✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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2026 is off to a strong start! 🌱
This morning, the Editor and the Talestack Office Dogs went on their usual stroll around Talestack HQ and found a patch of daffodil buds at the edge of the woods, rising up out of the frost, bright green spears reaching for the thin winter sunlight. It was a beautiful reminder that winter is never the last word, and that the soil under the ice is still alive and teeming with inspiration.
I felt some version of that same thrill as I put together this issue today. The seeds of 2026’s projects are already stirring in the soil, and Substack fiction is alive and well, regardless of our individual and communal winters.
We weather these storms by sharing our work with each other. By telling each other stories, we keep the soil fertile.
Storytelling heals us, holds us together, and reminds us how to live.
Happy reading, happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
Liz Horsman has just completed her modern gothic serial novel here on Substack, called Marsh Witches of the Godless Florin. Blurb: “It’s Yule 1992. Nineteen-year-old Cassiopeia Crowe is summoned back to The Florin—the family’s vast marshland estate, where her father Charlie lies dying. Cass’s narcissistic mother Jocasta, the legendary May Queen of Sowen Harbour, is cut from the will, making Cass sole heir. Deep in The Florin catacombs rests the Storium—a Saxon ‘Book of Blessings’. With the help of Anya, the enchanting housemaid, Cass searches Charlie’s collection of relics and antiquities, to unlock the book. But discerning truth from folklore, and friend from foe is almost impossible when your most troubling inheritance is addiction.” Jump into the Prologue here, and check out Liz’s post about the process of serializing this story here!
New Projects:
Larry Hogue has just launched a new serialized paranormal novella, Lost Lake. From Larry: “It’s a cozy but sweary paranormal story about a Detroit cop who finds strange goings-on in a Michigan lake town. If you're already tired of winter, escape to Lost Lake!”
Richard Ritenbaugh presents a new fantasy serial called Royal Visit. Blurb: “Crown Prince Lorens invites his father’s new agent, Adonis Santinetta, to accompany him and his sister, Carena, on a state visit to neighboring Satele. While they know that Satele’s King Mirando Valleroi is facing stiff opposition from malcontents, they are unaware that they are walking into a pit of vipers who do not care if they take Margonne’s future king down with their own monarch.”
Ben Wakeman has just launched his new serial novel, Daedalia. All of Ben’s books are accompanied by his quality audio narration and original music, and are free to read for everyone on the initial run. Blurb: “An anonymous artist known only as ‘Daedalia’ is really two people—a feral young woman whose intricate drawings seem to show people the selves they’re avoiding, and the smooth-talking hustler who turns her into a myth—until her work begins to change strangers’ lives and they have to decide whether Daedalia is a beautiful lie or something far more dangerous. Daedalia is the story of an artist and the man who becomes her champion, lover and ultimately, her eraser. It asks what art is for, who it belongs to, and what happens when the work itself begins to decide.” Jump into Chapter One here!
Awards:
The Lunar Awards—Substack’s beloved speculative fiction awards site—is returning for a NEW SEASON with some NEW RULES AND GUIDELINES! Check out this latest post from Winston Malone to make sure you know what to expect from the Awards in 2026!
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
France Pinzon • literary speck’s young adult dystopian saga, Intrinsic, is now available for purchase as an ebook and paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 11/20/25
Memoirs of a Mad Scientist (D.A. Kelly)’s science fiction mystery novel—and second in the Memoirs of a Mad Scientist series—called Murder in the Gyre, is now available for purchase as an ebook and paperback through various platforms and as an audiobook through Apple Books. (You can also read sample chapters here for free!) Release Date: 12/8/25
📝 Submissions Bulletin
THE PETT REVIEW (via editor Otto Galise) is now open for submissions of “literary fiction (flash, short stories, excerpts), culture writing, reviews (books, restaurants, galleries), personal essays, poetry, and anything else that moves us or makes us think.” Learn more about the open call here, and check out their general submissions guidelines here!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thanks so much for mentioning Marsh Witches. I so appreciate it.
I also noticed some daff shoots on my dog walk this morning. It's so easy to forget that spring is on the way.
very nice.
2026 is the year for Substack Fiction.