You Get A Story! And You Get A Story!

Happy March! Can you believe it has already been two months? Can you believe it has only been two months?

Well, no matter how much the state of the world has dilated your sense of time, it is a new month, and that means new news! And I’ve got a bunch of exciting story news to share today, so let’s dive in.

Out Now!

I’m so excited to share a brand new story with everyone today! “It Takes a Galaxy” is out now with Phano magazine!

Families comes in all shapes and sizes…and species. “It Takes a Galaxy” is about a found family that’s expanding and the love that is able to make that happen. I wrote the story back in 2021, and it has been on a long journey through the submission wilds ever since, accruing 28 total rejections during that time. I was honestly about to trunk the story when I saw Phano was open. The magazine had published some great stories already, and I thought just one more submission. I sent it out, fully expecting another rejection, when to my surprise Phano’s editor, Amman, got back to me in a day with an acceptance!

This is also one of the fastest turnaround times for a story between acceptance and publication, Amman having offered me a slot in the March issue if I could swing the copy edits in time. I was delighted to have the story come out in March (the month is a weirdly lucky one for me with publications and acceptances) and working with Amman on the edits was fantastic. I truthfully had not re-read the story in a long time, so to get to see it from another’s eyes—see new insights into the characters and world—was a great experience.

So, I am thrilled to introduce my first publication of 2025: “It Takes a Galaxy” out now in Phano magazine.

Story Sale!

Some more great news: On the same day I heard back from Phano, I also received an acceptance email from none other than Apex magazine!

Summertime is for summoning ghosts. My flash fiction story “Ghosts of Summer” is about two witches trying to both survive and thrive together amidst the dangers of severe heatwaves. I wrote it in summer of 2024, ironically, mere days before one of the longest and most severe heatwaves on record. I am proud both of the story itself and the messaging it contains between the lines about awareness of climate change and its impact on the individual.

And I am over the moon to have the story go to Apex! Apex magazine has been a favorite of mine for years, ever since I first dipped my toe into the SFFH short fiction scene. They do amazing work, I deeply respect the people behind all their projects, and I am honored to have my work appear in a future issue.

Keep watch on this space and my socials/website for when the story goes live!

Hugo & Locus Awards

February closed out the nomination period for the Nebula Awards. Massive thanks to anyone who read, considered, and/or nominated my work. And a round of applause to everyone who went out and read and boosted the amazing SFFH stories and artwork out there. We artists don’t produce our art for the awards, but this is a season where our works can get more attention and appreciation and reach the people that need it the most, so thank you to everyone who participated to spread the love of SFFH art.

And if you missed out on voting for the Nebulas—fear not! The Hugo Awards and the Locus Awards nominations are both still open.

For the Hugo Awards: Nominations can be submitted by anyone with a WSFS membership from either 2024 or 2025. Nominations will close on March 14th, 2025, 11:59pm PST. 

For the Locus Awards: Anyone can vote! Yes, anyone! Yes, that means you! The deadline to cast your vote is April 15th. You can select from the recommended list of stories or write in an eligible story.

My 2024 work is eligible for both the Hugo and Locus awards in the Short Fiction category, and I would be ecstatic if you gave your consideration to any of my stories, but particularly “Draconis astronomus” and/or “They Will Dance Among Planets.” You can find the full list of my eligible work with links at my website below.

Weekend Warrior Wrapped

Another year, another Weekend Warrior finished. As a recap, WW is a flash fiction writing contest hosted by the online writing group Codex where participants spend 6 weeks (1 practice round, 5 regular rounds) writing flash fiction over the weekend. This is the third year I’ve participated, and like every other year, it has been one of the highlights of my writing year.

The people, the prompts, the stories, the discussions—all of it is just an explosion of creativity and community. Shout-out to my division mates who were the literal best and gave me so much encouragement and feedback. My writing is leveling up thanks to them.

And even though it is not about the scores, I am happy to report I did place third in my division with a personal best score for me. This is especially exciting because I used WW this year to practice a new genre for me: horror. I’ve never written horror before, but it is something that has caught my eye, and I am so thrilled to have had the space created by WW to learn and practice the skill.

I produced 5 stories for WW this year. One is already out doing the submission rounds, another is well on its way there, and two more are slotted for revising this month. Hoping soon to be able to share my horror debuts with you.

There’s more news I cannot share just yet, but is coming soon. Until then…

Keep on writing on.

—Catherine