Tessera

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 18h ago

TELL ME YOUR 🏳️‍🌈QUEER SHORT SFF🏳️‍🌈 OUT IN JULY 2026!!! Originals only pls, up to novella in length, indie okay. Just reply with the author, title, and a link to read and/or buy and I'll get them on the list. Here's June's list for context & more info: www.patreon.com/quicksiprevi...

Some Queer Short SFF - June 2026 | Charles Payseur

Hi all! I’m still a mess in general but the show continues, this month with works from June—and there are quite a few, thanks in large part

patreon.com

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 19h ago

ICYMI, "Demon In Repose" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @jawmccarthy.bsky.social about the demon projectionist guiding your dreams and nightmares (also sleep paralysis) havenspec.com/fiction/demo...

An excerpt of the short story "Demon in Repose" by J. A. W. McCarthy, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads:

You know this elevator well.

You’re leaving the room that was never really your room, another transient visitor in a transient space, but something nips at the back of your neck as you wait for the cables to pull the elevator car up to your floor. What did you forget? Blue and grey and beige carpet squares point endless forking paths towards doors sheltering lost things and lost people, but you’re not among them anymore.

Last night’s haven has spat you out despite its warm welcome. What did...

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.

J.A.W. McCarthy @jawmccarthy.bsky.social · 18h ago

This story is based on my own experience with sleep paralysis and a recurring dream I’ve had for years. Thank you to @havenspec.bsky.social for letting me get this (demon) off my chest!

Haven Spec Magazine@havenspec.bsky.social · 19h ago

ICYMI, "Demon In Repose" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @jawmccarthy.bsky.social about the demon projectionist guiding your dreams and nightmares (also sleep paralysis) havenspec.com/fiction/demo...

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 19h ago

ICYMI, "Demon In Repose" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @jawmccarthy.bsky.social about the demon projectionist guiding your dreams and nightmares (also sleep paralysis) havenspec.com/fiction/demo...

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2d ago

If you haven't read the poem "A Science Center Education" by @lynnesargent.bsky.social from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about life and chance and how lucky we are that we exist and can build all our hopeful fragile lives together. Read it here: havenspec.com/poetry/a-sci...

An excerpt of the poem "A Science Center Education" by Lynne Sargent, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

It was a wheel of probability,
of all the living beings in the world:
organized, a pie-chart
of domain, kingdom—mammals separated out,
humans separated again from that, and last
the smallest sliver, barely large enough to hold
its colour representing the chance:

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 3d ago

ICYMI, "A Party, A Party!" is a poem in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @faithallington.bsky.social about finding community among those labeled *monster*. Read this one as sanctuary and join the party (a party!) havenspec.com/poetry/a-par...

An excerpt of the poem "A Party, A Party!" by Faith Allington, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads:

You don’t choose vampires
and ghouls any more than they
choose you, but you find consolation
in each other, all the unloved
and objectified strata of myth.

Everybody wants to fear you

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 4d ago

We moved to our new submission system in August 2024. In that time, we've gotten: 9584 fiction submissions, with a total of 29,249,064 words, averaging 3051.86 words per submission. Almost 30 million words of fiction have passed before our eyes! 🤯🤯🤯

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 4d ago

If you haven't read the short story "What Is A Lake Beyond An Extinct Word?" by @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about drought and the broken promises of a not-too-distant future, and you can read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/what...

An excerpt of the short story "What Is A Lake Beyond An Extinct Word?" by Corey Farrenkopf, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

The cabin is cool compared to the elements outside. It holds some ghost scent of fresh water, the whisper of times not so hard, times when people could still float a house across a lake to better lands, to a future not so hollowed-out and ravaged by their past decisions. She wonders what it was like to truly believe in better. How it was a reality for her grandfather when he was her age.

Mattie gives a little laugh.

What even is a lake anymore beyond an extinct word?

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 4d ago

We moved to our new submission system in August 2024. In that time, we've gotten: 9584 fiction submissions, with a total of 29,249,064 words, averaging 3051.86 words per submission. Almost 30 million words of fiction have passed before our eyes! 🤯🤯🤯

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 4d ago

If you haven't read the short story "What Is A Lake Beyond An Extinct Word?" by @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about drought and the broken promises of a not-too-distant future, and you can read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/what...

Locus Magazine @locusmag.bsky.social · 4d ago

Welcome to the world of Locus Magazine, where your dreams of being first to know everything about sci-fi come true. Grab a subscription to be first on the scene for new science fiction, fantasy, & horror books. Reviews, news, interviews, and more! www.locusmag.com

Allison Pottern @apottern.bsky.social · 5d ago

I’m still so friggin proud of this story in all its dark, edgy weirdness. Wish it wasn’t still so relevant.

Haven Spec Magazine@havenspec.bsky.social · 5d ago

ICYMI, "Bootcut" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @apottern.bsky.social about women finding solidarity and battling back against their abusers (and also a particularly well-fitting pair of jeans). Read this one for its mighty vengeance and rage havenspec.com/fiction/boot...

Fusion Fragment @fusionfragment.bsky.social · 5d ago

FFer Read of the Day: "Skin Deep" by @eggandcressida.bsky.social in @havenspec.bsky.social havenspec.com/fiction/skin...

Skin Deep, Haven Spec Magazine

"Skin Deep" by Cressida Roe

havenspec.com

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 5d ago

ICYMI, "Bootcut" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @apottern.bsky.social about women finding solidarity and battling back against their abusers (and also a particularly well-fitting pair of jeans). Read this one for its mighty vengeance and rage havenspec.com/fiction/boot...

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 7d ago

If you haven't read the poem "What to Watch For" by @jordanrhirsch.bsky.social from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about hope in a world that refuses to forget, and you can read it here: havenspec.com/poetry/what-...

An excerpt of the poem "What to Watch For" by Jordan Hirsch, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

Grandmother taught me what to watch for:
curling blue leaves growing opposite each other.

Every year, she threw a handful of seeds in the soil,
and now I do, too. She taught me

what to watch for: cooler mornings,
something called frost, the shores receding back

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

Haven Spec Magazine has come to Instagram! Give us a follow, why not? www.instagram.com/havenspec/

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

Haven Spec Magazine has come to Instagram! Give us a follow, why not? www.instagram.com/havenspec/

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

ICYMI, "And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" is a short story in our 🌟 January 2026 issue🌟 by @keychild.bsky.social about being forced to outsource your anger. Read this one for its refusal of the patriarchy and its embracing of all the right kinds of wicked havenspec.com/fiction/and-...

An excerpt of the short story "And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" by Elou Carroll, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads:

You are looking right at her when it happens. When your hands clench around his throat—his skin bright and warm beneath your fingers.

It should be her with her nails sharp and her knuckles paling. She is behind him with her mouth hanging open. She cannot hold your stare—she looks away and bites her lip. For the first time, you are reversed, as if you were born in the mirror all along. She hunches her shoulders and squeezes her eyes shut.

Then, she looks up. She watches. She must.

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

ICYMI, "And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" is a short story in our 🌟 January 2026 issue🌟 by @keychild.bsky.social about being forced to outsource your anger. Read this one for its refusal of the patriarchy and its embracing of all the right kinds of wicked havenspec.com/fiction/and-...

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

ICYMI, "Magical Girl: Corporate Failure" is a short story in our 🌟January 2026 issue🌟 by @thelialao.bsky.social about what happens *after* the battle is done and the world gets saved. Read this one for its Magical Girls, queer love, and the travails adulting havenspec.com/fiction/magi...

An excerpt of the short story "Magical Girl: Corporate Failure" by Lia Lao, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads:

The problem with saving the world at sixteen is that you’re doomed to chase that high for the rest of your life. You’ll fall asleep tossing and turning, dreaming of tiaras that cleave through bone, sky-high heels you can land spinning kicks in, and blood splattering across your face—thick, black, and pungent, like decay settling into your skin.

And when you wake each morning to the tinny, lifeless pulse of your alarm, you’ll wish that your limbs actually ached, that the claw marks...

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.

Becky Halsey @beckyhalsey.bsky.social · last wk.

Damn, I loved this story! Thanks for a great read @loragray.bsky.social 🩵

Haven Spec Magazine@havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

👀July 2026 Fiction👀 "In This Dimension, Do You Still Believe in God?" is a short story by @loragray.bsky.social about how sometimes a thing gets broken and can't be fixed (whether in marriages or interdimensional travel) Read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/in-t...

Excerpt of the short story In This Dimension, Do You Still Believe in God? by Lora Gray. The text reads:

Every time I try to go home, the Bridge deposits me back into this dimension, back into this living room.

And every time I’m reminded of how beautiful Abdi is. There is an unassuming elegance to the way he drapes his jacket onto the hall tree, a delicate artistry when he toes off his Birkenstocks, one palm pressed to the wall, his mussed hair obscuring his eyes.

There are dark circles beneath them now.

Oh, darling, you look so thin.

The cover art is titled "Finally, some sleep" and is by Caleb Worcester. It features an astronaut lying comfortably on a cloud high above the lights of a city.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · last wk.

If you haven't read the short story "Mother's Bane" by @madihaab.com from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about breaking the cycles of abuse that we are heir to (and also killer plants), and you can read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/moth...

An excerpt of the short story "Mother's Bane" by Madi Haab, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

Edwin was an enthusiastic lover, eager to please and to pleasure. He kissed Briar all over, even the strange red bumps she’d first noticed on her skin that morning. His mouth was slow, then teasing, and he brought her to her peak—once, twice—as they made love.

After, they fell back on the mattress in a sweaty, sticky-sweet tangle. “You taste like honeysuckle,” he whispered in her ear before dozing off.

Those would be her husband’s last words.

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

Our ✨July 2026 issue✨ is now free to read online! Here is a thread of everything inside it. Please read it and please spread the word! havenspec.com/issues/issue... 🧵

Cover of Haven Spec Magazine, Issue 24, published July 2026.

Fiction in the issue is by R.L. Meza, Lora Gray, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, and Dan Peacock.

Poetry in the issue is by Arden Baker,
H.V. Patterson, Christopher Leigh Silverberg, and Anna Madden.

The cover art is titled "Finally, some sleep" and is by Caleb Worcester. It features an astronaut lying comfortably on a cloud high above the lights of a city.

B. Zelkovich is peering out of their cave @bzelkovich.bsky.social · last wk.

#PoemADay Day 10.2: "The Archivist of Vanished Tongues by Oladosu Michael Emerald in @havenspec.bsky.social . I could read this over & over again. One of the few prose poems I've read that I understood the distinction between prose poetry & narrative. Stunning. havenspec.com/poetry/the-a...

The Archivist of Vanished Tongues, Haven Spec Magazine

"The Archivist of Vanished Tongues" by Oladosu Michael Emerald

havenspec.com

Aliette de Bodard @aliettedebodard.com · 2w ago

Re upping this on EST

Aliette de Bodard@aliettedebodard.com · 2w ago

Here's the gofundme set up by Sheila Williams' kids for their parents: www.gofundme.com/f/help-irene... (parents both need a lot of care that the kids cannot afford or provide, please contribute if you can?)

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you haven't read the poem "Poison" by Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about oil and blood and the prayers we offer to the wind and the earth, and you can read it here: havenspec.com/poetry/poiso...

An excerpt of the poem "Poison" by Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

Heaven falls again. & the river cries black.
So much until it becomes a miracle, how a

woman can bleed & not bring out blood the
color of night. In my ache for catharsis, I

baptize in his mouth of filth. In the name of
the father. I am dunked. The oil clings to my...

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

👀July 2026 Poetry👀 "Wintering Grounds" is a poem by @brokenswanquill.bsky.social about the sorrow that comes with unbridgeable distance and the unsettled ache of whatever love might remain Read it here: havenspec.com/poetry/winte...

Excerpt of the poem Wintering Grounds by Anna Madden. The text reads:

You mapped out the flight
after the bathroom flooded.
The pipes’ veins across a leaf,
frozen until bursting.

A migration to escape our winter,
I’d thought while tracing contrails skyward.

The cover art is titled "Finally, some sleep" and is by Caleb Worcester. It features an astronaut lying comfortably on a cloud high above the lights of a city.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

👀July 2026 Fiction👀 "Convergence" is a short story by @danpeacock.bsky.social about paranoia and war and the eternal possibility that we might yet work together before it's too late Read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/conv...

Excerpt of the short story Convergence by Dan Peacock. The text reads:

Something triggers a sensor and jars me awake, as if I’m falling. The enemy does not seem to be moving, but they are much, much closer. My empty weapon systems jerk into action again, hitting my firewall before they can kick-start another lethal short-surge inside me. I wait for the enemy to show their hand.

And nothing happens.

Suddenly, it makes sense. Gravity is patient, infinitely tireless, and it is slowly teasing both of us together in a silent convergence.

The cover art is titled "Finally, some sleep" and is by Caleb Worcester. It features an astronaut lying comfortably on a cloud high above the lights of a city.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

👀July 2026 Poetry👀 "Here Comes The Men In Black, or, Out Wrecks The Shroud, or, Kelly's Black Boyfriend Is Actually The Eschaton???" is a poem by @csilverandgold.bsky.social about imagining new universes of racial possibility and belonging Read it here: havenspec.com/poetry/here-...

Excerpt of the poem Here Comes The Men In Black, or, Out Wrecks The Shroud, or, Kelly's Black Boyfriend Is Actually The Eschaton??? by Christopher Leigh Silverberg. The text reads:

Spacetime changes now
beneath and to the
right of you, your theater’s
shroud of film, dead presidents, and skylight—
all sources of white, I mean, all sources of light—cosmology is
hushed, flayed, opened
silent before a new elementary birthing. And
this is the end of the thing we in adolescence called high noon.

The cover art is titled "Finally, some sleep" and is by Caleb Worcester. It features an astronaut lying comfortably on a cloud high above the lights of a city.

Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you haven't read the short story "We Whose Fathers Have Transformed into Wild Animals of the Land, Sea, and Sky" by @spencerwriting.bsky.social from our 🌟June 2026 issue🌟, now's your chance! It's about what we inherit from our fathers, and you can read it here: havenspec.com/fiction/we-w...

An excerpt of the short story "We Whose Fathers Have Transformed into Wild Animals of the Land, Sea, and Sky" by Spencer Nitkey, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

Kaye dreams of killing his father. When I am not terrified of this dream, I am so jealous that I wish I could steal it through his lips. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever saw my father again. Kaye’s certainty calms me, violent as it is. Now, as Kaye stares down the sight of his rifle and the tremendous buck we’ve been tracking for three days comes up from the brush, he is closer than ever to achieving it. In the Sierra Nevada, mosquito-bitten and muddy, I am not jealous. My tongue tastes of pennies, and more than anything, I am sorry. I want to take Kaye in my hands, run his calloused fingers across my beard, and ground him in something, anything, other than the circle of his scope and his father’s beating heart.

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.