2021 online short SFF!

Getting kind of a late start, but I'm a week earlier than last year, so, hey! It's that time again when I frantically read and rec short fiction! In this first batch, stories I read before starting my big systematic read. (I have a few more open tabs that may go into a second misc batch later, but I wanted to get started with these at least.)

The Billionaire Shapeshifters' Ex-Wives Club, Marissa Lingen, Fantasy Magazine. Flash poking fun at a romance genre.

Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe, Vanessa Fogg, Translunar Travelers Lounge. A sweet take on "what if characters got to read the fanfic about them".

The Badger's Digestion; or The First First-Hand Description of Deneskan Beastcraft by an Aouwan Researcher, Malka Older. A scholar studying an interesting practice. This is lovely and charming, with a Le Guin feel. NOVELETTE.

(emet), Lauren Ring. F&SF. A programmer working on facial recognition experiments with golems. NOVELETTE.

The Cold Calculations, Aimee Ogden, Clarkesworld. Some angry riffing on Cold Equations.

A Luxury Like Hope, Aimee Ogden, The Future Fire. Climate-collapse story, set partly in Boston.

Twenty Thousand Last Meals on an Exploding Station, Ann LeBlanc, Mermaids Monthly. An original and compelling take on time loops.

Tidings, Rich Larson, Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors, third place winner. The contest was to envision equitable climate progress and a better world.

The Cloud Weaver's Song, Saul Tanpepper, Imagine 2200. I didn't read all the stories, but I also liked this one, the second place winner.