Lightspeed Magazine
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Lightspeed is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF—and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.
A 12 month subscription to Lightspeed includes more than 100 stories (around 700,000 words of fiction). In each issue, you will find eight pieces of short fiction (a mix of short stories and novelettes) from a variety of authors—from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven’t heard of yet. Some of the authors we’ve published over the years include Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, N.K. Jemisin, Ted Chiang, and Ken Liu, to name but a few. In addition our short fiction offerings, Lightspeed also offers a variety of nonfiction features, including feature interviews, Q&As with our authors that go behind-the-scenes of their stories, book and media reviews, and more. Source
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| Scope | Consumer |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Country | United States of America |
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Recent Articles
Search ArticlesA Guide on How to Repay Your Vow to the Deity of Many Faces
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ll be launching our first Kickstarter campaign in more than a decade, to fund Year 17 of Lightspeed and Year 15 of Nightmare. Clicking lightspeedmagazine.com/kickstarter will take you to the campaign pre-launch page. Once you’re there, click the NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH button so you’ll be notified when the campaign goes live on September 15.
Author Spotlight: Alexander Weinstein
We’re so happy to have “Dreamweavers” as one of the science fiction stories for this month. Can you tell us about what inspired you to write this story? It was during an AI & Creativity Conference at Stanford that I first heard about Sam Altman’s truly horrifying next endeavor called World Coin. If you haven’t heard of this particular dystopia, it involves an eye-scanning orb that’s being sent to many third world countries to scan the retinas of those who volunteer.
Dreamweavers - Lightspeed Magazine
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ll be launching our first Kickstarter campaign in more than a decade, to fund Year 17 of Lightspeed and Year 15 of Nightmare. Clicking lightspeedmagazine.com/kickstarter will take you to the campaign pre-launch page. Once you’re there, click the NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH button so you’ll be notified when the campaign goes live on September 15. In The Before Days, Tim was a fellow fabricator of dreams.
COVER GALLERY: Tithi Luadthong (a/k/a Grandfailure)
cover by Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 193 (June 2026) Tithi Luadthong (aka Grandfailure)
Editorial: September 2026
This month’s original science fiction offerings are by Alexander Weinstein (“Dreamweavers”) and Sanjana Raj (“Alterverse”), the latter of which we’re publishing in partnership with Dartmouth University and MIT Press (see below). Our two science fiction flash pieces are: “The Chrysalis of Moth One” by V.M. Ayala and “Maskwork Saltman Giftbox” by Rich Larson. Our original fantasy offerings are by Anya Ow (“Long Goodbyes”) and Thomas Ha (“Jempo”).
Announcement: We’re Launching a New Kickstarter Sept. 15. Sign up to be notified when it launches!
On September 15, 2026, we’ll be launching our first Kickstarter campaign in more than a decade, to fund Year 17 of Lightspeed and Year 15 of Nightmare. Join us for a year of new short fiction from some of the biggest stars in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, including: Charlie Jane Anders Travis Baldree Olivie Blake P.
Ladd’s Robot Repair
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ll be launching our first Kickstarter campaign in more than a decade, to fund Year 17 of Lightspeed and Year 15 of Nightmare. Clicking lightspeedmagazine.com/kickstarter will take you to the campaign pre-launch page. Once you’re there, click the NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH button so you’ll be notified when the campaign goes live on September 15. I wasn’t even two blocks into the Tumbledown when the walker’s nav crystal started fuzzing out.
The Goddess of Not Enough
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ll be launching our first Kickstarter campaign in more than a decade, to fund Year 17 of Lightspeed and Year 15 of Nightmare. Clicking lightspeedmagazine.com/kickstarter will take you to the campaign pre-launch page. Once you’re there, click the NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH button so you’ll be notified when the campaign goes live on September 15. 1. You’re eighteen. Your fairy godmother just fired you, because after three balls, the prince has grown bored with you.
Book Review: All We Have Is Time by Amy Tordoff
All We Have Is Time Amy Tordoff Hardcover / eBook ISBN: 978-1668068045 Atria Books, July 2026, 352 pgs Greetings, readers, and welcome back to another book review! This month, we’re slowing things down a little and watching the years go by from the perspective of a cursed immortal who doesn’t know what she’s living for, until she meets a time traveler who steals her heart—that’s right, it’s All We Have Is Time by Amy Tordoff! All We Have Is Time mainly follows the journey of Beatrix Lancourt,...
Author Spotlight: Adelehin Ijasan
In “Of All Who Dream,” we descend into the depths of a dream world where starving gods fight to survive. Where did the inspiration for this story come from? The inspiration came from my own fascination with the true nature of reality and consciousness. I mean, what is this world we live in? How are seemingly psychic dreams possible? Does consciousness emerge from matter, or is it the other way round?