As I write this, the calendar is only days away from the one-year anniversary of the death of my amazing daughter, Caitlin. Sorrow weighs down my heart. For the rest of the world, life continues without her, though terrifying things fill the news and our social media. Terrible changes surround us, but there is also hope.
Hope is very much what made Caitlin so special. Caitlin was the very best of us. She knew she had a limited time on this planet but lived every second to its fullest. She was funny, smart, and kind. Her death is hard for me and her loved ones. Many days it feels like everything is falling apart, and we should just give up. But, that’s not how Caitlin would have wanted it. Caitlin fought and laughed and loved like no other. Caitlin also brought people together.
We all need to be more like her—filled with hope and joy and resilience. We need to be as stubborn and loving as she was. We need to come together and fight to make everything better for everyone.
That is how we will deal with the terrors, Space Unicorns. We will stand up to them as a community. We have so much power when we refuse to let go of hope and tell the darkness to fuck off in one gigantic voice.
We fight on, just as Caitlin did every day of her wonderful life.
We have some major news about the future of Uncanny Magazine, Space Unicorns.
After 11 years as Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Uncanny Magazine, Lynne M. Thomas is stepping down from her editorial duties starting with Issue 64, and will also be stepping down as Co-Publisher starting with Issue 67. Going forward, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher Michael Damian Thomas will continue solo in both of these roles.
As many of you know, Lynne worked at Uncanny Magazine while also working as a rare book librarian, most recently as the Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For over 15 years, Lynne has balanced rare book librarianship with an editorial and publishing career in science fiction and fantasy, but she is now shifting her focus to her day job as she works towards her rare book librarianship goals. The entire Uncanny Magazine staff warmly wishes Lynne the best of luck going forward!
Over the years, Michael gradually took over most of the editorial and publishing responsibilities at the magazine, and he is prepared for the work ahead and excited to continue sharing his vision as the sole Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine.
Lynne —
“It has been an honor and a privilege to partner with Michael on Uncanny, and I know it’s in excellent hands. I want to thank Michael and the rest of the Uncanny staff, both current and alumni; I appreciate all of your contributions to making Uncanny what it is. Your hard work, dedication, enthusiasm, and care for Michael and I—and for Uncanny—has been truly epic. Uncanny exists because readers, writers, artists, and our staff all said HELL YES to the idea that stories and art that make you feel are worth putting out into the world. That hasn’t changed.
I know Michael and the current team will continue to bring you the fabulous magazine you have all come to love, respect, and support. The point of building communities like this is that we never have to go it alone. Right now, that is more important than ever.
We have all built something beautiful together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has supported Uncanny on this journey so far. I look forward to seeing the next step in the Uncanny adventure.”
Michael —
“Lynne and I dreamt up and founded Uncanny Magazine together 11 years ago, and she will be greatly missed. Juggling multiple complicated careers is never easy, and I support her choice to focus on her role as the Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I also want to echo her gratitude for all of the support the Space Unicorn community has shown us over the years, both as an editorial/publishing team and also, on a more personal level, during our daughter Caitlin’s final years. It means a great deal to us.
Looking to the future, the staff and I will continue to bring you stories, podcasts, art, interviews, essays, and poetry that make you feel, from phenomenal creators of every conceivable background. I very much believe that we’re doing vital work. The world needs Uncanny Magazine. Especially now. We have the greatest staff, contributors, and readers in the universe, and so many amazing things are still coming, Space Unicorns!”
Make sure to keep an eye on the Uncanny Magazine blog, newsletter, and social media accounts, Space Unicorns! We’ll be announcing our plans for Uncanny Magazine Year 12 very soon!
PHENOMENAL news, Space Unicorns! Five Uncanny Magazine stories are finalists for the prestigious Hugo Award! “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou is a finalist for the Best Novelette Hugo Award, “Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker is a finalist for the Best Novelette Hugo Award, “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award, “Stitched to Skin like Family Is” by Nghi Vo is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award, and “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award! Plus, “We Drink Lava” by Ai Jiang is a finalist for the Best Poem Hugo Award, and “there are no taxis for the dead” by Angela Liu is a finalist for the Best Poem Hugo Award! Congratulations to everybody!
Even more wonderful news! Uncanny Magazine (Publishers/Editors-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, Managing Editor Monte Lin, Poetry Editor Betsy Aoki, and Podcast Producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky) is once again a finalist for Best Semiprozine!
Another fantastic thing! Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas are also finalists for the Best Editor Short Form Hugo Award!
And that’s not all! Uncanny Magazine Interviewer Caroline M. Yoachim’s “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” from Lightspeed Magazine is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award!
It is an amazing list of Hugo Award finalists, many of whom are Uncanny authors and friends. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY!!! Thank you to everyone who nominated these works, and to the hard-working Seattle Worldcon staff. We are honored, ecstatic, and overwhelmed.
Outstanding news, Space Unicorns! Two Uncanny Magazine stories are finalists for the prestigious Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association! “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou is a finalist for Best Novelette, and “Another Girl Under the Iron Bell” by Angela Liu is also a finalist for Best Novelette!
And that’s not all! Uncanny Magazine Interviewer Caroline M. Yoachim’s “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” from Lightspeed Magazine is a finalist for Best Short Story!
Congratulations to everybody!
It is an amazing list of finalists, many of whom are Uncanny authors and friends. Congratulations to everyone!
From The SFWA website:
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 60th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works published in 2024.
The awards will be presented in a ceremony on Saturday, June 7, that will be streamed live as it is held in-person in Kansas City, MO as part of the 60th Annual Nebula Awards Conference. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.
Fabulous news, Space Unicorns!
Uncanny Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief/Co-Publisher Michael Damian Thomas and Co-Publisher Lynne M. Thomas are the Content Editors for the first season of the new podcast It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton! You most certainly know Wil Wheaton from television shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory, and Leverage, and the film Stand By Me. Wil is also an accomplished audiobook narrator and is bringing these skills to his exciting new audiobook podcast. In each episode, Wil will narrate a fabulous SF/F story from the pages of your favorite SF/F magazines (including Uncanny Magazine), giving some of the best authors working in the field today an even larger audience. Michael and Lynne helped Wil choose the stories for the first season, and we are so excited to hear Wil’s interpretations. The first episode featuring Caroline M. Yoachim’s Lightspeed Magazine story “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death” premiered this week, and a new episode will appear every Wednesday in all of the usual podcast places.
Make sure to check this out, Space Unicorns!
And now the contents of Uncanny Magazine Issue 64! The wonderful cover is Barbershops of the Floating City by Grace P. Fong. Our fabulous new fiction includes “Unfinished Architectures of the Human-Fae War” by Caroline M. Yoachim, “Barbershops of the Floating City” by Angela Liu, “Vivisection” by Anjali Sachdeva, “The Breaker of Mountains and Rivers” by Aliette de Bodard, “Hi! I’m Claudia” by Delilah S. Dawson, “All the World Is Fog” by DaVaun Sanders, and “Pale Serpent, Green Serpent” by Ewen Ma.
Our provocative and compelling essays this month include “Doing the Math” by Kelly Sue DeConnick, “Get Lost! How Whereness Deepens Fiction” by Alex Jennings, “Fantasy Musical Theatre: Sensawunda, Activate!” by Tina Connolly, and “Disney Presents: Second Person POV: Vloggers, Happy Haunts, and Short Stories that Use ‘You’” by J.R. Dawson. Our gorgeous and evocative poetry includes “A Full Belly” by Elizabeth Hart Bergstrom, “Letter to My Future Reader” by Margaret Rhee, “moth boy” by Praise Osawaru, and “Post-apocalypse Love Poem” by Chinedu Gospel. Finally, Caroline M. Yoachim interviews Angela Liu and DaVaun Sanders about their stories.
The Uncanny Magazine Podcast Episode 64A features “Unfinished Architectures of the Human-Fae War” by Caroline M. Yoachim, as read by Erika Ensign, “A Full Belly” by Elizabeth Hart Bergstrom, as read by Erika Ensign, and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Caroline M. Yoachim. The Uncanny Magazine Podcast Episode 64B features “The Breaker of Mountains and Rivers” by Aliette de Bodard, as read by Matt Peters, “moth boy” by Praise Osawaru, as read by Matt Peters, and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Aliette de Bodard.
As always, we are deeply grateful for your support of Uncanny Magazine. Shine on, Space Unicorns!
© 2025 Michael Damian Thomas
