By Laila Lalami The post The Dream Hotel appeared first on Armed with A Book.| Armed with A Book
Stories in The End of The World As We Know It use King’s The Stand world as a canvas to paint wholly new tales ranging from straight horror to meta fantasy.| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
The Short: I recently read Talk Like a Man Plus Women of the Doll Plus An Awfully Big Adventure and Much More, Nisi Shawl, 2019 PM Press. My favorite story was the SF short story “Walk Like a Man“, Bahamut #1 June 2015, which I rated “Very good”. Otherwise, I liked Terry Bisson’s interview with […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I am a bicyclist and speculative fiction fan. Thinking about both, here is my link to my list of my favorite speculative fiction stories involving bicycles, with the superlative “…And Then There Were None“, a novella by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding June 1951, my very favorite. The Long: I have been a bicyclist […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I read The First Law of Thermodynamics Plus Someone Else’s Problem Plus Who Owns Cyberpunk? and Much More, a James Patrick Kelly collection, 2021 PM Press (Outspoken Authors) recently. My favorite story was the great title short story “The First Law of Thermodynamics“, from Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology, Richard Butner, John Kessel & Mark […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read The Best Fantasy Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science, Edward L. Ferman editor, 1985 Octopus Books. While I was not surprised to find it a bit uneven, my overall average rating for the stories was 3.8/5, or “Great”. My favorites included three stories that I felt were classics, […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
I applied to be on the panel “Women Write: An Overview of Women in SFF history” for Seattle Worldcon 2025. I did this because I have an interest in the subject of women in SFF, I had written an essay for my blog “A Fan’s Celebration Of International Women’s Day in Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction” in […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Fifth Season takes place on a geologically unstable world where there’s a catastrophic “fifth season” of eruptions and earthquakes every few hundred years. It tells the story …| Unsolicited Feedback
Speculative fiction thrives on imagination but also touches real emotions. A content warning respects readers’ boundaries while preserving creative freedom.| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
Grace Chan’s debut, Every Version of You, one of my most anticipated 2025 releases, focuses on a couple, Malaysian-Chinese Tao-Yi and Taiwanese-Chinese Navin, who already spend most of their time in a virtual reality called Gaia. When technology advances and humans are now able to upload their selves into Gaia, leaving their physical bodies behind … Continue reading Digital sprites: Every Version of You by Grace Chan| Laura Tisdall
The goal is to make your world consistent, believable (within the context of a story), and enjoyable to readers.| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
by Daniel Crépault “Zagosian Holographics, my name is Sam. How may I assist you today?” “You’re not one of those damned bots, are you?” a gruff voice asked through the phone. “No, sir, thank God.” Sometimes, a small lie was necessary to put customers at ease. “May I get your name before we proceed?” “It’s […]| The Lit Nerds
Roadside Picnicby Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky.Translated by Olena Bormashenko,foreword by Ursula K Le Guin, afterword by Boris Strugatsky, 2012.Gollancz, 2012 (1972). Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;The proper study of mankind is man. From ‘An Essay on Man: Epistle II’ by Alexander Pope Superficially a speculative thriller, the Strugatsky brothers’ Roadside Picnic … Continue reading A being darkly wise| Calmgrove
The third temptation of Christ: Christ and the devil on a pinnacle of the temple.’ Coloured chromolithograph after John Martin. Wellcome Collection. (CC BY 4.0) One Billion Years to the…| Calmgrove
The final image at the end of Stranger Things season 4. This post contains minor spoilers for all four seasons of Stranger Things, although they relate only to character arcs rather than the main plot-lines. One of the seminars I’ve run for years now for the undergraduate students who take our second-year team-taught module at Newcastle on histories of … Continue reading Don’t Bury Your Gays: Queer-Coding and Stranger Things| Laura Tisdall
Since 2014, I've compiled an annual ranking of science fiction and fantasy magazines, based on prominent awards nominations and "best of" placements over the previous ten years. If you're curious what magazines tend to be viewed by insiders as elite, check the top of the list. If you're curious to discover reputable magazines that aren't as widely known (or aren't as widely known specifically for their science fiction and fantasy), check the bottom of the list.| schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com
by Deborah Z Adams She packs essentials: wine, Oreos, candles, and thirteen copies of the spell printed in 24-point font, because they all misplace their glasses. And their keys and some nouns. Despite these lapses, their youth is still sharp-edged and full-color. One flew the friendly skies until matrimony and company policy collided. One taught […]| The Lit Nerds
As of June 10, Tashie Bhuiyan through Instagram the cover to her first speculative YA romance novel titled Right As Rain, which is set to be published in 2026! It follows a Desi girl named Megh liv…| The Booked Shelf
In Ned Beauman's 2023 novel Venomous Lumpsucker, the protagonist happens upon a breeding experiment in the open sea: a self-sustaining system designed to continually output an enormous number of blissfully happy insects, yayflies.The yayflies, as he called them, were based on Nervijuncta nigricoxa, a type of gall gnat, but... he'd made a number of changes to their lifecycle. The yayflies were all female, and they reproduced asexually, meaning they were clones of each other. A yayfly egg wou...| The Splintered Mind
Climate fiction, often referred to as “Cli-Fi,” is a genre of literature that focuses on the impacts of climate change and environmental issues. It explores how these changes affect individuals…| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
Fiction writers have a lot of rules. “Show, don’t tell” sits near the top. But sometimes we follow those rules straight into a literary box canyon.| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
The Short: With John O’Neill’s help, I finished reading The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories, Donald A. Wollheim editor, 1949 Avon. It’s the first anthology of origina…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
Sunday, May 18, 2025 Welcome, to my humble sanctuary. This is not a poem — I don’t write poetry. Maybe a rhyme or if I put my mind to it, an occasional limerick, but I wouldn’t even k…| Teagan's Books
Moving On Robin No regrets. It’s good to be back in Tarfen. In Fendle, I appreciated being the one to set the pace for a change, while Jay floundered. Now I have made that mental break from my fixa…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Buying Time Jay I lay in bed and surveyed my room. For tonight, it was still my room. The mutt lay curled at the end of the bed on a heap of my clothes. How did he get in? Fin had turned up at the …| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
New Book Spotlight| Space Cowboy Books
Back Home Jay We settled the bill and left the tavern together. Outside, I stopped and checked that my pack was securely fastened. “Um… my family doesn’t know everything… about the breakup with Sto…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Bend a world to the needs of your story and enthrall the imagination of your reader.| Speculative Fiction Writers Association
Friends in Need Robin Eden had been quiet after work yesterday, even offhand. Ro seemed puzzled by the silence, so I made reassuring noises about work being busy. Eden was still uneasy at the prosp…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
A New Day Jay The sky outside lightened, and I despaired. It was tomorrow already. The other rooms were at last silent, but the chance of sleep had passed. My throat was dry, and my head ached. I d…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
The Mucky Duck Jay I had walked to the Assembly buildings from the Mucky Duck. It was further than I’d realised, but the walk back seemed longer still. I told myself I had taken Rob by surprise, bu…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Meeting Up Robin Eden said, “You and Jay will want to go and catch up. Perhaps we’ll see you tomorrow.” Tomorrow? I thought. Surely, you’ll see me tonight? I held the office door open a…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Fendle Jay When I returned to the shores of consciousness and found myself in my own bed, the throbbing had reduced to a dull ache and my remaining fingers didn’t hurt so much. They didn’t move muc…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Day Twenty-four, Jay On the last night of our journey, I had settled myself for sleep when Storm found me. Our thoughts met, and I hadn’t the energy to block the incoming regret. Having registered …| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
I think its important to build community and I’m a big fan of what Suyi Davies Okungbowa is doing with the Literary Laddership for Emerging African Authors, a virtual fellowship founded in 2022. The fellowship supports African authors by offering fellows $500 grants, a three-month virtual residency, and access to a community of practice. This … Continue reading The Literary Laddership for Emerging African Authors| Wole Talabi
Hey y’all, just a quick note to let you know my novelette “Encore” (first published in Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art, edited by Indrapramit Das) is now a…| Wole Talabi
Day Nineteen Jay My head hurt. My eyes wouldn’t open. Well, they might if I tried harder, but I didn’t want to risk it. I had drunk too much strong cider and barley wine. (Storm tasted of barley wi…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Day Eighteen, Robin It was Funday: the week’s end after six days of work. In the past, teaching hadn’t felt so much like work. I had spent too long at home. Eden arrived dressed for the occasion in…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Day Eighteen, Jay After a full day’s rest, I felt better, and made sure to say so. Once settled in its sling, the throbbing in my hand had receded to a background ache, so long as I didn’t try to m…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Congratulations to this year’s Cybils Award Winner in Young Adult Speculative Fiction: Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer! I was honored to serve on the selection committee for this categ…| What's Not Wrong?
Day Nine Robin I had eavesdropped on stronger feelings than I had believed Jay capable of… passion, yearning for someone – who wasn’t me – and, worst of all, anticipation. The shock was almost phys…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Day Six, The Green Man The sky cleared, although the sun had barely time to warm the air before it sank behind the treetops. Mikki joined the locals and the older traders crowded inside the Green M…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Day Five Jay We reached High Wenn later than we’d planned. The rain slowed us, and each day’s journey stretched longer to compensate. As we crossed the bridge by the Green Man, the heavens relented…| Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings
Here’s a list of work you can buy directly from authors. This is often one of the most direct ways to support an author whose work you enjoy (or a specific cause), with the plus side that you might encounter writing that’s more unusual, niche or out of the mainstream. A quick FYI: typical royalties … Continue reading Author-Published Books| STARK HOLBORN
I was thinking about two of my favorite authors of speculative fiction, Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree, Jr. I have included the cover of Fantasy Book #6 January 1950, where Cordwainer SmithR…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I just finished reading Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams editors, 2023 Random House. I am not typically a fan of horror, but I re…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read “The Experience Arcade and Other Stories” by James Van Pelt, 2017 Fairwood Press. It includes 24 short stories, an Introduction by Patrick Swenson, an Afterwo…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read the Nalo Hopkinson collection Falling in Love with Hominids, 2015 Tachyon Publications. I loved her Foreword and the story introductions, and most of the stories. While I…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I was recently thinking about co-written, co-authored or collaborative short SFF with more than one author. Here is a direct link to my favorite 10 short speculative fiction works. My fa…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
Clients quite often ask me for recommendations of novellas-in-flash featuring speculative, fantastical, magical realist, or science-fiction elements. The honest answer is that — as far as I’m…| The Novella-in-Flash
Sorcerer to the Crown is the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy. This novel which marks Zen Cho’s debut, …Continue reading →| Push
Late 2012, someone pointed me to a submissions call for a project named Mothership:Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond. The first …Continue reading →| Push
