✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]
And just like that, it’s September again!
Depending on where you live in this wide world, the kids in your neighborhood (or even your home!) might be heading back to school and the weather around you might be starting to change. But one thing is a constant, even through the ups and downs: Substack Fiction writers work their butts off to bring their readers great stories!
This issue has a lovely selection of all the faves: serial projects, published work for purchase, an award season to celebrate, and even a very intriguing collaborative writing movement!
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 lovely week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!
Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.
📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
- has just concluded the serialization of his speculative novel Ingression after one full year of publishing! From Johnathan: “INGRESSION is the first speculative fiction story in The Consilience Series. It contains elements from dystopian, post-apocalyptic, cli-fi and first contact sub-genres, with a touch of swords and eagles fantasy. On a drowned yet parched future world, a young woman is forced into a dangerous joumey whilst seeking a cure for her body's fatal flaws. The key to her survival lies with friends old and new, a mysterious mentor, and a deadly secret she struggles to hide within her mind. But it will take far more than a desperate plan and an irrelevant man to escape her limited lifespan. So when an enigmatic artefact promises to aid her quest in exchange for her innermost thoughts, she must risk making the ultimate sacrifice to save both herself and those she loves.” The second novel in the series is currently in progress!
New Projects:
- has just launched his serialized novella, Constants. Blurb: “Naomi Sullivan only wanted connection. Locked in her apartment during the pandemic, she finds herself in a virtual rooftop bar complete with a sunset that never ends and a stranger who never leaves. His name is Henry, and against every instinct she lets him in. Constants is a novella about presence, memory, and the blurred line between love and illusion.”
- recently started a serialized Southern Gothic short story called The Penitentiary. Blurb: “At Elijah’s trial, we are introduced to the young boy’s desperate circumstances. A compassionate Judge sentences him to community service at the local penitentiary, where he meets the Assistant Warden, Raburn, and a prisoner named Doc, whose calming voice soothes a fellow prisoner in need.” This story with themes of justice, mercy, family, redemption, and the power of human connection will have seven parts in all.
Awards:
Congratulations to
, winner of the Fantasy (Round 4) edition of the Lunar Awards’ 10th Season, along with runner-up ! Learn more about the winning stories, honorable mentions, and other cool details in this post from awards host Winston Malone and guest judge .
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- ’s grounded “First Contact” technothriller, Magnitude, is available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 6/21/25
- ’s contemporary/urban fantasy novel and Book One of the Arcane Hunters series, The Veracin Blade, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 7/1/25
- ’s short story, Garbo’s Ghost, has been included in the recently-released noir anthology called Celluloid Crimes. Release Date: 8/26/25
- ’s contemporary novel with themes of mythology and folklore, called The Rhinelanders, is now available as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 8/27/25
- ’s historical mystery novel and second in the Georgian-era Meg Valentine Mysteries, Lost Lane, is now available for preorder through Amazon. Other formats and distributors will be available after the release date. Check out Charlie’s web page for details, including how to get an ARC copy. Release Date: 10/22/25
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Fantasy writers! Are you looking to be part of a truly unique worldbuilding project?
(Maya) has an opportunity for you! Launching this autumn is a collaborative writing project: The Ynysfall Codex. From Maya: “Inspired by the fragmentary, myth-soaked style of the Mabinogion and the atmospheric storytelling of games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, this project invites fantasy writers to contribute to a shared-world experiment in collaborative mythmaking. The premise is simple: each contribution is a fragment—a lost manuscript, a bard’s song, an inscription, a bestiary entry, or a whispered legend. No single fragment reveals the whole truth of Ynysfall, but together, they form an evolving Codex: a world of ruins, mysteries, and contradictory tales.”Submissions are open until October 25th
Accepted fragments will appear on a rolling basis on Maya’s Substack under this tab: The Ynysfall Codex. All authors will be registered as contributors.
In early November, the best pieces will be gathered into a downloadable PDF anthology for contributors and readers.
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thank you so much for highlighting my debut story, The Penitentiary. Your support for newcomers is amazing and I really appreciate all your insights.
Lynda Edward’s short story, “The Penitentiary,” is a great read. I enjoyed the well-drawn characters and the twist at the end.