Love Letter by George Saunders (The New Yorker) I listened to this story in the The New Yorker Fiction Podcast where it was read by David Sedaris, and I must admit that Sedaris' excellent narration of the story might also have affected how I feel about the story. Still, as Sedaris also mentions in his … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – March 2026
Tag: Fiction
Story Recommendations – February 2026
All right, it is technically March. And it’s not because I forgot to hit post or anything… Honestly, it’s not. Well, maybe a little. Anyway, here they are, the February short story recommendations… in March. I Met You on the Train by J.R. Dawson (Uncanny) This is a familiar little tale about a person who … Continue reading Story Recommendations – February 2026
Short Story Recommendations – November 2025
It’s time for another round of short story recommendations. I’m doing thing a bit differently this time, or rather, more like I used to back when I started doing these reviews way back. I’ll be recommending both old and new stories, and I’ll be including stories from a wider array of magazines rather than just … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – November 2025
Short Story Recommendations – October 2025
It's time for another round of short story reviews, marking the first time in loooong while that I've managed to do these posts two months in a row. (I'm still not sure I'm ready to make that a habit again, though.) We will start out strong. If an Algorithm Can Cast a Shadow by Claire … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – October 2025
Short Story Recommendations – July 2025
It's time for another (very late) round of short story recommendations. This one was meant to go out start of June, but life got busy as always, and I only just had time to clean up my notes. Anyway, I hope you find these stories as enjoyable as I did. Woodmask by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Uncanny): … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – July 2025
Short Story Recommendations – May 2025
Redo by Brigitte Winter (Podcastle/ New Year, New You: A Speculative Anthology of Reinvention): A fresh but disturbing take of the age-old SF trope of time travel. From the start, it’s clear that the MC is stuck in a less-than-ideal relationship, being severally subdued by her dominating and inconsiderate husband. Things starts to take a … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – May 2025
Short Story Recommendations – March 2025
Well... It's been a while since I last did short story recommendations. I needed a break from short fiction, from reading it at least. And while it might not become a monthly segment on the blog again (at least, not yet), it's time I start diving back into the wonderful world of short fiction. So, … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – March 2025
2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
2025 is well under way already, and it's perhaps a bit late to start looking back at the previous year and how I fared. But, well... it's been a stressful January, and it's only really now that I've had both the time and energy to reflect on 2024. The obvious place to start is probably … Continue reading 2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
Publication News – January 2025
2024 came and went, and it feels like I was one my backfoot throughout most of the year. I was sitting down to do a sort of summary of how the year went and what I plan for the new year, but then I realized I hadn't even cought up on my latest publication news. … Continue reading Publication News – January 2025
Long Overdue Publication News
I got some publication news, which I should've announced weeks ago. For various reasons, though, I only got around to it now. However, to make up for my slowness, I have, for the first time, two publications to announce. Firstly, Stupefying Stories have chosen to publish another piece of mine called "The Sky Will Fall" … Continue reading Long Overdue Publication News
Toby Backman 