Mark your calendar: Original flash fiction submissions open Oct. 1. Submission window closes Oct. 31.
Nuked

Nuked

Reading Time: 8 minutes When a dead scientist calls a city paper to report a nuclear accident, the night reporter goes out to investigate. What he finds is completely alien.
Phantom

Phantom

Reading Time: 9 minutes A little boy sees the ghost of an old man in the mirror. Or is it the old man who sees the ghost of a small boy?
Fractures Like Windows and Time

Fractures Like Windows and Time

Reading Time: 8 minutes Parenting is hard enough without help from the multiverse.
A Sliver of Pi

A Sliver of Pi

Reading Time: 2 minutes Maybe the meaning of life won’t be found among the digits of pi, but life can still depend on them.
Her Solemn Duty

Her Solemn Duty

Reading Time: 2 minutes Her child was now grown, but a fairy godmother’s job was never over.
Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness

Reading Time: 4 minutes A young girl, desperate to find her beloved pet, ventures out into the darkness.
Neighbors

Neighbors

Reading Time: 4 minutes Being neighborly isn’t always easy. Morgred has to hold her tongue while her daughter makes other plans.
Hive

Hive

Reading Time: 12 minutes In the aftermath of the Hives invasion of earth, the society of the old world was shattered, and in response to the possibility of the aliens return, the authoritative Collective took hold of the sphere. Alexander King, a loyal soldier of the Collective, discovers that the Hive’s presence is stronger than commonly believed, and that its secrets may be far too powerful for any military effort.
Monochrome

Monochrome

Reading Time: 7 minutes Sometimes retribution can be a thing of beauty.
Between the Mountain and the Sea

Between the Mountain and the Sea

Olia is woken by the deep unearthly booms and sharp percussive snaps of the ice breaking up. She lies still in her bed, listening. So soon. She thought she would have more time. Another month, at least. But things aren’t like they were when she first became Tribute Keeper. They’ll be different still for Vali …

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DC

DC

Reading Time: 11 minutes A higher power watches a small group of primitive humans in the far future try to understand the alarms triggered by their presence in a long-abandoned city.
A Medieval Tale

A Medieval Tale

Reading Time: 14 minutes A monk in a medieval priory faces the sudden appearance of aliens that seem strangely familiar, only to learn he was once one of them.
Chef’s Special

Chef’s Special

Reading Time: 4 minutes Davis was the species’ third victim on the Pathfinder XII. I liked Davis, he called me a Culinary Magician.
Past Due

Past Due

Reading Time: 4 minutes In a world where holograms allow us to hang on even past death, a young man needs to make a hard choice.
Dead Nana, Walking

Dead Nana, Walking

Reading Time: 3 minutes Old people don’t die, but slowly turn to stone. Joey needs to get her Nana to her grandfather’s statue.
Nuked

Nuked

Robert WaltonSep 11, 2023
Reading Time: 8 minutes When a dead scientist calls a city paper to report a nuclear accident, the night reporter goes out to investigate. What he finds is completely alien.
Phantom

Phantom

Reading Time: 9 minutes A little boy sees the ghost of an old man in the mirror. Or is it the old man who sees the ghost of a small boy?
Fractures Like Windows and Time

Fractures Like Windows and Time

Emma BurnettSep 4, 2023
Reading Time: 8 minutes Parenting is hard enough without help from the multiverse.
A Sliver of Pi

A Sliver of Pi

Reading Time: 2 minutes Maybe the meaning of life won’t be found among the digits of pi, but life can still depend on them.
Her Solemn Duty

Her Solemn Duty

Jenna GloverAug 30, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes Her child was now grown, but a fairy godmother’s job was never over.
Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness

Stephen HowardAug 28, 2023
Reading Time: 4 minutes A young girl, desperate to find her beloved pet, ventures out into the darkness.
Neighbors

Neighbors

Nicole WalshAug 25, 2023
Reading Time: 4 minutes Being neighborly isn’t always easy. Morgred has to hold her tongue while her daughter makes other plans.
Hive

Hive

Jeremiah UkponrefeAug 23, 2023
Reading Time: 12 minutes In the aftermath of the Hives invasion of earth, the society of the old world was shattered, and in response to the possibility of the aliens return, the authoritative Collective took hold of the sphere. Alexander King, a loyal soldier of the Collective, discovers that the Hive’s presence is stronger than commonly believed, and that its secrets may be far too powerful for any military effort.
Monochrome

Monochrome

Carol Lewis-PowellAug 21, 2023
Reading Time: 7 minutes Sometimes retribution can be a thing of beauty.

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REVIEWS

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 29, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 29, 2023

Reading Time: 10 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a space adventure, a technothriller box set, and three romantic fantasies.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 22, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 22, 2023

Reading Time: 8 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list is all fantasy with a romantic twist.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 15, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 15, 2023

Reading Time: 9 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a cozy magical mystery, werewolves, paranormal mercenaries, and an action-packed space opera.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 8, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 8, 2023

Reading Time: 9 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a teenager bouncing around the metaverse, werewolf pets, and an epic fantasy box set.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 1, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Sep. 1, 2023

Reading Time: 16 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a sexy alien romance where the complete eight-book series is free.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 25, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 25, 2023

Reading Time: 11 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a box set with interstellar war and an alien invasion, plus several paranormal romances, including a sexy gargoyle, a sexy werebear and some sexy vampires.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 18, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 18, 2023

Reading Time: 9 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top five free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes a story of EMP survival and a Western steampunk adventure.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 11, 2023

Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Aug. 11, 2023

Reading Time: 18 minutes We read the first few chapters of each of the top ten free fantasy and sci-fi books on Amazon. Today’s list includes three box sets, including one from a USA Today-bestselling author.

ESSAYS

What is it about the books of Terry Pratchett that make them so difficult to adapt to the screen?

What is it about the books of Terry Pratchett that make them so difficult to adapt to the screen?

Darren Paul FisherAug 16, 2023
Reading Time: 5 minutes Terry Pratchett’s novels have been adapted for the screen 11 times now. Why are his novels so hard to get right?
Two authors are suing OpenAI for training ChatGPT with their books. Could they win?

Two authors are suing OpenAI for training ChatGPT with their books. Could they win?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay’s lawsuit claims their books were used without their consent. But copyright protection doesn’t apply to ideas – they’ll need to demonstrate the likelihood of economic loss.
Publishers aren’t going to replace writers with AI. Startups are already doing it.

Publishers aren’t going to replace writers with AI. Startups are already doing it.

Maria KorolovApr 13, 2023
Reading Time: 5 minutes Startups are popping up that use new AI tools to bypass traditional publishing and distribution systems entirely.
Life: modern physics can’t explain it – but our new theory, which says time is fundamental, might

Life: modern physics can’t explain it – but our new theory, which says time is fundamental, might

Sara Imari WalkerApr 11, 2023
Reading Time: 5 minutes Over the short span of just 300 years, since the invention of modern physics, we have gained a deeper understanding of how our universe works on both small and large scales. Yet, physics is still very young and when it comes to using it to explain life, physicists struggle.

NEWS

Metastellar Open for Fall 2023 Flash Fiction Submissions Oct 1st

Metastellar Open for Fall 2023 Flash Fiction Submissions Oct 1st

Geordie MorseSep 24, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes The fall 2023 submission cycle for original speculative fiction begins on October 1 and closes at midnight on October 31.
Hugo Award nominations are out, and She-Hulk made the list

Hugo Award nominations are out, and She-Hulk made the list

Maria KorolovJul 6, 2023
Reading Time: 5 minutes This year’s Hugo Awards nominees include Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Nope, and an episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Left: A purple circle with a yellow spiral galaxy in the center. To the right: the purple text

Elden Ring, Everything Everywhere All At Once Win Nebula Awards

Terrence SmithJun 17, 2023
Reading Time: 4 minutes The film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and the video game Elden Ring were big winners in the Nebula Awards this year.
Robert J. Sawyer on stage accepting his lifetime achievement award.

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Reflects On Past And The AI Future Of Writing

Terrence SmithMay 9, 2023
Dr. Robert J. Sawyer, author of twenty-five novels, including Hominids and the WWW trilogy, won the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award at the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future Gala this past Friday. This was the day before his 63rd birthday. “Clearly, you’re done achieving when you hit that magic …

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Top ten online sci-fi magazines

Top ten online sci-fi magazines

Maria KorolovMay 8, 2023
Reading Time: 6 minutes We look up the traffic numbers for 33 of today’s most popular sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazines. MetaStellar is in second place.
Leonardo AI best new alternative to Midjourney — and free

Leonardo AI best new alternative to Midjourney — and free

Maria KorolovMay 2, 2023
Reading Time: 8 minutes Leonardo AI offers 150 free images a day. They’re not quite as good-looking at Midjourney, but within throwing distance.
Adobe’s Firefly will be a Midjourney killer for book cover art

Adobe’s Firefly will be a Midjourney killer for book cover art

Maria KorolovMar 24, 2023
Reading Time: 4 minutes Adobe Firefly’s images are almost as good as Midjourney, the interface is infinitely better, and artists will get paid for their training data. The beta is open now, and it’s looking extremely promising.
WGA backtracks on anti-AI stance, as long as writers get credit

WGA backtracks on anti-AI stance, as long as writers get credit

Maria KorolovMar 23, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Writers Guild of America, which represents screenwriters, is backing off on its anti-AI stance, Variety reported today.

ON WRITING

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 24, 2023

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 24, 2023

Maria KorolovSep 24, 2023
Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of advice about running Kickstarters and Amazon categories — as well as over 100 other articles, podcasts and videos about productivity, writing, and marketing.
Dall-E 3 looks great, but lacks respect for artist rights

Dall-E 3 looks great, but lacks respect for artist rights

Maria KorolovSep 22, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes OpenAI announced its newest AI image generation tool yesterday, Dall-E 3. The images look fantastic, and it can do things that no other AI image generator can do. But it lacks a little bit in terms of respect for creator rights.
This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 17, 2023

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 17, 2023

Maria KorolovSep 17, 2023
Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of advice about outlining and plotting.
This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 10, 2023

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 10, 2023

Maria KorolovSep 10, 2023
Reading Time: 12 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got motivational advice, writing advice, marketing advice, and discussions of Amazon’s new AI policies.
Claude Pro is here — and writers should sign up

Claude Pro is here — and writers should sign up

Maria KorolovSep 7, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes This morning, Anthropic announced the paid version of Claude, the best alternative to ChatGPT currently on the market. Writers need to sign up.
This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 3, 2023

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 3, 2023

Maria KorolovSep 3, 2023
Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. Lots of advice this week on honing character craft through impactful dialogue, emotionally resonant arcs, and complex relationships.
This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Aug. 27, 2023

This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Aug. 27, 2023

Maria KorolovAug 27, 2023
Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. We have 90 links this week, covering every topic imaginable, with quite a bit about AI.
Adobe Express offers free AI art and is out of beta

Adobe Express offers free AI art and is out of beta

Maria KorolovAug 24, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes Adobe Express is now publicly available, with free AI image generation. Plus, since it’s Adobe, the AI is trained only on fully-licensed art, and artists and compensated.