Science Fiction & Fantasy

Born in Springfield, MA, Sheila Williams grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master’s degree in microbiology; her father sparked her interest in genre fiction, reading Edgar Rice Burroughs to her. He had a membership to the Science Fiction Book Club, which delivered books every month. Once the [...]

Peter Watts has been selling fiction for twenty years. He has won a number of awards for fiction including an Aurora Award for short story “A Niche,” a Hugo Award for novelette “The Island,” and a Shirley Jackson Award for short story “The Things.” He has been a finalist or been nominated for a host [...]

It’s almost time to pick your favorite Clarkesworld story and cover art from 2018 in our annual reader’s poll! Last year, we switched to a two-stage voting system—more like a traditional two-round genre award—and we intend to use the same model again this year.
Phase 1: Nominations (mid-January)
Later this month, we’ll open for a forty-eight hour flash nomination [...]

“Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the neighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their [...]

“What is there more sublime than the trackless,
desert, all-surrounding, unfathomable sea?
What is there more peacefully sublime than the calm,
gently-heaving, silent sea?
What is there more terribly sublime than the angry,
dashing, foaming sea?”

Floating freely in the dark cold water, Mariana had lost her [...]

This episode features “Deep Down in the Cloud” written by Julie Novakova. Published in the February 2018 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker.

The text version of this story can be found at:
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/novakova_02_18

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 Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 137 - Deep Down in the Cloud by Julie Novakova [42:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (57978)

The solar system is dying. It’s happening slowly, but inevitably. In approximately six billion years, the Sun will become a red giant: a bloated star burning up hydrogen in its outer shell. It will have engulfed Mercury and Venus and, possibly, Earth. While our beloved planet may survive the event, it would do so as [...]

The universe around us echoes with the Great Silence. It seems oppressive to some, foreboding to others. We have not picked up any alien transmissions; seen any indications of interstellar travel or construction; met any other civilization. Yet even with propulsion systems based on known technological principles, it should be possible to colonize the whole [...]

We have seen this scenario in science fiction a million times: Scientists uncover an alien organism previously buried under ice, or bring bugs from another celestial body to Earth. Before we know it, an apocalypse unveils: It was a deadly pathogen threatening to wipe out all life on Earth! This clichéd scenario is far removed [...]

How many copies make a bestseller? What does an author need to do in order to have a novel accepted by a publishing house? How does a SF magazine work? We often contemplate these questions but perhaps rarely realize how vastly the answers can differ between national markets.
Last summer, I met Neil Clarke at Worldcon [...]