Locus Magazine

Tales and Feathers Vol. 4 Tales and Feathers Vol. 4 opens with “Covenant of Salt” by Erin Keating, a lovely and quiet story of a lighthouse keeper who finds herself haunted by a ghost made of salt. The story is full of gorgeous imagery, and paints a lovely portrait of two people learning to trust each other and let someone else into their life when they’re used to being alone.

The inaugural fantasy literature festival was held in Ruse, Bulgaria over the weekend of May 23-25, 2026. The festival was organized and hosted by the Luben Karavelov Regional Library, with the theme of “The River of Stories and Worlds.” International guests in attendance included Dr. Marian Womack (Spain/UK), Lucie Lukačovičová (Czech Republic), and Alex Shvartsman (USA). They were joined by many popular Bulgarian authors, including Vasil Popov, Elena Pavlova, Simona Panova, and Haralambi Markov.

Radiant Star, Ann Leckie (Orbit US 978-0-316-29035-7, $30.00, 360pp, hc) May 2026.

Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep, Paul Tremblay (Morrow , hardcover, 388pp, $30.00) June 2026. Fans of best-selling horror writer Paul Tremblay who jumped onboard his wagon to the stars only with A Head Full of Ghosts (2015) are probably not aware that he showed a great facility with and interest in science fiction at the outset of his career.

It’s the surprise smash hit of the season, Backrooms! And deservedly so. Already setting box office records for A24, this low-fidelity psychological horror film – based on a popular YouTube series of found footage videos – is an atmospheric exploration of the-weird-made-physical, leading you through a maze without holding your hand and then, once you reach the middle, leaving you alone with your thoughts. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as …Read More So this is hell. I’d never have believed it.

The European Science Fiction Society (ESFS) announced the Hall of Fame Awards, Achievement Awards, and winners of the Chrysalis Awards for emerging talent.

The Witch of Prague, J.M. Sidorova (Homeward Books 979-8-99942-490-7, $24.00, 388pp, tp). Cover by Emma Kaniuk. March 2026. The Witch of Prague, J.M. Sidorova’s first novel since The Age of Ice (2013), is set in Prague, 1967. Alica Hovanova lives with her mother and (deeply unpleasant) stepfather. She’s about to finish school, with no real prospects for what comes next; she has no particular talents, her family has no connection to the Communist Party elites.

The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J.G. Ballard, Christopher Priest & Nina Allan (Bloomsbury Continuum, 978-1399417495, £25.00, 496 pp, hc) April 2026. In his short story “The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista” (1962), J.G. Ballard devised the concept of the psychotropic house, a kind of physicalized biography through which new residents experienced the memories and narratives of former inhabitants.

Winners of the Heinlein Society’s annual undergraduate scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year were announced on July 7, 2026, Robert A. Heinlein’s 119th birthday. This year’s winners are Riya Gupta, Nora Kane, Leslie Manga-Abomo, William Mar, and Evan Sturdivant. The scholarship awards $4,000 to each recipient. Winners were selected from 310 applications, including 40 international submissions from 22 different countries.

Rialto, Kate Milford (Clarion Books 978-1-328-46691-4, $19.99, 480pp, hc) April 2026. Author Kate Milford excels at crafting twisty puzzle-box novels that invite readers to join her young teen protagonists on magical mysteries of the most eclectic and immersive kind. In the 480-page Rialto she offers up an abandoned theme park, a collection of exotic music boxes, the appearance of more than one impossible creature, a forest with fairytale origins, and a quest to make right a long-ago wrong.