Welcome to Lightspeed’s 150th issue!

For the last few years, every science fiction writer has wondered: When will it be okay to write a story about a pandemic? But I think we can all agree that disease has been with us for all of human history, and that ignoring it does nothing to make anyone feel better. So we’re kicking off this issue with Tania Fordwalker’s new short story “Beyond the Shore.” It’s certainly about a pandemic . . . but not one like any disease humanity has ever lived through.

We’re happy to welcome back Ben H. Winters, whose new SF short “Double Occupancy” is about both the dangers of time travel and not knowing yourself. Dominica Phetteplace also returns with a flash story, “Therefore What the Multiverse has Joined Together, Let No One Separate,” and we have an SF reprint by Tobias S. Buckell (“The Blindfold”).

In our fantasy offerings, Alex Irvine brings us “The Dragon’s Hand,” a tale of magic and a reluctant bond between a traveler and a dragon. Kristina Ten takes us back to the contemporary world with a story of magic and a massive music festival: “The Noon Witch Goes to Sound Planet.” We also have a flash piece (“What If the Whole Camp of Kids Learned How To Liquefy?”) from Maria Kelson. Our fantasy reprint is by Yoon Ha Lee (“The Graphology of Hemorrhage”).

Our review team has been exploring new releases for recommendations, and of course we have spotlight interviews with our authors. Our ebook readers will also enjoy an excerpt from Ocean’s Echo, the newest novel by Everina Maxwell.