Mari Ness, writer of things

ALL OF US MURDERERS, by KJ Charles, has a moment where the protagonist is all ENOUGH WITH ALL THE DRAMA I JUST WANT TO READ MY EDITH NESBIT BOOKS and talk about a moment where I identified HARD with a protagonist. HARD.

Here's a link:

www.3lobedmag.com/issue45/3lbe...

....I guess I could apologize for the harm here, but....

They’d given my mother exactly three more hours. I could have protested, of course. She had the credits — financial, green, and gray. An attorney easily could have argued that she was owed at least three more days. Maybe four. Maybe five. Enough to sample a few last meals, maybe go see what was left of the pyramids, try a few last moments on luxury on a floating island. I wasn’t even sure I could take the three hours.

Oof.

"Without Sunsets or Snow," by @mariness.bsky.social.

#labyrinthratreads2025

Full disclosure: I know very, very, very little about either British archaeologists OR Qumran, or, well, archaeology in Israel. My ignorance on these subjects is profound....

.....but I didn't think that particular conversation was particularly edifying.

YAY MORE PEOPLE KNOW HOW AMAZING THESE POEMS ARE

Oh, cool!

Fingers crossed!

(squeaks)

And from July 2025:

kaleidotrope.net/summer-2025/...

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...

And also from way back in January 2025 - remember January 2025? I know. I know! - my poem "Care for Lightning," in Uncanny:

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

The Quantum and Temporal Properties of Unresolved Love The Verona National Laboratory in Italy, specializing in tragic and unresolved love, was selected for all experimental work.

Right! Links! Important things:

Here are Massimo Mitolo's two experimental poems, working with form/structure, in Strange Horizons:

strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...

strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...

And I'd love to see more recognition for all of this amazing poetry.

So.....fingers crossed that the Los Angeles Worldcon will offer this category for 2026!

Other poets have also had AMAZING work published in 2025, especially in Uncanny, Strange Horizons and Reckoning.

(On a related note, Massimo Mitolo has had a poetry series up on Strange Horizons that definitely needs to be recognized by SOMEBODY besides me.)

"But Mari," I hear many of you say. "Given that you published a few speculative poems in 2025, isn't this just a TOUCH self-serving?"

Sure!

BUT

Given how many people voted in favor of that award (and endured the business meeting just for this vote), I'd love to see the Best Poem category in the 2026 awards, as well.

The creation of a PERMANENT Hugo Award for Best Poem can't happen until the next Worldcon business meeting, so....2027 at the earliest for the permanent award.

BUT.

This seems to be a good time to note that I'm still hoping that we will have a Special Hugo Award for Best Poem in 2026!

....on that note, I'm still kinda hoping that we will have that Best Poem category when Hugo nominations open in 2026. I know it won't be an official permanent category until the next business meeting, but...I'd still like to see that award in 2026!

oh, I didn't open anything - this is all thanks to the Seattle Worldcon for having a Special Hugo Award for Best Poem in 2025, and thanks to the various people who very kindly nominated "Ever Noir" for that award.

.....hopefully I haven't doomed speculative poetry translations for anyone else....

I'm hoping it's a positive sign for speculative poetry everywhere.

(I've never had a poem translated into any other language before, so....maybe?)

....I once endured a 20 minute lecture from someone who assured me that various "truths about Qumran" had been been completely squashed by a secret cabal of British archaeologists, only to find out that this was the first of many such lectures, so, yes, I feel you.

(squeaks again)

I'm kinda hoping that this is a positive sign for speculative poetry in general, too.

I realize that the term "VIP" can mean different things to different people, but "YOU'RE A VIP ENJOY EARLY BLACK ACCESS TO SHOES SHOES SHOES" still seems like a slight misuse of the term to me.

Ever Noir by Mari Ness, Haven Spec Magazine Fiction and Poetry for the 21st Century!

The original, in English, can be read here:

www.havenspec.com/ever-noir

I've had a couple of other things translated into various languages before - Polish, Dutch, Japanese - but I'm pretty sure this is the first thing I've had translated into Romanian, and definitely the first poem I've ever had translated to another language.

squeak!

Also, speaking of poetry, looks as if my poem "Ever Noir" is going to be translated into Romanian, which, I won't lie, is pretty exciting.

For me. Not for anyone else! But for me.

AND YET MY SATURDAY MORNING WAS FILLED WITH INFORMATION AND I AM SO MUCH THE WORSE FOR IT.

(if only to restore your faith not just in the English language, but in humanity in general.)