Tag: clarkesworld

Awards Eligibility and 2021 Round-Up

by Grace, posted in Reflections, Updates, Writing

I have a grand total of one (1) delightful story for your awards consideration!

He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars (5300 words) was published in Clarkesworld Issue 178 in July 2021. It’s a science fiction story about Yennie, a lonely 22nd century pop idol on Enceladus. It features quantum entanglements, yearning, superfans, machine learning, duplication, and duplicity.

I’m incredibly grateful to Neil Clarke for the publication. Thank you also to Karen Burnham for Locus Magazine for including it as a Recommended Story: ‘This portrait of fame with its costs and benefits is very well done.’

He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars was also praised in Maria Haskins’s July 2021 Short Fiction Round-up: ‘Science fiction with a tender, gentle heart and spirit, this story is bittersweet and lovely through and through.’

And in Vanessa Fogg’s July-August 2021 Short Fiction Recs: ‘Wildly inventive, lyrical, and ultimately moving.’ Thank you!

I am also eligible for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer!

Looking ahead to 2022…

I’ve been working on a bunch of things due for publication in 2022.

  • Look out for two new short fiction pieces: As Though I Were a Little Sun in Fireside Magazine, and Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu in Lightspeed Magazine.
  • My debut novel, Every Version of You, is steadily approaching the final stages of the editing process! Also, I’ve had a first sneak peek of the cover design! Publication has been shifted from February to September 2022.
  • I have an illustrated poem in the works, accepted for publication in Going Down Swinging online.
  • And finally, I’ve written a short story for a major game franchise, and I look forward to sharing that early next year.

Thanks again for following my work. I’ll probably do a bit more of a reflection on writing and growth in my newsletter. So if you haven’t signed up for that, take a peek at the link above.

Between work, life and extended lockdowns, I haven’t been able to prioritise writing as much as I’d hoped this year, but I do feel like I’m gradually finding my voice: figuring out what I want to write about and what I’d like to channel my time and energy towards.

I look forward to working on more writing projects in the new year. I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Jigsaw Children in Audio

by Grace, posted in Updates
Forgot to post this a few weeks ago.
My story, Jigsaw Children, is available in audio form, narrated beautifully by Alethea Kontis.
Available at the Clarkesworld website: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_02_20d/
Or also on the Clarkesworld Podcast:
…and other podcast sources.

Jigsaw Children – Clarkesworld

by Grace, posted in Updates

I think I’m reasonably lucky, only having five parents. I guess my donors didn’t have too many risk mutations. Some of my classmates have been spliced together from eight, nine, even twelve donors. I don’t envy them the task of juggling their Chinese New Year dinners.

In 2018, I scribbled an opening line in the back of my diary: ‘I have three mothers and two fathers.’

A few weeks later, I had an unwieldy sci-fi story about gene splicing, mothers, attachment, and identity, set in near-future Hong Kong. It was too long. It had a terrible first title (which I changed, thanks to my writing bud’s feedback).

But I liked Lian’s story. I reworked it. Submitted.

And held my breath.

And screamed a bit (OK, a lot) when I saw the acceptance email.

Jigsaw Children has just been published in Clarkesworld’s February 2020 issue, alongside five other fascinating stories–and that sweet, sweet cover art!

I hope you stop by to hear Lian’s story.

PS. This is my first publication for 2020. There are a couple more things in the works, so do follow, stay tuned, and maybe even drop me a line…we of the writer-hermit folk subsist on little nuggets of feedback!