Authors in This Issue
“Death Benefits” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s novelette “The Nameless Dead” won this year’s Asimov’s Readers Choice Award, and she had two novellas in the top five of that category as well. It’s been a great award spring for Kris, as her story “Catherine The Great” won the novelette (in a tie) Derringer Award given by the Short Fiction Mystery Society. Readers can find “Catherine The Great” in WMG Publishing’s Holiday Spectacular Omnibus #5, which just came out this summer. Kris has been hard at work writing a lot of short fiction and working on the Qavnerian Protectorate side saga in her Fey series. The third book in that series, Incident at Serebro Academy, just appeared, with the fourth coming early in 2025. Today’s novella from Kris is a departure from all of that. “Death Benefits” explores the emotional fallout of never-ending wars, and somehow, finds a little bit of light in the darkness.
“Wildest Skies” by Sean Monaghan
Sean Monaghan’s short fiction has appeared in Pulphouse, Analog, and Landfall, among others. His Asimov’s Readers’ Award finalist novella “Goldie” was reprinted in The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 7, edited by Allan Kaster, and again in Forever Magazine edited by Neil Clarke. The yet-to-be-titled final volume in Sean’s twelve-novel series Karnish River Navigations is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2025. He tells us that it’s hard letting go of a series that’s grown with him over the course of a decade. Find him online at seanmonaghan.com and seanmonaghan.blog, and even occasionally on facebook.com/seanmonaghanauthor. Sean’s latest story for Asimov’s tosses explorer Ed Linklater into a strangely alien world of mystery and intrigue.
“Dreamliker” by Dominica Phetteplace
Dominica Phetteplace is a math tutor who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where many of her stories, including this one, are set. Her work has appeared numerous times in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld and Lightspeed, among other venues. Dominica’s latest tale for Asimov’s explores the potential (and drawbacks) of generative AI.
“Murder on the Orion Express” by Peter Wood
Peter Wood is an attorney in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lives with his very patient and forgiving wife. This is his fifteenth story for Asimov’s. Pete grew up in Ottawa, Canada, and Brandon, Florida, where he read science fiction and murder mysteries and watched great detective shows on TV like The Rockford Files and Columbo. He figured it was time to write his own whodunnit.
“Wápato” by Molly Gloss
Molly Gloss is the author of six novels as well as the short story collection Unforeseen. Her fiction has collected many honors and awards, including a PEN West Fiction Prize, a James Tiptree Jr/Otherwise Award, and a Theodore Sturgeon Award. ”Lambing Season” (Asimov’s, July 2002) appeared in The Best of the Best: Twenty Years of the Year’s Best Science Fiction. You can find Molly on Facebook and Instagram using her actual name.
“So Long in Miami” by Garrett Ashley
Garrett Ashley is the author of the story collection Periphylla, and Other Deep Ocean Attractions (Press 53, May 2024). His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Analog, Sonora Review, and The Normal School, among other places, and he’s always sending out his longer work. Garrett can be found on Instagram <gaashley89>, Facebook <garrett.ashley1>, and Twitter <GAAshley1>.
“Mere Flesh” by James Maxey
James Maxey <TWITTER: @JamesAllenMaxey> is the author of over twenty books of science fiction and fantasy. His most recent short story collection Life in a Moment, contains the story “Lonely Hill” that originally appeared in Asimov’s (November/December, 2022) as well as “Clockwork Melting,” his terraforming Venus story that was reprinted in the The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 8. His best-known novel series is the post-apocalyptic Bitterwood saga, where America is overrun by the large, toothy reptiles of the future. On his kayaking adventures throughout the coastal south, James has had several close encounters with the large, toothy reptiles of the present. If an alligator winds up with a starring role in his obituary, none of his friends or family will be the least bit surprised. None of us live forever, after all.
“The Start of Something Beautiful” by Zack Be
Zack Be is an author, obscure songwriter, and psychotherapist trapped in the Washington, D.C.-area gravity well. His fiction has appeared in Analog, Asimov’s, and Writers of the Future Vol. 36. His story “Locus of Control” was the winner of the 2024 Jim Baen Memorial Science Fiction Award, and he is the editor of the Inner Workings anthology, available now from Calendar of Fools. Music from his band Pretty Bitter can be found on all streaming platforms. More info about Zack’s writing and music can be found at <zackbe.com> or anywhere on social media @bezackbe.
“The Ledgers” by Jack Skillingstead
Jack Skillingstead <Facebook jack.skillingstead, X JSkillingstead, and bluesky @jackskill.bsky.social> is the author of three novels and more than forty short stories. Jack has been a finalist for both the Sturgeon Award for short fiction and the Philip K. Dick award for SF novel. His short fiction has been collected in two volumes. The title story of the newest collection, “The Whole Mess” (Fairwood Press, November 2023), first appeared in Asimov’s September 2016 issue.
“Deep Space Has the Beat” by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers, The Glamourist Histories series, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov’s. Mary Robinette, a professional puppeteer, lives in Tennessee with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Visit at maryrobinettekowal.com. Her latest story for Asimov’s takes us to a nightclub with innovative technology in its dance floor and a hacker determined to create scandal.