http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/short stories http://io9.com/tag/short stories

MIT's venerable science and technology magazine, Technology Review, has just published a gorgeous one-off issue devoted to science fiction that's inspired by "today's emerging technologies." Called TRSF, the issue acknowledges the strong connections between science and its fictional counterpart — and showcases short stories by some of the best writers in the field. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5851416&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you love the John Carpenter version of The Thing and are dreading the remake coming to a theater near you, or if you just love stories that successfully represent a truly alien point of view, then you need to read Peter Watts' Hugo-nominated story "The Things." It's the John Carpenter flick, but from the point of view of what humans call "the thing" — a creature who has a hive mind, and knows no boundaries between itself and everyone else. Watts is the author of the novels Blindsight and Starfish, and "The Things" is one of the best stories you'll ever read by the master of scifi mindfuckery. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5849758&view=rss&microfeed=true

For the entire 21st century so far, Strange Horizons has been publishing amazing science fiction short stories, essays, reviews, art, poetry and more — they are the longest-running science fiction magazine online, and they make all of their content available to you for free. This all-volunteer organization has given us many afternoons of delightful reading, and now it's time to give back. That's right — it's the annual Strange Horizons fund drive. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5845154&view=rss&microfeed=true

You probably already think you know why immortality is a bad idea — after all, Torchwood just got done showing us, and there's a whole complicated computer model of why immortality would suck. But trust Ursula K. Le Guin to make immortality seem terrifying all over again. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5844494&view=rss&microfeed=true

Lightspeed recently republished a classic story by Carolyn Ives Gilman, "Frost Painting," about a mysterious art colony in Montana that the locals say is inhabited by aliens — or maybe humans who have become alien. It's also the tragic, wistful story of an art critic who falls in love with an artist whose greatest works are designed to disappear. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5813122&view=rss&microfeed=true

To celebrate the publication of award-winning author Michael Swanwick's new novel Dancing with Bears (Night Shade Books), we're running Swanwick's complete short story "The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport." It's a story about Darger and Surplus, the protagonists in Dancing with Bears, and was originally collected in Swanwick's short story collection, The Dog Said Bow-Wow,, from Tachyon Publications. Like what you read? Join the Darger and Surplus Caravan and read more adventures from Michael Swanwick by joining the Night Shade Books newsletter before May 28th. By joining the newsletter you will have access to more Darger and Surplus stories and the opportunity to enter to win a copy of Dancing With Bears. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5802446&view=rss&microfeed=true

And the 2011 Nebula Award Winners are: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5804377&view=rss&microfeed=true

Despite its name, the Eclipse anthology series is always luminous. And a new installment of Eclipse is always something to celebrate. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5801102&view=rss&microfeed=true

Apex Magazine has just published my short story about a young materials scientist who develops a very peculiar superpower: vaporizing cars. It's called "Twilight of the Eco-Terrorist." More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5798290&view=rss&microfeed=true

I recently urged my friends on Twitter to consider writing a version of H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains Of Madness" from the perspective of a shuggoth slave rebellion. Which resulted in many people reminding me of Elizabeth Bear's incredible novelette, "Shoggoths In Bloom," which originally appeared in Asimov's and won the 2009 Hugo for best novelette. Now you can read this weird tale of the Old Ones' polymorphous slaves in World War II - it's free on Bear's website. There are no slave rebellions here, but there's a horrific apprehension of what it means to be both monster and slave. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5780439&view=rss&microfeed=true

Cat Rambo has just published a terrific story over on Lightspeed magazine, called "Long Enough and Just So Long." It's a spiky, bittersweet character study of two best friends, and how their relationship is changed when they meet a recently-liberated sexbot on the Moon. Rambo's hardscrabble future, set in space colonies that are still developing, seems to emerge organically from the strange love triangle that forms between the characters. If you like stories about the brokedown posthuman future, and characters who are as memorable as the worlds they inhabit, you should check it out. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5778090&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you need small bursts of weird diversion, you'll want to read the short story that author Matthew Battles is finishing on Twitter today and tomorrow. He welcomes feedback on this uncanny tale of narwhals and neural hacking. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5743512&view=rss&microfeed=true Fans of the science fiction newsletter Ansible already know the joys of "Thog's Master Class," a recurring column featuring bad SF prose from famous sources. Now you can get all the joys of Thog with just one click. Over at the Thog website, there's a little tool called the Thogomatic for pulling up a random Thog's Master Class column, each with several lovely bits of awfulness contained therein. Here's a great (random) sample: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5738083&view=rss&microfeed=true

What better time to reflect on the many faces of dystopia than during this season of forced cheer and celebratory masks? That's why we're reading io9 podcast host John Joseph Adams' latest anthology, Brave New Worlds. Here's an excerpt. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5714318&view=rss&microfeed=true

After the water wars, and the fall of the cities, one young woman becomes an astronomer - and has the chance to save humanity. In this new story from Genevieve Valentine, we get a poetic look at the dying Earth. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5697756&view=rss&microfeed=true

Why can't stories about the future be more optimistic? The Shine anthology presents uplifting visions of the world to come. Check out an exclusive excerpt, "Castoff World" by Kay Kenyon. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5689271&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's the ten-year anniversary of Strange Horizons, one of the longest-running and best science fiction magazines online. If you like to read quality SF short stories online, please consider donating to them! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5683449&view=rss&microfeed=true

Pulp historian Jess Nevins, author of Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana, takes you deep into the weird history of the scifi pulps, 1900-1950. Get ready for amazing science and astounding adventure! This is the first in a series on the pulps. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5680191&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ali once fought on the side of the Free Shi'ah Anti-Crediteers in a war over global credit. But now he just wants to save his dying wife, and figure out the messages he's getting from his glitchy brain implant. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5679174&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you're looking for a quick, spooky read — or twenty — this Halloween weekend, check out Split Lip, a horror anthology webcomic, where you'll find dozens of chilling tales spanning the myriad subgenres. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5677185&view=rss&microfeed=true

Award-winning short story writer Eileen Gunn, author of Stable Strategies and Others, is publishing a series of four flash fiction stories over at Tor.com, written in the style of classic steampunk tales. The first is "A Different Engine." More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5676733&view=rss&microfeed=true

I have a huge unfair advantage over other struggling fantasy authors, because I've read Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle. Beagle gives a storytelling masterclass, and plants images in your head that you'll carry around for ages. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5667226&view=rss&microfeed=true

Tony from Hugo-winning podcast StarShipSofa writes in to tell us about a new anthology collecting stories originally read on the podcast. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5665041&view=rss&microfeed=true

You might think there's a limit to how weird Rudy Rucker or Bruce Sterling can get, but when they team up, their combined weirdness limit rises exponentially. Witness their strange, unsettling — and highly quotable — story "Good Night, Moon." More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5663543&view=rss&microfeed=true

What happens when scientists at sea discover a mermaid? Helen Keeble's gorgeous short story about this strange meeting has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and now you can read it for yourself. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5658526&view=rss&microfeed=true

A few years ago, Alan Jaras told a science fiction story on Flickr, using images of crystals he'd photographed under a microscope. He called it MicroWorld. Here are a few of the breathtaking images and the incredible tale they tell. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5651430&view=rss&microfeed=true

In this week's issue of The New Yorker, Sam Lipsyte's "The Dungeon Master" follows a group of teenagers who roleplay with a creepy, autocratic DM. The hilarious but jarring story illustrates how totally arbitrary dungeon-mastering can ruin a game. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5649325&view=rss&microfeed=true

Every Thursday, io9ers flock to the Thursday Tales page to share their flash fiction, get feedback, and talk about writing. Now one io9er has created a searchable archive of the stories people have posted. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5639969&view=rss&microfeed=true

A new issue of Rudy Rucker's scifi magazine FLURB went live yesterday, and it's full of great free stories from Bruce Sterling, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Carter Scholz, Madeline Ashby, and more. Plus, my story "The Gravity Fetishist" is there too! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5628702&view=rss&microfeed=true

All of Mark's friends are moving away, and his dog is dying. As summer fades, he takes a trip to the beach to visit his friend Charley, the alien. The one with great weed, and a gift for resurrection. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5626790&view=rss&microfeed=true

Lately you may have noticed that hard SF is starting to break the rules. Writer Jason Sanford identifies this as the emerging "SciFi Strange" subgenre, and he's curated a list of free stories online that make SF a lot stranger. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5617935&view=rss&microfeed=true

In a society where only unborn fetuses have souls, people who grow up are chattel called "arvies," doomed to be controlled by biotech superfetuses from inside their wombs. But what happens when a fetus wants to have a baby? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5616142&view=rss&microfeed=true

What was life really like for people who worked on zeppelins back in the nineteenth century? Was it all swashbuckling adventure, or were they helium-poisoned prisoners of the sky? In her incredible new short story, Genevieve Valentine has the answer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5591303&view=rss&microfeed=true

Carol Emschwiller, author of Carmen Dog and The Mount, has published an incredible new short story over at Lightspeed. It's about the history-altering friendship between a young woman and an awkward, mysterious newcomer who moves into town. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5581085&view=rss&microfeed=true

Over at Strange Horizons, Kyri Freeman's short story "Out of Sombra Canyon" takes two biologists to a remote canyon, where they're tracking the rare Green Tailed Hummingbird. What they discover is much more disturbing than an endangered species. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5575643&view=rss&microfeed=true

A lot of scifi transports us to a future world of high-tech plenitude. But in Carrie Vaughn's short story "Amaryllis," we get a more realistic future where human life is restricted to preserve the environment. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5570878&view=rss&microfeed=true

In the latest story posted on Lightspeed Magazine, Jack McDevitt imagines that the 1969 Moon landing wasn't the first. In fact, somebody else was there before we were - and NASA has been covering it up. Check out the story! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5558437&view=rss&microfeed=true

Indie SF publisher Prime Books is publishing a new online magazine of science fiction and essays called Lightspeed. Edited by John Joseph Adams, formerly of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed aims to "push the envelope." Now you can read it! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5552860&view=rss&microfeed=true

Life as a miner in the asteroid belt is rough and ugly. But then you score enough nickel to get all your friends drunk at a bar on Ceres, and things start looking up. Until they go downhill fast. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5481560&view=rss&microfeed=true

Legendary editor Ellen Datlow has whipped up something evil and fun for SF/fantasy fans who are drawn to cats. Her new anthology, Tails of Wonder And Imagination, is devoted entirely to felines, and they aren't exactly your cutesy wufflemuffins. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5470913&view=rss&microfeed=true