Holly Lyn Walrath's Blog: Stories, page 2

Introducing Level Seven by William Ledbetter

AnnouncementsThe Thrilling Final Conclusion in the Killday Series by Nebula Award winning Author William Ledbetter

“…a propulsive techno-thriller that steps outside the well-established tropes of a scientist struggling to save the world from being taken over by AIs who see no further need for humanity.” — Mike Finn’s Fiction

​The thrilling final installment in the Killday Series by Nebula Award winning Author William Ledbetter

The brutal Kilburnites finally destroyed all Artificial Intelligences on...

​​Call for Submissions: Infinite Branches: Queer, Speculative Disability Poetry in Conversation

Interstellar Flight Press is seeking poets who are both queer/trans and disabled for a special collaborative series in 2025, to be published at Interstellar Flight Magazine. Our guest editor for this call is Toby MacNutt. This call is different than our past calls: Please read the guidelines carefully.

Guest Editor’s Biography
I’m queer, nonbinary (they/them) trans-masculine, chronically ill, autistic, and a speculative poet. I’m a white person living in rural Vermont (US), and also a textile arti...

The Ghost With the Most…D?

FilmBeetlejuice Is a Thirst Trap on TikTok, and I’m Here for It“He beetle on my juice till show time” — TikTok, I Shit You Not

In 1988, depressed that Warner Brothers wouldn’t greenlight his Batman project, Tim Burton began working on an even less likely-to-succeed film called Beetlejuice with Larry Wilson, who would go on to write Addams Family and this year’s anticipated hit, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Wilson went to a Cure concert and realized that teenage girls loved goth. “It felt to me...

Will & Harper Try to Change the World

Film, Fantastic FestA Documentary about Transness, Friendship, and the Changing Landscape of AmericaImages Courtesy Netflix

Content Warning: This review contains discussions of anti-trans legislation, misgendering, and anti-trans hate.

The new documentary Will & Harper is a touching exploration of the complexities of what happens in a friendship when one person transitions — and a heartbreaking showcase of how far America has to go when it comes to accepting trans people. Will Ferrell, the popular...

TRIZOMBIE: Down Syndrome in the Apocalypse

Film, Fantastic FestBelgian Film Shows People with Down Syndrome Can Survive

Director Bob Colaers has created a conversation piece in the new Belgian film TRIZOMBIE (2024), premiering at Fantastic Fest this week in Austin, Texas. The film follows a group of people with Down Syndrome as they survive a zombie apocalypse where only people with trisomy 21, an extra twenty-first chromosome, are immune to the virus.

The film was originally a TV miniseries and has been cut together into a film with surpr...

Bring Them Down Review

Film, Fantastic FestIrish Horror on a Sheep Farm with Barry Keoghan

In Fantastic Fest 2024 feature BRING THEM DOWN, Christopher Abbott plays Michael (Mikey) might-as-well-call-him-Danny-boy, a shepherd with a dark past forced into violence in this gripping domestic thriller. The film opens with one of the most heart-wrenching introductions to a character I’ve ever seen, taking the popular horror movie trope of opening a film with a car accident (Get Out, Final Destination, The Descent, etc., etc....

The Rule of Jenny Pen

Film, Fantastic FestAging and Its Horrors Explored in New Shudder Flick with John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush

“Life is precarious, happiness is fragile, triumph and disaster are only a random incident apart.” — Owen Marshall

Real-life Horror Often Overlooked

It may seem slightly out of character for IFP to review a film about old men in a care home, but stick with me. In its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, THE RULE OF JENNY PEN is a psychological thriller that follows Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rus...

The Best Speculative Poetry is Intersectional

Reading from the 2024 SFPA Elgin Award Nominees

This is my sixth year reviewing books from the SFPA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association) Elgin Award for best speculative poetry book. A full list of nominated books is available on the SFPA website. This year’s award chair is Felicia Martínez, who I would like to thank for diligently tracking nominations.

Here are my previous reviews:

The Best Speculative Poetry of the Year is ExplosiveThe Best Speculative Poetry of the Year is EpicThe Be...

Introducing Necessary Poisons by Andrea Blythe

A New Poetry Horror Chapbook from the Author of TWELVE

“The world is automatic
in the courses of its living. Time
keeps the living and the dead
in its pocket…”

Interstellar Flight Press is delighted to announce the publication of Necessary Poisons, a new poetry chapbook from Andrea Blythe, author of Twelve (Interstellar Flight Press, 2020), winner of the SFPA Elgin Award.

Pre-Order Necessary Poisons Today

Download early on NetGalley for reviewers

Book Description

A woman troubled by her place in the dark...

Introducing The Butterfly Disjunct by Stewart C Baker

A Debut Short Story Collection with Speculative Fiction from the Pages of Galaxy’s Edge, Writers of the Future, Nature, and More

“The Butterfly Disjunct is quirky, smart, funny, and deadly serious. Narratives range from classically told to cleverly experimental, always science fiction and always a delight. Well done!” — Kij Johnson

Interstellar Flight Press is delighted to announce the publication of THE BUTTERFLY DISJUNCT: AND OTHER STORIES by Stewart C Baker!

A scientist haunted by an impossible ...