Lightspeed: Edited by John Joseph Adams

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Editorial

Editorial: June 2026

Welcome to issue 193 of Lightspeed Magazine.

Our first SF short is a grim and gritty cybernoir: “Ghost in the Tank” by M.R. Robinson. If you’ve ever wondered what reality television will look like in the future, Robinson has you covered. David Marino returns to our pages with “The Overview Initiative,” a tribute to space travel and the human spirit. We also have two terrific flash pieces: “Memeostasis” from Benjamin Rosenbaum and “The Sharing of Some Familiar Song” by Adam-Troy Castro.

Our original fantasy shorts include “An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion,” a novelette from Alex Irvine that’s an absolute blast of cosmic SF adventure. Beesan Odeh’s new tale “Ash-Shūrā; or, A Book, a Bowl, a Bag of Coins” is a darkly mythical tale of suffering and trickery. We also have a flash story (“The Best of Intentions”) from Mari Ness, and another (“I Cut Off a Monster’s Arm. AITA?”) from Marie Brennan. And of course, the nonfiction team has put together a terrific array of book reviews and author spotlight interviews.

Thanks so much for joining us for another great issue of speculative fun!

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John Joseph Adams

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John Joseph Adams is the series editor of Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy and the New York Times bestselling editor of more than forty anthologies, such as Wastelands, A People’s Future of the United States, and Out There Screaming (with Jordan Peele). He is also editor of the Hugo Award-winning magazine Lightspeed and is publisher of both it and its sister-magazine, Nightmare. Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a winner of the Hugo, Stoker, Locus, British Fantasy, and ENNIE awards and a ten-time World Fantasy Award finalist. In addition to his short fiction work, he’s the co-creator of The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, and for five years he was the editor of the John Joseph Adams Books novel imprint. Lately, he’s been working as an editor and game designer on TTRPG projects for Kobold Press, Paizo, and Monte Cook Games. Learn more at johnjosephadams.com.

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