Catherine Tavares

@cjtavares

SFFH Author | Winner-Apex Reader's Choice Award | SFWA & Codex Member | Bibliophilic ghost haunting libraries | she/her Work forth/in Apex, The Dark, Heartlines, Small Wonders, Flash Point SF & more Links:

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Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· 29d

I was digging around my knitting basket, and clearly I need to do that more often because I found this half finished...something. No idea what I was working on, but it was a nice basketweave stitch, and I needed the needles for something else, so I decided to finish it by turning it into a headband!

Navy blue knit headband in a basketweave stitch and shaped like a bow.

Close up of the navy blue headband to show off the basketweave stitch.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Jun 9

I can't express enough how much I need this anthology to exist. Thank you to everyone who has backed it thus far; you are amazing! Let's keep it going and get some awesome found media fiction into the world! 📺📻📼➡️ www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...

Meme from Brooklyn 99 of Captain Raymond Holt, a middle aged Black man in a police uniform, looking unamused and asking, "Why is [RECORDED] not funded yet?" on the left panel and continuing on the right panel with, "I specifically requested it."

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· May 11

Plum & Cardamom Galette! It's a little early in the season for plums, and that came through with not as much flavor. But it's a great combo still and easy to make. Nice, quick weekend dessert.

Plum and cardamom galette. Sliced black plums are arranged in a concentric circle on top of a golden brown pie crust.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Apr 25

Me: It's Indie Bookstore Day! I'll just buy one book as a little treat. Me, two minutes later:

An online shopping cart symbol with a cart contents circle reading 99+

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Mar 20

My tradition of making a fruit themed baby beanie for my friends' babies continues, this time with a peach to go with the baby's name of Georgia. 🍑

A knit baby beanie in the shape of a peach. The body is a pinky orange (peach) color and there is a brown stem and green leaf sewn to the top

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Mar 16

Pi(e) Day food! I made a banana cream pie and while the filling didn't quite dry it was still fantastic. But the deep dish pizzas were perfection! Pepperoni for the meat eaters and mushroom jalapeno for me (I basically ate half that pizza on my own!) Overall, a great way to celebrate!

Banana cream pie decorated with a dusting of cinnamon and peanuts and sliced bananas around the edges.

Aerial shot of a mushroom and jalapeno deep dish pizza showcasing the red sauce, melted Parmesan cheese, and a little half mushroom and jalapeno piece to denote the inside.

Aerial shot of a pepperoni deep dish pizza showcasing the red sauce, melted Parmesan cheese, and a single slice of pepperoni on top to denote the inside.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Feb 27

Aaaaahhh!!! I still can't quite believe that "Ghosts of Summer" won the Reader's Choice Award. Thank you again Apex readers!!! This means the world to me! 💛 (Also a moment of appreciation for my little rainbow ribbon twirler. I spin that around when I'm thinking. It's very pretty. 🎀🌈)

Certificate for Ghosts of Summer winning the Apex Reader's Choice Award for Best Original Fiction. The certificate is patterned with a colorful space scene in the background and is in a black and gold rectangular frame standing on top of a black shelf. A rainbow ribbon twirler is stuck to the top left corner of the frame.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Feb 26

(obviously meant to post these around Valentine's Day but...I forgot.) Anyway, behold my fruit platter and hand pies from the holiday celebration! There was more food there, but it wasn't cute and heart shaped so it didn't get a pic. ♥️😁

Fruit platter of apples, pears, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries in the shape of a heart.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Feb 21

Aahh! "Ghosts of Summer" won the Apex Reader's Choice Award for original fiction!!! 🥹☺️ Thank you so much to @apexmag.bsky.social for giving my story its home. And to all the readers-your support and delight for this story means the world. Thank you!💖

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Feb 9

It's here! It's here! My copy of @cornellwriter.bsky.social's brand new book SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL has arrived!!! It's so gorgeous! And next to LOST CARGO 😍🔥 Snag your own copy from wherever you get your books and check out all of Cornell's work via her website.

Inside art by Ahmed Raafat for P.A. Cornell's book Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl showing a retro style car and train with the cation Visit Toronto.

Front cover for P.A. Cornell's book Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl showing the two main characters glancing at each other in front of a retro-futuristic Toronto. Cover art is by Kim Herbst.

Back cover of Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl.

Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl next to P.A. Cornell's other book Lost Cargo.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Jan 30

I am slow but this is my first time only making one mistake.

Screenshot of Clues by Sam January 30th 2026 Tricky level puzzle results showing a 5x4 grid of squares. All squares are green except for the one in column two, row three, third one down which is yellow indicating a mistake was made. Below the grid are the words "solved in less than 15 minutes."

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Jan 20

And in perfect timing, my contributor copy of Issue 9 also came this week!

Cover of Heartlines Spec Magazine issue 9. The image depicts a two lane highway set against a bright pink sky. On the side of the road is a tree with red leaves and two ghosts stand beneath it.

First page of my story "At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines." The cover art is of Chester Cheeto, a cartoon cheetah wearing sunglasses.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Jan 16

Coming soon! My second ever nonfiction essay will be published with @interstellarflight.bsky.social: "A Great and Terrible Comfort: How Horror Became My Cozy Genre." Find out on Feb 6 how I came to love horror as a reader and a writer.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Jan 3

Contract signed and I am thrilled to share that my short story "Hunter Mother Sailor Wife" will appear in @adventitiouswords.bsky.social!!! Get ready to join retired kraken hunter Cara on the high seas as she tries to balance monsters and motherhood! 🦑

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 31

One last contract signed for 2025, and I get to reveal the sale of my horror debut: “The (Mis)Fortunes of Saint Ilia’s School for Gifted Girls, In No Particular Order” will be featured in The Dark Magazine!

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 31

I read 65 books in 2025 and here are just some of my favorites (the novella clearly had a moment for me this year!). Highly recommend you check out all of these books for yourself, as well as the other works by these amazing authors. (Titles and authors threaded/in the alt text.)

3x3 grid of the following books:

The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui
The First Thousand Trees by Premee Mohamed
Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou
Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
American Hippo by Sarah Gailey
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 29

A look back on all my publications this year: (Titles and magazines threaded and in the alt text.)

A graphic of all the magazine covers that I have published work in this year, organized in a pyramid style. The following is a list of the story and magazine titles pictured here:

“At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines” in Heartlines Spec

“Lago das Estrelas” in Short Edition

“Hotcakes at the End Times” in Nature Futures

“Draconis astronomus” in Trollbreath Magazine

“Ghosts of Summer” in Apex Magazine

“Carrots and Sticks” in Anomaly

“A Psalm of Blood and Water” in Dark Hearts anthology

“Of Wolf and Woman” in Flash Point SF

“It Takes a Galaxy” in Phano Magazine

“Butt in the Chair” in Planetside

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 14

Gifts from a friend! My bookshelf is 1000x cooler now with THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST by @premeemohamed.com and AMERICAN HIPPO by @sarahgailey.bsky.social on it.

Two books face up on a tan desktop: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed and American Hippo by Sarah Gailey.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 8

It's a double feature announcement day because I am also thrilled to share that my short story "Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Cafe" will be featured in @translunartl.bsky.social!!! Come for the pastries, stay for the love that transcends space/time.💗

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 8

I'm so sorry, I forgot to post this earlier and y'all have been missing out on this pun this whole time: I'll see you in Hell...Itself Magazine! My story "The Goblin on My Shoulder" is forthcoming in @hellitself.bsky.social and I am so excited both for everyone to read it, and for the hell puns! 😈

The Goblin on My Shoulder forthcoming in Hell Itself Magazine: Speculative Fiction No One Else Would Publish. There is a silhouette of a woman and on her shoulder is a ghostly image of a goblin smiling wickedly.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 7

Banana chocolate cake!!! 🍌🎂 Big thanks to @effies.bsky.social for sharing the recipe. It's a simple chocolate frosting, just on the top and in between layers; and I decorated with banana chips on top, on the side seam, and then between the layers for a bit of a crunch with every bite. Delicious!

Picture of a banana cake on a white plate. The cake is two layers, round, and has chocolate frosting on the top. There are dollops of frosting lining the outer edge of the top of the cake and one in the middle. Whole banana chips are stuck into those. Then the side seam has crushed banana chips stuck to a line of chocolate frosting.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Dec 2

Tis the season! Awards season! As ballots open, may I humbly offer my own award eligible stories for your consideration. I have 7 stories eligible in the Short Story category this year. You can find links to read/access all of them on my website: catherinetavares.com/awards-eligi...

2025 Awards Eligibility

Short Story Category

“Ghosts of Summer”
Apex

“Lago das Estrelas”
Short Édition

“At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines”
Heartlines Spec

“Hotcakes at the End Times”
Nature Futures

“Of Wolf and Woman”
Flash Point SF

“It Takes a Galaxy”
Phano

“A Psalm of Blood and Water”
Dark Hearts

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 26

Thanksgiving is almost here, but not quite. Let me help tide you over to the feast with some of my foodie fiction!

Graphic for my food themed stories. A bird's eye view of a Thanksgiving dinner spread complete with turkey, pumpkins, potatoes, and cranberry is in the background. Over top are graphics of an orange, hot wings, pancakes, and a bag of chips. Next to each graphic respectively are the titles of my stories and the magazines they are published in, reading as follows:

"Kimi's Fruit Stand for Dead Pirates and Privateers" Haven Spec

"The Post-Traumatic Scoville Diet" Flash Point SF

"Hotcakes at the End Times" Nature Futures

"At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines" Heartlines Spec Nov 30th

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 16

This is in ONE HOUR. Grab a snack, stretch your legs, take a nap, and then come settle in to talk all things wellness with us! See you there!

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 6

We are just over a week away from @sfwa.org's Quasar! 🎉 I'll be there alongside @genni.bsky.social, @scottedelman.bsky.social, and @vriccithode.bsky.social on Saturday Nov 15th, 5 PM PST on the Centering Wellness as Creators panel. Hope to see you there! ➡️ membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 5

And another story sale to announce! "Hotcakes at the End Times" will be my second appearance in the fabulous @naturefutures.bsky.social! Stay tuned for a story of food, comfort, and the good that shines through the darkness. 🥞🚀

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 5

I am still so thrilled to have a story coming soon with the amazing @heartlines-spec.com. I cannot wait for readers to be introduced to my zombie apocalypse love letter to junk food: "At the End of the World, Meet Me by the Vending Machines." Red Dye No. 40 is coming your way! 🧟🍫

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 1

Got a lovely little shout-out from @cornellwriter.bsky.social in her newsletter for my microfiction work. Thank you P.A.! Read the entire newsletter post (which is full of cool things) as well as subscribe (all of P.A.'s posts are full of cool things) here: pacornell.substack.com/p/robots-dog...

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Nov 1

Mango cake! 🥭 Absolutely delicious! Mango cardamom sponge, mango curd, and then a frosting that was supposed to be plain but there was An Incident with the curd oozing everywhere and the frosting became mango as well. Still good! Happy Halloween! 🎃

Bird's eye view of a mango cake. The cake is round and has white frosting. In the center of the cake there is a pumpkin made from mango curd frosting and tiny dots of mango curd around the edges of the cake.

Catherine Tavares@cjtavares· Oct 29

Look what came in the mail! 🤩😍 I love the @flashpointsf.bsky.social hardcovers so much. They look so good on my shelf and the stories are amazing! Honored to have my little sci-fi piece "They Will Dance Among Planets" in such a gorgeous collection.