2021 Fiction, Poetry, & Art
Four of my illustrations from various publications (detailed below).
I’ve never written an End of Year Round Up / Awards Eligibility post before. Writing takes a while to get from a daydream you're trying to wrestle into words and the actual story you hold in your hands. I'm thrilled these stories made their way into the world this year. All these stories (and a poem!) mean the world for me to be able to share with you all. There’s literary, fantasy, science fiction, and pop culture represented—a little something for everyone.
Almost all of these pieces are viewable online but if any nominating readers or editors would like to read my science fiction story “Experiment Ninety-Four” in Collective Realms Magazine*, published Winter 2021 but now out-of-print, I can provide a copy for you if you reach out to me via my Contact page.
Thank you if you consider voting for me, but just as big of thanks if you just take the time to read. More stories will debut in 2022. Meanwhile, I'm busy on two novels (one in its first draft, one in revision). I met my New Year's courage goal of FINALLY submitting a poem (I have five weeks left to sub nonfiction!)
It was a good writing year.
Short Fiction:
“A List of Everyone in the World” in Hypertext Magazine’s Winter Issue. A queer, nonbinary love story between a misanthrope and social butterfly.
“Experiment Ninety-Four” in Collective Realms Magazine*, January/February 2021. A science fiction short story featuring a boy alone on a space station, who yearns to escape and find his own path in life.
“Stitched’ in The Future Fire, July 2021. A feminist re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood for people who typically hate both that particular story and fairytale retellings in general. A queer and neurodivergent myth, it’s an exploration of an outcast driven to confront her own untamed nature. You can read Charles Payseur’s (Quick Sips Review) praise for the story here.
Poetry:
“Dear Scott” in the Marvelous Verses anthology, available for purchase in print or ebook here. Jean Grey breaks up with Scott Summers after he cheats on her with Emma Frost. Long overdue, tbh. Ascend to the astral plane and leave his ass. The poem is also featured online at The Daily Drunk magazine.
Art:
“Dawn Treader Station” in Collective Realms Magazine’s January/February 2021 issue.*
“Cara” and “Tethered” in The Future Fire’s July 2021 issue. You can read about the art, especially one of the pieces being an homage to beloved illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, here.
The entirety of the online issue for Hypertext Magazine’s Winter 2020/2021 issue, including three pieces which were nominated by the editors for a Best of the Net award in Art.
*Collective Realms shut down in June 2021 and the EIC took the site offline. The story is currently off on submission for a reprint market, but you can read the PDF here until then.