It's a new year and Locus is ready to kick it off with another new video on the top new releases of the week! We're going over the best of the best in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres! If you're worried about missing out, consider subscribing to the channel to keep up-to-date on future releases whilst also showing your support for what we do! We post weekly and would …Read More

Longtime SFF editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden retired from Tor on January 5, 2026. In his tenure at Tor he had served as VP, associate publisher, and editor-in-chief before shifting to editor-at-large in 2024. His influence and impact on the field is immeasurable and includes launching the careers of many celebrated authors, as well as being instrumental in the development of Tor.com (now Reactor) and the Tor Essentials line. His involvement …Read More

The Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS) has announced the finalists for the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Fiction. * **The Star Dwellers** , James Blish (Avon / Faber & Faber) * **Brave New World** , Aldous Huxley (Chatto & Windus) * **That Hideous Strength** , C.S. Lewis (Scribner) * **Salt** , Adam Roberts (Gollancz) * **Singularity Sky** , Charles Stross (Ace) Four other works were also considered: **Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said** ,byPhilip K. Dick; The …Read More

The Heinlein Society has opened its 2026 scholarships for undergraduate students. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. PDT on April 1, 2025. Applicants must be entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year in a four-year, accredited college in any country, and must submit a 500-1000 word essay. The Society awards four annual $4,000 scholarships, and for 2026 will award a fifth bonus scholarship: * The **Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship** …Read More

**Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week's new books and support your local bookstore. And us!** Beaulieu, Bradley P.: **A God of Countless Guises** (Bloomsbury UK/Head of Zeus/Ad Astra 978-1803285115, $30.00, 544pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 01/08/2026) Fantasy novel, second in the Book of the Holt trilogy. In a world where humans kill each other in a contest for godhood, Lorelei tries to discover more about the trickster god …Read More

Two interesting items appear in the lower rankings this week. First is the 50th Anniversary Edition of Ursula K. Le Guin's **The Dispossessed** (Harper Perennial, Nov. 2024), a title that has never appeared in any edition on this page in over 20 years. Second is a $45 hardcover edition of Mary Shelley's **Frankenstein** (Harper) in a MinaLima edition, i.e. illustrated by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, best known for …Read More

David C. Kopaska-Merkel has been awarded The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA)'s President's Lifetime Service Award. The award is given for service throughout the years to an individual who has furthered the knowledge, appreciation and acceptance of the speculative poetry genre, and who has served the SFPA in a significant volunteer capacity. SFPA President Brian U. Garrison said: David C. Kopaska-Merkel has stayed strong even after earning …Read More

The LAcon V organizers have announced that Tracey Baptiste will be a special guest for the 84th World Science Fiction Convention. Baptiste is an award-winning author of twenty-six books for young readers, including the Jumbies series and a popular Minecraft tie-in novel; an author of nonfiction and historical books such as **African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History** ; and a teacher in a low-residency MFA program at the University of …Read More

Locus is back again this week to finish off the year with a small, but fantastic, selection of new releases! We're going over this weeks top releases in the Fantasy genre, alongside some of our favorite SF releases that came out earlier in the year! The year is up, but Locus still plans to release a new video every week going into the new year, so if you want to …Read More

The January 2026 #780 issue of _Locus_ magazine has interviews with Tom Holt (AKA K.J. Parker) and Kamilah Cole, and a spotlight on Michael Kelly & Best Weird Fiction. Main Stories include an obituary and appreciations for John Varley (1947-2025), _Time_ magazine's must-read books of 2025, and Lit Hub's 100 notable small press books. People and Publishing covers news about Cassandra Clare, Max Brooks, Lilly Lu, Kage Baker, James Islington, …Read More

Author Terence M. Green, 78, died December 19, 2025, after a long battle with prostate cancer. Terence Michael Green was born February 2, 1947 in Toronto, Canada. He worked as a high school English teacher from 1968-1999, then became a creative writing lecturer at Western University in London, Ontario, a post he held until 2022. He was an invited reader at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! Don't miss it! _Locus_ staff Arley Sorg recommends**Not Your Papi's Utopia: Latinx Visions of Radical Hope** by Matthew David Goodwin, Alex Hernandez, Sara Rivera, eds: A brilliant assortment of original stories and poetry showcasing important themes by interrogating ideas of utopia. Read Arley's full review at _Lightspeed_. …Read More

The trade paperback of Andy Weir's **Project Hail Mary** (Ballantine) continues to bubble near the top of several bestseller lists, in anticipation of the release of the film version on March 20, 2026. Title Debut / #wks on any list NYT 01.04 LAT 12.28 USAT 12.21 PW 12.29 Amz (12.30) UK: Amz UK …Read More

The one notable debut this week is Brandon Sanderson's collection **Tailored Realities** (Tor), ranking at #12 or above on three lists. Title Debut / #wks on any list NYT 12.28 LAT 12.21 USAT 12.14 PW 12.22 Amz (12.22) UK: Amz UK (12.22) Canada: Amz.ca (12.22) Items on list …Read More

**Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week's new books and support your local bookstore. And us!** Cole, Kamilah: **An Arcane Inheritance** (Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press 978-1464251030, $32.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 12/30/2025) Dark academia fantasy novel. Ellory sets out to prove her worth at Warren University, a prestigious school built on the forbidden magic of BIPOC students; she gets an increasing sense of déjà vu and seeks …Read More

French SF author Pierre Bordage, 70, died of a heart attack December 26, 2025. Bordage was born January 29, 1955 in La Réorthe, Vendée, France. He wrote more than 50 novels and over 50 short stories in his career. His work won literary prizes including the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire and Prix Julia Verlanger. His short story L'archiviste (2006) was translated into English as The Archivist (2017). He is survived …Read More

This list covers new SF/F/H print, online, and electronic periodicals (including regularly updated websites) seen by _Locus_ magazine, focusing on those that publish fiction or reviews and criticism. To submit titles for listing on these pages, please send to Locus Publications, 655 13th St. #100, Oakland CA 94612 or email locus@locusmag.com. **Online Magazines** _Beneath Ceaseless Skies_ * Scott H. Andrews, ed. * Issue #445, November 13, 2025, free online, biweekly. Literary …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! Wondering what to read? _Locus_ reviewer Alex Brown says: **Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity** is an exceptional speculative anthology. Editor Lee Mandelo did a fantastic job selecting a wide range of stories. I enjoyed every story in this collection, and I think most readers will have a similar experience. This book isn't just about joy and imagining futures where everything …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! In case you missed it, _Locus_ reviewer Alexandra Pierce chooses **Honeyeater** by Kathleen Jennings: A lush, gothic story about home and family and place and secrets. Read Alexandra's full review online or in the September 2025 issue of _Locus_. …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! For your reading pleasure, _Locus_ staff Tim Pratt picks **Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me** by Django Wexler: The concluding volume in the Dark Lord Dani duology – a snarky time loop epic portal fantasy – delivers on the promise of the hilarious opening volume, **How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying**. I haven't had this much fun …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! Add it to your reading list! _Locus_ reviewer Colleen Mondor says: Turning the _**Freaky Friday**_ body-switching trope on its head, Ann Liang's **I Am Not Jessica Chen** finds teen Jenna suddenly inhabiting the body of her brilliant and beautiful cousin, Jessica. What she learns not only makes her reconsider how she perceives herself, but also to appreciate Jessica on an entirely different level. …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! Wondering what to read? _Locus_ reviewer Paula Guran says: His Most Feared Constellation by R.L. Summerling (_The Dark_ #119) is set in winter. An old man in decline is waiting for Jade, a smart and caring daughter who never appears. Bit by bit the past is revealed. An accomplished story more chilling than winter. Read Paula's full review online or in the …Read More

Kanan Gill, **Acts of God** (Blackstone 8/25) Private investigator P. Manjunath is a digital entity in an illegal reality simulation device, subject to the interventions of its creator Dr. Krishna. Manjunath seeks the Science Haters, a hypothetical terrorist group behind the sabotaging of many scientific establishments, and he repeatedly foils Dr. Krishna's simulation. Gill's debut novel, a small comic masterpiece. [Paul Di Filippo] …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! In case you missed it, _Locus_ contributor Jake Casella Brookins picks **Notes from a Regicide** by Isaac Fellman: Everything and anything I try to say about this book sounds like hyperbole, and it all falls short of the actual text. Carefully and brilliantly structured, this story of a journalist piecing together his adopted parents' revolutionary past-in a future world that is sometimes …Read More

It's _Locus_ 's 2025 Holiday Countdown of Staff Picks! Add it to your reading list! _Locus_ reviewer Charles Payseur picks Tell Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness by B. Pladek _(Lightspeed_ 1/25): A heartbreaking story about Jude, a trans man living in what was the Midwest and now is its own nation, Lakes United, part of a fractured former United States. After his friends leave the area, Jude finds himself …Read More