Congrats!
03.03.2026 22:19
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Congrats!
Definitely worth making an eligibility post for Astounding! imo a lot of people don't realize it's not just for debut novels (short fiction counts!) so I think a reminder is perfectly reasonable (especially for a great story like yours)
Cover art by Pascal Blanché features a blue skinned person wearing red-orange partial armor and helmet. They are sitting on a raised red piece of machinary in front of a large yellow sun on a bright yellow background. Smoke trails in from the lower right. Their helmeted head looks forward while they hold a large round device in both hands. Cables lead from the device to the helmet. Art is titled "Long Distance Call." Also in this issue: interviews with J.M. Sidorova and Rebecca Roanhorse, article by Benjamin C. Kinney, and the final results our annual readers' poll.
Our March 2026 issue features stories by David D. Levine, R.L. Meza, Carolyn Zhao, Thomas Ha, Wanxiang Fengnian, Thoraiya Dyer, and Marissa Lingen.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_234
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Ah that's so lovely to hear, thank you! :D
There are so many great new authors and I fully expect to update this thread further before nominations are due; this is just an initial, non-comprehensive shout-out to a few fantastic stories I've enjoyed from Astounding-eligible short fiction writers. Yay short fiction :D
@louisinglishall.bsky.social is a 2nd-year eligible writer and I'm shouting out a story from this year because "Three Fortunes on Alcestis as Told by the Fraud Baeliss Shudal" is a mic-drop piece. It's exactly what it says on the tin and so well done.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/hall_02_26/
I loved Anna Burdenko's "Pollen" this year for the neat worldbuilding and OTHER REASONS (read the story if you want to know more, it's compelling!) I believe Burdenko's a first-year eligible author and definitely worth your consideration.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/burdenko_03_...
2nd-year eligible @clairejiawen.bsky.social's "Abstraction Is When I Design Giant Death Creatures and Attraction Is When I Do It for You" is a hell of a title for a hell of a story. Excellent piece about a designer of monsters and the pilot she does it for.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/jia-wen_09_25/
@sansromeo.bsky.social's "Seven Minutes in Heaven with the Electric Seraphim" is a glorious example of epistolary short fiction, basically a found footage tale of the bloody birth of the digital afterlife. Unrelenting and sharp.
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/seve...
A recent read that immediately got my attention was @kaunvijaya.bsky.social's "Postman, Soldier, Traitor"--I believe she's in her second year of eligibility, and this story of a soldier carrying a message for a dead boy is excellent.
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/post...
@carolynzhao.bsky.social is in her second year of eligibility for the Astounding and came out with the lovely "The Heartbreak Hotel on Plutonic Planet" this year, which, yeah, that hotel sure can heartbreak. Adored this story!
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Fellow Wyrmhole editor @hhpak.bsky.social's "Never Eaten Vegetables" has been living in my head rent-free literally since I linked it last year, and it's STILL an excellent and beautiful novelette. Absolutely worth reading--consider them for Astounding nomination!
clarkesworldmagazine.com/pak_01_25/
I did this last year and I'm trying to make it an annual Thing, so here are a few short fiction writers in their first two years of publishing worth considering for Astounding Award nomination! I'm highlighting a work I loved from each of them (it's hard to keep it to just one, but c'est la vie)
Beating the buzzer before it turns into March to link my year-end wrap-up post :))
tiatashiro.com/2025/12/29/s...
Ahhh thank you Angela :D
I love novelettes, and @tiatashiro.bsky.social’s feel-good murder mystery “The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe” in @clarkesworldmagazine.com is one of my favorites from last year.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_01_25/
Thank you Adriana!
Stories I loved by @emelkrishnan.bsky.social, @katefrancia.bsky.social, @chrisblake.bsky.social, and @tiatashiro.bsky.social.
psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/holl...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/in-eve...
clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/
Go read them.
Calling all concept-driven science fiction short stories (and novelettes) published in 2025! I'm looking for bangers I might have missed that fit this brief: compellingsciencefiction.com/posts/call-f...
If you can share this with your favorite SF author/publisher/editor, I'd be grateful!
Angela CONGRATS that's awesome!! It's such a lovely story and absolutely deserves the recognition :DDD
Just browsing about the Oscars on bsky for fun and this was a lovely breakdown! Thanks for sharing :D
Your frosting skills are excellent!
This is delightful
Readers' poll closes tomorrow!
We have Best of American SFF, Best of Canadian SFF, Best of British SFF. I wish so badly that editors take up the task of editing an yearly Best of Latin American SFF as well. It would be great!
Fed up with your world? Visit ours. Picture of the Clarkesworld robot looking over at the cover of our February issue. That cover features a robot looking out at the sea while standing on the beach with their hands clasped behind their back. The water comes gently towards their feet. Peaceful ocean and sky. A contemplative moment of peace. Cover art by Matt Dixon.
It's time for your periodic reminder that we count on subscriptions to keep the lights on.
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Thank you.
Not really, but she's a longtime novelist and reader in general! She's been wanting to get into short stories for a bit, and I'm always down to chat about the shorts I'm reading, so this has been great for both of us.
Been doing a mini bookclub this month with a childhood friend who hasn't read the magazine before (we're reading and discussing 2 stories per week) and it's been a delight so far :D
If you liked "For Whom the Hair Grows" or any of Uncanny's excellent 2025 stories, voting is open now!
Day 36! I read When Eve Chose Us by @tiatashiro.bsky.social published in @diabolicalplots.com. I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. Read my review here:
mickstaniforth.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/s...