Tractor Beam
@tractorbeamearth.bsky.social
Bringing Sci-Fi down to Earth 🌎🍂✨
A ~*soilpunk*~ quarterly
Winter is here! Issue 4: THAW out now 🌗❄️🕯️
🧑💻 Website: tractorbeam.earth
💌 Newsletter: tractorbeamearth.substack.com
📱 IG: www.instagram.com/tractorbeam.earth
A ~*soilpunk*~ quarterly
Winter is here! Issue 4: THAW out now 🌗❄️🕯️
🧑💻 Website: tractorbeam.earth
💌 Newsletter: tractorbeamearth.substack.com
📱 IG: www.instagram.com/tractorbeam.earth
Pinned
Hey Bluesky! 👋
We're Tractor Beam, a quarterly fiction publication dedicated to soilpunk: radical visions of hopeful futures built from the ground up. 🌍 ⬆️
We're Tractor Beam, a quarterly fiction publication dedicated to soilpunk: radical visions of hopeful futures built from the ground up. 🌍 ⬆️
Reposted by Tractor Beam
It would be very cool (and also completely shocking) if someone were to nominate my 2025 climate-fiction short story "The Electric Ant In Its Natural Habitat" for a Hugo.
Free to read (*with* annotations) in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social issue 2.
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-el...
Free to read (*with* annotations) in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social issue 2.
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-el...
February 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
It would be very cool (and also completely shocking) if someone were to nominate my 2025 climate-fiction short story "The Electric Ant In Its Natural Habitat" for a Hugo.
Free to read (*with* annotations) in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social issue 2.
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-el...
Free to read (*with* annotations) in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social issue 2.
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-el...
This Friday, our podcast Book Worms is back! ❄️📖🐛
Join us for a fun convo with Tara Labovich about their short story featured in our latest issue, Thaw.
Read "The Order of Soil" here: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-or...
Subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get notified when we go live!
Join us for a fun convo with Tara Labovich about their short story featured in our latest issue, Thaw.
Read "The Order of Soil" here: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-or...
Subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get notified when we go live!
February 11, 2026 at 6:56 PM
This Friday, our podcast Book Worms is back! ❄️📖🐛
Join us for a fun convo with Tara Labovich about their short story featured in our latest issue, Thaw.
Read "The Order of Soil" here: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-or...
Subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get notified when we go live!
Join us for a fun convo with Tara Labovich about their short story featured in our latest issue, Thaw.
Read "The Order of Soil" here: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-or...
Subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get notified when we go live!
Reposted by Tractor Beam
One of the most validating things that’s ever happened to me as a writer: @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social got subject matter experts to annotate my story about housing & soil remediation. I don’t know if anyone’s read them but I love that they’re there.
Full text: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-fl...
Full text: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-fl...
January 23, 2026 at 9:03 PM
One of the most validating things that’s ever happened to me as a writer: @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social got subject matter experts to annotate my story about housing & soil remediation. I don’t know if anyone’s read them but I love that they’re there.
Full text: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-fl...
Full text: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-fl...
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Don't sleep on Tractor Beam. They're doing great things with short fiction and really cool artwork.
#writing #writingcommunity
#writing #writingcommunity
Happy Winter Solstice soilpunks! 🌗❄️🕯️
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Thaw | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
tractorbeam.earth
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Don't sleep on Tractor Beam. They're doing great things with short fiction and really cool artwork.
#writing #writingcommunity
#writing #writingcommunity
Reposted by Tractor Beam
I'm really proud of this little story of a big robot and all the lives around it in and above the soil, and I hope you enjoy it!
In “The Valley In Thaw,” a long-dormant robot awakens to witness the seasonal rebirth of a valley and the fragile persistence of lives, human and otherwise, that occupy it.
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
The Valley in Thaw | Tractor Beam
If this is our home, how can we care for it?
www.tractorbeam.earth
January 9, 2026 at 7:46 PM
I'm really proud of this little story of a big robot and all the lives around it in and above the soil, and I hope you enjoy it!
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Wow thank you Íde! My story about popcorn saving humanity despite big agriculture and colonialism is in beautiful company. 🙏
If you like ochre psychedelic mists, I’ve got a story for you!
Thank you @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social for publishing
If you like ochre psychedelic mists, I’ve got a story for you!
Thank you @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social for publishing
📚🚀💀🧚♂️It’s that time again! I lost track of how many stories this is (what are numbers? why are numbers?). Flash is heavily represented this year, for people who want a quick read ⏳
#speclit #scifilit #shortfiction #amreading #horrorrecs #horror #weirdlit
idehennessy.medium.com/2025-recomme...
#speclit #scifilit #shortfiction #amreading #horrorrecs #horror #weirdlit
idehennessy.medium.com/2025-recomme...
2025 Recommended Short Stories
It’s January somehow, which means it’s time to share my annual list of Sci-fi, Horror, Slipstream, and Fantasy stories I enjoyed. Fair…
idehennessy.medium.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Wow thank you Íde! My story about popcorn saving humanity despite big agriculture and colonialism is in beautiful company. 🙏
If you like ochre psychedelic mists, I’ve got a story for you!
Thank you @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social for publishing
If you like ochre psychedelic mists, I’ve got a story for you!
Thank you @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social for publishing
In “The Valley In Thaw,” a long-dormant robot awakens to witness the seasonal rebirth of a valley and the fragile persistence of lives, human and otherwise, that occupy it.
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
The Valley in Thaw | Tractor Beam
If this is our home, how can we care for it?
www.tractorbeam.earth
January 9, 2026 at 3:19 PM
In “The Valley In Thaw,” a long-dormant robot awakens to witness the seasonal rebirth of a valley and the fragile persistence of lives, human and otherwise, that occupy it.
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
Read the final story from our Winter Issue, written by @epbirdsall.bsky.social and illustrated by Xiang Yata, out now!
Memory and reality blur as a young woman takes her dying great-grandmother on an Arctic voyage to fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing polar bears.
“There Where I Am Not” written by Tracey Fahey and illustrated by Julia Dufosse is available to read now on Tractor Beam! ❄️🧊✨
#clifi #soilpunk #thaw
“There Where I Am Not” written by Tracey Fahey and illustrated by Julia Dufosse is available to read now on Tractor Beam! ❄️🧊✨
#clifi #soilpunk #thaw
There Where I Am Not | Tractor Beam
But did they save the polar bears?
www.tractorbeam.earth
January 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM
“Apocalypse is just an alternative spelling of anthropomorphism.”
In a near-future desert where daytime heat is lethal, a couple dismantling the ruins of the old world learns that survival, and hope, depend on acts of care for the land, and for each other...
#scifi #climatefiction #shortstory
In a near-future desert where daytime heat is lethal, a couple dismantling the ruins of the old world learns that survival, and hope, depend on acts of care for the land, and for each other...
#scifi #climatefiction #shortstory
January 4, 2026 at 3:42 PM
“Apocalypse is just an alternative spelling of anthropomorphism.”
In a near-future desert where daytime heat is lethal, a couple dismantling the ruins of the old world learns that survival, and hope, depend on acts of care for the land, and for each other...
#scifi #climatefiction #shortstory
In a near-future desert where daytime heat is lethal, a couple dismantling the ruins of the old world learns that survival, and hope, depend on acts of care for the land, and for each other...
#scifi #climatefiction #shortstory
In a frozen prison, women are enlisted to gestate worms that could reanimate the world’s dead soil.
“Mother of Worms” written by Bradley J. Collins (@jfisher1215.bsky.social) and illustrated by Ard Su is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 🪱📖✨
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/mother...
“Mother of Worms” written by Bradley J. Collins (@jfisher1215.bsky.social) and illustrated by Ard Su is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 🪱📖✨
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/mother...
Mother of Worms | Tractor Beam
Carry my worms, please?
www.tractorbeam.earth
January 2, 2026 at 3:46 PM
In a frozen prison, women are enlisted to gestate worms that could reanimate the world’s dead soil.
“Mother of Worms” written by Bradley J. Collins (@jfisher1215.bsky.social) and illustrated by Ard Su is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 🪱📖✨
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/mother...
“Mother of Worms” written by Bradley J. Collins (@jfisher1215.bsky.social) and illustrated by Ard Su is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 🪱📖✨
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/mother...
Reposted by Tractor Beam
@tractorbeamearth.bsky.social is open for submissions. They have a very specific niche but if you write dystopian scifi(or at least post climate change) it might be a good fit.
Via @harlinhayley.bsky.social
tractorbeam.earth/about
#writersky #submissionsCall #solarpunk #soilpunk #scifi
Via @harlinhayley.bsky.social
tractorbeam.earth/about
#writersky #submissionsCall #solarpunk #soilpunk #scifi
About | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 29, 2025 at 10:27 PM
@tractorbeamearth.bsky.social is open for submissions. They have a very specific niche but if you write dystopian scifi(or at least post climate change) it might be a good fit.
Via @harlinhayley.bsky.social
tractorbeam.earth/about
#writersky #submissionsCall #solarpunk #soilpunk #scifi
Via @harlinhayley.bsky.social
tractorbeam.earth/about
#writersky #submissionsCall #solarpunk #soilpunk #scifi
On the Siberian tundra, a young herder and an anthropologist fight to protect mammoth hybrids engineered to keep the permafrost from melting.
"When The Land Speaks" written by Jason Collins and illustrated by Varvara Nedilska is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 📖❄️✨
#clifi #soilpunk #thaw
"When The Land Speaks" written by Jason Collins and illustrated by Varvara Nedilska is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 📖❄️✨
#clifi #soilpunk #thaw
When the Land Speaks | Tractor Beam
Can five animals preserve the permafrost?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The year is 2548. A 200-year extreme drought has swept over earth, forcing the human race to rely on massive drilling operations to extract fresh water from deep below the surface of the dry sea bed. You are a maintenance worker, lonely yet quietly hopeful, as the earth stirs in its sleep...
December 28, 2025 at 11:01 PM
The year is 2548. A 200-year extreme drought has swept over earth, forcing the human race to rely on massive drilling operations to extract fresh water from deep below the surface of the dry sea bed. You are a maintenance worker, lonely yet quietly hopeful, as the earth stirs in its sleep...
As Sister Claudine restores the prarie lands around her convent, she reconciles her seemingly wayward faith with love, purpose, and a future rooted in the soil. 🌾❤️🌏
"The Order Of Soil" written by Tara Labovich and illustrated by Pola Maneli is available to read now on Tractor Beam!
"The Order Of Soil" written by Tara Labovich and illustrated by Pola Maneli is available to read now on Tractor Beam!
The Order of Soil | Tractor Beam
Did anyone ever teach you the difference between dirt and soil?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 26, 2025 at 3:26 PM
As Sister Claudine restores the prarie lands around her convent, she reconciles her seemingly wayward faith with love, purpose, and a future rooted in the soil. 🌾❤️🌏
"The Order Of Soil" written by Tara Labovich and illustrated by Pola Maneli is available to read now on Tractor Beam!
"The Order Of Soil" written by Tara Labovich and illustrated by Pola Maneli is available to read now on Tractor Beam!
A spy teams up with an idealistic botanist to trek across the Arctic to steal humanity's last unmodified seeds from their corporate overlords...and might just steal their heart along the way. ❤️🌱❄️
"Mustard Seed" written by James Longine Yu and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha is out now!
"Mustard Seed" written by James Longine Yu and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha is out now!
Mustard Seed | Tractor Beam
A vault, or a library?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
A spy teams up with an idealistic botanist to trek across the Arctic to steal humanity's last unmodified seeds from their corporate overlords...and might just steal their heart along the way. ❤️🌱❄️
"Mustard Seed" written by James Longine Yu and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha is out now!
"Mustard Seed" written by James Longine Yu and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha is out now!
Reposted by Tractor Beam
It’s live! “Wheel Dog” is up over at @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social with annotations by @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social. I’m so stoked to end the year with a hopeful cli-fi piece in such a cool, optimistic mag. If you like dogs, sleds, or sled dogs, check it out!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
Wheel Dog | Tractor Beam
Who’s pulling for you?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
It’s live! “Wheel Dog” is up over at @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social with annotations by @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social. I’m so stoked to end the year with a hopeful cli-fi piece in such a cool, optimistic mag. If you like dogs, sleds, or sled dogs, check it out!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Loved the illustrations for this story. Loved the idea of a caretaker of remote environmental tech doing unglamorous, unsexy work with a sense of purpose. Loved extending networks of care to machines just because it feels right.
And in case you're worried, the dogs are all okay at the end!
And in case you're worried, the dogs are all okay at the end!
A seasoned musher takes a wayward adolescent and the robot dog that's trailing him on a perilous journey across Alaska to troubleshoot a glitching solar reflection system. 🐕 🛷 ❄️
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
Wheel Dog | Tractor Beam
Who’s pulling for you?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Loved the illustrations for this story. Loved the idea of a caretaker of remote environmental tech doing unglamorous, unsexy work with a sense of purpose. Loved extending networks of care to machines just because it feels right.
And in case you're worried, the dogs are all okay at the end!
And in case you're worried, the dogs are all okay at the end!
A seasoned musher takes a wayward adolescent and the robot dog that's trailing him on a perilous journey across Alaska to troubleshoot a glitching solar reflection system. 🐕 🛷 ❄️
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
Wheel Dog | Tractor Beam
Who’s pulling for you?
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM
A seasoned musher takes a wayward adolescent and the robot dog that's trailing him on a perilous journey across Alaska to troubleshoot a glitching solar reflection system. 🐕 🛷 ❄️
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
"Wheel Dog" written by @parkeriswriting.bsky.social is out now on Tractor Beam!
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/wheel-...
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Love this energy, always stoked to see new scifi voices stirring things up—can’t wait to see what THAW brings! 🌒📚
December 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Love this energy, always stoked to see new scifi voices stirring things up—can’t wait to see what THAW brings! 🌒📚
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Big news: I’m in here! “Wheel Dog” goes live tomorrow.
Happy Winter Solstice soilpunks! 🌗❄️🕯️
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Thaw | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
tractorbeam.earth
December 22, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Big news: I’m in here! “Wheel Dog” goes live tomorrow.
Reposted by Tractor Beam
Tractor Beam’s fourth issue, titled “Thaw” has launched on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. #soilpunk #tractorbeam #TractorBeamThaw @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social
www.tractorbeam.earth
www.tractorbeam.earth
Thaw | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
www.tractorbeam.earth
December 21, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Tractor Beam’s fourth issue, titled “Thaw” has launched on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. #soilpunk #tractorbeam #TractorBeamThaw @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social
www.tractorbeam.earth
www.tractorbeam.earth
Happy Winter Solstice soilpunks! 🌗❄️🕯️
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Thaw | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
tractorbeam.earth
December 21, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Happy Winter Solstice soilpunks! 🌗❄️🕯️
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Reposted by Tractor Beam
This is pretty cool. It's nice to see some new writers in the issue and people actively thinking about the situations we're in via fiction.
Tractor Beam is excited to announce author Jeff Vandermeer (@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social) as the guest editor of our Winter 2025 issue, Thaw. ❄️🕯️🌗
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
December 21, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This is pretty cool. It's nice to see some new writers in the issue and people actively thinking about the situations we're in via fiction.
Tractor Beam is excited to announce author Jeff Vandermeer (@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social) as the guest editor of our Winter 2025 issue, Thaw. ❄️🕯️🌗
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
December 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Tractor Beam is excited to announce author Jeff Vandermeer (@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social) as the guest editor of our Winter 2025 issue, Thaw. ❄️🕯️🌗
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
Winter begins...Dec 21! Subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio) for a special Winter Solstice treat tomorrow.
#climatefiction #soilpunk #thaw
Reposted by Tractor Beam
This might be a bit late, but my stories "Ancestor's Gift" published in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social inaugural issue this year and "Prerequisites for the Creation of a Possible Predicted World" published in @clarkesworldmagazine.com are both eligible for the BSFA Awards. Do consider nominating.
🚀 Members - there's still time to nominate your favourite books, stories, audio dramas, works of art and more to the BSFA long list. Go now and give your favourites the boost they deserve!
If you're not a member yet, it takes minutes to join. Go to bsfa.co.uk to find out more.
If you're not a member yet, it takes minutes to join. Go to bsfa.co.uk to find out more.
December 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
This might be a bit late, but my stories "Ancestor's Gift" published in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social inaugural issue this year and "Prerequisites for the Creation of a Possible Predicted World" published in @clarkesworldmagazine.com are both eligible for the BSFA Awards. Do consider nominating.