I had an entire space-themed newsletter drafted for this month, but there are more important things at hand.
As of September 4th, Amazon has discontinued the Kindle Newsstand. That means any and all periodical subscriptions, anything from poetry magazines to the New York Times, can no longer be purchased directly through Kindle. Instead, Amazon has moved choice titles to Kindle Unlimited, where the publishers are paid based on reading time instead of their usual subscription fee.
This is already having devastating consequences for the short fiction market. Backroom discussions have mentioned a 2/3 loss of income for some venues, and one magazine (Fantasy Magazine, which published my first pro-rate story) has already announced closing.
Speculative fiction magazines are not like the magazines you find on grocery store racks. They are typically volunteer-run, with any and all income directed to the writers and artists the magazine pays. Contrary to those grocery store magazines, speculative fiction magazines don't make that much money on advertising. Instead, they are kept afloat via subscriptions. And while some have successfully pivoted to annual fundraisers, many others are looking at financial ruin in the wake of Amazon’s decision.
What can you do? Well, you can subscribe to some magazines. And there's two easy ways to do it.
Option 1
Browse this website to explore titles in various genres and click-through to subscribe directly to the magazine.
Option 2
Visit Weightless Books for one-stop shopping. There you can essentially replace your Kindle subscription plans and have EPUB versions emailed to you each month.
Most of these magazines greatly undersell their value, and you can get half a dozen original stories, interviews, and novel sneak peeks for $3-4 per issue.
You'll likely see authors you recognize and get to discover new ones along the way. And I promise reading new short fiction is better than doomscrolling in bed. So, please consider treating yourself to some art.
Thanks for listening! Now back to our scheduled programming.
Writing News
My queer space gothic novelette, “Where the God-Knives Tread,” will be published in Lightspeed Magazine next month! It will run for free online as a two-part serial (in text and audio), or you can read it all at once by buying the issue upfront.
A deckhand and scholar scavenge the ruins of the imperial starship Thousand Dancing Beetles and unravel the mystery of its mythic disappearance.
This is my longest publication to date, and I can't wait to share it with all of you. I hope you're ready for ghost planets, lost shipwrecks, fallen empires, palace melodramas, mythic gods, legendary treasures, and much more.
To celebrate the release, I collaborated with artist Sou Alexander to create a promotional cover. I'm thrilled to offer you first look!
I’ll see you in October!
Cool Shit
SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE
In the mood for a space book? Space Opera Novels by Cisgender Women, Non-Binary, and Trans People is a public spreadsheet cataloging novels across different eras, with tabs for trans/non-binary books and planetary romance.
Writing a book, designing a video game, or planning a space-themed D&D campaign? Check out this spaceship generator.
The entirety of Babylon 5 is streaming free on Tubi. You heard me.
thanks for the reminder about Weightless Books!