My story “The Ghosts of Trees”, from Shoreline of Infinity #20, is in Best of British SF! This makes the fourth consecutive time I’ve had a story in BoBSF, and I’m super happy. Click the first link to read the story and the second to preorder the book.
My short story for Abyss&Apex, “The Memory Spider“, has got a recommendation from Karen Burhnam at Locus Magazine! Check out the story and the recommendation at the links.
The BSFA Award Shortlist has been announced, and my FitzJames and Moyo story, “Things Can Only Get Better”, about a surgical bot repurposed as a taxi who cracks a gambling ring, is on it! This is their second time on the shortlist, after 2020’s “Jolene”, and what can I say but it’ll be an honour to lose to such amazing people.
You can read my story at the link to Abyss and Apex above, and vote at bsfa.co.uk.
The list:
Best Book for Younger Readers
The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger, Levine Querido
Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao, Rock the Boat
Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko, Hot Key Books
The Empty Orchestra, by Elizabeth Priest, Luna Press Publishing
Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve, David Fickling Books
Best Novel
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, Tor
Blackthorn Winter by Liz Williams, NewCon Press
Purgatory Mount by Adam Roberts, Gollancz
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Tor
Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley, Solaris
Green Man’s Challenge by Juliet E. McKenna, Wizard’s Tower Press
Best Shorter Fiction
‘Fireheart Tiger’ by Aliette de Bodard, Tor.com
‘Light Chaser’ by Peter F. Hamilton, Gareth L. Powell, Tor.com
‘O2 Arena’ by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Galaxy Edge Magazine
‘Things Can Only Get Better’ by Fiona Moore, Abyss & Apex
Best Non-Fiction
Cyberpunk Culture and Psychology: Seeing Through the Mirrorshades, by Anna McFarlane, Routledge
Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color, by Joy Sanchez-Taylor, Ohio State Press
The Anthropocene Unconscious: Climate Catastrophe Culture, by Mark Bould, Verso Books
Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. Francesca T. Barbini, Luna Publishing
Octothorpe Podcast, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty, Octothorpe
Science Fiction and the Pathways out of the COVID Crisis, by Val Nolan, The Polyphony
Best Artwork
Cover of Eugen Bacon’s Danged Black Thing, by Peter Lo / Kara Walker, Transit Lounge Publishing
Cover of Eugen Bacon’s Saving Shadows, by Elena Betti, NewCon Press
Cover of Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s Son of the Storm, by Dan dos Santos / Lauren Panepinto, Orbit
Cover of Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (ed.)’s The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction, by Maria Spada
Glasgow Green Woman by Iain Clark, Glasgow2024
I can’t believe it! I’m on the BSFA Award longlist *twice!* It’s for my stories “The Ghosts of Trees” (climate fiction about accepting the things you can’t change and changing the things you can) and “Things Can Only Get Better” (a FitzJames and Moyo Mystery about a surgical bot turned taxi who cracks a gambling ring) Both are available for free at the links. Members can read the full list and vote here— deadline is 21 February.
Happy new year! My short story “Memory Spider” is now up at Abyss&Apex. It’s about mourning the dead, life with a famous parent, and a giant robot spider (but don’t worry, she’s friendly)
Editor Wendy Delmater had this to say about the story on Facebook:
““This is, to me, a quintessential A&A story. If you want to know what we buy? Study it.”
For the holidays, I’ve uploaded my 2014 holiday-adjacent weird-fiction story “The Egg Man”, a tale of Boxing Day, madness and the Beatles first published in the seasonal anthology Sanity Clause Is Coming. Download it below, and enjoy a nice antidote to the eggnog!
This month, I’m guest blogging for the Oxford Doctor Who Society about one of my very favourite series: “Gangsters”, the Birmingham-made surrealist postcolonial crime drama you might not have heard of, but which runs through the DNA of every series you love, including Doctor Who! Read it here— you can buy a print copy of the society magazine at the link too!
Just in time for Hallowe’en, my grimdark flash-fiction reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz”, The Great and the Terrible, is now up at Fudoki Magazine! Click the link to enjoy; it’s free, but it’s worth dropping them a tip if you like the story.
I’m going to be talking about my book in a virtual session for National Taiwan University! Tune in at 9:30 BST on 19 October to join.
I’ve got a new FitzJames and Moyo mystery story out at Abyss&Apex this month: “Things Can Only Get Better“, where Detective Wilhelmine FitzJames of the London Met’s Automotive Division, and Noah Moyo, freelance car psychologist, come to the aid of a surgical bot turned smart taxi, and crack an artificial-intelligence gambling ring! Click the link to read for free; if you like FitzJames and Moyo, you can read the award-nominated “Jolene” on this blog, and/or check out other stories about AI in trouble in “Automotive Dreams“.
A Doctor Of Many Things 