One week from today, I’ll be doing the first quarterly virtual book recommendations event with the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts of this year. Unlike last year, I’ll primarily be focusing on fantasy books instead of fantasy and science fiction. There may still be the occasional science fiction recommendation, but I’ll mostly be featuring fantasy and author Elizabeth Bear is focusing on SF recommendations this year (and just did her first event last night!). I’ll be sharing these fantasy book […]

This week is the 2026 Strange Horizons Criticism Special, which includes a new essay and review every day, a podcast, an editorial, and a roundtable: “Giving Permission: A Roundtable on the Obscurity of Influence” with Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, Charles Payseur, Daniel A. Rabuzzi, and me. You can read the entire discussion here. Here’s a bit about the overall premise from the preamble: “We were seeking to identify a score or so authors who defy easy classification, whose unique style and/or […]

I’m delighted to have a guest post by Katie Hallahan to share with you today! She is the author of McKenna Ellerbeck, a contemporary fantasy series starting with The Twice-Sold Soul, which is described as a “queer fantasy romance set in a magical high school reunion” for “fans of Buffy and Charmed.” The second and newest book in her series, The Twice-Wanted Witch, is out in trade paperback and ebook today—and you can read more about some of her favorite […]

Once again, I have scoured the internet for information on speculative fiction books coming out this year and compiled a list of works I wanted to highlight. After looking through book descriptions, early reviews, and any available excerpts, I’ve put together a list of 18 fantasy and science fiction books coming out in 2026 that sound particularly compelling to me. (Of course, some of these did not require research since I had already enjoyed previous books in the series or […]

Happy (slightly belated) New Year! The past year was at least a great one for reading and book-related projects. I discovered two new favorite books ever (which means I also have a new favorite series), started doing quarterly virtual book recommendation events with the Ashland Public Library, and spent the later part of the year working on an interesting piece with some cool people that I’ll tell you more about later this month. As usual, I took the opportunity to […]

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along […]