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Uncanny Magazine Issue 68 Cover and Table of Contents!

Coming January 6, the 68th issue of the Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-winning Uncanny Magazine!!

All of the content will be available in the eBook version on the day of release.

The free online content will be released in 2 stages- half on day of release and half on February 3.

Don’t forget eBook Subscriptions to Uncanny Magazine are available from Weightless Books, and you can support us on our Patreon!

The cover for Uncanny Magazine Issue 68, "Faery Frights" by Katy Shuttleworth: A figure in ratty brown-gray robes has a mask (or face?) of a stag skull with antlers. The antlers have cloth or velvet in ragged strips. The mask or face eye's glow green and the figure has long white hair. In the figure's left hand is a square-glass lantern and in the right hand a staff ending in an antler. Behind them, gnarled tree branches stretch into a green sky. In white text is the "Uncanny" banner, "January/February 2026," Issue Sixty-Eight," and the artist, writer, essayist, poets, and Uncanny staff credits.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 68 Table of Contents

Cover:
Faery Frights by Katy Shuttleworth

Editorial:
“The Uncanny Valley” by Michael Damian Thomas

Fiction:
“The Doorkeepers” by A. T. Greenblatt (1/6)
“Be My Horse, Ride the Cowboy” by Christopher Caldwell (1/6)
“I Met You on the Train” by J. R. Dawson (1/6)

“This Story Does Not Exist” by Kylie Lee Baker (2/3)
“The Memory Hounds of Bak-Ankham” by A. W. Prihandita (2/3)
“Words That Wither, Words That Bloom” by Jules Arbeaux (2/3)

“Girl Stuff” by Claire Humphrey (1/6)

Essays:
“These Stories Teach Us How to Fight” by Dawn Xiana Moon (1/6)
“Uncanny Interview with Marie Brennan” by Betsy Aoki and Marie Brennan (1/6)

“I Write in English Because I Can” by Jana Bianchi (2/3)
“Frognative Dissonance” by Riley Silverman (2/3)

Poetry:
“No Kings / No Soldiers” by A. M. Tuomala (1/6)
“An underground butterfly” by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga (1/6)

“The Parsley Girl” by Theodora Goss (2/3)
“A Field Guide for Broken Sons in Transit” by Joemario Umana (2/3)

Interviews:
Interview: Christopher Caldwell by Caroline M. Yoachim (1/6)

Interview: A. W. Prihandita by Caroline M. Yoachim (2/3)

Podcasts:
Episode 68A (January 6): Editor’s Introduction; “The Doorkeepers” by A. T. Greenblatt, as read by Matt Peters; “No Kings / No Soldiers” by A. M. Tuomala, as read by Matt Peters; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing A. T. Greenblatt.

Episode 68B (February 3): Editor’s Introduction; “This Story Does Not Exist” by Kylie Lee Baker, as read by Erika Ensign; “The Parsley Girl” by Theodora Goss, as read by Erika Ensign; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Kylie Lee Baker.

 

Uncanny Magazine 2025 Poetry Eligibility

Space Unicorns! This year, poetry is eligible for the Rhysling Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award. Here is a list of all of the poetry published by Uncanny Magazine in 2025 and the appropriate Rhysling Award category!

 

Short Poem (11–49 lines)

Care for Lightning by Mari Ness

Nymph by Kailee Pedersen

Love Letter in Cobra Pose by Shankar Narayan

the bud of a dead dream by Ai Jiang

The Birds by Rafiat Lamidi

Time loop for the day I die. by Abdulrazaq Salihu

A Full Belly by Elizabeth Hart Bergstrom

Letter to My Future Reader by Margaret Rhee

Post-apocalypse Love Poem by Gospel Chinedu

moth boy by Praise Osawaru

Seaside Prophets by Avra Margariti

Wishbone by Prosper Ìféányí

Dreamscape with the Devil by Taylor Byas

The Mourning Robot by Angela Liu

Dear Saturn, by Susan L. Lin

Prayer for Winter by Romie Stott

Call Us Boy. by Somto Ihezue

Welkin Burials for Drones by Hannan Khan

My Duende: in the Wall and in the Mirror by Angel Leal


Long Poem (50–299 lines)

Cassandra by E. N. Díaz

Red-Coded and Weary by Lesley Hart Gunn

Soft, Your Grief, and Leporine by Lora Gray

Psycho-Journey of the Cyborg-in-Therapy by Shankar Narayan

Caesar Says, Earthquakes Aren’t So Manifest From Space by Jasmine Leng

Uncanny Magazine 2025 Award Eligibility

It’s the time of year when people post their year-in-reviews to remind SF/F award voters what they might have missed, and (especially for the  Hugo Awards  and Nebula Awards) in which categories those stories are eligible. Last year was the eleventh full year of Uncanny Magazine (Issue 62 through Issue 67). We are extremely proud of the year we had.

This year, Uncanny Magazine is still eligible for the Best Semiprozine Hugo Award. Michael Damian Thomas is also eligible for the Best Editor (Short Form) Hugo Award for editing issues 62–67 and content editing the It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton podcast. (Note: If you are nominating Michael Damian Thomas in this category, please only list Michael. They solo edited Uncanny Magazine in 2025.)

The stories listed below are eligible in either the short story, novelette, or novella categories of the SF/F awards. If you are a SFWA member nominating for the Nebula Awards, we hope to place eBook copies of these stories in the SFWA Forum. If you are a member of SFWA and would like eBooks before the Forum returns, please feel free to contact us for complimentary copies. (ETA: We’ve been told that the issues will be available in the SFWA Discord.)

Please also note that essays are eligible for the Best Related Work Hugo Award, and poetry is eligible for both the Rhysling Award and the Nebula Award this year. As Uncanny is a semiprozine, all of the essays and original art also contribute towards the creators’ Best Fan Writer and Best Fan Artist Hugo Award eligibility.

 

Novellas (17,500-39,999 Words):

The Lure of Stone by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

Novelettes (7500-17,499 Words):

Kaiju Agonistes by Scott Lynch

The Life and Times of Alavira the Great as Written by Titos Pavlou and Reviewed by Two Lifelong Friends by Eugenia Triantafyllou

When He Calls Your Name by Catherynne M. Valente

The Shadow on the Nest by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Millay Illusion by Sarah Pinsker

And on Their Graves a Fall of Angels by Natalia Theodoridou

 

Short Stories (Under 7500 Words):

For Whom the Hair Grows by Tia Tashiro

Six People to Revise You by J.R. Dawson

Your Personalized Guide to the Museum of the Lost and Found by AnaMaria Curtis

Men with Tails by Rati Mehrotra

With Her Serpent Locks by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Flaming Embusen by Tade Thompson

10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days by Samantha Mills

Butterfly Pavilion by G. Willow Wilson

Red, Scuttle When the Ships Come Down by Wen-yi Lee

Infinite Halves by J.L. Akagi

The Prodigal Mother (excerpt from Lessons in Magic and Disaster) by Charlie Jane Anders

The Island with the Animals by Stephanie Malia Morris

Unbury by Kirsty Logan

Barbershops of the Floating City by Angela Liu

Vivisection by Anjali Sachdeva

Unfinished Architectures of the Human-Fae War by Caroline M. Yoachim

Pale Serpent, Green Serpent by Ewen Ma

The Breaker of Mountains and Rivers by Aliette de Bodard

All the World Is Fog by DaVaun Sanders

Hi! I’m Claudia by Delilah S. Dawson

The Best Way to Survive a Tiger Attack by A. W. Prihandita

The Diner at the Intersection of Duty and Despair by John Chu

Finer than Silk, Brighter than Snow by Shveta Thakrar

The Terrarium by Jordan Taylor

Whalesong by Daniel H. Wilson

The Garden by Emma Törzs

Whale Fall of Yours by M. M. Olivas

The Caravan by AnaMaria Curtis

Brooklyn Beijing by Hannah Yang

Seven Minutes in Heaven with the Electric Seraphim by Juliet Kahn

Wend-Way-Go by Tim Pratt

Anémona by Ana Hurtado

Who Are You Wearing? by Russell Nichols

To Speak in Silence by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Teleporting Disaster Fairy by Rati Mehrotra

Thicker by Eleanna Castroianni

“Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou Won a British Fantasy Award!

Fabulous news, Space Unicorns! “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou won the Best Short Story 2025 British Fantasy Award! Congratulations to Eugenia and to all of the finalists and winners!

From the British Fantasy Awards website:

After a crowdsourced suggestion list for eligible works, and then a period of public voting, the shortlist for this year’s British Fantasy Awards has now been confirmed.

These works will now be considered by a jury of peers, with the ultimate winners being announced at an awards ceremony at World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, held from 30 October to 2 November.

To be eligible, works had to have been published for the first time in the English language during the calendar year 2024, anywhere in the world, and must contain some speculative element—though we interpret ‘fantasy’ widely. More details in the awards FAQ, here.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 67 Cover and Table of Contents!

Coming November 4, the 67th issue of the Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-winning Uncanny Magazine!!

All of the content will be available in the eBook version on the day of release.

The free online content will be released in 2 stages- half on day of release and half on December 2.

Don’t forget eBook Subscriptions to Uncanny Magazine are available from Weightless Books, and you can support us on our Patreon!
Cover: Mushroom Mother of Us All by Paul Lewin. In the center, an elderly Black woman has her eyes serenely closed, a brown-orange nose piercing on her right nostril and an orange line/mark on her chin. Her hair are the green leaves of trees, trunks growing out of the side of her face, and mushrooms growing through the leaves. She wears large earrings of orange, sienna, with aqua and white lines and dots. Her hands hold a bowl lined with Black faces and mushrooms growing out of the bowl. In the center of the bowl and thus the front of her chest is an orange sun surrounded by a dark pink halo like a globe. The text "Uncanny," "November/December 2025," "Issue Sixty-Seven," and the credits are in white.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 67 Table of Contents

Cover:
Mushroom Mother of Us All by Paul Lewin

Editorial:
“The Uncanny Valley” by Michael Damian Thomas

Fiction:
“The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker (11/4)
“And on Their Graves a Fall of Angels” by Natalia Theodoridou (11/4)
“Anémona” by Ana Hurtado (11/4)

“The Teleporting Disaster Fairy” by Rati Mehrotra (12/2)
“Thicker” by Eleanna Castroianni (12/2)
“To Speak in Silence” by Mary Robinette Kowal (12/2)

“Who Are You Wearing?” by Russell Nichols (11/4)

Essays:
“I Am Insecure About My Character(s)” by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (11/4)
“Portrayals of Disability in The Wheel of Time, Sony Pictures/Amazon Studios” by Mari Ness (11/4)

“The Mistletoe Creeps for You or A Discussion of the Transformation of Xmas Horror from Societal to Fantastic” by Jordan Shiveley (12/2)
“The Stranger Next Door: The Domestic Fantastic in Classic Nordic Children’s Fantasy” by Marissa Lingen (12/2)

Poetry:
“Call Us Boy.” by Somto Ihezue (11/4)
“Prayer for Winter” by Romie Stott (11/4)

“My Duende: in the Wall and in the Mirror” by Angel Leal (12/2)
“Welkin Burials for Drones” by Hannan Khan (12/2)

Interviews:
Interview: Natalia Theodoridou by Caroline M. Yoachim (11/4)

Interview: Eleanna Castroianni by Caroline M. Yoachim (12/2)

Podcasts:
Episode 67A (11/4): Editor’s Introduction; “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker, as read by Erika Ensign; “Call Us Boy.” by Somto Ihezue, as read by Matt Peters; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Sarah Pinsker.

Episode 67B (12/2): Editor’s Introduction; “The Teleporting Disaster Fairy” by Rati Mehrotra, as read by Matt Peters; “My Duende: in the Wall and in the Mirror” by Angel Leal, as read by Erika Ensign; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Rati Mehrotra.

Mary Robinette Kowal’s “Marginalia” Won the 2025 Eugie Award!

Wonderful news, Space Unicorns! “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal won the 2025 Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction! Congratulations to Mary Robinette!

Once again, congratulations all of the finalists, including Uncanny Magazine Interviewer Caroline M. Yoachim for her story “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” from Lightspeed Magazine.

From their website:

The Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction (or Eugie Award) celebrates the best in innovative fiction. This annual award is presented at Dragon Con, the nation’s largest fan-run convention.

The Eugie Award honors stories that are irreplaceable, that inspire, enlighten, and entertain. We will be looking for stories that are beautiful, thoughtful, and passionate, and change us and the field. The recipient is a story that is unique and will become essential to speculative fiction readers.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 66 Cover and Table of Contents!

Coming September 2, the 66th issue of the Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-winning Uncanny Magazine!!

All of the content will be available in the eBook version on the day of release.

The free online content will be released in 2 stages- half on day of release and half on October 7.

Don’t forget eBook Subscriptions to Uncanny Magazine are available from Weightless Books, and you can support us on our Patreon!

Cover: Listen To Me and I’ll Tell You A Story by Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe. In an underwater scene tinted in sea green, a child-like being with flowing ochre-colored hair and dark sea green skin sits on a mass of orange-ochre and green tentacles talking to a school of salmon-color fish. In the foreground, another school of brown fish swimming away from the scene. The text "Uncanny," "September/October 2025," "Issue Sixty-Six," and the credits are in white.

 

Uncanny Magazine Issue 66 Table of Contents

Cover:
Listen To Me and I’ll Tell You A Story by Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe

Editorial:
“The Uncanny Valley” by Michael Damian Thomas

Fiction:
“The Lure of Stone” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (9/2)
“Whale Fall of Yours” by M. M. Olivas (9/2)
“The Caravan” by AnaMaria Curtis (9/2)

“The Shadow on the Nest” by Alaya Dawn Johnson (10/7)
“Seven Minutes in Heaven with the Electric Seraphim” by Juliet Kahn (10/7)
“Wend-Way-Go” by Tim Pratt (10/7)

“Brooklyn Beijing” by Hannah Yang (9/2)

Essays:
“Dream Journals” by Senaa Ahmad (9/2)
“Cat Physics, Deconstruction, and the Shape of Love” by LaShawn M. Wanak (9/2)

“The Evolution of the Vampire Image, from Nosferatu to Sinners” by Del Sandeen (10/7)
“Solace in Fantasy Monster Romances and My Trans Body” by Theo Kane (10/7)

Poetry:
“The Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu (9/2)
“Dreamscape with the Devil” by Dr. Taylor Byas (9/2)

“Caesar Says, Earthquakes Aren’t So Manifest From Space” by Jasmine Leng (10/7)
“Dear Saturn,” by Susan L. Lin (10/7)

Interviews:
Interview: Silvia Moreno-Garcia by Caroline M. Yoachim (9/2)

Interview: Juliet Kahn by Caroline M. Yoachim (10/7)

Podcasts:
Episode 66A (September 2): Editor’s Introduction; “The Caravan” by AnaMaria Curtis, as read by Erika Ensign; “Dreamscape with the Devil” by Dr. Taylor Byas, as read by Matt Peters; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing AnaMaria Curtis.

Episode 66B (October 7): Editor’s Introduction; “The Shadow on the Nest” by Alaya Dawn Johnson, as read by Matt Peters; “Dear Saturn,” by Susan L. Lin, as read by Erika Ensign; and Michael Damian Thomas interviewing Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Uncanny Magazine Is Looking for Submissions Editors Once Again!

Uncanny Magazine is currently seeking to add more Submissions Editors (often called slush readers). Uncanny is an online magazine that publishes Science Fiction and Fantasy and pays $.10 per word for new fiction. Our submission guidelines are here.

We will ask Submissions Editors to select unique and provocative, diverse, well-written stories from our unsolicited submissions for the Editor-in-Chief to consider for publication. Each Submission Editor will be responsible for reading about 90 stories per month on the Moksha system. (We try to respond within 30 days to submissions.) There is a small stipend for the position. You will be unable to submit stories or poems to Uncanny if you are chosen, and you can’t be an editor at another SFF magazine.

If you’re interested in joining Team Space Unicorn, please fill out our Submission Editor application form. We will be accepting applications until August 21, at 11:59 PM CDT.

Thanks!

“Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine Won the Shirley Jackson Award!

Fabulous news, Space Unicorns! The 2024 Shirley Jackson Awards winners have been announced, and “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine won the Best Short Fiction Shirley Jackson Award! Congratulations to Arkady, and to all of the phenomenal finalists and winners!

From the website:

Boston, MA (July 19, 2025) — In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

The Shirley Jackson Awards are voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics. The awards are given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Fiction, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.

The 2024 Shirley Jackson Awards were presented in-person on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at Readercon 34, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts.

“Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou Is a British Fantasy Award Finalist!

Fabulous news, Space Unicorns! “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou is a finalist for the Best Short Story 2025 British Fantasy Award! Congratulations to Eugenia!

From the British Fantasy Awards website:

After a crowdsourced suggestion list for eligible works, and then a period of public voting, the shortlist for this year’s British Fantasy Awards has now been confirmed.

These works will now be considered by a jury of peers, with the ultimate winners being announced at an awards ceremony at World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, held from 30 October to 2 November.

To be eligible, works had to have been published for the first time in the English language during the calendar year 2024, anywhere in the world, and must contain some speculative element—though we interpret ‘fantasy’ widely. More details in the awards FAQ, here.

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