Historical Happenings
1967: Star Trek’s “The Devil in the Dark” Airs – Landmark debut of the Horta. This episode marked a pivot in Science Fiction (never “Sci-Fi”) by treating a silicon-based alien with empathy. (Source: Memory Alpha)
170 AD: Lucian of Samosata’s A True Story – A look back at this cornerstone of proto science fiction, featuring the first recorded instance of interplanetary warfare. (Source: Weird Italy)
1918: Birth of Mickey Spillane – Exploring the “Hard-Boiled” detective influence on mid-century speculative tropes. (Source: ISFDB.org)
March 9, 1961: The Soviet Union successfully launches Sputnik 9, carrying a dummy (“Ivan Ivanovich”), a dog named Chernushka, and several guinea pigs into orbit. The mission was a critical precursor to Yuri Gagarin’s flight. (Source: Space.com)
March 9, 1970: Photographer Donna Gottschalk captures the iconic self-portrait at a Gay Liberation Front meeting in New York, a pivotal moment in the intersection of art, activism, and community history. (Source: The Guardian)
SF Literature
“Death of the Author” by Nnedi Okorafor – Winner of the 2026 Libby Book Award for Best Science Fiction. (Source: Libby/OverDrive)
“Black Aliens: Kinship in the Cosmic Diaspora” – New non-fiction release by Joanna Davis-McElligatt examining Afrofuturism through a kinship lens. (Source: Reddit r/Fantasy)
“The Origin of Ava” by Annie Lampman – A March release following an ornithologist and an 11-year-old runaway in a nature-focused speculative narrative. (Source: Shelf Talk)
The Last Unicorn Returns: The Folio Society has released a stunning Spring 2026 edition of Peter S. Beagle’s classic, featuring an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss and art by Lily Seika Jones. (Source: Andrew Liptak)
Dimension-Hopping Horror: Adam Christopher’s Crawlspace (March 17) follows a mission lead on an experimental craft that begins to “bleed” between dimensions. (Source: Andrew Liptak)
Post-Apocalyptic Milestone: A new Folio Society edition of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven is out today, including six new illustrations by Zoë van Dijk. (Source: Andrew Liptak)
Necromancy Unbound: Jenn Lyons’ standalone fantasy Green & Deadly Things (March 3) explores a world where forests consume the living to prevent the return of dark magic. (Source: Reddit r/Fantasy)
Speculative Debut: Casey Scieszka’s The Fountain (March 17) examines the logistics of immortality in the age of facial recognition and venture capitalism. (Source: LitHub)
Quantum Physics Feast: John Chu’s The Subtle Art of Folding Space (April 7) focuses on sisters battling over their mother’s life while reality collapses around them. (Source: LitHub)
Alien Biology: Cameron Reed’s What We Are Seeking (April 7) is being hailed as the next The Sparrow, focusing on a doctor stranded on a planet where plants give birth to insects. (Source: LitHub)
Queer Eerie Debut: Avery Curran’s Spoiled Milk (March 10) blends spiritualism and Briarley School for Girls rivalries in a haunting mystery. (Source: Andrew Liptak)
Interdimensional Conflict: Darkley Lem’s Transmentation | Transgression (March 17) continues the shared-world project regarding intelligence officers and many-worlds narratives. (Source: Andrew Liptak)
Fantasy Literature
“Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V.E. Schwab – Announced as Best Fantasy at the 2026 Libby Book Awards. (Source: Libby/OverDrive)
“Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros – Dominating the “Romantasy” charts and winner of the inaugural Best Romantasy Libby Award. (Source: AP News)
“Green & Deadly Things” by Jenn Lyons – Official release day for this necromancy-focused epic. (Source: Reactor Mag)
Translation Highlight: City Like Water by Dorothy Tse (March 3) offers a nightmarish, wondrous tale of a city sinking into the ocean and disappearing into television sets. (Source: Speculative Fiction in Translation)
Chilean Fungal Horror: Simón López Trujillo’s Pedro the Vast (Jan 13) features a eucalyptus worker whose fungal disease makes him a prophet. (Source: Speculative Fiction in Translation)
Gothic Brazilian Vampires: Hache Pueyo’s Cabaret in Flames (March 10) mixes Interview with the Vampire with flesh-hungry Guls in alternate-Brazil. (Source: Speculative Fiction in Translation)
Horror Literature
“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones – Winner of Best Horror at the 2026 Libby Awards. (Source: Libby/OverDrive)
“Bitterbloom” by Teagan Olivia King – New release blending gothic atmosphere with village-based horror. (Source: Goodreads)
Poetry
“Yellow” by Amy Pence – A “slow-bloom” speculative novel-in-verse garnering critical praise for its cosmic mysticism. (Source: Red Hen Press)
2026 California Poetry Out Loud Finals – High school students in Sacramento conclude the state finals today, with several original works exploring speculative themes. (Source: Arts.ca.gov)
Science & Spaceflight
Starship V3 Testing: SpaceX completed cryogenic testing of Ship 39, the first of the Version 3 Starships. Engineers conducted “squeeze tests” to mimic future ship catches. (Source: Space.com)
Asteroid Snowballs: NASA scientists confirmed natural material transfer between binary asteroids in the Dimorphos system, describing the “fan-shaped stripes” as scars from low-speed impacts. (Source: Universe Magazine)
Artemis Upper Stage: A NASA contract confirms the selection of ULA’s Centaur 5 as the new upper stage for the SLS rocket starting with Artemis 4. (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Self-Healing Spacecraft: New research suggests future spacecraft may detect and repair structural damage in orbit using autonomous “self-healing” materials. (Source: Space.com)
ISS Extension: Congress is moving to keep the International Space Station flying until 2032, citing the need for continued low-earth orbit research. (Source: Space.com)
Meteorite Strike: A spectacular fireball over Europe culminated in a meteorite crashing through the roof of a German home this morning. (Source: Space.com)
Formula 1 in Space: Technicians are exploring how F1-2026’s new 350 kW hybrid power systems and sustainable fuels can be adapted for planetary rovers. (Source: Universe Magazine)
Film, TV & Streaming
Project Hail Mary Teaser: A final teaser trailer for the Andy Weir adaptation has fans shouting “Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!” at the look of Rocky. (Source: Space.com)
Kaiju Classic Translated: The 1961 novella The Luminous Fairies and Mothra, which birthed the iconic monster, has finally received its first official English translation. (Source: Speculative Fiction in Translation)
The 1% Club: Quiz books based on the Lee Mack-hosted ITV show are dominating the UK publishing charts, highlighting a massive shift toward “escapist” nonfiction. (Source: The Guardian)
“Rooster” (2026) Debut – Steve Carell stars as a pulp fiction writer who creates a fictional hero, “Rooster,” as a mid-life alter ego; premiered today. (Source: Economic Times)
“War Machine” (Netflix) – The Alan Ritchson-led military SF thriller is currently trending globally following its March 6th debut. (Source: Economic Times)
Gaming & AI
PGC Summit San Francisco: The Global Mobile Games Conference kicks off today, focusing heavily on AI as the “growth engine” for the next generation of mobile titles. (Source: Pocket Gamer Connects)
Smart Telescope Revolution: New guides are out today for Unistellar and ZWO smart telescopes, which use AI to help urban skywatchers find deep-space objects through light pollution. (Source: Space.com)
- “Pokémon Pokopia” – A new environmentalist spinoff exploring a post-human wasteland through the eyes of a shapeshifting Ditto. (Source: The Guardian)
Awards & Publishing
- 2026 Hugo Nominations – Reminder: WSFS members have until March 28th to submit nominations for L.A. con V. (Source: TheHugoAwards.org)
Mathrubhumi Book of the Year: Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me was honored today, reinforcing her global literary impact for 2026. (Source: ANI News)
NielsenIQ Data: SF, Fantasy, and Horror recorded a massive rise in readership in 2025, even as overall book sales softened, proving genre fiction’s resilience. (Source: The Guardian)
Dystopian Personalization: John Lanchester’s latest novel, Look What You Made Me Do, is receiving acclaim for its amoral depiction of millennial/boomer tensions in a “recognizably smug” North London. (Source: The Guardian)
Cool Stuff
Next-Gen Starship Photos: Stunning cryogenic images of SpaceX’s Ship 39 “squeeze tests” are available, showing the vehicle’s redesigned propellant system in high-def. (Source: Space.com)
The Cosmic Hawk: Robert Lea published breathtaking James Webb Space Telescope photos of a “Cosmic Hawk” nebula spreading its wings across light-years. (Source: Space.com)
Call for Submissions
Cosmic Horror Monthly: C.L. Moore Tribute – Seeking fiction paying tribute to the speculative fiction pioneer. Deadline: March 7 (Late submissions/waitlist active). (Source: Authors Publish)
Rat Bag Lit: “Strange Dear John” – Seeking epistolary drabbles (exactly 100 words). (Source: Authors Publish)
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.
