Genre Network News for March 25, 2026

Historical Happenings

• William Shatner celebrates his 95th birthday today. The legendary Star Trek actor remains a vocal advocate for environmental conservation, recently sharing a defiant plea for humanity to protect the “small blue marble” he witnessed from space in 2021. (Source: UNILAD)
• Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995) was born on this day in Harlem. Her 1980 novel The Salt Eaters remains a pivotal work of Black speculative social realism, blending community activism with surrealist narrative structures. (Source: Britannica)
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919–2021), born today, was a poet and publisher who served as a vital bridge between mainstream and speculative avant-garde literature through City Lights. (Source: Poetry Foundation)
• Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) was born 101 years ago today. Her Southern Gothic “weirdness” is a cornerstone for modern dark speculative fiction and horror. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Ranger 9 impacted the Moon 61 years ago today in 1965, successfully concluding its mission with live-broadcast high-resolution lunar imagery from the Alphonsus crater. (Source: NASA)
• Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and a perennial favorite of hard science fiction, was discovered 371 years ago today in 1655 by Christiaan Huygens. (Source: NASA)

Call for Submissions

• Analog Science Fiction and Fact is accepting entries for the Emerging Black Voices Award starting May 31, offering mentorship and professional publication. (Source: AnalogSF)
• The Future Worlds Prize is seeking 5,000–10,000 word extracts from unpublished UK/Ireland writers of color working in SF/Fantasy. (Source: Mind on Fire Books)
• Sinister Wisdom remains open for its Reproductive Justice and Lesbianism themed issue through March 31. (Source: Sinister Wisdom)
• Chestnut Review offers fee-free submissions for Black and Indigenous authors through the end of the month. (Source: Chestnut Review)
• The Parsec Short Story Contest is calling for “Metamorphosis” themed non-professional submissions in SF, Fantasy, and Horror through March 31. (Source: Mind on Fire Books)
• Apex Magazine continues its open call for diverse speculative flash fiction (up to 1,000 words). (Source: Apex)

SF Literature

• Luanne James, Director of the Rutherford County Library System, has formally refused to comply with a board directive to relocate nearly 200 books, many of which are inclusive speculative fiction titles. A punitive board hearing is scheduled for March 30. (Source: Assigned Media)
• Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author is officially a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis joins the 2026 Nebula Best Novel shortlist. (Source: SFWA)
• Miles Cameron’s tactical space opera Deep Black, the sequel to Artifact Space, hit shelves yesterday. (Source: Zeno Agency)
• Wole Talabi’s Sauútiverse novella Descent (Clarkesworld) is a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Novella. (Source: SFWA)
• Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent has been named a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• Irene Clyde’s 1909 feminist utopian classic Beatrice the Sixteenth has received a new reissue via the Radium Age series. (Source: Hawaii Project)
• K. Ceres Wright, author of Cog, discussed the intersection of Afrofuturism and cyberpunk in a newly released career retrospective. (Source: Writing Africa)

Fantasy Literature

• Moniquill Blackgoose releases To Ride a Rising Storm, featuring an Indigenous protagonist and Black sapphic lead, following her critically acclaimed To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. (Source: Every Book a Doorway)
• Soraya Bouazzaoui’s Aicha, a fantasy rooted in Moroccan myth and anti-colonial resistance, debuts today. (Source: Every Book a Doorway)
• John Wiswell’s Wearing the Lion is officially a finalist for the 2026 Nebula Award for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• Mark Lawrence’s Daughter of Crows (The Academy of Kindness, Book 1) was released yesterday. (Source: HarperCollins)
• Kritika H. Rao’s The Rise of the Celestials hits shelves today, concluding her Hindu-inspired trilogy. (Source: HarperCollins)
• Daryl Gregory’s When We Were Real has been named a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• U.M. Agoawike’s Black as Diamond is currently climbing fantasy release charts. (Source: Reddit)

Horror Literature

• Stephen Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is officially a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• Yah Yah Scholfield releases On Sundays She Picked Flowers, a Black sapphic horror debut that is topping “must-read” lists this morning. (Source: Every Book a Doorway)
• T. Kingfisher’s Wolf Worm, a Southern Gothic masterpiece set in 1899 North Carolina, was released yesterday. (Source: Becky on Books)
• Eric LaRocca’s Wretch, exploring visceral horror and grief, debuts this week. (Source: Bloody Disgusting)
• Natalia Theodoridou’s Sour Cherry is a 2026 Nebula Award finalist for Best Novel. (Source: SFWA)
• Jo Kaplan’s The Midnight Muse follows a metal band into a fungal nightmare in Oregon. (Source: Bloody Disgusting)

Poetry

• Linda D. Addison & Jamal Hodge’s “Though You Always Are” is a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Poem. (Source: SFWA)
• Kimberly Blaeser’s Ancient Light is a 2026 Science + Literature honoree. (Source: National Book Foundation)
• Mari Ness’s “Care for Lightning” (Uncanny) is a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Poem. (Source: SFWA)
• Angela Liu’s “The Mourning Robot” (Uncanny) joins the 2026 Nebula shortlist for Best Poem. (Source: SFWA)
• Casey Aimer’s “They Said Robots Are” (Penumbric) is officially a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Poem. (Source: SFWA)
• Jennifer Hudak’s “The World To Come” (Strange Horizons) is nominated for Best Poem. (Source: SFWA)

Amazing Stories Free Fiction

• “The Factory” by Lucy Egan – A surreal industrial take on memory sorting and cognitive expulsion. (Source: Amazing Stories)

Science & Spaceflight

• NASA’s “Ignition” Plan: Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a $20 billion roadmap for a permanent Moon base near the lunar south pole, featuring nuclear power and habitats. (Source: Spaceflight Now)
• Goodbye, Lunar Gateway: NASA is officially pausing plans for the lunar-orbiting space station to prioritize modular surface infrastructure. (Source: The Register)
• SR-1 Freedom: NASA repurposes Gateway hardware for a nuclear-powered Mars probe launch, currently scheduled for 2028. (Source: CNET)
• Artemis II Milestone: Christina Koch and Victor Glover are scheduled for lunar orbit later this year, marking historic milestones for women and people of color in deep space exploration. (Source: Vietnam.vn)
• Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian explores nature through her identity as a queer, neurodivergent scientist in her latest work. (Source: National Book Foundation)

Film/TV/Streaming

• Ryan Coogler‘s Sinners is officially a 2026 Nebula finalist for Best Dramatic Presentation. (Source: SFWA)
• Danya Jimenez, Maggie Kang, & Hannah McMechan’s KPop Demon Hunters joins the 2026 Nebula shortlist for Dramatic Presentation. (Source: SFWA)
• Murderbot: Season One (Apple TV+) is officially a 2026 Nebula finalist for Dramatic Presentation. (Source: SFWA)
• Lily Gladstone explores the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in the speculative-leaning film Fancy Dance. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Project Hail Mary continues its box office dominance as directors react to release shifts in international markets. (Source: Times of India)

Art

• Raven Chacon: New site-specific installations at SFMOMA address Indigenous identity and worldviews through sound and visual media. (Source: SFMOMA)
• Samia Halaby: A major retrospective of her kinetic paintings, which pioneered digital art forms, opens at SFMOMA. (Source: SFMOMA)
• Jacob Hashimoto: Launches a massive installation featuring 75,000 paper kites exploring the intersection of traditional and digital patterns. (Source: SFMOMA)

Publishing

• H.R. 7661, the federal bill targeting “sexually oriented” content in libraries, has passed the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, prompting widespread condemnation from major publishers. (Source: Publishers Weekly)
• Pan Macmillan promotes Ríbh Brownlee to commissioning editor for popular science and history. (Source: The Bookseller)
• Hachette Book Group pulls a horror novel following an investigation into AI-generated content. (Source: The Bookseller)
• Folio Society releases a new high-end edition of Station Eleven with art by Zoë van Dijk. (Source: Andrew Liptak)

Writing

• SFWA Finalists: A deep dive into the diverse writers behind the 2026 Nebula ballot is available now on the official portal. (Source: SFWA)
• Nebula Best Game Writing finalists include Hades II and Blue Prince. (Source: SFWA)

Fandom

• RavenCon 2026 (SF100): Preparations for the centennial celebration of SF continue with a focus on archival preservation. (Source: RavenCon.com)
• The Planetary Society: Estimates $107 billion spent on return-to-the-moon plans through 2026 in inflation-adjusted dollars. (Source: Spaceflight Now)

Gaming

• Hades II: Greg Kasavin’s Best Game Writing finalist continues to lead the 2026 award cycle as a fan favorite. (Source: SFWA)
• Spire, Surge, and Sea: Stewart C. Baker’s science fantasy novel is a finalist for Best Game Writing. (Source: Choice of Games)
• Destiny 2: Guardian Games 2026 returns with a Magic: The Gathering crossover and new seasonal rewards. (Source: GameFragger)

Comics & Anime

• Carmilla Volume 3: The Eternal by Amy Chu is a 2026 Nebula Best Comic finalist. (Source: SFWA)
• Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries is nominated for Best Comic. (Source: SFWA)
• The Stoneshore Register by G. Willow Wilson joins the Nebula Best Comic shortlist. (Source: SFWA)
• Tomb Raider: Sacred Artifacts #3 hits shelves today from Dark Horse. (Source: Sterling Silver Comics)

Awards

• 2026 Hugo Awards: Nominations remain open through March 28 via the LAcon V portal for all Worldcon members. (Source: The Hugo Awards)
• Andre Norton Award: Finalists include Jubilee Cho and Michelle Knudsen for outstanding MG/YA speculative fiction. (Source: SFWA)

Editing

• Michael Beale: Promoted to commissioning editor at Tor UK, focusing on epic fantasy. (Source: The Bookseller)
• Strange Horizons: Releases its latest issue featuring speculative poetry and diverse reviews. (Source: Strange Horizons)

SFNal & Mundanity

• Archives and Time Travel: The ALA’s new series explores speculative imagination and the role of the archivist in the 21st century. (Source: ALA)
• Biohacking: New studies on brain chemistry optimization and the “DOSE” effect are trending in futurist circles today. (Source: HarperCollins)

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Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.

Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.