Ian Li

A Taste of Clean Water - Small Wonders She finds three droplets condensed on the back / of a solar panel leaf, tips one onto her sandpaper tongue,

Are you staying hydrated? "A Taste of Clean Water" by Ian Li is a reflection on something precious that we all too often take for granted:

Yay congrats!

That's very kind, thank you!

I was on the SFWA committee to create the first-ever Nebula Award for poetry and it is live for nominations. Deadline 3/1. Please nominate at least one poem! www.sfwa.org/2025-ne...

Table of contents for the February 2026 issue of Penumbric, at https://www.penumbric.com/currentissue/ToC.html

Thank you to all the contributors in February's #Penumbric! Kathryn Ptacek, Vekhan Sametyaza, @nershwood.bsky.social, Carl Scharwath, @kaidelmas.bsky.social, Viviana De Cecco, @ianli.bsky.social ...

www.penumbric.com/currentissue...

#reading #fiction #poetry #art #scifi #fantasy #horror #magazine

A view of the lunar landscape above which reads "Have you submitted your Rhysling nominations yet?"

SFPA members, there’s still time to nominate your favorite poems of 2025 for the Rhysling Awards! Nominations close February 15, so get yours in today!

Gentle reminder that at Orion's Belt, we are still looking for enthusiastic first readers to join us in March! If you love speculative literature, consider joining our starship!! 🚀🪐
Send us a brief cover letter and CV at orionsbelt.submissions@gmail.com ☺️
www.orions-belt.net/volunteer

Thanks so much!

Thank you, Suzan!

The Memory Technician - Small Wonders “Are you the Memory Technician?” The woman points to the neon sign. “Could you extract three memories for me?”

Oh, and you can read "The Memory Technician" at Small Wonders here: smallwondersmag.com/piece/the-me...

2025 Recommended Reading List Welcome to the Locus Recommended Reading List… We saw some fabulous books come out last year and are so pleased to let you know about them! Our recommendations are compiled annually by the Locus re…

A bit late to the party, but I can't believe that my little flash story "The Memory Technician" made onto the Locus Recommended List alongside all these incredible stories I've had the joy of reading this past year!

Small wooden circular table sits on a colorful striped rug. On the table is a copy of P.A. Cornell’s retrofuturistic noir love story SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL. The book is surrounded by a cup of tea, a bookmark, and a pair of reading glasses.

It’s my book birthday!
#Booksky
www.starsandsabers.com/books/shoesh...

✨ I’m excited to share that Orion’s Belt will reopen for submissions from March 1 to May 15! We’ll be seeking spec flash, micro, & poetry, as well as translations & reviews! Most importantly, our payment for poetry & art will increase. Follow us on this new adventure and for more exciting news! ✨

Friends!! Now that the fabulous @gessicasakamoto.bsky.social has taken the helm, @orionsbeltmagazine.bsky.social is on Bluesky!

We've got amazing plans for the year, including adding *reviews* and *a podcast*, both of which I'll be heading up!

We're so excited -- follow us and stay tuned!

January 2026 Monthly Market Report Hello, and welcome to a new Dream Foundry project. Every month we’ll be publishing a market report with data pulled from The Submission Grinder about market openings, closings, and other chan…

New collaboration between The Submission Grinder and @dreamfoundry.bsky.social : The Dream Foundry Market Report, a monthly report of speculative fiction/poetry publication updates
dreamfoundry.org/2026/01/26/j...

This might be just what you need today: "what spirits need on lonely nights" by Issue 16 contributor @ianli.bsky.social in Abyss & Apex

www.abyssapexzine.com/2025/06/what...

I get to be in THIS ANTHOLOGY with my trans warrior-priest and his absolutely sick as hell mount, Fionna, who is a lorge and very soft and lovely spider and the best girl yes she is!! Also the MC is a Rope Guy. You gotta preorder to find out how though www.neonhemlock.com/shatter-the-...

5-min distraction incoming: my sci-fi comedy flash-fiction "A Troubleshooting Guide to Your Flat-Pack Planet" is now out in Nature Futures. media.nature.com/original/mag...

Book Launch: P. A. Cornell's Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl | Bakka-Phoenix Books Science Fiction and Fantasy specialty bookstore since 1972

SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL takes place in an alternate, retrofuturistic Toronto, so it’s only right to have the book launch in our Toronto. If you’re in the general vicinity, you’re invited. Click the link to rsvp and reserve your book for signing.
www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com/events/42502...

Thanks Malina!

Surely one of these is eligible for something... I appreciate you considering my work!

It's in the name! "lands"

Barbershops of the Floating City - Uncanny Magazine Content note: child abuse   You used to be in a band. Now you cut hair. The Institute hired you because you’re the daughter of the Floating City’s Founder’s fourth mistress, the one who always cooks u...

I had 4 new short stories published this year but would be honored if you checked out these two for Nebula/Hugo/Locus consideration 🙏

1) “Barbershops of the Floating City” (fantasy)
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/barb...

2) “Brainstem Disco, 2191” (sci-fi)
clarkesworldmagazine.com/liu_05_25/

A picture of bioluminescent vein-like neon structures of fungi in soil with text of my awards elligible stories atop. Text reads (from top to bottom): Un-Pragmagic: A Tyler Moore Retrospective (fantasty; lightspeed magazine; 1500 words) In the Dream, He is Skinless and Beautiful (Horror; Weird Horror Magazine; 2300 words) The Eternal Life and Art of Maxwell Ardeen (Sci-fi; Asimov Press; 2000 words) How to See the Dead (Sci-fi; Asimov Press; 5000 words) Bird Burning (Horror; Adroit Journal; 5000 words Life on Earth (Sci-fi; Phano; 1700 words)

It is once again the season to make a poorly designed but earnest awards eligibility post for some of my fiction published in 2025! (links below).

2025 Awards Eligibility - Ian Li I'm fortunate to have a number of short stories and poems published in 2025. These are eligible for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, Ignyte, and Aurora awards, among

And for a complete list of my 2025 eligible stories/poems, I wrote up a post on my website: ian-li.com/2025-awards-...

Thank you to the wonderful publications who took a chance on my pieces, and thank you to anyone who has read any of it!

Hotel for the Dead — Orion's Belt When ochre mists descend, my grandparents ascend

"Hotel for the Dead" in Orion's Belt, July 2025 is a poem about a strange and beautiful hotel that the dead seek out

A Taste of Clean Water - Small Wonders She finds three droplets condensed on the back / of a solar panel leaf, tips one onto her sandpaper tongue,

"A Taste of Clean Water" in Small Wonders, Issue 26 is a poem about the feeling of encountering clean water in a post-climate disaster future

not tied down they say spacewalks are safer than ever

"not tied down" in Strange Horizons, 21 July 2025 issue is a poem contemplating our connection to wired vs. wireless technology. Inspired by a bit of nostalgia for our old family landline!

Old Brooklyn Magic - Nightmare Magazine I wanted to paint an eerie portrait of the Brooklyn Bridge area as I first experienced it, capturing both a feeling of wonder and unease, for any place with enough character and history can feel like ...

"Old Brooklyn Magic" in Nightmare, Issue 151 is a poem about the eerie magic of the Brooklyn Bridge area as it first captivated me

The Memory Technician - Small Wonders “Are you the Memory Technician?” The woman points to the neon sign. “Could you extract three memories for me?”

"The Memory Technician" in Small Wonders, Issue 21 is about a memory technician encountering kindness in a dystopian city where some pay to remove their bad memories and others sell their good memories to get by (~1000 words, sci-fi)

I'm proud of this one, and I hope it brightens up your day