Charm City Spec Official

No idea why, but Am*zon put our book on deep discount!

Get our kickass anthology IN PAPERBACK feat. stories by @matociquala.bsky.social @darylwriterguy.bsky.social and up-and-comers from @viableparadise.bsky.social FOR LESS THAN $5!

Go, now, before the algorithm changes its mind! a.co/d/0NE0fgO 📚🚀

Look what's coming!

Come hear C.S.E. Cooney read, along with a stellar program, at the next Charm City Spec!

Would love to have you read in Baltimore someday! ❤️

Pictured: The covers for In Sleep You Know and Cast a Shadow of Doubt by Christiane Knight against a brick wall backhground. Text surrounds the books and reads: Graffiti Magic, Toothy Maws, Sketchy Fae Bargains, Books That Give Advice, Musical Magic, The Fungus Among Us, The Power of Belief. christianeknight.com

Pictured is the cover for A Third Kind of Madness by Christiane Knight against the background of tentacle-looking objects on a black background. Text surrounds the book that reads: Awkward Sapphic Romance, Tendrils or Tentacles? Possessive Elementals, Fae Musicians, Greedy Paintings, A House With Opinions, A Dangerous Obsession. christianeknight.com

Even the grittiest blue collar city has a spark of magic under the surface. In Baltimore, you might find that magic around any street corner or darkened alley - if you know how to look.

Learn more at www.christianeknight.com
Or buy directly from the author at ko-fi.com/threeravensp...

Yes, that's right, I'mma gonna be doing a reading with some other very awesome folks. Stop by and hear me pretend to be a troll and a female detective as I read from chapter 1 of "Shadow of a Doubt," the first Mirabel Sinclair mystery.

Charm City Spec, September 6th, 2025, 6:30pm at the Ivy Bookshop, 5928 Falls Road in Baltimore. Our fabulous readers include: Alaya Dawn Johnson C.S.E. Cooney Jeff Reynolds Mary G. Thompson Andy Duncan Mike Allen

Corrected post for our upcoming September 6th show—going to be a blockbuster! Come early to assure a seat for the hottest show of the year!
#BaltimoreReads

Thank you! Hope you can make it!

I'd really appreciate it if you gave my books a moment of your time. Or put them on your bookshelf, or e-reader, or..
They've got serious stakes but also music and some fun banter, and are built on a strong backbone of folklore augmented by my own weirdo additions. And you'll love the characters.

Mark your calendars now—September 6th is going to be a new height for Charm City Spec, when our program includes:
Andy Duncan
C.S.E. Cooney
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Jeff Reynolds
Mary G. Thompson
Mike Allen
(!!)

If you're still considering your Hugo votes, I'd be honored if you'd consider my 'Three Faces of a Beheading' for short story!

Tuesday 7/29 at 6:00 pm at Moon Palace, book launch!

ONE WEEK ONE WEEK!!!!!

Last chance to preorder and get goodies!

moonpalacebooks.com/item/3Czr8Ta...

CCS alumnus @tobiascarroll.bsky.social has new work out today—please give it a read!

My story "The Hard Way" appears in the new issue of Tractor Beam! I'm very proud of this story, and it's set in Baltimore. Please give it a read!
#amreading #BaltimoreStories
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-ha...

Picked this up at @charmcityspec.bsky.social last week and I can't wait to read it.

congrats to all the contributors of this awesome anthology. this is so hopeful and revolutionary and good 🖤🖤

I mean, I'm sure it's not related to the fact that a bunch of authors from AMPLITUDES all read at the Charm City Spec last week... but it couldn't hurt, right?

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Some photos of CCS alumni Sunny Moraine reading her thought-provoking work from the AMPLITUDES anthology, June 7th 2025 at the Ivy Bookshop (actually the patio behind) in Baltimore.

Some snaps of Venessa Vida Kelley holding the audience rapt with her tail of merman romance, WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON, at the June 7th event.

M.M. Olivas reads Charm City Spec, June 7, 2025, at The Ivy Bookshop, 5298 Falls Road in Baltimore, 6:30 pm on the patio. EVERYONE is welcome!

Tonight's the night! Come out to hear the astonishing M. M. Olivas read, in a rare east-coast appearance! Along with a raft of other talent, appearing at the next Charm City Spec!

Black and white image of the author, Sunny Moraine.

Sunny Moraine’s short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Nightmare, and Uncanny, among other places, and they are the author of the novella Your Shadow Half Remains, published by Tor Nightfire. Sunny currently resides in Baltimore with two cats and one spouse.

Cover art for YOUR SHADOW HALF REMAINS, by Sunny Moraine. "Astonishing" Rachel Harrison

The Last of Us meets Bird Box in Sunny Moraine's Your Shadow Half Remains, a post-apocalyptic tale where eye contact causes people to spiral into a deadly, violent rage.

ONE LOOK CAN KILL.

"Engrossing and paranoid"

"Engaging and visceral"

"Sunny Moraine reads Charm City Spec" "The Ivy Bookshop, June 7, 6:30 pm, 5298 Falls Road, Only in Baltimore" Image is of a crow manifesting an oversized woman's eyeball in its wing and the side of its body.

Come thrill with us as Sunny Moraine reads, live, on the patio of the Ivy Bookshop, June 7th (Saturday) at 6:30 pm!

Sorry, wrong account, but what Chris said is correct—it's gonna be a great night!

Cover image of REDUNDANCIES AND POTENTIALS, by DOMINIQUE Dickey.

Dominique's novella Redundancies & Potentials is now available from Neon Hemlock Press. They live in the DC area, where they’re always on the hunt for their next idea. You can keep up with their work at dominiquedickey.com.

Photo of the author, a smile on their face. They wear a casual shirt with images of oranges.

Dominique Dickey is a speculative fiction writer and game designer. As the creative director of Sly Robot Games, they’ve created Plant Girl Game and Tomorrow on Revelation III. Their short fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed, and Nightmare. (cont'd)

Dominique Dickey Reads Charm City Spec The Ivy Bookshop, 5298 Falls Road in Baltimore, Saturday, June 7th, 2025, 6:30 pm (Image: A NASA astronaut spacewalks foreground; behind her, against a background of stars, a polychromic quantum gate yawns huge.

This Saturday! Dominique Dickey reads Charm City Spec! 6:30 pm in the garden behind the Ivy Bookshop—all are welcome!

Ivy Bookshop flier for the next Charm City Spec, June 7th 2025, 6:30 pm on the patio behind the Ivy, 5298 Falls Road in Baltimore. On the program to read: Sunny Moraine, Aysha U. Farah, M.'. Olivas, Dominique Dickey, and Venessa Vida Kelley!!

One week until the hottest Charm City Spec of the year! Come out and join us!

Black & white photo of a thoughtful-looking author.

Aysha U. Farah is an American game developer and science fiction writer who grew up in the DC/Maryland area.
Her credits include the Life is Strange Series, Homestuck, and Magic the Gathering, and she's been published in Uncanny Magazine and Anathema Magazine.

Aysha reads from AMPLITUDES, STORIES IF QUEER AND TRANS FUTURITY, edited by the formidable Lee Mandelo! All are welcome, and you'll be glad you came!