Although I didn’t have a chance to attend Worldcon in San Jose this year, I did take part in the Writers Symposium at Gen Con in Indianapolis. Melanie Meadors and Kelly Swails, in their first year as Symposium organizers, did a fantastic job with the panels. I heard lots of positive things from attendees. As for myself, I enjoyed all the panels I sat on (and I’m a hard-to-please panelist).

So, a hats off to Melanie and Kelly! I look forward to 2019!

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I have some incredible news to share. Rebecca Roanhorse has won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. Her “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian ExperienceTM” has nearly run the awards table. Congratulations to Rebecca!

My hope is that this opens the doors for more diverse and marginalized voices in science fiction.

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Summer is over and September is here. It’s an odd, transitory month. The heat still has a bite, but hints of change are in the air. You will feel the occasional chilly breeze. Leaves turn color, painting the world in a landscape of yellow and red.

Our original fiction this month deals heavily with transitions and change, seeking escape because they’re different. In Stina Leicht’s tragic novelette “A Siren’s Cry Is a Song of Sorrow,” a young girl seeks to transform and disappear into the sea. Naomi Kritzer returns to our pages with “Field Biology of the Wee Fairies,” where an unusual young girl studies a prized catch. We meet a trixter god in “Coyote Now Wears a Suit” by Ani Fox. Susannah Mandel’s flash piece, “River Street,” is a brief extract of a chaotic ride that moves fast, but leaves a mark.

Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali provides our reprint this month. “Talking to Cancer” is about a woman coming to terms with a unique ability.

Did you know we have a fifth volume of the World SF anthology series coming out? Volume editor Cristina Jurado shares her experiences of building a collection of work meant to represent the wide array of the fantastic speculative fiction being made across the world.

Janelle Monáe is a fascinating musician. She blends science fiction with funk, R&B, and soul. LaShawn M. Wanak dives into Monáe’s recent release Dirty Computer and asks “Why is Janelle Monáe so angry?”

Andrea Johnson interviews Naomi Kritzer. Russell Dickerson interviews our cover artist, Joel Holtzman. Finally, Apex Magazine brings you the latest “Page Advice” and “Between the Lines” columns.

Enjoy!

Jason