Ben Francisco
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benfrancisco.bsky.social
Ben Francisco
@benfrancisco.bsky.social
Queer Latinx fiction writer. Debut novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, out now! Stories in Strange Horizons, Indiana Review, Podcastle, LCRW, and more. All things geeky and social justice-y welcome. They/Them.
https://linktr.ee/benfrancisco
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social

benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
October 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
TFW you're watching #StarTrek Strange New Worlds and a holodeck character says, "I'm a writer, I'm never happy about anything" and your husband laughs a little *too* hard...
September 6, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Got back from vacation to find that Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth had gotten this lovely 5-star review from Readers' Favorite! "Populated with a dazzling cast of humans and aliens alike, Francisco’s story is witty, moving, and impossible to put down."

readersfavorite.com/book-review/...
May 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Mother and child together at the #HandsOff rally! Two generations, one struggle. From my parents I learned that love is larger than borders, that free speech is sacred, and that community means standing up for the most vulnerable among us.
April 6, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Highly recommend GRACKLE by @acwise.bsky.social. This wonderfully eerie novella is not just a ghost story, but a story *about* ghost stories, about why the living find ghosts so compelling, why we're drawn to invent ghosts and cling to them and so enjoy the fear and nostalgia they carry with them.
January 9, 2025 at 9:16 PM
My TBR pile is already a TBR bookcase - but even so I just had to pick up these 2024 releases that I'm especially excited to read! #BookSky #specfic
January 6, 2025 at 8:32 PM
#AwardsEligibility Post! VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH is on the Nebula Awards Suggested Reading List for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult and Middle Grade Science Fiction & Fantasy! Also eligible for the not-a-Hugo Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. #BookSky #YA #SciFi
January 4, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Great readings tonight of stories of wonders and horrors by @randee.bsky.social, @jfoster.bsky.social, @nicholaskaufmann.bsky.social, Karen Heuler, and Chandler Klang Smith!
October 7, 2024 at 2:17 AM
Great readings tonight of stories of wonders and horrors by @randee.bsky.social, @jfoster.bsky.social, @nicholaskaufmann.bsky.social, Karen Heuler, and Chandler Klang Smith!
October 7, 2024 at 2:16 AM
Excited for this event tonight with five brilliant writers of fantastic fiction: @randee.bsky.social, @jfoster.bsky.social, @nicholaskaufmann.bsky.social, Karen Heuler, and Chandler Klang Smith!
October 6, 2024 at 7:11 PM
June 28, 2024 at 9:49 PM
Just read and loved DEFICIENT by Michael Solis. Highly recommended for fans of dystopian SF, superheroes, and #YA coming of age novels. #Latinx #ownvoices #pride #bookshelf

www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
June 22, 2024 at 11:14 PM
In celebration of Pride Month, I made a listicle of some of my favorite novels featuring #LGBTQIA+ characters in space!

benfrancisco.net/2024/06/18/q...

#queer #spaceopera #sciencefiction #sciencefantasy #queersinspace #queerspaceopera #pride
June 18, 2024 at 9:52 PM
June 8, 2024 at 10:29 PM
Excited to be on my way to Pasadena for #Nebulas2024! Looking forward to co-hosting the #LGBTQIA+ meetup (in person) and to being part of a panel on writing LGBTQIA characters!
June 5, 2024 at 9:33 PM
VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH is on sale for #Pride for just $4.99! It's the perfect time to get your fix of Diplomacy Adventures of Latinx Queers in Space! #scifi benfrancisco.net/valvega/
June 3, 2024 at 11:00 PM
I got a belated birthday present in the form of a review from Booklife for Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth- and it's an Editor's Pick! It's even what television's Moira Rose might call an understated rave! "Francisco thrills with a coming-of-age debut set among the stars."
March 24, 2024 at 9:08 PM
This past week SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH has been among the top sellers on Amazon in space opera Young Adults and LGBTQ+ Young Adult genres which is an amazing way to start. It's been fun seeing Val Vega hang out on the lists with a bunch of cool queer fiction and Star Wars books!
February 5, 2024 at 9:26 PM
My first novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, got a starred review from Kirkus! "A captivating, heartfelt tale about family, diplomacy, and finding one’s place in the universe." You can preorder your copy of this queer Latinx young adult space opera here:

www.amazon.com/Val-Vega-Sec...
January 30, 2024 at 8:33 PM
COVER REVEAL! My first novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, comes out February 2024! It's the story of Val Vega, a 16-year-old Puerto Rican high school student who gets drafted by aliens to help stop a Galactic war – as ambassador of the primitive planet called Earth!
October 26, 2023 at 6:03 PM
New arrivals from Lethe Press! Excited to jump into these queer short story collections by three brilliant writers - Charles Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social, Christopher Barzak @cbarzak.bsky.social, and Steve Berman!
October 11, 2023 at 9:20 PM
Having a great writing residency at Dairy Hollow Writers Colony in Eureka Springs, Arkansas! Nourishing atmosphere with some amazing writers - plus my own cute little balcony just outside my suite!
September 2, 2023 at 8:55 PM