Coming July 4th, the 53rd issue of the Hugo 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 August 1.

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

Uncanny Magazine Issue 53 Table of Contents:

Cover:
A Rest from the Hunt by Elaine Ho

Editorial:
“The Uncanny Valley” by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas

Fiction:
“SuperMAX” by Daniel H. Wilson (7/4)
“Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200” by R.S.A. Garcia (7/4)
“The Big Heavy” by Steph Kwiatkowski (7/4)

“Anything with a Void at the Center” by Lee Mandelo (8/1)
“Love at the Event Horizon” by Natalia Theodoridou (8/1)
“The Ghasts” by Lavie Tidhar (8/1)
“Theses on the Scientific Management of Goetic Labour” by Vajra Chandrasekera (7/4)

Reprint:
“The Music of the Siphorophenes” by C. L. Polk (8/1)

Nonfiction:
“Book Bans Won’t Take Away Our Voices” by Del Sandeen (7/4)
“House of the Dragon and the Empress Who Tried to Rule England” by Lizbeth Myles (7/4)

“Weirdos” by Suzanne Walker (8/1)
“The Matter of King Arthur on the Screen” by Natania Barron (8/1)

Poetry:
“As Does the Crow” by Beth Cato (7/4)
“First Eclipse: Chang-O and the Jade Hare” by Emily Jiang (7/4)

“an alternate universe in which Yemọja is my mother” by Sodïq Oyèkànmí (8/1)
“Eroticide” by Valerie Valdes (8/1)

Interviews:
R.S.A. Garcia interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim (7/4)

Lee Mandelo interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim (8/1)

Podcasts:

Episode 53A (7/4): Editors’ Introduction, “SuperMAX” by Daniel H. Wilson, as read by Matt Peters, “As Does the Crow” by Beth Cato, as read by Erika Ensign, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Daniel H. Wilson.

Episode 53B (8/1): Editors’ Introduction, “Love at the Event Horizon” by Natalia Theodoridou, as read by Matt Peters, “Eroticide” by Valerie Valdes, as read by Erika Ensign, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Natalia Theodoridou.

Stupendous news, Space Unicorns! “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You“ by John Chu won the Best Novelette Locus Award, and “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills won the Best Short Story Locus Award! Congratulations to John, Samantha, and all of the winners and finalists!

Once again, congratulations to the other Uncanny Magazine stories that were finalists: “Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold“ by S.B. Divya was a Best Novelette Locus Award finalist, “The Goldfish Man” by Maureen McHugh was a Best Short Story Locus Award finalist, and “The Coward Who Stole God’s Name” by John Wiswell was a Best Short Story Locus Award finalist.

You can find the list of all of the winners and finalists here!

Fabulous news, Space Unicorns!  “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills is a Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist! Congratulations to Samantha and to all of the finalists!

Press release below:

LAWRENCE, KS – 5 June 2023
for immediate release

This year’s finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction
story have been selected.

2023 Finalists for the Theodore A. Sturgeon Memorial Award

• “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills in Uncanny Magazine, Nov. 2022
• “In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird” by Maria Dong in Lightspeed Magazine,
Jan. 2022
• “Slow Communication” by Dominique Dickey in Fantasy Magazine, Feb. 2022
• “If We Make It Through This Alive” by A.T. Greenblatt in Slate/ Future Tense
Fiction, Jan 2022
• “Babang Luksa” by Nicasio Andres Reed in Reckoning Press, Feb. 2022.
• “Ten Steps for Effective Mold Removal” by Derrick Boden in Apex Magazine,
Sept. 2022
• “The City and the Thing Beneath It” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo in The Magazine
of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan/Feb. 2022
• “A Hole in the Light” by Annalee Newitz in Sunday Morning Transport, Oct. 2022
• “Toronto Isn’t Real and Other Metropolitan Anomalies” by A.D. Sui in Augur Magazine, Dec.
2022
• “Bonsai Starships” by Yoon Ha Lee in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Feb. 2022

The Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Gunn Center for
the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas, and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon. The
winner will be announced later this summer and will be presented with their award and a cash prize
as a guest of honor at our second annual Sturgeon Symposium (9/20/23 – 9/22/23).

For media contact:

Sturgeon Award Administrator
Gunn Center for he Study of Science Fiction
[email protected]

Fabulous news, Space Unicorns! “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu is a finalist for the Best Novelette Ignyte Award, and “In Stock Images of the Future, Everything is White” by Terese Mason Pierre is a finalist for the Best in Speculative Poetry Ignyte Award! Congratulations to them both!

It is a fabulous ballot! Congratulations to all of the finalists!

From the Ignyte Award website:

The Ignyte Awards Committee Is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2023 Igynte Awards. The Awards seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscape of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts towards inclusivity within the genre. To that effect, the committee feels that these creators, creations, entities and perspectives from 2022 present the brightest lights in speculative fiction’s future. We encourage you to seek out the nominees unfamiliar to you on this ballot. Engage with their works of fiction or acts of community, and use those experiences to inform your vote. 

You can vote for the winners from now through June 30th at 11:59 ET!

Outstanding news, Space Unicorns! FOUR Uncanny Magazine stories are finalists for the prestigious Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America! “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu is a finalist for Best Novelette, “Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold” by S.B. Divya is a finalist for Best Novelette,  “The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain” by Natalia Theodoridou is a finalist for Best Novelette, and “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills a finalist for Best Short Story!

Congratulations to John, Divya, Natalia, and Samantha!

It is an amazing list of finalists, many of whom are Uncanny authors and friends. Congratulations to everyone!

From The SFWA website:

The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023, that will stream live as it is held in-person in Anaheim, CA, as part of the 2023 Nebula Conference Online. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.

We have some bittersweet news, Space Unicorns. Nonfiction Editor Meg Elison has decided to move on from her Uncanny editorial duties after Uncanny Magazine Issue #51. Meg has been the Nonfiction Editor since Issue 44, and really left her mark in that role. As one of the best SF/F writers in the field, we know Meg is going to do more fabulous things in the future and wish her all the best.

Here is a message from Meg:

Dear Readers,

It’s been an honor to share nonfiction with you for the last year. I’m proud of the work I’ve done here, and I’m so glad to have been able to publish so many diverse and fascinating voices in that time. Every job is like a song; it might not be the best one you’ve ever heard, but it fills your heart right up when you and the crew and sing together. There’s a great crew running this place, and it feels good to walk away from the piano and listen to the song keep going.

Thank you for reading, for sharing, for adding the names of new writers to your mental rolodex and spinning the wheel when deciding what to read and who to nominate when awards season comes around. Sing the chorus now. A new verse is about to start.

Blessed be,

Meg Elison
Nonfiction Editor
Uncanny Magazine
2022-2023