to me on the website... if anyone can find the date of publication that would be awesome!)
https://www.augurmag.com/the-youngest-son-misses-his-boat-to-the-crusades/
Update: AHA! A knowledgeable T&F person got back to me and it was November 2022! Disregard for 2023 award purposes! EVERYBODY DISREGARD. Super, lovely, good job, thanks!
1. Quietus - No One Will Come Back For Us, Undertow Publications
https://undertowpublications.com/shop/no-one-will-come-back-for-us
In their quest to create a never-sleeping supersoldier, a pair of bickering scientists has submerged test subject Marcus' mind into an endless world of war. In every lifetime he has ever lived, it seems, he has lived only to fight. But what about this one?
*2. From the Journal of Sawyer L. Gibbs, Hero, Aged 13 ½ - Small Wonders Issue 0 https://smallwondersmag.com/pieces/from-the-journal-of-sawyer-l-gibbs-hero/
The city is being attacked by a giant monster, which is so deeply uncool—luckily Sawyer's seen a lot of action movies and she knows that dads always come to rescue their daughters. Right?
3. The Far Side of the Door - Life Beyond Us anthology, Laksa Media Group
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Beyond-Anthology-Astrobiology-Institute/dp/198814048X
Sibyll finds herself entangled in a deadly, unexpected medical mystery on an alien planet—and working with absolutely the last person she ever wanted to work with again.
4. Never Was Born His Equal - The Other Side of Never anthology, Titan Books
Something is rampaging through Neverland, and it's something horrible from Peter's past. Can he confront the darkness he left behind—or is this the end of Neverland, the Lost Boys, and Peter himself?
5. So Spake the Mirrorwitch - The Book of Witches anthology, HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-book-of-witches-jonathan-strahan?variant=40962861760546
Calder Ward knows about magic mirrors. She's also a witch, so she knows about witchhunters. Unfortunately for the two who show up at her door, they don't know anything about either of those things...
*6. Sleeping Beti - Brown Girl Magazine
https://browngirlmagazine.com/sleeping-beti-a-short-story-about-a-wedding-in-space/
Anju wakes from cryosleep into a nightmare... not just a strange new future with her family and friends all dead, but right into an arranged marriage and the forced leadership of a new joint mega-corporation. How is she going to get out of this one?!
7. If Strange Things Happen Where She Is - Rosalind's Siblings anthology, Atthis Arts
https://www.atthisarts.com/product/rosalinds-siblings/
In a time of war, should you be trying to fight the enemy, protect your life's work, or save people? Let's assume you can't do all three at once.
8. The Preservation of an Intact Specimen - Wilted Pages anthology, Shortwave Publishing
https://shortwavepublishing.com/catalog/wilted-pages-dark-academia-anthology/
Dark academia indeed — a young curator at a natural history museum is presented with a nightmare from her past who's gunning for her job. If he won't stop what he's doing, she'll stop him herself... one way or another.
9. Litany of the Book Compounded - What Draws Us Near, Little Ghosts Books
https://www.littleghostsbooks.com/product/what-draws-us-near/1045
A young man is bequeathed an unfinished book, which it turns out a wide variety of people have been trying to complete for decades. Of course, the instructions tell him not to try to complete it... whyever not?
10. At Every Door a Ghost - Communications Breakdown anthology, MIT Press
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262546461/communications-breakdown/
The entire world has agreed to a moratorium on AI research after an apparent rogue program (or its programmers?) caused a fatal disaster. But just telling people to stop working on artificial intelligence isn't going to work for everyone (and not everyone is a people).
*11. Imagine Yourself Happy - Small Wonders, Issue 5
https://smallwondersmag.com/pieces/imagine-yourself-happy/
For those watching, the score is currently: alien 1, scientist 0.
12. The City in the Forest - Robotic Ambitions, Apex Book Company
Sheltered twelve year-old Soren and his only friend are secret dorks who play an old, buggy city-builder game. When another player of the game invites them to come see something amazing, it's time for the first adventure of his life!
13. Inside, Outside, Above, Below - The Reinvented Detective, Pulse Publishing
When you need to find someone's physical body in meatspace because they're threatening the planet's very future, what good is hiring a virtual detective going to do you? And also, may we just add, all cops are bastards (this includes virtual cops).
Link TBD — this anthology is coming out December 12!
Update: I forgot I also had an essay out! I'm not changing the graphic, sorry. (Or the Instagram one I just put up. Nope. Sorry. Nope. Graphic design is not my passion.)
NONFICTION
How to Become a Creature - Apparition Lit Issue 23: CREATURE
Ever wonder how to lose your status as a human -- or upgrade from being an animal? Well, becoming a creature might just be for you!
https://apparitionlit.com/how-to-become-a-creature/