Lightspeed: Edited by John Joseph Adams

LIGHTSPEED & NIGHTMARE Kickstarter graphic. Left side: Bright light blue background with rays (as of light) bursting out from the center. Central image is an open book with a rocket blasting up out of it. Below the book is the LIGHTSPEED magazine wordmark; the word lightspeed is rendered in a orange-to-yellow gradient, with a white outline around it and dropshadow underneath it. Right side: Bright light yellow background with rays (as of light) bursting out from the center. Central image is an open book with a haunted house emerging from it. Below the book is the NIGHTMARE magazine wordmark; the word nightmare is rendered in a dark red to lighter red gradient, with a white outline around it and dropshadow underneath it. Top: the words "LIVE on Kickstarter"

Advertisement

Editorial

Editorial: September 2023

by John Joseph Adams

Published in September 2023 (Issue 160) | 223 words

Welcome to issue 160 of Lightspeed Magazine!

If you’re ready for a little fun, don’t miss “Money in the Bank,” an adventure-packed story of aliens and cryptobros from SF giants John Kessel and Bruce Sterling. In “The Hole in the Garden,” Gene Doucette has written a heart-tugging piece that anyone parenting in the era of climate change will appreciate. We’re rounding out the SF side of the literary equation with two flash pieces: “Eve’s Prayer” by Victor Forna and “Death by Water” by Maria Haskins.

Jo Miles brings us a tale of dragons and knights in new fantasy story “Simmered in Their Wealth Like the Richest of Sauces.” Yvette Lisa Ndlovu writes about magic and a very difficult marriage in “His Thing.” If you want to cook up a cure for your broken heart, Jordan Kurella has penned just the recipe—or maybe it’s a flash story!—in his piece “Instructions for the Broken Hearted.” We wrap up our fantasy flash with “Remains” by N.R. Lambert.

Of course our nonfiction team has put together spotlight interviews with our writers and a trio of terrific book reviews. If you’re an ebook subscriber, you’ll enjoy an excerpt from Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase.

Thanks for joining us on another journey through fantasy and science fiction!

Enjoyed this article? Consider supporting us via one of the following methods:

SubscribePatreonDonate $1 a month on Kofi

John Joseph Adams

John_Joseph_Adams_2018_220x169px

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.