New Story Day: Welcome To Heroism

Beloved readers, I’ve got a new short story for you!

Today “Welcome To Heroism” went live at Uncanny Magazine. It follows a mysterious app called The Dare. Appearing out of nowhere, The Dare gives users outrageous fame if they’re the first person to complete its challenges. At first the challenges just seem incredibly reckless, like running into wildfires or messing with data centers. But as the challenges become things only the superhumans in the audience can do, they also become increasingly altruistic. It’s almost like The Dare has an agenda...

You can read “Welcome To Heroism” for free at this link.

This is my eighth appearance in Uncanny Magazine, one of my favorite destinations in the world of speculative prose. The issue also features work by Stephen Graham Jones, Theodora Goss, Samantha Mills, Ai Jiang, Marissa Lingen, and more. It tickles me to be in their company.

If you read it, please let me know what you think! It’s a story idea that buzzed around in my head for years. I had to let it out, via the nearest available keyboard.

New Story Day: "Phantom View" at Reactor!

My final publication of the year dropped today: a new novelette called “Phantom View”! I love that Reactor held this one off for Halloween.

“Phantom View” is about a son caretaking for his father, and discovering a blurry person in all their family photos. He has no memory of this person. He can’t even tell if it is a person. Then he discovers the same blurry figure is in all his dad’s old paintings--and the figure may be in the house with them right now.

Re-reading this story shook me up a little. I’d long wanted to write about disabled people caring for other disabled people. I got in touch with a piece of myself. Even better, I got to play with notions of accessibility devices, both for corporeal and incorporeal beings. “Phantom View” is for people who loved “Open House on Haunted Hill” and “That Story Isn’t The Story.” It’s about the macabre stirring something in our hearts.

You can read “Phantom View” at Reactor through this handy link.

Or you can buy “Phantom View” on Kindle at this handy link.

No matter how you read it, let me know what you think! And happy spooky season!

 

All the Short Stories John Wiswell Published in 2023

2023 is ticking down to a close. As I’m wrapping up the final touches on my debut novel, I’m also looking back on all the short fiction I got to share with you folks this year. I got late word from an editor that the final story of mine that *was* going to be published this year will now be coming out next year. Having things wrapped up makes a boy nostalgic.

I'm proud of all my weirdo fictional children. Each story I published this year did something totally different. 

I'm curious, though. Do you, dear reader, have a favorite?

Here are the contenders:

"Bad Doors" at Uncanny Magazine

Everywhere Kosmo goes, a mysterious burgundy door appears, as though stalking him and demanding he open it. He tries to avoid the terrors he’s sure lies behind it. Everyone in his life tells him not to worry about it, but none of them are taking this new outbreak seriously—something the news is calling “COVID-19.”

"So You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis" at Lightspeed Magazine

The Intimate Blade is a unique blacksmith shop. They sell the weapons you’ll need to propose to that special nemesis in your life—to win the duel, and maybe tip their chin up with the tip so they have to look you in the eyes. They’ve just gotten a new customer in dire need of help.

"Irresponsibly Human" at Small Wonders

For their senior thesis project, an alien student plans to conquer the planet Earth. They view this planet as backwards and ridiculous—come on, social media is still legal there—but they run into more problems than they expected. Especially with how delicious their new humanoid form is.

"The Three O'clock Dragon" at Tordotcom

Liza is the only dragon in Prosperity City, a long scaly creature who rules the rails. It’s a good life, if a lonely one. It’d be better if the military stopped hunting her. Soon Liza gets an idea: if she runs for mayor, she can call off the military goons. She quickly learns the current mayor has more enemies than just a dragon.

So which is your favorite? Has something from one of these stories stuck with you the longest? I’m always curious how this sort of thing breaks down.

New Fiction: "Bad Doors" at Uncanny Magazine

It's New Story Day! "Bad Doors" is live at Uncanny Magazine.

Kosmo is a simple English teacher with no interest in evil magic doors. However one day they take an interest in him. A burgundy door with a shiny black knob appears in his hallway, where no door has ever been.

Kosmo does what he thinks anybody would do: he grabs his dog, runs out of his house, and never goes back in. He thinks it’s over, but the door isn’t finished with him, as they pursue him everywhere he goes. They beckon old Kosmo. He struggles with why they’re appearing, but refuses to ever look inside one. Everyone in his life chides him to be adventurous and not be so afraid. However, this is 2020 and it’s the same time when everyone around him isn’t taking this “COVID thing” seriously. What’s a man to do to dodge a cursed door and a pandemic?

“Bad Doors” is the story of a man who refuses to be in a Horror story. What happens to you when you refuse to answer the call of a nightmare?

“Bad Doors” is free to read right here on Uncanny Magazine’s website.

This one is for everybody who thinks they'd just walk out of a Horror story. For people who'd say, "Nah."

All the Short Stories That I Published in 2022

I've never had a year like 2022. This is the year I won a Locus Award, got an agent, and sold my debut novel. It's a year where I broke into so many magazines that were but distant dreams to me a few years ago. I've connected with more readers than ever, and every message from them has brightened my days and nights.

As a reflection on the year that was, I'm doing a round-up of every short story of mine that saw print. We'll start with the originals, and then collect the reprints. There's something for everyone here, from plucky kids who dream of learning magic they can't afford, to friendly wagers over time travel, to tyrants who control the world through psychic popularity, to the last man in a cold solar system building something nobody dreamed possible.

Thanks to the editors, most of these stories are free to read. A few even have free podcast audiobook editions. Please, enjoy a fiction or two!

If you have a favorite of these, which was it? I'm terribly curious.


ORIGINAL STORIES FROM 2022
 

New Fiction: "D.I.Y." at Tor.com

Today I am proud to present my first-ever Tordotcom short story: "D.I.Y."! 

Noah Byrne is a disabled boy who always wanted to go to wizarding school--but his medical debt meant he couldn't afford it and they turned him away. But Noah never gave up on the dream. Together with another disabled kid, Manny, Noah has pursued forbidden knowledge about water magic to address his city's drought. What they'll learn together is going to change the accessibility of magic forever.

You can read "D.I.Y." for free by clicking right here. 

As you'd guess, "D.I.Y." is a profoundly personal story. It's one of my deepest representations of disabilities, and about bonds between people with different disabilities. It tackles ableism, questioning and queerness, how the internet changes education, the foibles of capitalism, and the undying spirit of fandom.

This is my first story at Tordotcom. I've longed to share fiction there for a decade now. I'm grateful to the wise Jonathan Strahan for accepting and editing this story with me--it's a cleaner tale for his help. It actually took me years to figure out Noah's story, and along the way I got support and help from wonderful people including A.T. Greenblatt, Their Highness Williams, Effie Seiberg, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, C.L. Polk, and Marissa Lingen. Just like Noah's journey, my journey has never been a solitary one. I'm so grateful to my friends for keeping me alive.

 You can read the story today at Tor.com.

New Fiction: "Demonic Invasion or Placebo Effect?" at Sunday Morning Transport

Today I'm happy to share a brand new story with you all: "Demonic Invasion or Placebo Effect?" 

It follows a pair of demon scientists who are out to prove a controversial hypothesis: demons are not creations of the human imagination. They've isolated an entire town and intend to stimulate as much Satanic panic as it takes in order to prove demons don't sprout into being just because people believe in them. Demons love a little human experimentation. But as things start to go haywire around the old infernal lab, the demons themselves will have to question their faith--or at least question their control group.

You can read "Demonic Invasion or Placebo Effect?" for free by clicking right here. 

It's the kind of story that my high school teachers told me to quit. But some things stick with a boy!

Sunday Morning Transport is an upstart magazine that's venturing into publishing through Substack. They've published great SciFi and Fantasy writers such as Katherine Addison, Sarah Gailey,  Yoon Ha Lee, and Maurice Broaddus. I was honored to be asked to join their ranks.

I was also a little surprised they accepted my gonzo story. It is one of those things I cooked up on a painful late night, unable to sleep due to disabilities, and weaving narrative to keep my spirits kindled. It is equal parts Horror and Comedy - equal parts Theology and Science Procedural.

New Fiction: "The Coward Who Stole God's Name" at Uncanny Magazine

Today I'm happy to present to you my newest short story: "The Coward Who Stole God's Name." 

It's a story about the most popular man in the world - even though nobody can actually remember why they like him. He's summoned one special journalist to his home to reveal his secret.

But a warning: that secret will get inside your head.

It's a story written out of the many cultural betrayals we've had over the years, and out of the cultural struggles with authority failing us, as well as the tides of toxic fandom. There's quite a stew in this little journalist's journey. I hope you'll enjoy it.

I want to give special thanks to Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, who test read this after I wrote it in a white heat of anger. Merc is such a good influence.

Content warnings: psychological manipulation, contemplation of self-harm, contemplation of animal cruelty, and violent crowds.

Patrons may remember they got a sneak peak at this story a while back. Now the full text is free to read on Uncanny's website. You can read it by clicking right here.

"Too Little, Too Little, Too Much" published at Cossmass Infinities

Today I'm proud to share with you my newest short story: "Too Little, Too Little, Too Much."

Fires have been starting around this little family's house. Nobody knows exactly why, although the youngest son has an inkling. It has to do with what his older brother is doing to him when nobody's around - and perhaps with what their father is doing in secret. But nobody wants to confront what's actually happening, and what they're doing to each other. If they keep this up, something is going to burn.

Let me tell you upfront: this story is harsher than my usual fare. It's about the cycles of child abuse, and examines both the toll of such events and why they happen. It only gets more intense as one of the boys develops pyrokinesis.

Often my goal is to shine kindness or general light into harsh situations. In this one, I endeavored to shine empathy - compassion for children in the cycle, without softening or erasing. That's why it's identifiable one of my stories, but also why it's among the most intense.

I'd love to hear your responses to this one. You can read it for free right at this link.

"The Tentacle and You" at Pseudopod

Greetings friends and fellow conspirators! It's about to be a very busy series of months, with a series of story publications, convention appearances, and wild announcements. And it all starts today.

It starts with the return of one of my quirkiest stories: "The Tentacle and You." This little story is like if a TV pitchman was trying to sell you on alien parasites living in your body. It's going to be the next big thing!

"The Tentacle and You" walks the line between humor and Horror, and as such is one of my favorite stories to perform. That's why it's so great to hear this story as part of Pseudopod's podcast. Owen Duffy provides a chipper interpretation of my tentacled marketer.

You can listen to the story for free right at this link.

LeVar Burton Reads "Open House on Haunted Hill"!

A dream came true this week, for both and author and for his haunted house.

You probably know my little story, "Open House on Haunted Hill." But you've never heard it like this. It is a thrill to present the newest episode of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast, in which he narrates the full story of 133 Poisonwood Avenue.

LeVar Burton is an iconic of literacy to me. He's one of the first adults I remember ever even talking about reading, much less showing excitement for it. Reading Rainbow was a big thing to me. It was later I learned what an incredible actor he was. Most of my friends have been gushing that Geordi from Next Gen likes my stories.

The tenderness and depth of appreciation for storytelling are traits that make him a perfect narrator for this story. I've been looking forward to hearing it for weeks.

You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts. Let me know what you think!

The episode is on Apple Podcasts here.

The episode is on Google Podcasts here.
 

The episode is on Stitcher here.

Awards Eligibility Post 2021

2021 is almost in the record books! I can't say it was an easy year, but it was a busy one. I published nearly as many stories and essays this year and as last year, and I'm hard at work on stories for 2022. 

If you're catching up on work for awards, I've collected links to all of my fiction and non-fiction right here in this post. Where possible I've included the categories, lengths, and dates of publication. See anything you like?

NOVELETTES

"That Story Isn't The Story" at Uncanny Magazine Issue #43,

9033 words, November 1st, Fantasy/Horror 

Direct Link

Anton has long been a familiar for the abusive Mr. Bird. He finally attempts escape with the help of the last friends he has, and tries to break his bond with Mr. Bird through therapy and healing rather than magic. But Mr. Bird isn't done with him.

SHORT STORIES

"For Lack of a Bed" at Diabolical Plots,

2724 words, April 16th, Fantasy 

Direct Link

Noemi has suffered from chronic pain for years, but she's found a cure: the most comfortable sofa in the world. The trouble? It might be alive - and eating her.

"We Are Not Phoenixes" at Fireside Magazine,

817 words, March 1st, Fantasy 

Direct Link

Pyromancers seek to entertain and bring some last comforts to the patients in hospice - a place all pyromancers will one day wind up.

"Gender Reveal Box, $16.95" at Fireside Magazine,

755 words, June 1st, Fantasy/Horror

Direct Link.

So what if gender reveal parties are actually cosmic horror events? With this hot new product, you'll have the *best* gender nightmare possible.

"Guidelines for Appeasing Kim of the Hundred Hands" at Fireside Magazine,

552 words, August 1st, Fantasy

Direct Link.

A list fiction about problems with the wish-granting statue at a local university, told via all the rules students have been breaking about her.

 

"Godfather Death, in His Own Words" at Fireside Magazine,

964 words, November 9th, Fantasy

Direct Link.

Death himself drops by to give the account of his godson, and how Death's plan to help him get ahead in life backfired.

"The Tyrant Lizard (and Her Plus One)" at Drabblecast,

2617 words, August 2nd, Science Fiction

Direct Link.

 A deaf security guard realizes that the tyrannosaurus that's been attacking her settlement might also be disabled. Could this be the beginnings of a buddy comedy?

"The Best Part" in the Curtains: Concert Visions to Benefit #SaveOurStages,

540 words, February 1st, LitFic

A grip working to set up stages for touring bands has slowly gone deaf over his career. He hasn't heard a note in years. This story follows one day in his life, and what he still loves about music.

 

NON-FICTION

Weird Plagues: How Fear of Disease Mutated into a Subgenre at Uncanny Magazine Issue #38,

1322 words, January 1st 

Direct Link.


Arnold is a Survivor Girl: Why Predator is a Slasher Movie at Nightmare Magazine, 

1331 words, June 1st

Direct Link.

What Are We Supposed To Be Afraid Of In Blair WitchProject? at Uncharted Magazine, 

1197 words, August 11th

Direct Link.

 

So, dear readers. See anything you liked?

New Fiction: "That Story Isn't The Story" in Uncanny Magazine

Hello my dear readers! I'm happy this month to bring you my first-ever novelette. It's the longest piece of fiction I've ever published, and tells the deepest story of someone psyche.

"That Story Isn't The Story" follows Anton, a familiar who seeks to break his connection to his abusive master. He runs away with the help of the last friends he hasn't been estranged from, still bearing the marks of his curse. But as he tries to rebuild himself and find how to tell the story of what's happened to him, the shadow of his master follows him.

You could say this is a Wiswellian Horror Story - foreboding, grim, and yet compassionate and hopeful. Survivors are believed; friends genuinely try to understand rather than going straight to conflict. The length of the story let me dig into what recovery looks like, especially when that recovery is threatened.

I couldn't ask for a better home for this story than Uncanny Magazine. They previously published my story "The Bottomless Martyr," as well as a few non-fiction pieces. I always enjoy working with them for how professional and respectful they are.

You can read the entire novelette for free on Uncanny's website right here.

Please enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

"We Are Not Phoenixes" - New Story live at Fireside Fiction!

Hello beloved readers! I have a new story for you today, and one that is quite personal. It's called "We Are Not Phoenixes," and it's in the new issue of Fireside Magazine.

It's a very short story about what pyromancers can do to show kindness and entertain patients in hospice. Magic is often used to damage or to heal. But magic has boundaries. When we're delicate and it's limited, how can we make meaning out of our actions? Even if they're magical?

The story was directly inspired by a blog post from Elephant's Child a few years ago. She posted about a visit to a hospice where alpacas were roaming around the compound. It turned out a local farm lent them to the patients for some gentle entertainment.

As someone who is chronically ill, and someone who has lost many friends to prolonged illness, this was powerful to me. I wondered: why doesn't Fantasy ever do that?

This story is my answer to that query. It's dedicated to many wonderful people who I won't see again, and who I am very glad to have known.

You can read the story for free at this link.

2020 Awards Eligibility Post

This year is actually almost over! Sure, some part of you says it's still March, but that part is sleep deprived and needs a hug. 

And because 2020 year is almost over, awards nominations are starting to open up. That leaves us writers with the nervous task of collecting our awards-eligible material.

Below, I humbly present the stories and articles I've written this year. This has been the most fruitful year of my career, with more publications and fan outreach than ever. I'm profoundly grateful to everyone who has enjoyed my weirdo stories. "Open House on Haunted Hill," for instance, is the single most popular thing I've ever written, despite being exactly the sort of thing so many people told me I couldn't and shouldn't write. Thank you all who proved those voices wrong.

Thank you to anyone who has space on their ballots and end-of-year-lists for any of my work.

Personal Canons: Dragon Ball

There have been numerous conversations about Science Fiction and Fantasy canon this year. Can works age out of the canon? Is the gatekeeping essential to canons necessarily racist and xenophobic? Is a single objective canon possible? How do canons help us?

Amid this, Sarah Gailey has run a great series of essays by various critics and authors on what works they feel belong in a greater canon. I've enjoyed reading them, and I'm pleased today to see my entry published.

I'd like to talk to you about Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Both the manga and anime were massive breakout hits for Japanese SFF writers abroad, including in the US where I live. The anarchic weirdness of that series was as enchanting and formative for me as any work of Tolkien.

Please come join me for the conversation. You can read my piece for free by clicking right here.

"Open House on Haunted Hill" is live at Diabolical Plots!

Today I'm proud to present "Open House on Haunted Hill," one of my favorite stories I've ever written. It follows the loneliest haunted house in the world, which is just desperate for someone to live in it. It's just gone live at Diabolical Plots.

I can't overstate the outpouring this story has gotten so far. This is the most acclaim and attention any story of mine has received at launch. The kind words from readers, fellow authors, editors, and agents has affirmed all the work I put into this little house.

This story began as a joke at World Fantasy in 2018. I was trying to explain to other writers that I love Horror, and read and watch it all the time, but I don't write much of it. If I wrote a haunted house story, it'd be about one that wanted to help its occupants live comfortably. This got a lot of laughs, but also a lot of requests for me to please actually write that.

Well folks? I did.

Along the way, I was blessed by some keen beta readers and cheer readers. A special thanks goes out to all of them: Natalia Theodoridou, Michelle Ann Fleming, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, Nat Sylva, Cass Williams, Ariel Harris, and Leigh Wallace. The editor at Diabolical Plots magazine, David Steffen, also helped me work some kinks out of the ending. To edit is divine, right?

You can read "Open House on Haunted Hill" for free by clicking this link.

"Gender and Other Faulty Software" is live at Fireside Magazine

I'm happy to present "Gender and Other Faulty Software," a new short story live at Fireside Magazine!

It's the story of a crew that reclaims abandoned spaceships by installing a new operating system in them. But the newest spaceship finds some bugs in the OS's code - and particularly, has questions to ask about why it needs a gender. This story is already getting lovely responses around Twitter.

I have to thank Jordan Kurella and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor for beta reading this story. They did a wonderful job pointing me in the right direction to polish it.

This is my fourth story at Fireside. I'm overjoyed to keep bringing fun and unusual pieces to their pages. You can read the story for free by clicking this link.

A Kaiju Story in Nature Magazine?

Call this one a career goal! I've got a brand new story for you about giant monsters published by Nature.

The Nature Futures program, which runs Science Fiction stories in the otherwise Non-Fiction Science publication, does amazing work. This is my second story with them, and I'm tremendously proud of it. It is both a kaiju story and a rare piece of Hard SciFi from me. I researched radiation technology and animal behavior extensively for how someone might try to treat these things if they existed.

The result is "Tucking In the Nuclear Egg," a story about how to care for kaiju eggs that otherwise will irradiate your continent. You can read it for free by clicking here.

The reception has been wonderfully warm so far. Please let me know what you think!

Two Sales to Announce!

I have two good pieces of news to share this week. I've just signed a pair of contracts for two exciting projects.

First up: I've sold a new story to Nature Futures. This one is "Tucking In the Nuclear Egg," a story about giant monsters with a little more science than I usually apply. It's about the logistics of shielding and caring for a kaiju egg that's constantly putting off multiple Chernobyls worth of radiation. It's terrifying and tender - and yes, this does mean I sold a kaiju story to Nature! This feels like a life goal.

This is my second sale to Nature, following "The Tentacle and You" in 2019. There may be a little more news about that tentacle story coming soon.

up: I can announce my first essay of the year! Uncanny Magazine has accepted "The Assassination of Professor X," which is a deep dive into the history of the character, how he's been rewritten in the last two decades to be more despicable and less idealistic, and how his famous disability has been erased in parallel. Professor X is a rare character as a disabled mentor, and I don't take his destruction lightly. I've been stewing on this for years, and I look forward to sharing it with you all in the coming months.