ZNB Presents: Year One

by Joshua Palmatier (Editor), Brian Hugenbruch, Jason Palmatier

Welcome to the first year’s worth of stories from the new online magazine ZNB Presents published by the small press Zombies Need Brains. In these pages, you will find original science fiction and fantasy stories of awe and wonder, darkness and light, ranging through all of the subgenres, including urban fantasy, alternate history, space opera, fairy tales, and more. They come from the most talented authors in the field today—new voices as well as trusted and familiar names. Join us as we explore visions of the past, present, and future, as we encounter strange new creatures, both in our own backyard, in the depths of space, and our own imagination. Here you

--Enter an abandoned colony on a hostile world
--Come face-to-face with a horrific Stampede on an alien planet
--Search for a murderous golem made of salt
--Fight in the brutal pits of an apocalyptic America
--Stop time in order to search for a missing child
--Race one final time on a futuristic race course
--Find betrayal and redemption in a world full of clowns
--Hunt for those who are killing your fellow gunslingers
--Rebel with the Little Match Girl in a search for something beyond her story

And so much more! Twenty-four stories written by Brian Hugenbruch, Jason Palmatier, Diana A. Hart, Evan Marcroft, Cislyn Smith, Hazel King, Barbara Ashford, Ryan T. McFadden, Maria Z. Medina, Adria Bailton, Marie Brennan, Crystal Sarakas, Marc Fleury, Anaea Lay, Desmond Astaire, A. Katherine Black, P.A. Cornell, Alma Alexander, Antony Paschos, Jack Gallegos, Brian Crenshaw, Chloie Piveral, Evergreen Lee, and L.D. Colter, each with its own illustration by artists Kat D’Andrea, Ariel Guzman, or Gulzara Tokhtamysheva.

Welcome to the multi-faceted worlds of ZNB Presents .

Find us on Patreon

359 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2023

About the author

Joshua Palmatier started writing science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories in the eighth grade, when the teacher assigned a one page Twilight Zone-ish short story. He wrote a story about Atlantis. It was from the perspective of one of the inhabitants as he escaped in a spaceship, watching his world being destroyed by water from one of the viewports of the ship. He got an A. Joshua hasn't stopped writing since.

"The Skewed Throne" is Joshua's first published novel, but it's the fourth novel he's written. The sequels--"The Cracked Throne" and "The Vacant Throne"--are now all available. His next series--comprising the novels "Well of Sorrows," "Leaves of Flame," and "Breath of Heaven"--was initially published under the pseudonym Benjamin Tate, but is being released in June 2016 under his real name. He is currently hard at work on the third book in his latest series, "Reaping the Aurora," with the first book "Shattering the Ley" now available and the second "Threading the Needle" due out in July 2016. He's also managed to write a few short stories, included in the anthologies "Close Encounters of the Urban Kind," "Beauty Has Her Way," "River," and "Apollo's Daughters."

Joshua is also the founder of a small press called Zombies Need Brains, which is focused on producing SF&F themed anthologies. There are two anthologies currently available--"Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs Aliens" and "Temporally Out of Order"--with two new anthologies due in August 2016 titled "Alien Artifacts" and "Were-". Find out more about Zombies Need Brains at www.zombiesneedbrains.com.

Bibliography: Novels:

Throne of Amenkor series:
The Skewed Throne
The Cracked Throne
The Vacant Throne

Well of Sorrows series:
Well of Sorrows
Leaves of Flame
Breath of Heaven (forthcoming)

Novels of The Ley:
Shattering the Ley
Threading the Needle (July 2016)
Reaping the Aurora (forthcoming)

Bibliography: Short Stories:

"Mastihooba" in Close Encounters of the Urban Kind edited by Jennifer Brozek (APEX).
"Tears of Blood" in Beauty Has Her Way edited by Jennifer Brozek (Dark Quest).
"An Alewife in Kish" (as Benjamin Tate) in After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar edited by Joshua Palmatier & Patricia Bray (DAW).
"The River" in River edited by Alma Alexander (Dark Quest).

Bibliography: As Editor:

After Hours: Tales From the Ur-Bar (DAW)
The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity (DAW)
Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs Aliens (ZNB)
Temporally Out of Order (ZNB)
Alien Artifacts (ZNB; forthcoming)
Were- (ZNB; forthcoming)