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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Happy to say that my story "Perfect Statues and Their Broken Shapers" is out from Cast of Wonders! It's a more classic fantasy story about a glass-shaper and his adopted son. Also available in audio!

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Happy to say that my story "Perfect Statues and Their Broken Shapers" is out from Cast of Wonders! It's a more classic fantasy story about a glass-shaper and his adopted son. Also available in audio!

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Went to my first literary festival today! Pretty cool experience. Went to a signing for the writer whose work brought me to short fiction, had some incredible food, saw the city for the first time in years. Good time.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Couple tidbits about this one: -It started as a homework assignment for a creative writing class (as did my BCS story "My Sincere Apologies For the Demon") -The original title was "The City Which Lies [DIRECTION] From [A PLACE UNNAMED] -It was originally second person, but that didn't work well

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

"At first I thought it a mirage. On leaving, I wished it had been." My story "The Unnamed City, As Seen at Three Points" is out in Adventitious! It's a bit Calvino and a lot my fear of dying towns, and it is now free to read! www.adventitious.net/stories/the-...

A drawing of a man standing in front of an open gate. In the distance sits a humanoid figure.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

PLEASE SHARE! Writers! Uncanny Magazine will be open for short story submissions from August 24 to September 7! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR AMAZING, HUMAN-WRITTEN STORIES! www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Apex Magazine and Book Company @apexmag.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

"In the hospital, they say my brain is melting out my nose. They don’t say it like that. They say I’m dying of a prion disease." 🦠🦌🧫 New fiction today by @anjbaker.bsky.social: "Cervidae, New and Sharp" Read it here: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

"Cervidae, New and Sharp" By Anj Baker. Apex Magazine, Issue 154.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

@adventitiouswords.bsky.social Issue Four is available to subscribers today, including my flash piece "The Unnamed City, As Seen at Three Points"! Lots of very talented people doing cool stuff in this issue, so check it out! Cover by Kevin McKie.

Cover of Adventitious issue four, featuring art by Kevin McKie. Art includes sci-fi versions of a frog, a caterpillar, a small quadruped creature that somewhat resembles a crab, and a robot or cyborg with a camera for a head, which is taking a picture with a handheld camera.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

VLAD-ventitious. @adventitiouswords.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Joining our Patreon today gets you access to Issue Four early + a bunch of cool goodies and potentially the chance of naming our lost astronaut mascot. We'll see. www.patreon.com/Adventitious...

patreon.com

Issue Four Is Here. | Adventitious

Join the expedition! There's a lot of world out there, and like this handsome froggy guy, it's all waiting for your eyes, ears, and other se

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

VLAD-ventitious. @adventitiouswords.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Leaky MindFluid™ reservoir in your MindVats® Brain Storage Vat™? No problem! Just this handy troubleshooting guide and problem solved! www.patreon.com/Adventitious...

patreon.com

The Stories and Authors of Issue Four | Adventitious

Troubleshooting Your Leaking Brain Storage Vat A MindVats® Support Document | Version 4.2.7 BEFORE YOU BEGIN MindVats® thanks you for trusti

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

R.S.A. Garcia (BUY THE NIGHTWARD) @rsagarcia.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

IT'S HERE IT'S HERE! My new story is up!! I'm proud to be in Clarkesworld again after a few years absence. I'm proud to be in the anniversary issue of the magazine's conception. I'm proud of taking ellipses back from AI 😉. Read it here: clarkesworldmagazine.com/garcia_07_26/

clarkesworldmagazine.com

This Is an Emergency Broadcast by R.S.A. Garcia

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

VLAD-ventitious. @adventitiouswords.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Introducing...the astounding cover for Issue Four (out Aug 1) by artist Kevin McKie! I've never seen anything like it. 😍📸 It's part of a larger graphic novel project Kevin is creating, which you can see on Insta. www.instagram.com/mckie.illust... He also sells prints! www.etsy.com/listing/4522...

A vintage-toned comic book-style magazine cover on warm terracotta-peach paper. The masthead reads "adventitious / Issue Four" in bold yellow-green lettering with a small teal astronaut figure perched on the letter "d." The main image shows a camera-headed robot's hand holding a large-format camera pointed directly at the viewer while in an overgrown, jungle-like landscape with yellow flowers and lush greenery. To the upper right, an inset panel depicts a stack of layered transparency sheets in blue, yellow, and teal, arranged in an exploded-diagram style. Below, three field-note-style panels with handwritten caption text (rendered in a fictional script) show: a crablike alien figure with an exposed brain struggling in a rocky orange landscape; a blue frog-like creature on a stick; and a close-up of a large caterpillar or larva with iridescent markings beside a dark egg or pod. The overall palette is muted and warm with pops of teal and yellow, evoking mid-century scientific illustration crossed with underground comics.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Small Wonders @smallwondersmag.com · 14/07/2026

The first line of "As You Were" by Adrian Ward grabs hold and doesn't let go. The rest of the story is just as gripping:

smallwondersmag.com

As You Were - Small Wonders

I remember you as you were: strong, beautiful, screaming that you didn’t want to eat Grandma.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Seems like a solid recipe, but have you ever considered adding a second fistful of commas and a splash of red wine? I find it really helps emphasize the characters' umami notes.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Happy to say that I have a story coming in next month's Adventitious! It's a quiet little piece. I hope it disquiets. (Also, that is one heck of a ToC. Very excited to be in such talented company.)

A man standing in front of an open gate. In the distance, at the end of a path, sits an enormous figure. Over the image is a banner with the text "The Unnamed City, As Seen at Three Points. Forthcoming Adventitious."

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Wanted to work on an older unfinished piece but couldn't find the outline. Taking it as the universe telling me I need to finish the current WIPs, which is a very sensible suggestion that I am choosing to ignore.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

-self i-mage and how grief affects it, and the resulting character work is bittersweet and beautifully done.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Highly recommend "u last saw hana in the mageverse". It's a grief story that does an excellent job digging into the lead's relationship with the deceased and how the lead's other relationships change in the aftermath. There's also a neat video game framing that ties together "avatar" and-

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

A little cyclops never hurt Nobody

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

khōréō magazine @khoreo.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Our Kickstarter is live! Help support another year of speculative fiction by immigrant & diaspora writers over at @Kickstarter. 🧡 With your help, we can keep funding our work, expand to regular author interviews, raise our artist pay, & more! Support us at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/kho...

Four khoreo magazine covers over an orange background.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Very happy to say that as of today, I'm up to three acceptances and four holds this year, which is as many acceptances and one hold more than I had in 2025. I have now jinxed myself by mentioning them, but it feels pretty good.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Clarkesworld @clarkesworldmagazine.com · 09/06/2026

Between now and October (our 20th anniversary issue), we're running a subscription drive and dedicating all new revenue toward improving pay for our staff, writers, artists, and contractors. Details on how to subscribe can be found here: clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/

clarkesworldmagazine.com

Subscribe to Clarkesworld Magazine

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The Strange Horizons Kickstarter to fund 2027 will begin on Sunday, 7 June, 2026! This is a critical time for SFF publications when the existence of venues publishing short speculative fiction, poetry and non-fiction is sometimes uncertain. We hope that you will keep us publishing for another year!

Strange Horizons annual Kickstarter
7 June 2026

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

We call pre-cut bread pre-cut because it is post cut The beauty of English

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Many thanks to @apexmag.bsky.social for this copy of Marie Vibbert's "Multitude" (and neat keychain!) Looking forward to reading!

A copy of Marie Vibbert's "Multitude" lying on a table, along with a keychain featuring a cuttlefish.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

It digs into the reasoning behind social withdrawal, especially given the current state of the world, and feels oddly understanding, if not necessarily sympathetic? Zhou Xiaoliang's views on a world he can no longer connect with were especially interesting.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I'm behind on this year's stories, but recently read and really enjoyed "Those Who Left History" by Wanxiang Fengnian (translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu). Very cool use of "mixed media" (diary entries, interviews, articles, etc.) and toying with time. clarkesworldmagazine.com/fengnian_03_...

clarkesworldmagazine.com

Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast. This page: Those Who Left History by Wanxiang Fengnian, translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu

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Reposted by Adrian Ward

Locus Magazine @locusmag.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

THE DEADLINE IS ALMOST HERE! Vote on or by April 1 in the annual Locus Awards Poll & Survey to determine the winners of the 2026 awards (tickets available now)! You can vote at poll.voting.locusmag... or via the link in our bio!

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It's such a strangely beautiful story. Glad to see her work and yours getting some recognition, at least in Clarkesworld's reader poll Tangential, but it's uncanny how often you both put out bangers in the same issue

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

2025 was an excellent year for short fiction, and there were many excellent stories that I haven't listed. Great time to be a short SFF fan. Here's to a great 2026!

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Despite the scope of the premise and number of interwoven threads, the focus on the main characters is absolutely top-notch, and the voice pulls an already excellent story together for a beautifully bittersweet finish.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The story jumps between the narrator’s conversations with a coworker on Pluto and the circumstances that led to her heart breaking, weaving in threads on mythology and “not-nos” and the history of Pluto.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“The Heartbreak Hotel on Plutonic Planet” by Carolyn Zhao (Strange Horizons, short story) In “The Heartbreak Hotel on Plutonic Planet”, getting your heart broken teleports you to Pluto, and breaking it again sends you back. strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...

strangehorizons.com

The Heartbreak Hotel on Plutonic Planet

I ended up on Pluto on the night of my nineteenth birthday, after breaking my own stupid heart. It wasn’t even over anything important.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It focuses on the resulting conflict between the narrator and her wife in a way that feels unusual for genre fiction, making for a unique story without an easy conclusion.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“Pandora’s Formula” by Hannah Yang (Strange Horizons, short story) “Pandora’s Formula” starts off with a formula for a human race-ending gas being published online, interrupting the narrator’s honeymoon. strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...

strangehorizons.com

Pandora's Formula

The formula for how to end the world got published the same day I married the girl who used to bully me in middle school. We found out about it the morning after, on the first day of our honeymoon …

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The investigation plot allows for a bit of a thriller, dealing with political and financial corruption, but the weaving in of the main characters’ personal ghosts, combined with vivid prose and a bit of humor, create a layered story that goes beyond its plot.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“Autogas Ferryman” by Champ Wongsatayanont (Nightmare issue 156, short story) After a Bangkok taxi driver who can see ghosts picks up the ghost of a hit-and-run victim, he becomes the witness for the investigation. www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/auto...

nightmare-magazine.com

Autogas Ferryman - Nightmare Magazine

Krungthep means “The City of Gods.” A much more charming name than the bawdy Bangkok that foreigners joke about. But to Somsak, it is the city of ghosts. He drives his taxi slowly along through the gl...

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

This one is tough to talk about without spoilers, but I loved the way it managed to combine an adventure story and a horror story while keeping the focus on the characters’ motivations. Bit of a weird shout, but the associated author interview was also an interesting read!

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“A Ten Thousand Year Survey Into Seven Stomachs of an Ishta” by Allison Thai (Apex issue 148, short story) An intergalactic adventurer armed with a spine-tapping parasite descends into the stomachs of a behemoth to collect research data. www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

apexbookcompany.com

A Ten Thousand Year Survey Into Seven Stomachs of an Ishta

This is Ronit Weiss reporting in for initial mission data entry before descent. Maw of the Ishta has been successfully located...

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

-and the back half’s use of second person plays into an interesting ending. There’s no need to read Tashiro’s older work to enjoy this one, but the way it toys with PoV is interesting to compare with the excellent “To Carry You Inside You“.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“Missing Helen” by @tiatashiro.bsky.social (Clarkesworld issue 226, short story) “Missing Helen” follows a woman whose ex-husband is marrying her clone. It’s a neat character study that does an excellent job in fleshing out the main character’s life- clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/

clarkesworldmagazine.com

Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

-that makes for a unique genre-blender that’s both narratively hefty and crackingly fun.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It’s an ambitious piece that examines familial pressures and medical coercion through the structure of a nonlinear murder mystery, and a multi-PoV story that develops an excellent pair of characters, but it’s the use of the mystery structure-

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe” by Tia Tashiro (Clarkesworld issue 220, novelette) “The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe” starts with the revival of an amnesic murder victim and snowballs from there. clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_01_25/

clarkesworldmagazine.com

The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe by Tia Tashiro

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It’s a powerful story, and one of my favorite flash pieces of the year.

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Adrian Ward @adrianwardwrites.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

“To Kill a Language” by Rukman Ragas (Apex issue 149, flash) “To Kill a Language” is a beautifully written look at how colonialism’s attacking of language and the resulting destruction of culture shapes subsequent generations. www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

apexbookcompany.com

To Kill a Language

⁠Content warnings 1. To kill a language, you must first rip it from living throats. Don't look so askance; you knew it already...

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