Will McMahon
@willmcmahon36.bsky.social
Union organizer, writer, cider-maker.
https://will-mcmahon.com
https://will-mcmahon.com
Reposted by Will McMahon
Crawling back from a very nasty bout of flu by posting some of my favorite stories I read last year. Is it a perfect list? No, there's a ton of amazing stuff out there. But I am happy with it and I hope you can find something in here for you <3
AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF GLORIOUS SHORT FICTION THAT I ENJOYED IN 2025 (BY PUBLICATION MONTH).
his love’s ashes on his tongue, by Monte Lin, in The Deadlands (January) I love how this story explores grief and death. It’s a journey in a strange city. A journey inside our minds and the v…
eugeniatriantafyllou.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Crawling back from a very nasty bout of flu by posting some of my favorite stories I read last year. Is it a perfect list? No, there's a ton of amazing stuff out there. But I am happy with it and I hope you can find something in here for you <3
Reposted by Will McMahon
If you're in the Ottawa area, please come out to our rally at Carleton University on Jan. 22 at noon, in support of AI protections for education workers. You absolutely don't have to RSVP to come, but if you feel comfortable, it helps us plan. Dress warm, bring a sign, bring a friend:
Rally for AI Guardrails at Carleton
TAs are calling for AI guardrails at Carleton. CUPE 4600 TAs have been fighting for fair AI protections since September. If you are concerned about protecting your TA work from AI, join us on Thursday...
docs.google.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM
If you're in the Ottawa area, please come out to our rally at Carleton University on Jan. 22 at noon, in support of AI protections for education workers. You absolutely don't have to RSVP to come, but if you feel comfortable, it helps us plan. Dress warm, bring a sign, bring a friend:
Reposted by Will McMahon
The second smallest domino is “Prose doesn’t matter, just ‘the story’”
January 11, 2026 at 9:50 PM
The second smallest domino is “Prose doesn’t matter, just ‘the story’”
Interesting discussion of short fiction collections and story order in here. As a reader, I definitely jump around, but when I’m reading for a review, I go in order.
Good listening while I put my bookcases back together (including maybe a hundred collections, though many only lightly dipped into).
Good listening while I put my bookcases back together (including maybe a hundred collections, though many only lightly dipped into).
Coode Street 715: The one we recorded in between recording the other ones
Gary and Jonathan talk about new books, short story collections, reading old favourites and plans for the new year.
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-cunft...
Gary and Jonathan talk about new books, short story collections, reading old favourites and plans for the new year.
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-cunft...
Episode 715: The one we recorded in between recording the other ones
Jonathan and Gary kick off 2026 with no guests, but with the sort of wide-ranging ramble that some listeners seem to enjoy, and that others probably gave up on years ago. We talk about some books due ...
www.podbean.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Interesting discussion of short fiction collections and story order in here. As a reader, I definitely jump around, but when I’m reading for a review, I go in order.
Good listening while I put my bookcases back together (including maybe a hundred collections, though many only lightly dipped into).
Good listening while I put my bookcases back together (including maybe a hundred collections, though many only lightly dipped into).
Reposted by Will McMahon
Long live the resistance of the Asayish!
Asayish are the Internal security forces, fighting a heroic struggle in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiye. The people of NES are on their way to support them.
Asayish are the Internal security forces, fighting a heroic struggle in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiye. The people of NES are on their way to support them.
January 10, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Long live the resistance of the Asayish!
Asayish are the Internal security forces, fighting a heroic struggle in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiye. The people of NES are on their way to support them.
Asayish are the Internal security forces, fighting a heroic struggle in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiye. The people of NES are on their way to support them.
Reposted by Will McMahon
This has been the default imperialist position for centuries, so really the oddity was that brief period of comfortable unipolar hegemony where it seemed gauche to say it out loud. No clearer sign of late imperial anxiety than the contemporary return of this old ass monocle and pith helmet blather
On X, a senior U.S. Justice Department official is promoting a post that praises colonization as “one of the greatest things that ever happened to the backwards parts of the world.”👇
January 5, 2026 at 1:34 AM
This has been the default imperialist position for centuries, so really the oddity was that brief period of comfortable unipolar hegemony where it seemed gauche to say it out loud. No clearer sign of late imperial anxiety than the contemporary return of this old ass monocle and pith helmet blather
These imperialists will burn down the world if we let them. Today it’s Trump, but it didn’t start here. U.S. domination of Latin America (and the broader Global South) must end.
January 3, 2026 at 3:17 PM
These imperialists will burn down the world if we let them. Today it’s Trump, but it didn’t start here. U.S. domination of Latin America (and the broader Global South) must end.
Reposted by Will McMahon
Loved this one-sentence piece.
Incidentally, when misfortune strikes, I also cycle through three or four different culprits before realizing who's really to blame.
Incidentally, when misfortune strikes, I also cycle through three or four different culprits before realizing who's really to blame.
October 2025 saw the 17th anniversary issue of @bcsmagazine.bsky.social and my story "Pools of Light at the Center of the World," a 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind. Weird fiction with shades of cosmic horror. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/pool...
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Pools of Light at the Center of the World by Will McMahon
...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life, and he paused again and crouched, the joints of his body creaki...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Loved this one-sentence piece.
Incidentally, when misfortune strikes, I also cycle through three or four different culprits before realizing who's really to blame.
Incidentally, when misfortune strikes, I also cycle through three or four different culprits before realizing who's really to blame.
Reposted by Will McMahon
Big thanks to everyone who joined me this year on A Meal of Thorns, and to everyone who listened along and supported us! Feeling like a thread as we leave 2025 behind us: a chance to boost these again. Great guests & great books—take a look, and take a listen wherever you find your podcasts!
January 1, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Big thanks to everyone who joined me this year on A Meal of Thorns, and to everyone who listened along and supported us! Feeling like a thread as we leave 2025 behind us: a chance to boost these again. Great guests & great books—take a look, and take a listen wherever you find your podcasts!
Reposted by Will McMahon
This piece is a tour de force. A great read.
October 2025 saw the 17th anniversary issue of @bcsmagazine.bsky.social and my story "Pools of Light at the Center of the World," a 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind. Weird fiction with shades of cosmic horror. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/pool...
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Pools of Light at the Center of the World by Will McMahon
...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life, and he paused again and crouched, the joints of his body creaki...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
January 1, 2026 at 2:24 AM
This piece is a tour de force. A great read.
Reposted by Will McMahon
Another special week of reviews was our focus on spec fic in translation via US small presses. thank @willmcmahon36.bsky.social for prodding us to do this: some great, clarion-call pieces.
@casella.bsky.social channelled his 68er: "Beneath the pavement, need I remind you: the beach."
@casella.bsky.social channelled his 68er: "Beneath the pavement, need I remind you: the beach."
7 July 2025
Visit the post for more.
strangehorizons.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Another special week of reviews was our focus on spec fic in translation via US small presses. thank @willmcmahon36.bsky.social for prodding us to do this: some great, clarion-call pieces.
@casella.bsky.social channelled his 68er: "Beneath the pavement, need I remind you: the beach."
@casella.bsky.social channelled his 68er: "Beneath the pavement, need I remind you: the beach."
I should have tagged @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org on this one! Always going to screw something up. This excellent book wasn’t even on my radar before their monthly call for reviews. Everyone who wants to think critically about the genre should be reading ARB regularly.
My final review of the year was of A CARNIVAL OF ATROCITIES by Natalia García Freire (tr. Victor Meadowcroft for @worldedbooks.bsky.social). Violent catharsis in a colonized landscape. ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/08/18/t...
The Transmutation of Death into Light: Review of Natalia García Freire’s A Carnival of Atrocities
Will McMahon Under Review:A Carnival of Atrocities. Natalia García Freire, translated by Victor Meadowcroft. World Editions, April 2025. In the town of Cocuán, people are shedding their clothes and…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 1, 2026 at 3:03 AM
I should have tagged @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org on this one! Always going to screw something up. This excellent book wasn’t even on my radar before their monthly call for reviews. Everyone who wants to think critically about the genre should be reading ARB regularly.
Reposted by Will McMahon
An essay & some research I did for ARB, on the nationality & language trends of the Hugos, led me to start Translated Hugo Initiative (@translatedhugo.bsky.social), with loads of help from @tallesteden.bsky.social, @rachelcordasco.bsky.social & more. Lots more to come on that in 2026.
The Translated Hugo Initiative
Putting the World in Worldcon
translatedhugo.org
January 1, 2026 at 2:06 AM
An essay & some research I did for ARB, on the nationality & language trends of the Hugos, led me to start Translated Hugo Initiative (@translatedhugo.bsky.social), with loads of help from @tallesteden.bsky.social, @rachelcordasco.bsky.social & more. Lots more to come on that in 2026.
I've been MIA from the writing world for months due to my organizing work, but I still had several publications in 2025: four pieces of fiction, three reviews, and a podcast appearance. I also started a reading series which, while irregular, was a lot of fun. Thought I'd look back, with links below.
January 1, 2026 at 1:17 AM
I've been MIA from the writing world for months due to my organizing work, but I still had several publications in 2025: four pieces of fiction, three reviews, and a podcast appearance. I also started a reading series which, while irregular, was a lot of fun. Thought I'd look back, with links below.
Reposted by Will McMahon
Some of my favorite works of #SFinTranslation from 2025:
December 31, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Some of my favorite works of #SFinTranslation from 2025:
Reposted by Will McMahon
Readercon is doing a final call for program item proposals for the forthcoming Readercon 35. Use our handy form to suggest panel ideas or people you think should be at Readercon: readercon.org/contribute
Thank you, it's your suggestions that make Readercon wonderful.
Thank you, it's your suggestions that make Readercon wonderful.
Contribute to Readercon's Program | Readercon Web Services
readercon.org
December 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Readercon is doing a final call for program item proposals for the forthcoming Readercon 35. Use our handy form to suggest panel ideas or people you think should be at Readercon: readercon.org/contribute
Thank you, it's your suggestions that make Readercon wonderful.
Thank you, it's your suggestions that make Readercon wonderful.
Casella has recommended it to me before, but this episode finally prompted me to drop by my local bookstore and pick up Sea Now.
Whole episode is a good listen. Give it a go for your year-end critical needs.
Whole episode is a good listen. Give it a go for your year-end critical needs.
December 29, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Casella has recommended it to me before, but this episode finally prompted me to drop by my local bookstore and pick up Sea Now.
Whole episode is a good listen. Give it a go for your year-end critical needs.
Whole episode is a good listen. Give it a go for your year-end critical needs.
Reposted by Will McMahon
As a special holiday treat, my poem "The World To Come" is out today at @strangehorizons.bsky.social !
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
The World To Come
I did not ask for resurrection; I have no use for olam ha-bah.
strangehorizons.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:50 PM
As a special holiday treat, my poem "The World To Come" is out today at @strangehorizons.bsky.social !
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...
Reposted by Will McMahon
Check out my 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind in a field!
BCS of 2025! "Pools of Light at the Center of the World" @willmcmahon36.bsky.social BCS #442 "...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life..." www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/pool... #BCSof2025
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Pools of Light at the Center of the World by Will McMahon
...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life, and he paused again and crouched, the joints of his body creaki...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Check out my 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind in a field!
Reposted by Will McMahon
Deep breath
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
December 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Deep breath
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Reposted by Will McMahon
For over a millennium, the winemaking traditions of the Kalash, an ethnoreligious people, have endured in Pakistan’s Hindu Kush mountains. In one of the most remote regions in the world, beliefs and customs are passed down orally.
December 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
For over a millennium, the winemaking traditions of the Kalash, an ethnoreligious people, have endured in Pakistan’s Hindu Kush mountains. In one of the most remote regions in the world, beliefs and customs are passed down orally.
Reposted by Will McMahon
I've been thinking about this story at least once a week since October. Easily my favorite sentence this year
BCS of 2025! "Pools of Light at the Center of the World" @willmcmahon36.bsky.social BCS #442 "...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life..." www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/pool... #BCSof2025
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Pools of Light at the Center of the World by Will McMahon
...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life, and he paused again and crouched, the joints of his body creaki...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I've been thinking about this story at least once a week since October. Easily my favorite sentence this year
Check out my 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind in a field!
BCS of 2025! "Pools of Light at the Center of the World" @willmcmahon36.bsky.social BCS #442 "...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life..." www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/pool... #BCSof2025
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Pools of Light at the Center of the World by Will McMahon
...and he now wandered alone through the green and bright land of his desire, its air thick with the heady buzz of life, of unseen life, and he paused again and crouched, the joints of his body creaki...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Check out my 2800-word sentence about a shipwrecked Andalusian merchant losing his mind in a field!
Understanding they are apparently backtracking now due to the response, but— I left SFWA for a number of reasons, which this unfortunately fits neatly within. Rather than an overly cautious, compromised “professional association,” freelance writers need a union. Read on if you want to help.
Very disappointed in the new Nebula Award eligibility information from SFWA that allows partially-generated works to be on the ballot. See 9.11.2.
www.sfwa.org/complete-neb...
This shouldn't be difficult. #noAI
www.sfwa.org/complete-neb...
This shouldn't be difficult. #noAI
December 20, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Understanding they are apparently backtracking now due to the response, but— I left SFWA for a number of reasons, which this unfortunately fits neatly within. Rather than an overly cautious, compromised “professional association,” freelance writers need a union. Read on if you want to help.
Reposted by Will McMahon
All PM Press books are 50% off with coupon code GIFT through 1-1-2026. Stock up while you can.
pmpress.org/index.php?l=...
pmpress.org/index.php?l=...
December 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
All PM Press books are 50% off with coupon code GIFT through 1-1-2026. Stock up while you can.
pmpress.org/index.php?l=...
pmpress.org/index.php?l=...