@benfrancisco
Queer Latinx fiction writer. Debut novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, out now! Stories in Strange Horizons, Indiana Review, Podcastle, LCRW, and more. All things geeky and social justice-y welcome. They/Them. https://linktr.ee/benfrancisco
open.substack.com/pub/thetrans... if you like my writing read this - Ben is one of my inspirations. Also read this if you’ve ever found a second love. Especially if the second love outshines the first. Also read if you love Old New York City bodegas #fiction #divorce #NYC #beautiful
💙 I enjoyed this one a lot, great story by @benfrancisco.bsky.social
Another great story this week is up at @morningtransport.bsky.social! This one is by @spacevalkyries.bsky.social and is about a mysterious mermaid, the complexity of identity, belonging, and making wishes.
We have only 61 stories submitted for WHAT ELEGANT STARS so far. I suppose a lot of folks will submit in the last month, but that still seems low. Though the theme is more specific than some previous ones, so folks are less likely to have anything ready to go.
www.neonhemlock.com/submissions
An African View Of The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List, Hugo and Nebula Nominations, BSFA voting and More.
Hey y’all. The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List is out and as usual, I did a quick analysis of the list to see how much work by African authors appears, something I've been tracking…
Such a great collection of stories!
Big thanks to @benfrancisco.bsky.social for including MONUMENTS IN DARKNESS in his "Favorite Short Story Collections from 2025" roundup, calling it "an excellent collection of horror, dark fantasy, and weird fiction from a master of the genre." You can read the rest of the review at the link!
The Sunday Morning Transport makes one more trip today with a story from Ben Francisco (@benfrancisco.bsky.social) that examines what really might be in the back room of your local bodega - and what it might cost. Free for everyone to read!
Ah thank you, Meg! ☺️
I have a new story up at @morningtransport.bsky.social! Recommended for fans of magical bodegas, complicated ex-husbands, and second-person narration!
www.sundaymorningtransport.com/p/when-your-...
My round-up of some of my favorite SF short stories & collections from 2025, including brilliant work by @danielbraum.bsky.social @nicholaskaufmann.bsky.social @thomasha.bsky.social @angelaliu.bsky.social @kjy1066.bsky.social @daviddlevine.com @aimeeogdenwrites.com!
benfrancisco.net/2026/02/26/f...
Photo of a Brooklyn Bodega with a multitude of signs advertising Deli, grocery, lotto, open 24 hours.
If you've ever thought bodegaa were magical...
I have a story coming for you this Sunday on @morningtransport.bsky.social.
So honored that Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle was featured in Ben's favorite SF from 2025 alongside authors that are my inspiration! 🖤
Some of my favorite SF from 2025! Including some brilliant novels and novellas by @willalex.bsky.social @matthewkressel.net @nnedi.bsky.social @renanbernardo.com, Sarah Langan, @annaleen.bsky.social @victorpineiro.bsky.social and more!
benfrancisco.net/2026/02/14/f...
What an amazing list of Boricua speculative reading. Thank you Ben for highlighting so many wonderful works, including mine ❤️
There's SO much great Puerto Rican SF out there, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Please feel free to chime in on this thread with your own favorites and recommendations!
Latinx Rising is a wonderful, diverse anthology of Latinx speculative fiction, including several brilliant Puerto Rican authors like Daniel Jose Older and Giannina Braschi, and even includes a photo narrative of Boricuas on the moon!
bookshop.org/p/books/lati...
My own story, "Brincando Charcos" literalizes the Puerto Rican metaphor of "jumping the puddle" (for crossing from island to mainland). Two young men jump through puddles like portals - but their growing love is overshadowed by the "men in blue" pursuing them.
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
"Crave" by @lilliamr.bsky.social is an evocative horror story that draws on imagery of mundillo (a Puerto Rican lace-making tradition) to tell the story of La Caridad, a witch who demands great sacrifices - particularly of the town's women and girls.
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/crave/
Wepa! Your work has given me so much Boricua joy! (And maybe one or two nightmares lol.)
"Up in the Hills, She Dreams of Her Daughter Deep in the Ground" by @kjy1066.bsky.social is a powerful, haunting short story that draws on surrealist metaphors to grapple with patriarchy and the disturbing history of forced sterilization of women in Puerto Rico.
strangehorizons.com/fiction/up-i...
House of Bone and Rain by @gabino.bsky.social is a haunting crime novel taking place in PR, dealing with the harsh realities of hurricanes, colonialism, violence, and hauntings. Iglesias is the master of crime stories with supernatural elements that play on deeper themes - I recommend all his work!
United States of Banana by Giannina Braschi is a wonderfully gonzo, impossible-to-classify novel that deals with post-9/11 fear mongering and the complex colonial status of Puerto Rico, and includes Hamlet and Zarathustra as characters.
bookshop.org/p/books/unit...
This has gotten more attention than I'd expected, so I'm adding a few more recs to this thread of amazing Puerto Rican SF, including some short fiction!
Will see if I can gather a few for my next thread of recs! Wepa.
Yaaaas we do!
Such a great book!
They Both Die At the End by @adamsilvera.bsky.social is a YA SF classic of queer love in the face of pending tragedy.
bookshop.org/p/books/they...
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson is a fun young adult fantasy featuring zombies, witches, and murder mystery amidst teenage woes of dating, loss, and friendship.
bookshop.org/p/books/unde...
Dealing in Dreams by @lilliamr.bsky.social is a brilliant post-apocalyptic young adult novel. Shades of Mad Max but dealing with deeper themes of gender, violence, and self-discovery.
bookshop.org/p/books/deal...