Fab review of Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Vol. 1 in Rue Morgue! "When an anthology contains "Best" in its title, you expect a certain level of quality, and The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Vol. 1 absolutely delivers." —Monica S. Kuebler, Rue Morgue Magazine Grab issue 228 to see the review

Some good news: we're excited to announce that we've increased our payment rates for fiction. Our paid subscribers made this possible, and we are so grateful. Thank you!

Woke up to this nice review of my story "Model Collapse" in Locus today: "Among the best of Reactor Magazine’s recent original fiction is Matthew Kressel’s dark SF tale ‘‘Model Collapse’’ (10/1). Kressel plays on one of our newer fears: AI. He builds the tension nicely and destroys you at the end."

From the "hey that's pretty awesome" department, THE RAINSEEKERS is a FanFiAddict Most Anticipated Titles of 2026. Coming Feb 17th. Preorder at your favorite bookstore. #FanFiAddict #novella #sciencefiction

Happy new year everyone! For our first Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series event of the new year, join us with Rachel Harrison & Robert P. Ottone, Wednesday, Jan 14th, 7pm at the KGB Bar. Come one, come all! @datlow.bsky.social @robertottone.bsky.social @rachelharrison.bsky.social

In other cool news, NewScientist lists THE RAINSEEKERS as one of the best new science fiction books of '26, along with books from Ann Leckie, Neil Jordan, Adrian Tchaikovsky and more.

SFF I have pre-ordered: City of Others (The DEUS Files)by Jared Poon Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers The Apple and the Pearl by Rym Kechacha The Astral Library by Kate Quinn The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel The Soul-Catchers by Naoko Higashi (translated by Lucy North)

Another war for oil. I've seen this movie before and I didn't like it the first time.

"A woman dressed as a pink Power Ranger hacked a dating site for far-right extremists. She deleted the entire site, but first she made users fall in love with AI bots she ran, thus obtaining information about them. Over 8,000 far-right profiles have now been mapped."

There are plenty of other stores to shop at in NYC that aren't as creepy and Big Brothery as Wegmans. I won't be shopping there.

Many don't realize that the most vulnerable or immune compromised depend on the rest getting vaccinated properly to keep diseases from spreading out of control. It's not just “my body, my choice” when it comes to saving lives.

Say that ish again cuz obviously folk wasn’t listening. Rod Serling had bars for the ages. #twilightzonemarathon

Here's a new work I just finished, apropos for today, "After the Party." Happy new year everyone!

Woke up to this nice review of my story "Model Collapse" in Locus today: "Among the best of Reactor Magazine’s recent original fiction is Matthew Kressel’s dark SF tale ‘‘Model Collapse’’ (10/1). Kressel plays on one of our newer fears: AI. He builds the tension nicely and destroys you at the end."

This is a terrific thread!

In other cool news, NewScientist lists THE RAINSEEKERS as one of the best new science fiction books of '26, along with books from Ann Leckie, Neil Jordan, Adrian Tchaikovsky and more.

Continuing my LGBTQ+ 2026 posts, here are science fiction novels being published in the first half of the year. Book lists in ALT text. #lgbtqbooks #sciencefictionbooks #lgbtqscifi #scifi #booksky💙📚 #lgbtq2026 #queer #lgbtq #diverse #sciencefiction #2026publication #bookpost #postseries #booklist

Authors! Readers! The grand Barnes & Noble pre-order sale is now upon us. Use the code PREORDER25 to save 25% off basically every pre-ordered book for next year. Authors: please reply to this post with your upcoming book title, a link, and at least one cool thing in your book!

Small world. Maybe we can tidy our house some in 2026.

Spotted at Barnes & Noble, Union Square, print copies of the latest issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, which contains the novella I co-wrote with Mercurio D. Rivera, Threat Assessment! So very cool to see it out in the wild. @mercuriodrivera.bsky.social

Saw the movie Bugonia today with @mercuriodrivera.bsky.social and we both enjoyed it. Director Yorgos Lanthimos definitely takes risks that I respected and Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are fantastic. It's coming onto streaming soon and I'd recommend giving it a watch if you want a good flick.

Last night, mid-snow. We ended up getting about 3-5 inches. Very light and powdery, so this morning's shoveling wasn't too bad. Hope you all endured the weather and are safe and snug with a hot cup of cocoa.

For those interested, WKCR 89.9 FM NY does their annual Bach Fest from now until New Years, and you can stream online. www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/b...

Photo by Amy Goldschlager from the October Brooklyn Books & Booze Event, with Crissa-Jean Chappell, C.W. Rose, Matthew Kressel (me), & Paula Bomer. In the current Locus Magazine.

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

I'm currently working on a novel and at the end of an average day, I'm wiped out. The sheer amount of analysis, synthesis, making of connections, layering of prose, deepening of characterization, supplemental research... all the mental work is intense and exhilarating. Which is just to say, fuck AI.

The orange turd and his administration of morons are ruining the planet for future generations any and every way they can. Disgraceful, reckless, and harmful for everyone.

Happy Hanukkah, 2025. Hoping for better for all by next year at this time.

An alternative to "Netflix & Chill", we could ...

We made latkes tonight from a 90 year old recipe. It's from the Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook by Fania Lewando, originally published in Yiddish in pre–World War II Vilna and rediscovered more than half a century later. Geshmak! (Delicious!)

And please also, AGAIN, never forget that they are inherently unethical to use because no one gave permission for their research or writing to be used in it. It is all stolen, and if you're using the plagiarism machine, please keep that in mind.

Just very thrilled to make it to @acwise.bsky.social excellent list of Favorite Short Fiction of 2025 acwise.net/favorite-sho... In case you want to read the mentioned story, Idle, Inc is at Bourbon Penn @bourbonpenn.bsky.social www.bourbonpenn.com/issue/35/idl...

Here's the audio from this month's Fantastic Fiction at KGB readings with Daniel Braum & Martin Cahill. Both read from their work on a rainy night to a packed and enthusiastic house. www.kgbfantasticfiction.org/2025/12/12/a... @danielbraum.bsky.social @mcflycahill90.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social

So Yelp's updated Terms of Service says they can use your data to train their AI models. NOPE. I just put in a request to delete my Yelp account and I suggest everyone do the same. Send a strong message that this behavior is NOT okay.

From the "hey that's pretty awesome" department, THE RAINSEEKERS is a FanFiAddict Most Anticipated Titles of 2026. Coming Feb 17th. Preorder at your favorite bookstore. #FanFiAddict #novella #sciencefiction

Recording a Geeks Guide to the Galaxy podcast later today on four Stephen King novels that were adapted as films. The Running Man (2025), The Long Walk (2025), The Dead Zone (1983), and The Mist (2007). We'll be discussing four more adaptations in a later podcast.

Worth a read.

'My year end reading statistics' (originally for @theguardian.com books). p.s There's still time to pick up new book Physics for Cats at good bookshops and online www.tomgauld.com/comic-books-v2

I needed a print of this old drawing (and almost-continuous-line scribble of Little Red Riding Hood), so now it is available to you too, on Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/i/art-print/... And on InPrnt: www.inprnt.com/gallery/tana...

My 2025 Locus interviews 💞 Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee Tobi Ogundiran Ibi Zoboi Amal El-Mohtar Hache Pueyo S.A. Barnes Rita Woods Akwaeke Emezi H.E. Edgmon Cadwell Turnbull Yume Kitasei Ken Liu Eden Royce Bethany Jacobs Read them here ⬇️ subscribers.locusmag.com/back-issues More soon...!❤️‍🔥

Here are Ellen's, Mercurio's, and my photos from this month's Fantastic Fiction at KGB, with guests Daniel Braum & Martin Cahill. @datlow.bsky.social @mercuriodrivera.bsky.social @danielbraum.bsky.social @mcflycahill90.bsky.social www.kgbfantasticfiction.org/2025/12/11/p...

I don't know who made this, but I love you

Next month (year!) at our Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series, join us with guests Rachel Harrison & Robert P. Ottone, Jan 14th, 7pm at the KGB Bar. Come one, come all! @rachelharrison.bsky.social @robertottone.bsky.social @datlow.bsky.social

“A story that speaks to our fractured time, and leaves us with both catharsis and hope. I too would risk everything to see the first rainfall on Mars. A lovely piece of work.” — Nathan Ballingrud, author of The Strange on The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel 🌧️

This aluminum menorah was my grandmother's, and it makes me happy that I'm still using it, and I think she would be too. Happy 2nd night of Hannukah. The light persists.

this is like the warning label on a pack of cigarettes

Wonderful early praise of THE RISE from incredible author @rossjefferyauthor.bsky.social Thank you, Ross! 🖤 Out everywhere on February 13th! (Full review over at Goodreads.)

We're very excited to announce that our novella, THREAT ASSESSMENT (co-written with David Mercurio Rivera) has been selected for reprint in The Year's Best Hard Science Fiction for 2025, edited by Allan Kaster. You can read the story in the current issue of F&SF. @mercuriodrivera.bsky.social

Hannukah begins tonight at sundown. Happy Hannukah to all who celebrate. This photo is a few years old, taken at my parents' house on the last day of Hannukah, and it's one of my favorites.