Bury yourself in the final story of Bodies, Tractor Beam's Halloween mini-issue! 💀🥭✨ "Fruiting Bodies," written by Emily Yang and illustrated by our community through our first open call is available to read now on Substack. tractorbeamearth.substack.com/p/fruiting-b...

In "What Transcends From Rot," written by Ciarra Havon (@ciarrawrites.bsky.social), Duella, a transition doula, works with Caiden, as he transitions from life to death and processes his body into the soil, planting new seeds for his community. Read the full short story, out now on Substack! 🦴🪱🎃✨

Happy Halloween soilpunks! 🎃🪱🍂 It’s officially rotting season. Here lies our inaugural mini-issue, Bodies, a collection of three short stories on death and decomposition, illustrated by our community through our first open call. Read the first story, "The Caretakers," by Geoff Dupuy-Holder here:

Trick or treat soilpunks! 👻 Meet Sophie Strand, guest editor of Tractor Beam's forthcoming Halloween mini-issue, Bodies. Sophie is a poet, writer, and self-identified compost heap based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology.

The deadline for our #opencall is around the corner! 👀✍️🍄🎨 We're seeking original art for our first-ever mini-issue on Substack, centered on death, decomposition, and bodies. Read our latest newsletter to find out how you can submit: tractorbeamearth.substack.com/p/want-to-il...

Want to illustrate for Tractor Beam? ✍️🍄🎨 We're seeking original art for our first-ever mini-issue on Substack, centered on death, decomposition, and bodies! Read our latest newsletter to find out how you can submit: tractorbeamearth.substack.com/p/want-to-il... #opencallforart #soilpunk #scifiart

We're digging deeper with Lana, Tractor Beam's Co-Founder, Co-Editor-in-Chief, and potted tomato plant in another life! 🍅🌱✨ Watch here: www.instagram.com/p/DPbqeGmjuoR/ You can learn more about Tractor Beam by visiting the link in our bio and stay tuned to meet the rest of the team... 👀🚜🛸🪱

In "The Undercity," a man forges a new relationship with his neighbor and her three young sons against the backdrop of a city-wide composting initiative, while mourning his husband. Read the final story in Tractor Beam Issue 3, written by Michael Zahniser and illustrated by David Huang! 🍄🪱🌃✨

Resistance is fertile in this powerful piece! "Sporesong" is visually and lyrically stunning 👌🍄✊️

The penultimate story in Issue 3 of Tractor Beam is out now: "Sporesong" written by Genesis Whitlock and illustrated by Olivia Twist!✨ Can a single spore seed a revolution? 🍄🌱💥 Read to find out... www.tractorbeam.earth/story/spores... #comic #soilpunk #TractorBeamSomethingsRotting #climatefiction

Spec fic writers! Hope you'll consider submitting to @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social's open call for issue 4, due 10/15. They pay $1000 for each accepted piece, have a beautiful website, and a great social media presence. More info + submit: form.asana.com?k=65SA73Wqwg...

In a change of pace, I’ve written a hopeful climate fiction piece about survival, psychedelic mushrooms, ecoterrorism, and popcorn. It’s free to read in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social ‘s latest issue! #soilpunk #tractorbeam #clifi #sporror tractorbeamearth.substack.com/p/joy-is-the...

In "Joy is the Present Tense of Survival," a bontanist on a return to earth mission learns about the past through an intellegent fungal network "The Ochre". He begins to suspect that The Company might not be telling the whole truth...at least not about the popcorn. 🌳🍿💥 #soilpunk #fungi #shortstory

A briny blast of soilpunk (with extra punk), and a masterclass in character, setting and voice. Love this!

Henry wants to upload his consciousness to his desktop game. He just needs to get through a couple of weeks on this cold beach first... "Sandbag Squidward," written by Ashlee Lhamon and illustrated by Hisham Akira Bharoocha is available to read now on Tractor Beam! 🌊🌾🦺🌾🎮 #soilpunk #climatefiction

Just finished reading this short story about the negotiation between man and nature that needs to happen. Some really interesting ideas and a great punk rock main character. #shortstory #solarpunk #speculativefiction

After setting up shop in a small, swampy town, two friends make a discovery that helps them communicate in an age of censorship and oppression... Read the new comic, "Swamp Press," written and illustrated by Jules Kang Sharpe, live now on Tractor Beam! ✏️📰💫 www.tractorbeam.earth/story/swamp-...

In the shadow of the Reserve of Persisting Complexity, a rag-tag community finds that webs are stronger than walls... I'm thrilled to introduce my Grubbers to the world, with such beautiful illustrations by Manon Cezaro!

In "Grubbers," an older woman living in a mushroom-farming refuge outside the city walls meets a recent runaway on the eve of a friend's birthday party. She spends the day collecting the ingredients for a soup, to make a surprise worth remembering. 🍄🍜🧅💥 #climatefiction #shortstory #fallreading

"Trees [...] never fully trusted humans. Their chemical-trace sign for us includes the ideas of movement, fire, seeds, and danger." Gorgeous, mind-bending mycelial writing from @culagovski.net 🍄🌱💚

A troubled young woman is brought into a covert community, dedicated to connecting with a planet-wide, cross-species mushroom-based communication system and learns to go deeper than she ever thought possible... 🍄🌏💫 #soilpunk #climatefiction #mycology #TractorBeamSomethingsRotting #shortstory

My story "Dead Man’s Switch" is up today on @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social ! www.tractorbeam.earth/story/dead-m... #soilpunk #tractorbeam #TractorBeamSomethingsRotting

Hi, can I interest you in some fantasy written by a nonbinary author? With trans and intersex characters? Not based on a franchise by a transphobic author! Dragonfall, Emberclaw, and my rewritten debut, Pantomime, are out now, and I could very much use some help getting the word out about them. 💖

Traveling by moonlight, a group of moths act as celestial messengers to tell the physical world of soon-to-be-departing spirits, continuing the cycle of life and death. 🪰🌝🪰 Read "Sphinx," written and illustrated by Liana Jegers, out now on Tractor Beam!

An absolutely beautiful story of life and loss and dignity by Verdell Walker in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social “I changed my mind about my homegoing. I don’t want to be buried in a box or burnt up. I want to go back to the soil, like God intended.” www.tractorbeam.earth/story/dresse...

New soilpunk short story written by Verdell Walker and illustrated by Jul Quanouai out today on Tractor Beam! 🌸🦋🌱 In "Dressed to Bloom," a woman creates a burial shroud to honor her mother as she prepares to put her body through an organic, compost-style death process. Read the full story here:

Luscious urban soilpunk from @poojajoshi.bsky.social 🤩🍄💚

Two scientists meet a fruiting fungus who has one mission...get a role in government so they can tell all the humans to stop destroying the city, the world, and their lives. When the headstrong mayor ignores them, the Embassy of Nature is forced to strike back... #climatefiction #soilpunk #fungi

"Some things cannot be hurried. Some things take years, yes, years, slow underground." Our first story in Issue 3, "The Fruiting," written by Anna Kahn and illustrated by Rui Pu, follows Kiera and an unnamed driver on a secret mycological mission. Will it be sabotage or salvation? 💥🍄🚙

"Sometimes decay is tender, sometimes it is traumatic. Sometimes decay is new life bursting with potential, sometimes it is unclear." Read guest editor Dr. Patricia Kaishian's thoughts on the collection of stories in Issue 3: SOMETHING'S ROTTING in her editor's note, out now at tractorbeam.earth! 🍄

Introducing our Issue 3 guest editor, Dr. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian! 🍄🌱🪱 Dr. Kaishian is the author of Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature, a blend of memoir and science writing that challenges our expectations of what is normal, beautiful, and possible.

Every metamorphosis requires some kind of breakdown. Today marks the Autumn Equinox, the beginning of a new season and the launch of Issue 3: SOMETHING’S ROTTING. Join us as we fall into decay! 🐌🍄🍂🪱🕷️ Live now at tractorbeam.earth 🚜🛸🌍

Tomorrow... Fall is coming to Tractor Beam 🐌🪱🍂🕷🍄 Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first in the know 👀 tractorbeamearth.substack.com

The next issue of @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social , Decay, will be launching tomorrow! Meantime, if you're looking for some soilpunk, my story, "In Every Seed, A Hope" is online here. It's about being a parent in a time of climate crisis and the necessity of hope. www.tractorbeam.earth/story/in-eve...

"I said, “Hey, are you okay?” Our eyes connected for the first time, and you said, “Is anyone?” 💔❤️ Read this one by @tkrex.bsky.social in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social

This week's guest is T.K. Rex! And first up is "The Flowers Where 580 Used to Be" in Tractor Beam! @tkrex.bsky.social @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social

@romiesays.bsky.social has an amazing near-future story about community, climate, and this technology (or something close to it) in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-el...

Meanwhile, Blake’s short story in @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social offers ‬ anger and sadness mixed with beauty and hope. “What we’re doing, what Rose is doing, it’s a drop in the bucket, but somewhere out there other drops must be falling too.” 3/4 www.tractorbeam.earth/story/in-eve...

It’s fascinating when two great writers use a similar concept to create very different stories. Like @slashnburnett.bsky.social sky.social and @chrisblake.bsky.social’s recent takes on humans-turning-into-plants-to-repair-the-Earth. 🌱🍄🌹🌲🌎 1/4

Please repost! 💖 We're creeping up to £5,000 funded with 14 days to go — we want to keep publishing optimistic sci-fi and fantasy! We have both print issues of our new magazine available together in one pledge: www.kickstarter.com/projects/sam... #scifi #fantasy #scififantasy #solarpunk

Tractor Beam: The Garden is an excellent assortment of optimistic #soilpunk #scifi for anyone looking to pass the time with a #shortstory @annadegnbol @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social #bookcommunity #tractorbeam #sciencefiction #summerreading #booklover #shortstorywriter #shortstorycollection

Our latest roundup of #SoilpunkStoryStarters is out on Substack, including the discovery of fleshy worm towers, new farming technology, and how teens are fighting their climate anxiety through action. 🪱🌎🚜✏️ Subscribe to our free newsletter for more headlines to inspire your climate fiction writing!

I am so grateful for the work Tractor Beam has done to promote my story! What a cool new venture—I hope everyone gives them a read!

“It’s like I got this whole other world inside me now. I’m like Noah’s Ark.” In “The Hard Way,” by Christopher Mark Rose (@chrisrose.bsky.social), 15-year-old Dontae discovers a mysterious, unclassifiable biome in his gut, possibly a second genesis of life.

How many have you read? Any books y'all would add to the list? 👀🌎📚

🐜 #SoilpunkStoryStarter 🐜 Can we control the weather using solar panels? The results of a four year study at Colorado State University showed that during dry weather years, the shade of solar panels helped boost grassland growth over the plants growing in full sun. 🌾🌻 (1/3)

Our #OpenCall for Issue 3 submissions is closing July 21st! 🚜🛸🌿💫✏️ We are looking for original works that have actionable soil-based technologies as their premise. Tractor Beam pays $1,000 for all accepted submissions. We prefer stories under 6,000 words or graphic novellas at 16 panels.

#SoilpunkStoryStarter alert! 🌊🐟🌊🌊🚣🌊 After the largest dam removal in US history, young indigenous kayakers celebrate the free flowing waters of the Klamath River. Within a few days of the final dam being removed, chinook salmon were seen swimming where no fish had passed in 60 years. (@cnn.com)

Our very own Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Claire Gustavson, was featured in the latest Sapling newsletter from @blacklawrence.bsky.social! 💌 🌿 Give it a read here: saplingblp.substack.com/p/sapling-is... #smallpress #literaryjournal #independentpublishers #opencall #scifiwriters #soilpunk

Tiny urban gardens 🤝 Soil rooms 🪴 Find out Sweden's secret to well-being from @nytimes.com here: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/w... 🪴 And read Shimeng Jiang's comic, "A Door In The Wall" from Tractor Beam's latest issue, THE GARDEN, here: www.tractorbeam.earth/story/the-do... #SoilpunkStoryStarter