Talestack News - ISSUE 34
[October 7th - October 21st]
✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]
The leaves may be falling, but Substack Fiction just keeps growing!
Happy midway-through-October, all! The cold and rain have fully moved in here at Talestack HQ, which means it’s time to get cozy and explore as much Substack fiction as we can. This issue has some fantastic options to get your autumnal reading started!
As always, please hype each other up in the comments. Go visit, explore, give virtual high-fives, and let your colleagues know that you’re with them.
Have a fantastic week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
- is wrapping up his beloved serial novel, Lamb! From Troy: “I'm hosting a wrap party on Nov 9th at 4pm Eastern time with a preview reading of the final episode, and an excerpt of bonus material that will be published in the print/ebook versions coming in June 2025.” Tickets for the wrap party are available on Eventbrite (for free!) and all episodes of Lamb are now available in audio.
New Projects:
- has just launched her debut serial novel, On the Road to Jericho. Synopsis: “Shrugging off the threat of bombs, the young Eleanor Williams starts her career as a South African diplomat witnessing Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. Thirty years later, she lies broken in the women’s bathroom of an office building in Haven, U.S.A. She’s navigated war-torn landscapes, so why does corporate scheming break her? Where does she belong? And how can she hold both adventure and loss, hope and disillusionment, lightness and abysmal darkness? Follow Eleanor’s unflinching and cathartic story, a contemporary odyssey for women who hold multitudes. Who are at times both loveable and unlikeable. Who choose the unexpected path. And who are building resilience through everyday experiences as professionals, wives, and moms.”
- has just started serializing his novel, Mars in Retrograde. Synopsis: “Mars in Retrograde is an ongoing serial about a group of offbeat and immoral misfits on the search for free will and sanctuary at the looming end of the world. Slightly absurdist, heartfelt and challenging, this weekly serial asks questions about culpability, what it means to feel safe and how to atone for our most egregious mistakes.” This novel is also available as an ebook! (See entry in Bookshelf section below!)
- has just launched a new section and a new series on her Substack, called Paschats. It features a whole new setting’s worth of speculative fiction, “mainly involving the Paschats of the title, who are a mischievous feline species from Sirius, who sometimes incarnate on this planet in human form.” The new series is called Ciao, SETI! Synopsis: “The story is a combination of humour and sci-fi, in which a sassy young astronomy postgrad at the Parkes radio observatory in Australia, called Phoebe, attempts to prevent SETI from covering up a genuine signal from extraterrestrials.”
Milestones & Wins:
- (Kim Kayes) has had TWO pieces of fiction accepted for publication! Roi Faineant accepted That Time When The Gods Saw a Marriage Counselor and it'll be on their website by the 27th. Kim adds, “Roi Faineant is a HARD place to be published in; they've rejected most of what I've sent them so this is a huge win for me.” The second piece, Backrooms, was accepted by lit mag PULP and can be read for free here on Pages 16-17.
- has announced some big changes over at his fiction newsletter, Gibberish! From Scoot: “On November 1, everything written on or before January 31, 2023 will go behind a paywall, and the paywall will advance each month. Check out the post linked [above] for updates to paid perks, a special discount code, and to check out the stories before they go behind the paywall!”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- ’s collection of superhero short stories, The Lights of Edison City, is now available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 10/7/24
- ’s anthology of speculative fiction stories, The Orchard Hounds, is now available for purchase as an ebook on Amazon! Release Date: 10/7/24
- ’ s novel, Mars in Retrograde, is available for purchase as an ebook through his website! Release Date: 10/12/24
- has three upcoming published books to announce through his small press, Coverstory Books:
So, you think you’re a Writer? by
Scattered with Grace by Richard Lister
At the Fraying Edge of History by Derby Stanza Poets
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Freelancers of Substack, stand up and be counted! The Manifest is a new directory of Substack freelancers organized by
! No need to subscribe, no special rules or secret handshakes, just check out this post and fill out the submission form to have your services listed! (Not a freelancer? Please pass The Manifest around to anyone you know on the hunt for freelance talent!)
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thx so much for the inclusion!
So happy to be here! Thanks for the shoutout!