Lightspeed: Edited by John Joseph Adams

Slide 1: in a fun, witchy font: Magic & Mystery, Amazon Original Stories; Slide 2-5: Fantasy Authors Turn to Crime, Curated by John Joseph Adams: Lists authors Travis Baldree, Sarah Beth Durst, Heather Fawcett, Scott Lynch, Tananarive Due, J.M. Miro, and Robert Jackson Bennet. Slide 6: Small renderings of all seven book covers; Slide 7: a magical cat face with paw prints to the left and right, with the words "The Game is Afoot / July 28".

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Editorial

Editorial: September 2026

by John Joseph Adams

Published in Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 196 (September 2026) | 296 words

Welcome to issue 196 of Lightspeed!

This month’s original science fiction offerings are by Alexander Weinstein (“Dreamweavers”) and Sanjana Raj (“Alterverse”), the latter of which we’re publishing in partnership with Dartmouth University and MIT Press (see below). Our two science fiction flash pieces are: “The Chrysalis of Moth One” by V.M. Ayala and “Maskwork Saltman Giftbox” by Rich Larson. Our original fantasy offerings are by Anya Ow (“Long Goodbyes”) and Thomas Ha (“Jempo”). Our two fantasy flash pieces are: “A Guide on How to Repay Your Vow to the Deity of Many Faces” by Oyedotun Damilola Muees and “The Dragon, the Scarab, the Wolf, the Dragon” by Rhiannon Rasmussen. We also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with book reviews from our review team.

Android in the Archives

ICYMI last month: We’ll be featuring one story per issue from the forthcoming fiction + nonfiction anthology Android in the Archives (lightspeedmagazine.com/android), which will be published by MIT Press in 2027. Through design activities, panels, symposia and a mountain lodge retreat, the editors and authors collaboratively imagined worlds that interrogate the future humanity is heading towards. The fiction was edited by Sharang Biswas and Liz Gorinsky, which was done in collaboration with academic editor Rebecca Clark, along with project leads Solomon Diamond and Paula Olson, and contributing academic authors Jacqueline Wernimont and Eugene Korsunskiy. The first of the stories was by Max Gladstone, featured in our previous issue; there will be other stories forthcoming from Brooke Bolander, Rob Cameron, Nibedita Sen, K. M. Szpara, Sam J. Miller, Alice Sola Kim, and Andrea Kriz. To see all of the stories published thus far, visit lightspeedmagazine.com/series/android-in-the-archives.

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John Joseph Adams

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John Joseph Adams is the editor and publisher of the Hugo Award-winning Lightspeed and publisher of its sibling magazine, Nightmare. He’s also the editor of more than fifty anthologies, including the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy series, Wastelands, A People’s Future of the United States, and the New York Times bestselling Out There Screaming (with Jordan Peele). John is a winner of the Hugo, Stoker, Locus, and British Fantasy awards, and is 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 ran a novel imprint for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Lately, he’s also been working as an editor and game designer on TTRPG projects for Kobold Press, Paizo, and Monte Cook Games. Learn more at johnjosephadams.com.