The bonus story fom BCS #195, our second double-issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3, and the two bonus podcast episodes are now live on the BCS website.

The bonus story, “The Mountains His Crown,”by Sarah Pinsker, tells of farmers trying to subsist in the face of autocratic and technological heedlessness.

All the stories in this double-issue were available two weeks ago for BCS ebook subscribers. Subscribers get every issue a week before the website, delivered directly to their e-reader or phone, and are supporting BCS at the same time. Visit our exclusive subscription partner WeightlessBooks.com for details.

The first bonus podcast episode is BCS 171: The Mountains His Crown, the Sarah Pinsker story, guest-narrated by Folly Blaine, who has narrated multiple past BCS podcast episodes including BCS 157: Bent the Wing, Dark the Cloud by Fran Wilde and BCS 146: Sun, Stone, Spear by Carrie Vaughn. 

The second bonus podcast is a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault: The Breath of War by Aliette de Bodard, her Nebula Award-finalist science-fantasy tale of colonialism and grief and loss from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2 back in 2014. It’s introduced by the author, detailing the inspiration for the title and the colonialist theme.

If you’d like to get both these double-issues from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3 as ebooks delivered straight to your reading device, they are now available at Weightless Books as a specially priced bundle.

And if you missed the special issues of the first BCS Science-Fantasy Month in 2012, featuring Yoon Ha Lee, Chris Willrich, and Megan Arkenberg, or the issues of BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2 in 2014, featuring Yoon Ha Lee (again!), Aliette de Bodard, and Seth Dickinson, you can get them in specially priced bundles too: BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2012 and BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2014.

BCS #195 is out today, another special double-issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3!

Aliette de Bodard (“The Moon Over Red Trees” in BCS #157 and podcast BCS 136, “Memories in Bronze, Feathers, and Blood” in BCS #45 and podcast BCS 041, and “The Breath of War,” a finalist for the Nebula Award, in BCS #142 – Science-Fantasy Month 2 and podcast BCS 121) returns to BCS with “A Salvaging of Ghosts,” a haunting story of deep spaces and family.

Sarah Pinsker offers “The Mountains His Crown,” a tale of farmers subsisting against imperialist whim, and Jason Sanford in “Blood Grains Speak Through Memories” posits a world where caretakers have become linked to the environment.

“The Mountains His Crown” releases on the website next Thursday, in text and as a bonus podcast episode BCS 171 guest-narrated by Folly Blaine. The full issue is available now on ebook at Kindle and Weightless Books.

The first BCS Audio Fiction Podcast episode with BCS #195 is BCS 170: A Salvaging of Ghosts, the Aliette de Bodard story of deep spaces and family. It’s guest-narrated by Tina Connolly, BCS author and narrator of past podcast episodes including BCS 156: Seasons Set in Skin by Caroline M. Yoachim, BCS 150: The Punctuality Machine, Or, A Steampunk Libretto by Bill Powell, and BCS 121: The Breath of War by Aliette de Bodard, from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2.

Also releasing next Thursday is a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault podcast: Aliette de Bodard introducing that podcast of her story “The Breath of War” from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2, which was a finalist for the Nebula Award last year.

The ‘From the Archives’ story with BCS #195 is “The Mote-Dancer and the Firelife” by Chris Willrich, from BCS #90 and podcast BCS 077, part of BCS Science-Fantasy Month 1 back in 2012. It’s a haunting tale of family not unlike “A Salvaging of Ghosts.”

All behind another view of our special science-fantasy cover art, “Research Lab” by Sung Choi.

BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3 will continue next week, with the website release of the bonus story, bonus podcast, and BCS Audio Vault podcast!

The bonus story for BCS #194, our first double-issue kicking off BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3, and the two bonus podcast episodes are now live on the BCS website.

Returning BCS author Cat Rambo (“Primaflora’s Journey” in BCS #170, “Rappaccini’s Crow” in BCS #151, among others) offers “Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest,” a tale of a chaos mage navigating chancy contests and feats.

All the stories in this double-issue were available two weeks ago for BCS ebook subscribers. Subscribers get every issue a week before the website, delivered directly to their e-reader or smart phone, and are supporting BCS at the same time. Visit our exclusive subscription partner WeightlessBooks.com for details.

The first bonus podcast episode is BCS 169: Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest, that Cat Rambo story, guest-narrated by M.K. Hobson, who has narrated multiple past BCS podcast episodes including BCS 166: The Three Dancers of Gizari by Tamara Vardomskaya.

The second bonus podcast is a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault: The Book of Locked Doors by Yoon Ha Lee, a science-fantasy tale of colonialism and grief and loss, for both a person and a people and culture.  It’s introduced by the author, detailing the inspiration for the title and the colonialist theme.

BCS #194 is out, a special double-issue kicking off BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3!

Yoon Ha Lee (“Two to Leave” in BCS 174 & podcast BCS 151, “The Pirate Captain’s Daughter” in BCS #27 & podcast BCS 025, among many others) returns to BCS with “Foxfire, Foxfire,” a story that blends fantastical shape-changing fox spirits with futuristic mechanical walking tanks.

(Yoon’s science-fantasy stories have appeared in BCS before: “The Bonedrake’s Penance” in BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2 in 2014 and “The Book of Locked Doors” in BCS Science-Fantasy Month 1 in 2012.)

Returning BCS author Cat Rambo (“Primaflora’s Journey” in BCS #170, “Rappaccini’s Crow” in BCS #151, among others) offers “Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest,” a tale of a chaos mage navigating chancy contests and feats.  Anaea Lay follows travels both interstellar and intramental in “The Right Bright Courier.”

“Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest” releases on the website next Thursday, in text and as a bonus podcast episode BCS 169 guest-narrated by M.K. Hobson. The full issue is available now on ebook at Kindle and Weightless Books.

The first BCS Audio Fiction Podcast episode with BCS #194 is BCS 168: Foxfire, Foxfire, the Yoon Ha Lee story of fox-spirits and mechanical tanks. It’s guest-narrated by Michael J. DeLuca, BCS author and narrator of past podcast episodes including BCS 153: The Girl with Golden Hair” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam and BCS 123: Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation by Seth Dickinson, from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2.

Also releasing next Thursday is a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault podcast: Yoon Ha Lee introducing the podcast of his story “The Book of Locked Doors” from our Science-Fantasy Month 1.

The ‘From the Archives’ story with BCS #194 is “Scry” by Anne Ivy from BCS #90 in BCS Science-Fantasy Month 1, a tale of family relationships and the fate and free will of seeing their future. The special science-fantasy cover art is the futuristic yet bleak “Research Lab” by Sung Choi.

BCS Science-Fantasy Month 3 will continue next week, with the website release of the bonus story, bonus podcast, and BCS Audio Vault podcast, and in two weeks with BCS #195, featuring Aliette de Bodard (whose story “The Breath of War,” from BCS Science-Fantasy Month 2 and podcast BCS 121, was a Nebula Award finalist), Jason Sanford, and Sarah Pinsker!

BCS #187 is out today, two days early because of the U.S. holiday this Thursday, featuring two returning BCS authors–incidentally, both Canadian–offering stories of the present haunted by the past, and a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault podcast.

Rich Larson (“The King in the Cathedral” in BCS #166 and podcast BCS 144, and “The Mermaid Caper” in BCS #119, featuring his duo of mysterious rogues Crane & Gilchrist) returns to Crane and Gilchrist with “The Delusive Cartographer,” a tale of infiltration and mystery borne out by the past.

Jason S. Ridler (“Forsaken Beneath the Stars” in BCS #134; Buzzard’s Final Bow” in BCS #68) returns to the colonial world of “Forsaken Beneath the Stars” with “Spider’s Ink,” a story told via documents yet also with a deeply personal perspective.

BCS #187 also features a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault: 020 In the Age of Iron and Ashes by Aliette de Bodard, a tale of cultures and wartime not unlike “Spider’s Ink.” It’s introduced by the author, detailing the historical and emotional inspiration for the situation of siege with no hope of relief that takes place in the story.

The From the Archives story with BCS #187 is “Bakemono, or The Thing That Changes” by A.B. Treadwell, from BCS #116 and podcast BCS 099, a tale of war and the clash of cultures not unlike Spider’s Ink” or In the Age of Iron and Ashes.

The BCS Audio Fiction Podcast is on hiatus for a few issues; in the meantime, peruse our episodes from earlier in the year, including BCS 150: The Punctuality Machine, Or, A Steampunk Libretto by Bill Powell, a special large-cast reading featuring multiple guest narrators, and BCS 133: No Sweeter Art by Tony Pi, guest-narrated by John Meagher, which was recently named a finalist for the Parsec Awards.

BCS #176 is out, featuring two stories of finding one’s place in the world.

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (“Everything Beneath You” in BCS #164 and podcast BCS 142, and another new story forthcoming this fall) returns to BCS with “The Girl with Golden Hair,” a tale of a young woman struggling in her mythical city and on a journey of distance and self.

Karalynn Lee (“Unsilenced” in BCS #105, our Fourth Anniversary Double-Issue, which received a Recommended rating from Locus online) returns to BCS with “Court Bindings,” a short and lyrical piece about court intrigue and personal power.

The BCS Audio Fiction Podcast is BCS 153: The Girl with Golden Hair, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam’s story of struggle and journey. It’s guest-narrated by Michael J. DeLuca, including BCS 138: The Rugmaker’s Lovers by Brynn MacNab, BCS 125: At the Edge of the Sea by Raphael Ordoñez, BCS 123: Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation by Seth Dickinson, and others.

BCS #176 also features a new episode of the BCS Audio Vault: 019: The Nine-Tailed Cat by Michael J. DeLuca, a short and lyrical tale of personal obsession not unlike “Court Bindings.” It’s introduced by the author, explaining the origin of the story’s setting and the post-colonial resonance of several of its symbols, both those apparent or subtle and more insidious.

Accompanying them From the Archives with BCS #176 is “Pilgrims” by Ann Chatham, BCS #141 and podcast BCS 120, a tale of two travelers on driven missions. All behind another crop of our new cover art: “Migration,” by Hugo Award-winning artist Julie Dillon.

Out today is a new episode of The BCS Audio Vault: 019: The Nine-Tailed Cat by Michael J. DeLuca, a short lush tale of a jealous lover set in an alternate post-colonial Central America.

It’s introduced by the author, explaining the origin of the story’s setting and the post-colonial resonance of several of its symbols, both those apparent or subtle and more insidious.

To hear new episodes of The BCS Audio Vault, including stories by Saladin Ahmed, Marissa Lingen, M. Bennardo, and Chris Willrich and introductions by Aliette de Bodard, Rajan Khanna and Lou Anders, subscribe to The BCS Audio Vault via RSS feed or look for it on iTunes.

Out today is a new episode of The BCS Audio Vault: 018: Mister Hadj’s Sunset Ride by Saladin Ahmed, a Weird Western tale of a strange old man from the Old Country told by his bounty hunter companion as they trail a devilish quarry.

It’s introduced by the author, explaining the story’s aim in exploring the fun tropes of Westerns while presenting a seldom-discussed aspect of the history of Muslims in America.

“Mister Hadj’s Sunset Ride” in its text version also appears in our brand new ebook anthology Ceaseless West: Weird Western Stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Ceaseless West features great BCS stories by Kenneth Mark Hoover, Peter Darbyshire, Mark Teppo, E. Catherine Tobler, and Gemma Files. It will be released early on Apr. 23 at Weightless Books, along with a BCS ebook sale, and at other ebook retailers the following week.

To hear new episodes of The BCS Audio Vault, including stories by Marissa Lingen, M. Bennardo, and Chris Willrich and introductions by Aliette de Bodard, Rajan Khanna and Lou Anders, subscribe to The BCS Audio Vault via RSS feed or look for it on iTunes.

BCS #171 is out today, featuring a returning BCS author, a podcast, and a new episode of The BCS Audio Vault that ties in with our new anthology Ceaseless West.

Spencer Ellsworth (“The Death of Roach” in BCS #85) returns to BCS with “The Fires of Mercy,” a tale of flight and consequences. Thomas M. Waldroon offers “Sinseerly A Friend & Yr. Obed’t,” a uniquely voiced story of mystery and family history.

The BCS Audio Fiction Podcast episode is BCS 148: The Fires of Mercy, the Spencer Ellsworth story, rendered in the taut voice of a bleak situation.

The new BCS Audio Vault episode with BCS #171 is BCS Audio Vault 017: Hangman by Erin Cashier, the text version of which appears in our new ebook anthology Ceaseless West: Weird Western Stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, due out next week. It’s introduced by the author, explaining the Western and Weird Western inspirations for the story and the narrator’s Western-style voice.

The From the Archives story with BCS #171 is “The Book of Autumn” by Rachael Acks from BCS #49, a tale of character flight and consequences not unlike  “The Fires of Mercy.”

All behind a new view of our spring cover art: “Twisted Mountain Valley” by Christopher Balaskas.

Coming next issue: a special expanded Weird West issue!