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Welcome to another Short Fiction Friday! This issue's theme is Unexpected Characters. One of my favorite reading experiences is realizing that a story is referencing something, because it unlocks a whole new layer of meaning. That reference can be anything from scientific fact to a Tumblr meme, but all of these stories have that layer in the form of famous figures. They also contain season finales, golden thread, YouTube analytics, cigarette lighters, and more...

“Raise-the-Dead Cobbler” by Andrea Corbin

Three witches gather to summon the dead. Jun helps, Mason brings back his late mother, and Isabel resurrects silent film comedian Buster Keaton. It’s not funny and she doesn’t intend it to be. Isabel has always been fascinated by him, only now that he’s here, she doesn’t know what to do. Unforgiving, solemn, and as inescapable as heat and shadows on a summer night.

Welcome back to Short Fiction Friday! This issue’s theme is Music. I’m not a musician myself, but reading these pieces made me wish I had an instrument or song to call my own. The following stories cover a wide range of SFF subgenres and include honeysuckle, cost-benefit analysis, blue raspberry slushies, Hebrew phonemes, and more…

“Wind Will Rove” by Sarah Pinsker

The long, shifting history of a folk song intertwines with the narrative of a generation ship that has lost its own history. Rosie is a grandmother, a history teacher, and most importantly, a player in the second fiddle tier of the OldTime music group. When one of her students refuses to study the Earth he never knew, Rosie turns to music for answers. Stirring, soaring, and thoughtful.

Welcome back to Short Fiction Friday! Okay, I know it’s not Friday, but to be fair this issue isn’t all short fiction either. The theme is 2022 Favorites. I wanted to highlight some of my favorite works from the past year before the close of award nominations, but even if you’ve opened this in the future, I hope you’ll find something you enjoy reading.

For your consideration: seven short stories, three novelettes, and a handful of other fictional delights, including pomegranates with teeth, living ink, CRISPR/synCas-X, lighthouses, and more…

SHORT STORY: “Coming Through in Waves” by Samantha Murray

Welcome to the first Short Fiction Friday of 2023! This issue’s theme is Apocalypse. I know it has been a while since I sent out a newsletter, and to understand why you need only look at the world around you: there is so very much of it, always. The following stories include immunity, Amazon packages, snow, memories of the year 1999, and more…

“Wormwood” by Edward Ashton

The three members of a quietly collapsing family wait, separately, for the end of the world. Wormwood was predicted to cause an apocalypse of biblical proportions, but the asteroid swings harmlessly past Earth instead. The world continues. Lonely, cautious, and hopeful, like waking up just before dawn.

Welcome to another Short Fiction Friday! You might have noticed that this newsletter looks a little different from previous issues. My previous platform was owned by Twitter and is being shut down, so I’ve moved over to Buttondown. All past issues are still available in the Short Fiction Fridays archive.

This week’s theme is Self, a concept I found surprisingly common in recent publications. Or maybe it’s not so surprising? The self seems endlessly explorable, with no aspect quite as simple or as complex as it first appears, but it is always important. Read on for Cheeto dust, train conductors, theory of mind, scratch-off lottery tickets, and more…

“CHOKECHAIN” by Andrew Joseph White

Welcome to another Short Fiction Friday! You might have noticed that this newsletter looks a little different from previous issues. My previous platform was owned by Twitter and is being shut down, so I’ve moved over to Buttondown. All past issues are still available in the Short Fiction Fridays archive.

This week’s theme is Self, a concept I found surprisingly common in recent publications. Or maybe it’s not so surprising? The self seems endlessly explorable, with no aspect quite as simple or as complex as it first appears, but it is always important. Read on for Cheeto dust, train conductors, theory of mind, scratch-off lottery tickets, and more…

“CHOKECHAIN” by Andrew Joseph White

There was a system-wide issue with this newsletter platform yesterday, so welcome to Short Fiction Saturday!

I keep coming back to Nostalgia as a theme. It’s such a powerful feeling, so easy to evoke on the page but so difficult to get exactly right. In a way that difficulty is perfectly thematic: all pursuit of the past falls short of living in it.

What is nostalgic for me might not be what is nostalgic for you, but nostalgia is a half-remembered dream at heart, and these recommendations are more about the vibes than the details. The stories below feature oranges and online forums, megabytes and Martian skies, the end of summer and the beginning of snow.

POEM: “Summer Night” by Yena Sharma Purmasir

It’s spooky season! I’ve got a suitably spooky issue for you all, with six recommendations that involve Ghosts.

Like unicorns (see also Issue #5), ghosts are a classically mutable speculative symbol. SFF readers bring a prior understanding of ghosts to each story, and genre authors can use this to subvert or soothe or twist the knife as they see fit.

Ghost stories are not restricted to the domain of horror. I’ve included science fiction and fantasy stories below, as well as some that are–like ghosts–somewhere in between. Read on for movie projectors, AI clouds, goldfinches, Laika the space dog, and more…

“The Weight of It All” by Jennifer Hudak

After last issue’s heavy stories, I wanted to share some of my favorites from the lighter side of speculative fiction. These stories all fit the theme of Heartwarming, and I hope they bring some comfort to your weekend.

Dark, sad stories are often difficult to write without coming off as melodramatic, but I’ve found that it’s just as difficult to write an uplifting story that doesn’t feel impossibly cheesy. The stories (and IF games) in this issue all had that rare power. They also contain werewolf puppies, summer camp, the yawning maw of space-time, and a balance of the four humors. Enjoy!

“The Cage” by A.M. Dellamonica

Jude, a renovator, helps single mother Paige baby-werewolf-proof her basement. Paige is the lead witness in a trial for the murder of her werewolf sister, and Jude is a stoic butch who definitely isn’t falling for her client. Warm, fluffy, and steel-toed.

The theme of these short fiction recommendations is Heartwrenching, so I’m going to note right away that any content warnings listed are severe in the context of the story.

There are stories that are sad, there are stories that are twisty, and then there are stories that are both. I both admire and fear the way these authors were able to tie up my heartstrings and then slice straight through, Gordian knot style.

Other than their common emotional theme, the short fiction pieces below contain linguistics, angels, cell phones, and shellfish.

“Alive, Alive Oh” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley

For the fifth installment of Short Fiction Fridays, I’m delighted to bring you a theme unsurprising to anyone who knows me: Unicorns. Since childhood, I’ve been a fan of unicorns and their widely varied symbolic potential. It was harder than I expected to find modern unicorn stories, but these stood out to me. Read on for knives, clarinets, memories, and (of course) unicorns.

“Ponies” by Kij Johnson

It’s finally time for Barbara and Sunny to have their very own cutting-out party! Sunny is a pastel pony with a voice, wings, and a horn, and if she chooses two of the three to give up, then Barbara can be friends with TheOtherGirls. Sickly-sweet, disturbing, and cold.

CW: Bullying, animal abuse

Speculative fiction often looks to the future, near or far, but rarely does it actually predict the future. That unpredictable future is now our present…

For this week’s list, I’ve collected five stories and one poem with the theme of Modern Problems. While timeless stories have their place, I love the grounded, familiar nature of the following works. They’re full of holographs and hand sanitizer, magic and SEO, nightmare realms and the Glendale Galleria.

“Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker

When a famous vlogger dies without leaving a will, her video editor girlfriend discovers just how little the world cares about reality, and how far corporations will go to make a profit. Cherry-flavored, artificial, and surprisingly sweet.

It’s Friday again, so that means more short fiction for your inbox! This week Spaceflight is the theme. This theme will probably return in future weeks with a more focused lens, but for now I’ve taken a broad approach and gathered a constellation of favorites from all sorts of subgenres. From sewing to sailing, these stories bring a very human touch to the grand undertaking of rocketry.

“Our Souls to the Moon” by Tamara Jerée

Adal and Bimi work in a telescope factory, assembling devices that allow wealthy patrons to safely view a psychotropic moon. Adal’s moonstone eyes draw the attention of blue-robed cultists, who offer her a tempting bargain. Dizzying, decadent, and aching.

CW: Body horror, death, drug use, suicide

Welcome back to Short Fiction Fridays! This list’s theme is Fun Formats. My recommendations this week might not look like stories at first, but they are all powerful narratives in their own right, just in unusual ways. I’ve included an interactive fiction game as well. Many IF pieces are longer than the average novel, but don’t worry: this one is only ten seconds long.

“Peristalsis” by Vajra Chandrasekera

The very unusual fandom of a very unusual TV show theorizes about its plot and  reminisces scene by scene, with timestamps. Their theories revolve around the two main characters, Leveret and Annelid, and whether or not they are alive. Surreal, dark, and feverish.

CW: War, death, murder

Welcome to the first issue of Short Fiction Fridays! This list’s theme is Time Troubles. The recommendations that follow all struggle with time: as a force of nature, as a relentless tide, and as an impartial foe. One story is shorter than this email!

“Getaway” by Nicole Kornher-Stace

A fifteen-minute-long time loop surrounding a failed heist. Only the getaway driver is aware of the loop, and they haven’t been able to break it, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. Tragic, frantic, and intimate.

CW: Death, graphic violence