Fusion Fragment

@fusionfragment

SF mag from Canada | 2007-2013, 2020- | Opening to submissions on July 1st. Publisher of Saros SF For all of your various FF needs:

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Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 12d

29. The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott the making of a spy / Doctor Zhivago / The Lavender Scare

The cover is an image of a woman in a green dress. A star separates her from a slash of red background, where the title is written.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 17d

28. Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha horrific creatures / uncertain fathers (OK, well a couple of them have some certainty) / sharing whiskey with the woman-thing

The cover shows some humanoid heads against a red backdrop. But the heads are filled with dark....something. Wires? Bones? Chitinous materials?

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 17d

Inside the issue, you can find links to Allison's work in @lastsyllablelit.bsky.social, @crowkeys.bsky.social, and @exposedbonemag.bsky.social (among others). You can also find out why she thinks you should read work by Mervyn Peake and Susanna Clarke!

Allison Wall is a queer, neurodivergent writer whose work explores deconstruction, self-discovery, and belonging. She has published short fiction, poetry, and book and film reviews, and works as a dissertation editor. Follow @awritingwall on Bluesky or Instagram, or visit allison-wall. com.

Allison recommends:
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 17d

FF#28: "Chutes, Slides, and Ladders" by @awritingwall.bsky.social This one knocked our socks off by going all-in on its Lord-of-the-Flies style premise featuring a group of children battling for control over a world of Chutes & Ladders. www.fusionfragment.com/issue-28/

"Chutes, Slides, and Ladders" by Allison Wall: surviving the board game world / opposing ideologies / the other place

Strut and his kids’re coming. I can tell it’s them from far by the light glinting off ’em. It’s evil, what they did. Pulled up metal from chutes and slides and wrapped it around their heads, chests, arms, legs, for armor. Ripped ladders apart and sharpened the pieces, for spears and swords. They tore up part of the world to do that.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 23d

27. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone love letters / red vs. blue / altering the many timelines

The cover is two birds, mirroring each other, one red and one blue, with some glitching.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 25d

26. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff researching family trees / fictionalized James Fenimore Cooper / lake monsters

The cover is the title/author, embedded in a bunch of what appear to be fish scales.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· 27d

I mentioned a while back that FF#24 was poised to overtake FF#20 as our bestselling issue of all-time and, well, it happened! But suddenly FF#20 moved a bunch of copies and now we're tied. So, which will catch your eye? www.fusionfragment.com/issue-20/ www.fusionfragment.com/issue-24/

The image shows the covers of FF#20 and FF#24, with a Vs. in the middle. The text reads FF Issue Showdown and Bestseller Battle!!!!!

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 11

Inside the issue, you can also find links to work by Corey in @thedeadlands.com and @strangehorizons.bsky.social (among others), and find out why Corey recommends work by @juliaelliott.bsky.social and @thomasha.bsky.social!

Corey Farrenkopf is a writer and librarian living on Cape Cod. His work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Nightmare, The Deadlands, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel, Living in Cemeteries, and the short story collection, Haunted Ecologies. Follow @coreyfarrenkopf on Instagram or Bluesky, or visit coreyfarrenkopf.com.

Corey recommends:
Hellions by Julia Elliott
Uncertain Sons by Thomas Ha

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 11

FF#28 Story Preview: "Grave Bells" by @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social Are you after a zombie story that's also a cli-fi story that's really a family story about a mother who's had to survive raising a son who wants more than just survival? Then this is your jam! www.fusionfragment.com/issue-28/

"Grave Bells" by Corey Farrenkopf": family footsteps / post-apocalyptic communities / the rising water and the rising dead

The brass bell sang a single note. I released the twine running through the shepherd’s hook into the freshly packed earth. The grave had been filled hours ago. I tied the knots before the casket closed, one looped around each dead finger.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 10

Was out for a ramble in town during a day off and popped into Mill Street Books (my local indie!) for a browse. And, lo and behold, a couple of books by FFers @lynnhutchinsonlee.bsky.social and @mahmudelsayed.bsky.social were stocked on the shelves! Obviously I had to bring them home.

Two books on a mantle against a stone wall with a gold snake candle holder. A little squiggly line points from Lynn Hutchinson Lee's Nightshade to a cover image of FF#19. Another little squiggly line points from Mahmud El Sayed's The Republic of Memory to a cover image of FF#12.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 9

Saros SF #6 has arrived! Edited by @chalicotherex.bsky.social, it contains stories by @badguybirnie.bsky.social, Susan R. Morritt, David Kloepfer, and @marisca.bsky.social, plus cover and interior art by @finnmattfour.bsky.social! Get your copy (for free!) right here: sarossf.com/issue-6/

Saros SF Issue 6 Table of Contents:

Edited by Adam McPhee

“Wristwatch” by Sheldon Birnie: beer league hockey / everything’s computer / touching grass

“I’ve Got the Sauce, If You’ve Got the Pasta” by Susan R. Morritt: industrial agriculture / cesspit / afterbirth

“Lacuna” by David Kloepfer: invasive procedure / half-remembered dreams / atomization and alienation

“All Our History Begins At the End” by Marisca Pichette: space stations / dreaming / the end of things

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 8

The production of FF is powered by early mornings, late nights, while I bobble-head along to some great music. Here are the albums that were playing most frequently in June here at FF HQ.

Albums on repeat at FF HQ

#1: TVam - Ruins
#2: Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
#3: Bleached - Ride Your Heart
#4: Liz Lawrence - The Avalanche
#5: Beach Bunny - Emotional Creature
#6: New Candys - The Uncanny Extravaganza
#7: Emily Wolfe - Emily Wolfe
#8: Liela Moss - My Name Is Safe In Your Mouth
#9: Hana Vu - Romanticism
#10: Mitski - Puberty 2

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 5

Inside the issue, you can also find links to stories by Erin in @lunastation.bsky.social and Dark Matter Magazine (among others) and find out why Erin recommends work by @nalohop.bsky.social and Molly Gloss.

Erin Strubbe is a writer, editor, and educator based in the Pacific Northwest. She received an MFA from the University of Washington, and her work has appeared in Luna Station Quarterly, Dark Matter Magazine, and others. Follow @estrubbe on Bluesky or visit erinstrubbe.com.

Erin recommends:
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 5

FF#28 Story Preview: "Birdguts" by @estrubbe.bsky.social Are you after a queer coming-of-age story where characters challenge long-held societal norms about the whether it's even necessary to feed rocks to the birds that live in our stomachs? Then this is your jam! www.fusionfragment.com/issue-28/

"Birdguts" by Erin Strubbe: speculative biologies / eating stones / maybe the norm isn't the norm

He kisses sweet chalcedonies into my open mouth. The stones click against my teeth, sliding cool against my tongue, and my birdgut roils in pleasure. Rustles its feathers and hiccups softly at each dewdrop pebble until the stars above me start to sway.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 3

PROOF!!! This just arrived and it's looking good so far, so expect that print copies of FF#28 will be available soon!

A copy of FF#28 sits atop a snake-shaped candle holder and rests against some candles. There are books (because of course there are) on a shelf in the background.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 3

24. You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories by Octavia Cade climate change / finding balance with the natural world / severed arms

The cover is sunflowers against a dark background. May sunflowers are drooping and unhappy looking. One of them has tentacles coming out of it.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 1

It's not only FF that's open! Saros SF #7, edited by @thompsinator.bsky.social, is open for the month for any stories with a theme of "terminally online". Full guidelines here: sarossf.com/submissions/

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jul 1

Fusion Fragment is now open to submissions! Full details at www.fusionfragment.com/submissions/

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 30

And for our last entry, it's @avadevries.bsky.social! END/

Ava DeVries

The stories I love to read: Horror-tinged sci-fi, dark slipstream, stories with little to no dialogue, post-apocalyptic and apocalyptic narratives, uncanny nonhuman characters, and weird fiction.

What I wish I saw in the reading queue: More of the above!

Bio: Ava DeVries is a writer and editor from Olympia, WA. She has an MA in English from Western Washington University, where she also received her bachelor's in Creative Writing. Her stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Hunger Mountain, Tales to Terrify, ergot., and other venues. She is also the Fiction Editor at Beneath the Garden Magazine. You can find more of her work on avadevries.com.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 30

FF#28 has arrived! Stories by @estrubbe.bsky.social @awritingwall.bsky.social @sophiecasarico.bsky.social @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social @clairejiawen.bsky.social Francis Van Ganson @audreyzhou.bsky.social @tuesdaywrites.bsky.social! Get your copy (for free!) at www.fusionfragment.com/issue-28/

Fusion Fragment #28 Table of Contents:

“Birdguts” by Erin Strubbe: speculative biologies / eating stones / maybe the norm isn’t the norm

“Chutes, Slides, and Ladders” by Allison Wall: surviving the board game world / opposing ideologies / the other place

“Diet Tips for the Apocalypse” by Sophie Casarico: disordered eating / dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships / Boston under siege

“Grave Bells” by Corey Farrenkopf: family footsteps / post-apocalyptic communities / the rising water and the rising dead

“In the Wake of Whales” by Claire Jia-Wen: the dead, revived by AI / environmentalism / is it him?

“Iso E Super” by Francis Van Ganson: bespoke perfumes / dating the robot girl vs. playing the robot girl / but how can you be sure?

“(Non)deterministic Finite Automata” by Audrey Zhou: searching for survival in the multiverse / soulmates / “I know you”

“u last saw hana in the mageverse” by Tuesday Pil: immersive MMORPGs / battling mental illness / why did you choose the slime?

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 29

Next up, one of the reading team's newest members, U.M. Agoawike! 17/

U.M. Agoawike

The stories I love to read: Cyber/deco/steam/solar/clock-punk. Found families. Anything queer. Horrific and tragic stories. Explicitly aro-ace stories. Transhumanism and non-humanism. Science fantasy, space opera, speculative evolution, internet organizational horror (ie. SCP, Backrooms, etc.), "fungi fiction." Interesting accents, con-languages, or dialects.

What I wish I saw more of in the reading queue: Anything punk that mixes ancient worlds with futuristic ideas beyond the already well known subgenres we often see. Weird, experimental POVs and formats. Found/ergodic stories.

Bio: U.M. Agoawike is a writer and lover of speculative, experimental, and interactive fiction. Their stories can be found in Saros, Baffling, and Augur, amongst others, and their debut novel is out with Bindery Books. As a certified social media disliker, U.M. can be found online at nebulouswrites.com.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 29

Next up, @schorn.bsky.social! 16/

Nicholas Schorn

The stories I love to read: science fantasy, magical realism, stories about longing, gothic horror, metafiction, stories about technology that changes us, puzzle-boxes, and stories about people who just can't seem to change

What I wish I saw more of in the reading queue: (the above, and) the obsessive artist trope, philosophical sci-fi that doesn't sacrifice on character, loose endings, nighttime logic, miscommunication, and stories about: nature, caves, and/or prehistoric humans

Bio: Nicholas Schorn’s fiction has appeared in GigaNotoSaurus, hex literary, and elsewhere. They are a Clarion alum, a Tin House alum, an engineering grad, and a future corpse. You can find them on instagram @nicholas.schorn and bluesky @schorn.bsky.social

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 28

Rex has also had work appear in Weird Horror, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and Small Wonders, among many others. Check out sarossf.com/issue-5/ to read the story, and to find out Rex's nonfiction recommendation.

Rex Burrows writes dark speculative fiction. His stories have appeared in publications including Weird Horror Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Supernatural Tales, Tenebrous Antiquities: An Anthology of Historical Horror, and in volumes seven and nine of the Horror Library anthology series. He can be found at www.rexburrows.com.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 28

The final story in Saros SF #5 is "This Was the Planet of Sound" by @improbablerex.bsky.social Editor @arielmarkenjack.bsky.social says it's "simply a perfect story in its own right. This is how I want to feel when I read short fiction."

"This Was the Planet of Sound" by Rex Burrows: singing seas / searching shrieks / expectant hush

However, this last example brings to mind other primates, in particular the chattering species that delivered us—and themselves in turn—into catastrophe and collapse and ruin. This was their favored range as well, so we must humbly beg your forgiveness. We have no wish to dwell upon these sounds. We will speak of them no further.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 27

23. Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott cyberpunk classics / stolen identity / rekindled romance

The cover is very mid '90s hackerish--blue tones and in the background a woman's face. She has her fist raised (as if she's punching towards the viewer) and her fist is interacting with some sort of visual display.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 26

Next up, @anjbaker.bsky.social! Another writer published in the pages of FF who later joined the reading team, Anj's "Infinity and a Spelunker" is exactly what I mean when I say I want more weird fiction. Go check it out in FF#22: www.fusionfragment.com/issue-22/ 15/

Anj Baker

The stories I love to read: Found family, but with conflict! Cozy horror! Bittersweet endings!

What I wish I saw more of in the reading queue: Gentle and kind parallel universe stories--think "sehnsucht" in a narrative!

Bio: Anj Baker was raised in rural Appalachia but now lives in suburban Illinois, in the USA. A 2024 graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, they write mostly speculative fiction, but have been known to try out new things. They’re quite happy to be alive, even though it’s hard most of the time.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 25

Next up, @noirbettie.bsky.social! Before joining the reading team, Annika's "Six Meals at Fanelli's" was in FF#16, and I often point to it as a prime example of the story vibes I'm after. Go check it out if you haven't read it! www.fusionfragment.com/issue-16/ 14/

Annika Barranti Klein

The stories I love to read: stories that surprise me, that make me feel things, that make me ache in the best way

What I wish I saw more of the in the reading queue: i love a weird western, especially a story that isn't a western at all but FEELS like one

Bio: Annika Barranti Klein has two cats.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 24

Wren has also had work appear in Strange Horizons, Kaleidotrope, and Trollbreath, among others. Check out sarossf.com/issue-5/ to read the story, and find out Wren's anime recommendation!

Wren Douglas is an SFF author from Italy, where they live with their devilish cats and one sprightly old dog. Their work has been featured in Strange Horizons, Kaleidotrope, and the 2023 Lambda finalist anthology XENOCULTIVARS: Stories of Queer Growth, among other venues. They’re @awritingwren on Bluesky.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 24

The 7th story in Saros SF #5 is "Walk with the Angels" by @awritingwren.bsky.social Editor @arielmarkenjack.bsky.social says it's "a wonderfully (and/or horribly) rich sensory experience. I am absolutely in love with the way this story mingles the sublime and the grotesque"

"Walk with the Angels" by Wren Douglas: homecoming / the blood is the life / song and sacrifice

In space, the Labor of Love looks like a knobby expanse of skin stretched out toward the stars. Patches of raw muscle gleam red, white tendons bulge and soften. The last time I saw it like this my mother had dragged me on a shuttle toward a different star system. My child-light bones were heavy as I pressed my face to the porthole, marrow saturated with the conviction I’d come back.

Fusion Fragment@fusionfragment· Jun 23

Next up, @jexewizabee.bsky.social, who's also co-editor of @thephantompulse.bsky.social which you can check out here: www.thephantompulse.com 13/