“Now is the time to warrior up and empower each other to take a stand for our planet. We need to sustain the little we have now, and develop ways not to pollute the environment, and sustain relationships with Mother Earth and save what we have left.”

—Autumn Peltier

Issue 2020.55

Short stories

• ‘We Will Become as Monsters’, Benjanun Sriduangkaew - art by Pear Nuallak
• ‘Know They Will Die under the Salt of It’, Jennifer R. Donohue - art by Fluffgar
• ‘Mijara’s Freedom’, Eleanor Glewwe - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘Scaled Soul’, Rhianwen Phillips - art by Toeken

Novelettes

• ‘The Good Hawks’, Danielle Jorgenson-Murray - art by Gwen C. Katz

Poetry

• ‘Whistling Trees and Ironwood’, Hester J. Rook - art by Carmen Moran
• ‘Oak Tree’, Fiona M. Jones
• ‘Time Traveller's Memory’, Davian Aw - art by Rachel Linn
• ‘Neith and Her Women’, Gerri Leen - art by Dr. T. Eratopo

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There has never been a greater need for rebellion, for resistance, for a reminder that there is hope for a better future—and that we have to fight for it.

Our small contribution to this resistance is to publish a bevy of speculative stories and poems—be they eco SF, military SF, mundane SF, horror or magical fabulism, literary or pulp—that give us a taste of this resistance. Whether they remind us of the importance of small rebellions, of the unexpected resilience and even sensuality of wild nature, or of the superpower that is even surviving in a world that sometimes doesn’t seem to want you to, these stories all refuse to go quietly.

Like all rebels, they play with the blurred line between appearance and reality. Sometimes rebellion is about filling in for others, overtly or otherwise; or it’s about the long game, the ability to tolerate setbacks in the name of eventual victory; it is about the sometimes impossible, sometimes unnoticed choice whether to be a victim or a fighter. Revolution requires resilience, sometimes multigenerational.

I’m not going to claim any relationship between this issue and current affairs—in fact that’s something we generally avoid—the most important thing in our fiction is that it feeds the soul of the reader, nourishes us, reminds us to keep dreaming. So please dig in and enjoy the fabulous stories and poems by Benjanun, Danielle, Davian, Eleanor, Fiona, Gerri, Hester, Jennifer and Rhianwen, and the lovely artwork from Carmen, Cécile, Fiona, Fluffgar, Gwen, Pear, Rachel, Toeken and Valeria.

Next time we see you, the dread 2020 will be over. Let’s hope that’s a good thing…

Djibril al-Ayad, October 2020

Comment on the stories in this issue on the TFF Press blog.