Fusion Fragment

Teltunget: Pattern of Speech by Tiffany Morris Raw amethyst glimmered dim purple along the rocky shore. The eternal rhythm of the waves knocked gently at the ground, a steady heartbeat lulling her eyes to close.

Ariel-bait vibe #1: language, light

Example story: "Teltunget: Pattern of Speech" by @tiffmorris.bsky.social in @talesfeathers.bsky.social

augursociety.org/teltunget-pa...

In prepping for the opening of Saros #5, @arielmarkenjack.bsky.social has provided me with a list of stories that are, and I quote, "in possession of impeccable Ariel-bait vibes".

Will post them periodically in this thread as we work towards our August 22nd opening date!

One by One My best friend’s desk was empty on Monday morning.

FFer Read of the Day: "One by One" by @lindzmcleod.bsky.social in @apexmag.bsky.social

www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

FF Reading Period Update: Finally catching back up!
17 stories undergoing additional reads (oldest from July 5th)
55 unread stories in queue
Oldest unread is from just after 10:30 PM Eastern on July 28th

2024 Submitter Survey Results

Navigation links on the 2024 Submitter Survey: Most common subgenres Top 10 subgenre comparisons Notable subgenre trends Most common story elements Top 10 story element comparisons Notable story element trends Length, tone, and "plottiness" Settings, narrators, and POV Final thoughts from the editor

A preview of the infographic for Apocalypse stories Apocalypse stories were our most frequent genre submitted in 2024, by a significant margin! The majority were post-apocalyptic stories in a post-climate change future. Apocalypse stories were rated generally above-average by the reading team, but were significantly less likely to elicit a neutral reaction and more likely to be either liked or disliked.

An infographic on stories that contain family dynamics as a primary story element. Tied for more common story element of 2024, family relationships featured in just over 30% of submissions. Family-centered stories finished in almost the exact middle of the pack in every single category analyzing our likelihood of enjoying the story.

Final touches in progress on the long overdue 2024 FF Submitter's Survey.

Guidelines for Saros #5 have arrived!

We open on August 22nd for stories 500-2500 words in length centered on the theme of Sound/Silence. Payment will be $25 CAD for both originals and reprints.

The period will stay open until we've collected 111 subs.

Full details at sarossf.com/submissions/

Issue #3 - Saros Speculative Fiction Edited by Em Arata-Berkel “Rewritten in Flesh” by Gio Clairval: obsolescence / biopunk / my body, my choice “The Ladder” by Cailín Frankland: funerary rites / forbidden keys / from underground “The Ne...

Which Saros #3 piece did Locus just put on its recommended stories list? You'll have to go check out their August issue to find out!

Or grab yourself a free copy of Saros #3 and see if you can guess! sarossf.com/issue-3/

Issue #3 - Saros Speculative Fiction Edited by Em Arata-Berkel “Rewritten in Flesh” by Gio Clairval: obsolescence / biopunk / my body, my choice “The Ladder” by Cailín Frankland: funerary rites / forbidden keys / from underground “The Ne...

Which Saros #3 piece did Locus just put on its recommended stories list? You'll have to go check out their August issue to find out!

Or grab yourself a free copy of Saros #3 and see if you can guess! sarossf.com/issue-3/

My every-couple-months reminder: FF is always bringing in new submissions readers. Details in the quoted thread!

ergot. innovative + experimental horror

FFer Read of the Day: "Light of the Savior" by @benlockwood.bsky.social in @ergot.bsky.social

www.ergot.press/authors/Ben_...

Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Cry, the Carob King by Thomas Ha Two tall apparitions bent by a small one, cooing and brushing at its head. I don’t know what the glob thought, but I took those to be something of a young family, or their shades at least. The glob’s ...

FFer Read of the Day: "Cry, the Carob King" by @thomasha.bsky.social in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social

www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/cry-...

Check out Kelly's shop at: kellyknowles.art/collections/...

This Neuromancer triptych is one of the first things I bought when I was decorating my new home office a few years back. It greets me every morning when I sit down in the morning to read FF subs.

Parts of the covers of A Terror of Stars (a skull of glowy butterflies!) and Queen O'Nine Tails (a red hand brandishing a cat o'nine tails!) with highly effective marketing text that says GIVEAWAYS! FFer PUB CELEBRATION TIME!

If you were a member of the FF Patreon crew you could be celebrating FFer pubs by entering a draw for free stuff, including your choice of A Terror of Stars by @alexandraseidel.bsky.social or Queen O'Nine Tails by @lindzmcleod.bsky.social, or lots of great SF mags!

www.patreon.com/posts/jan-fe...

Support African Translation Project African Translation Project; Current Goal: $2500 - to begin translation of: I thought it was going to rain / Bengithi Lizokuna by Nakanjani G. Sibiya, Translated by Sifiso Mzobe.

What this is: We're trying to pay translators to translate books from non-colonial African languages into English.

What we need:
- People to talk about the project

How else you can help:
- Donate $ (any amount is fine)
- Buy art from the shop
- Donate art to the shop

ko-fi.com/africantrans...

Handsomest Gentlest by M. R. Robinson, Haven Spec Magazine Fiction and Poetry for the 21st Century!

FFer Read of the Day: "Handsomest Gentlest" by @mruthrobinson.bsky.social in @havenspec.bsky.social

www.havenspec.com/handsomest-g...

"Morpho" by Lynn Hutchinson Lee At sunrise the new mother awoke to the trilling and whooping of birds, and then a new sound: the crash of a tree to the forest floor. Then another. The faint shouts of men, distant grind of machinery. A silhouette appeared from the place of these voices, and she sickened. The butterflies, though, were unaware, and fluttered hungrily from tree to tree.

From the FF Vault: "Morpho" by @lynnhutchinsonlee.bsky.social in FF#19

If you're in the mood for:
-butterflies
-billionaires getting their comeuppance
-underground bunkers
-stolen children
-poking robots in the eye

www.fusionfragment.com/issue-19/

PseudoPod 963: Mavka You pray to forget this. You pray to forget the cold. Even under two wool blankets you’re always cold now. Skin and bones, you. A February moon hangs high in the starless sky when Andriy slips on the…

FFer Read of the Day: "Mavka" by @thesuiway.bsky.social in @pseudopod.org

pseudopod.org/2025/02/21/p...

Albums on repeat at FF HQ #1: Cari Cari - Anaana #2: Braids - Deep in the Iris #3: Tess Parks - Pomegranate #4: Darker - The Buried Storm #5: Dream Nails - Doom Loop

Sunday night playlist: Five songs from the albums that powered the production of FF over the last week, courtesy of Cari Cari, Braids, Tess Parks, Darkher, and Dream Nails.

Playlist here: youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The cover is mostly blue, with the tail of a fish shown prominently (spoiler alert: it's a mermaid).

34. All the Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva

magical realist stories / broken and breaking relationships / hands

Care for Lightning - Uncanny Magazine Sure, she sent those heavenly snakes to slither into that hand-hewn crib, and slide along that baby’s skin. And sure, she sent those stinging insects against that cow, turned that one girl into a bear...

FFer Read of the Day: "Care for Lightning" by @mariness.bsky.social in @uncannymagazine.bsky.social

www.uncannymagazine.com/article/care...

David Cleden is forever trying to find new ways to warp the contents of his physics degree in the service of storytelling. His fiction has appeared in Analog, Interzone and several “Best of” anthologies, among other places. In his spare time, he strives to keep a rampant garden in check but the bindweed battle was lost long ago David’s recs: Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

David's work has appeared in Interzone, Analog, and @metaphorosis.com, just to name a few.

In addition to reading this fantastic novelette, in the pages of FF#25 you can also find out why David recommends works by Iain M. Banks and @emilymandel.bsky.social

www.fusionfragment.com/issue-25/

“THE GLASS OCEAN” by DAVID CLEDEN The gravestones are there all right, markers for all those lost to the Glass Ocean. But every single one of those graves is empty. The Ocean likes to keep what it claims. THE GRIEF OF THE HARBOR MASTER / LOST LOVE / A SEA OF SAND

Story #7 in FF#25 is "The Glass Ocean" by @davidcleden.bsky.social. David's beautifully realized Kryst, a small island in an ocean of (not-)sand, plays host to a tale of self-reckoning, old grudges, and lost love.

www.fusionfragment.com/issue-25/

Saros SF Issue #5 Editor: Ariel Marken Jack. Along the bottom is a graphic of what looks like maybe a seismometer or polygraph reading or sound waves.

Happy to announce that Saros #5 will be helmed by @arielmarkenjack.bsky.social. Their fiction, reviews, and interviews have appeared in FF, Interzone, PseudoPod, Strange Horizons, and Year's Best Canadian F&SF!

Guidelines for the sub call are coming soon (and maybe the graphic can help you guess!)

Dare Seize the Fire, Jennifer R. Donohue This isn’t how I’m supposed to die.

FFer Read of the Day: "Dare Seize the Fire" by @authorizedmusings.bsky.social in @thefuturefire.bsky.social

futurefire.net/2025.73/fict...

FF Reading Period Update!
15 stories undergoing additional reads (oldest from June 28th)
104 unread stories in queue
Oldest unread is from just after 12 PM Eastern on July 15th

Through These Moments, Darkly by Samantha Murray Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

FFer Read of the Day: "Through These Moments, Darkly" by @samanthamurray.bsky.social in @clarkesworldmagazine.com

clarkesworldmagazine.com/murray_04_25/

depending on their contracts. From the mag side, though, I can say you'd want to look at the exclusivity periods--for example, I buy exclusive rights to your story for a period of six months post-publication.

(All that assumes you're making minimal changes to the story in expanding it, btw.)

I don't have a ton of familiarity with novel-length publishing contracts, so I'm afraid I can't give you an answer with any degree of certainty here, but my educated guess is that yes, having previously published an excerpt may impact your eligibility with some publishing houses, (cont..)

FF#26 cover. A woman's face, surrounded by broken shards of mirror and a few fragments of Noh masks. Each mirror contains a different eye. Above, two evil looking eyes peer down on the scene. Everything's rendered in light and dark blues.

The beautiful FF#26 cover by @evelynepark.bsky.social is here! In a few months, you'll get to read stories by @thesuiway.bsky.social, @slharris.bsky.social, @straith.ca, @leokaaolive.bsky.social, @eggandcressida.bsky.social, @nkereuwxm.bsky.social, Emma Russell-Trione, and Nana Afadua Ofori-Atta!