These editorials get harder and harder to write. Once again, we’re composing this in a hospital room at Lurie Children’s Hospital. We’ve been in the hospital off and on for 70 of the last 196 days. Caitlin’s current week involved a surgery followed by a two-hour seizure in recovery, a massive infection, a trip to the ER, and now a waiting game for antibiotics to do their thing. This is poor Caitlin’s life in palliative care. We are exhausted and scared, but doing our best to push through. We promised her a trip to Disneyland and the Doctor Who Gallifrey One convention to see all of her Doctor Who aunts and uncles, and we will make this happen for her one way or another!
In other Thomas news, Hugo the Cat recovered from having an eye ulcer (brought on by stress, according to his vet). Central Illinois has been fairly temperate this winter—not that we get outside much. When we’re not at the hospital, we’ve been pretty isolated in our house due to the never-ending pandemic and Caitlin’s increased care needs. Thankfully, many of our dearest people have come to visit us and help out with things over the last few months (which included all of the extra help we needed after Lynne’s December abdominal surgery). We truly have the greatest friends and family in the universe. We wish we could see our people under better circumstances.
Thank you again, Space Unicorns. Your kindness nourishes us every day. We read every Tweet and message and share many with Caitlin. It truly means a lot.
We have some bittersweet news, Space Unicorns.
Uncanny Magazine Nonfiction Editor Meg Elison is moving on after issue 51. As many of you know, Meg is a brilliant and in-demand author, and had to make some hard choices with her time. Meg has been with us since Issue 44, and has done a wonderful job. We know Meg will continue to do brilliant things, and we will greatly miss her.
FABULOUS NEWS, SPACE UNICORNS! HAPPIEST OF DAYS!!! NINE Uncanny Magazine stories are on the prestigious 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List! WE ARE SO THRILLED! Congratulations to all of the authors!
Best Novelette:
“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu
“Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by C.L. Clark
“Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold” by S.B. Divya
Best Short Story:
“The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste” by Christopher Caldwell
“The Goldfish Man” by Maureen McHugh
“Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills
“Ribbons” by Natalia Theodoridou
“This Village” by Eugenia Triantafyllou
“The Coward Who Stole God’s Name” by John Wiswell
ALSO! Congratulations to Uncanny Magazine Nonfiction Editor Meg Elison! Her short story “Fifteen Minutes of Grace” is on the list!
This means you can vote for these stories in the 2023 Locus Poll and Survey which determines the Locus Awards! Voting is FREE TO ALL! Along with these stories, Uncanny Magazine is also eligible for a Locus Award in the Best Magazine or Fanzine category, and Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas are eligible in the Best Editor—Pro or Fan category! Vote for the things you liked, and you can even write in things that didn’t make the 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List! YOUR VOTE ALWAYS COUNTS!
Space Unicorns! It is time to announce the TOP STORY in our Uncanny Magazine 2022 Favorite Fiction Reader Poll!
It is…. *drumroll*
The short story “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills!
Congratulations, Samantha! A SNAZZY CERTIFICATE will soon be on the way!
The rest of the Top Five are:
2- The short story “can i offer you a nice egg in this trying time” by Iori Kusano!
3- The short story “The Coward Who Stole God’s Name” by John Wiswell!
4- The novelette “Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold” by S.B. Divya!
5- IS A TIE!
The short story “Ribbons” by Natalia Theodoridou!
The novelette “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu!
Congratulations to Iori Kusano, John Wiswell, S.B. Divya, Natalia Theodoridou, and John Chu!
Thank you to everybody who voted!
Don’t forget if you’re nominating for the Nebula or Hugo Awards, we have a list of all of our eligible stories here.
And now the contents of Uncanny Magazine Issue 51! The wonderful cover is A Murmur of Dragons by Nilah Magruder. Our fabulous new fiction includes “A Soul in the World” by Charlie Jane Anders, “To Put Your Heart Into a White Deer” by Kristiana Willsey, “Perhaps in Understanding” by AnaMaria Curtis, “Blank Space” by Delilah S. Dawson, “In Time, a Weed May Break Stone” by Valerie Valdes, “Space Treads” by Parlei Rivière, and “Yinying—Shadow” by Ai Jiang. Our reprint is “Bigger Fish” by Sarah Pinsker, originally published in Made to Order: Robots and Revolution.
Our provocative and compelling essays this month include “BookTok Fame Is a Lightning Strike” by C.L. Polk, “On a Scaffold of Story: Parenting, Politics, and Narrative” by Ruthanna Emrys, “Choosing to Build a Non-Patriarchal Fantasy World” by Jeffe Kennedy, and “The Partially Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” by Riley Silverman. Our gorgeous and evocative poetry includes “Dawning” by Tiffany Morris, “The Music of Birds in Exile” by Ewa Gerald Onyebuchi, “The Lummi Island Crossing Is Not What You Think” by Betsy Aoki, and “What They Love Now” by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman. Finally, Caroline M. Yoachim interviews Kristiana Willsey and Delilah S. Dawson.
The Uncanny Magazine Podcast Episode 51A features “A Soul in the World” by Charlie Jane Anders, as read by Erika Ensign, “Dawning” by Tiffany Morris, as read by Matt Peters, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Charlie Jane Anders. The Uncanny Magazine Podcast Episode 51B features “In Time, a Weed May Break Stone” by Valerie Valdes, as read by Matt Peters, “What They Love Now” by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, as read by Erika Ensign, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Valerie Valdes.
As always, we are deeply grateful for your support of Uncanny Magazine. Shine on, Space Unicorns!
© 2023 Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
