Ben Francisco
@benfrancisco.bsky.social
Queer Latinx fiction writer. Debut novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, out now! Stories in Strange Horizons, Indiana Review, Podcastle, LCRW, and more. All things geeky and social justice-y welcome. They/Them.
https://linktr.ee/benfrancisco
https://linktr.ee/benfrancisco
Pinned
International Book Awards - Honoring Excellence in Independent & Mainstream Publishing
Celebrating the 16th Annual International Book Awards!
www.internationalbookawards.com
Squee! So honored and excited to learn that VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSAFOR OF EARTH is a finalist for the 2025 International Book Awards - in both the science fiction and young adult categories!
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...
Reposted by Ben Francisco
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
November 21, 2025 at 1:08 PM
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
Love this piece on "box-words" in SF, using examples from EMBASSYTOWN, which I happen to be reading now and am loving. Mieville has a unique knack for making it a readerly joy to puzze thru the neologisms!
For this month's newsletter, I wrote about inventing neologisms and what Ursula K. Le Guin called "box-words," with examples from China Miéville's excellent novel EMBASSYTOWN. Includes an assist from Samuel Delany, who helped me see how to introduce terms to readers without unnecessary exposition.
#57: Worldbuilding with Neologisms and "Box-Words"
China Miéville, Ursula K. Le Guin, Samuel Delany
mattbell.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Love this piece on "box-words" in SF, using examples from EMBASSYTOWN, which I happen to be reading now and am loving. Mieville has a unique knack for making it a readerly joy to puzze thru the neologisms!
Reposted by Ben Francisco
In "Puerto Rico: A National History", Jorell Meléndez-Badillo talks about how "Diasporicans" make circular migrations, and "jumping the puddle" becomes a way to reconnect with the cultures of the archipelago
2/2
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
2/2
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)
“Dónde estámos?” Mateo asks, wiping the wetness out of his hair. We’re both sopping wet. Charcos may get you there fast, but it’s not the cleanest way to travel.
strangehorizons.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
In "Puerto Rico: A National History", Jorell Meléndez-Badillo talks about how "Diasporicans" make circular migrations, and "jumping the puddle" becomes a way to reconnect with the cultures of the archipelago
2/2
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
2/2
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Reposted by Ben Francisco
I really did take the weekend off on this, didn't I? Lol catching up. . .
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Check out @benfrancisco.bsky.social's playful take on that most Puerto Rican of customs, "jumping the puddle" 1/2
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Check out @benfrancisco.bsky.social's playful take on that most Puerto Rican of customs, "jumping the puddle" 1/2
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
Today, I wanted to shout out @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social whose novel, "Andújar: the Robot Gentleman of San Juan" is a delight
November 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I really did take the weekend off on this, didn't I? Lol catching up. . .
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Check out @benfrancisco.bsky.social's playful take on that most Puerto Rican of customs, "jumping the puddle" 1/2
For what remains of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, I wanted to share work by other Puerto Rican authors
Check out @benfrancisco.bsky.social's playful take on that most Puerto Rican of customs, "jumping the puddle" 1/2
Such an awesome event! And so lovely to have the chance for a sweet reunion with my old college roomie and fellow Boricua writer @victorpineiro.bsky.social! BBB is always great but this was an especially amazing line-up of four all-star writers I admire!
Thanks for coming out for BBB's Nov. reading last night w/ authors @franwilde.bsky.social @scottedelman.bsky.social @victorpineiro.bsky.social & @yumewrites.bsky.social ! 🍸📖🎙️
Next up on 12/16: @csecooney.bsky.social @kradec.bsky.social #GeorgiaDay & #JamiletteCintron!
More pics: shorturl.at/DgrAU
Next up on 12/16: @csecooney.bsky.social @kradec.bsky.social #GeorgiaDay & #JamiletteCintron!
More pics: shorturl.at/DgrAU
November 20, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Such an awesome event! And so lovely to have the chance for a sweet reunion with my old college roomie and fellow Boricua writer @victorpineiro.bsky.social! BBB is always great but this was an especially amazing line-up of four all-star writers I admire!
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Alt text: An illustration playing off Garth Williams’s work in Charlotte’s Web. A b&w pen & ink style sketch of a pig from the back staring at a spider’s web between two posts, with the words FUCK ICE woven into the web’s center. A politically engaged spider dangles down from the web.
November 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Alt text: An illustration playing off Garth Williams’s work in Charlotte’s Web. A b&w pen & ink style sketch of a pig from the back staring at a spider’s web between two posts, with the words FUCK ICE woven into the web’s center. A politically engaged spider dangles down from the web.
My review of the Season 2 finale of Gen V. Mostly a solid closing, with a few excellent performances and some fun teases for the final season of The Boys!
"It's an exciting season finale... apart from the endless tie-ins to that other supes series."
@benfrancisco.bsky.social reviews the season two finale of Gen V, breaking down some of the tie-ins to The Boys:
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
@benfrancisco.bsky.social reviews the season two finale of Gen V, breaking down some of the tie-ins to The Boys:
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
Gen V Brings It All Together and Teases Final Season of The Boys in Season 2 Wrap-Up - Reactor
It's an exciting season finale... apart from the endless tie-ins to that other supes series.
reactormag.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
My review of the Season 2 finale of Gen V. Mostly a solid closing, with a few excellent performances and some fun teases for the final season of The Boys!
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Look at this cool LISTICLE that VAL VEGA author @benfrancisco.bsky.social wrote about Latinx SF! Luminaries mentioned include Carlos Hernandez and @willalex.bsky.social! Among others!
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net
October 18, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Look at this cool LISTICLE that VAL VEGA author @benfrancisco.bsky.social wrote about Latinx SF! Luminaries mentioned include Carlos Hernandez and @willalex.bsky.social! Among others!
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Sordidez! 🇵🇷🌿☀️🌋⚡
Sal & Gabi! 🪄🐓🌌🤖🥟
💜💙💚💛🧡♥️🤎🖤🤍🩵🩷
Sal & Gabi! 🪄🐓🌌🤖🥟
💜💙💚💛🧡♥️🤎🖤🤍🩵🩷
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
October 16, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Sordidez! 🇵🇷🌿☀️🌋⚡
Sal & Gabi! 🪄🐓🌌🤖🥟
💜💙💚💛🧡♥️🤎🖤🤍🩵🩷
Sal & Gabi! 🪄🐓🌌🤖🥟
💜💙💚💛🧡♥️🤎🖤🤍🩵🩷
Reposted by Ben Francisco
"Pardo weaves a wonderful blend of hard-boiled noir, engaging characters, and imaginative world-building that goes far beyond the usual 'What if the U.S. lost World War II?'" Thanks @benfrancisco.bsky.social for putting THE SHAMSHINE BLIND in such awesome company
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
October 15, 2025 at 6:59 PM
"Pardo weaves a wonderful blend of hard-boiled noir, engaging characters, and imaginative world-building that goes far beyond the usual 'What if the U.S. lost World War II?'" Thanks @benfrancisco.bsky.social for putting THE SHAMSHINE BLIND in such awesome company
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
October 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Forgive the cobbled-together feel of this, but eat up!
Nine stories in this TropiWeird combo - including two stories never before seen! As they say in PR: buen provecho!
kyr-1066.itch.io/a-series-of-...
Nine stories in this TropiWeird combo - including two stories never before seen! As they say in PR: buen provecho!
kyr-1066.itch.io/a-series-of-...
October 14, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Forgive the cobbled-together feel of this, but eat up!
Nine stories in this TropiWeird combo - including two stories never before seen! As they say in PR: buen provecho!
kyr-1066.itch.io/a-series-of-...
Nine stories in this TropiWeird combo - including two stories never before seen! As they say in PR: buen provecho!
kyr-1066.itch.io/a-series-of-...
I loved this @newyorker.com short story by Rivka Galchen. It feels like an anthem for our time, a day-in-the-life of a dystopia, set in the grueling present day of our "current macro-environment."
“I say to the intern, The funding for your internship has been cut. Not by the university—by the government.” Read “Unreasonable,” a new short story by Rivka Galchen.
“Unreasonable,” by Rivka Galchen
I was raised to believe that no human is inherently evil, that evil is a surface disturbance caused by fear, misunderstanding, or ignorance. I’m now reconsidering.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/29/unreasonable-fiction-rivka-galchen?utm_medium=so[…]e=owned&utm_source=bluesky&mbid=social_bluesky&utm_brand=tny
September 30, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I loved this @newyorker.com short story by Rivka Galchen. It feels like an anthem for our time, a day-in-the-life of a dystopia, set in the grueling present day of our "current macro-environment."
Reposted by Ben Francisco
With the passing of a lead actor and a new season of The Boys over its shoulder, Gen V gracefully lands its season 2 premiere; Ben Francisco reviews the return to Godolkin in "New Year, New U"
#GenVseason2
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
#GenVseason2
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
Gen V Goes Back to Supes School With Season 2 Reset - Reactor
With the death of a lead series actor, Gen V has a lot of ground to cover in its second season premiere.
reactormag.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:20 PM
With the passing of a lead actor and a new season of The Boys over its shoulder, Gen V gracefully lands its season 2 premiere; Ben Francisco reviews the return to Godolkin in "New Year, New U"
#GenVseason2
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
#GenVseason2
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
I have a review of the #GenV season 2 premiere up at Reactor! A fitting homage to Chance Perdomo, though the reset to the status quo is occasionally jarring. Hamish Linklater is a great addition as the casually callous new dean who always seems to see what's coming.
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
September 19, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I have a review of the #GenV season 2 premiere up at Reactor! A fitting homage to Chance Perdomo, though the reset to the status quo is occasionally jarring. Hamish Linklater is a great addition as the casually callous new dean who always seems to see what's coming.
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
reactormag.com/tv-review-ge...
Watching #StarTrek Voyager S6Ep22 The Muse.
"To the gleaming cities of Earth, where peace reigns, and where hatred has no home."
Oh how I wish for these words to someday be the truth of what we live on this earth in the here and now!
"To the gleaming cities of Earth, where peace reigns, and where hatred has no home."
Oh how I wish for these words to someday be the truth of what we live on this earth in the here and now!
September 8, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Watching #StarTrek Voyager S6Ep22 The Muse.
"To the gleaming cities of Earth, where peace reigns, and where hatred has no home."
Oh how I wish for these words to someday be the truth of what we live on this earth in the here and now!
"To the gleaming cities of Earth, where peace reigns, and where hatred has no home."
Oh how I wish for these words to someday be the truth of what we live on this earth in the here and now!
TFW you're watching #StarTrek Strange New Worlds and a holodeck character says, "I'm a writer, I'm never happy about anything" and your husband laughs a little *too* hard...
September 6, 2025 at 5:27 AM
TFW you're watching #StarTrek Strange New Worlds and a holodeck character says, "I'm a writer, I'm never happy about anything" and your husband laughs a little *too* hard...
I'm at #SeattleWorldCon! At noon I'm on a panel called "And I'm All Out of Spoons," which seems apt as that is my perpetual state lately! And at 4:30 pm I'm helping facilitate a discussion space for Latinx creators. Please say hi if you're here!
August 14, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I'm at #SeattleWorldCon! At noon I'm on a panel called "And I'm All Out of Spoons," which seems apt as that is my perpetual state lately! And at 4:30 pm I'm helping facilitate a discussion space for Latinx creators. Please say hi if you're here!
So excited to be part of this panel at #WorldCon2025! This awesome Boricua SF jangueo is virtual, plus I'm doing a few others in person in Seattle.
The second is a Boricua speculative fiction jangueo with some badass Puerto Rican writers including @tropicaleccentric.bsky.social @kjy1066.bsky.social @benfrancisco.bsky.social . Come for the bad bunny references & the bochinche & the Tainofuturism & also Bori Steampunk! 🇵🇷
#readerthreads
#readerthreads
August 11, 2025 at 2:52 PM
So excited to be part of this panel at #WorldCon2025! This awesome Boricua SF jangueo is virtual, plus I'm doing a few others in person in Seattle.
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Yay!!! These stories dazzled, horrified, fascinated, filled me with hope. How diminished this the world would be without queer voices, queer stories, queer magic and prophecy and brilliance!
We're delighted to share the cover (by @mspencerdraws.bsky.social) and announce the table of contents for WE'RE HERE: THE BEST QUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION 2024, selected by editor @rykaaoki.bsky.social and working with series editor @cypayseur.bsky.social!
www.neonhemlock.com/news/were-he...
www.neonhemlock.com/news/were-he...
June 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Yay!!! These stories dazzled, horrified, fascinated, filled me with hope. How diminished this the world would be without queer voices, queer stories, queer magic and prophecy and brilliance!
A bunch of people have asked for my take on ELIO, Pixar's latest. I loved it - you can read my full review at @reactorsff.bsky.social. And if you'd like more Latinx space ambassador stories, you can also check out my YA novel, Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth.
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
Pixar’s Elio Grapples With Loneliness on Earth and in the Communiverse - Reactor
After a slow first act, Pixar's latest offering brings our need for connection into the stars... and right back home again.
reactormag.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
A bunch of people have asked for my take on ELIO, Pixar's latest. I loved it - you can read my full review at @reactorsff.bsky.social. And if you'd like more Latinx space ambassador stories, you can also check out my YA novel, Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth.
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
Reposted by Ben Francisco
Once you get past the slow beginning, Pixar's Elio combines beautiful animation, an expansive world, and an emotional story of Latinx speculative fiction. Read @benfrancisco.bsky.social's review:
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
Pixar’s Elio Grapples With Loneliness on Earth and in the Communiverse - Reactor
After a slow first act, Pixar's latest offering brings our need for connection into the stars... and right back home again.
reactormag.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Once you get past the slow beginning, Pixar's Elio combines beautiful animation, an expansive world, and an emotional story of Latinx speculative fiction. Read @benfrancisco.bsky.social's review:
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
reactormag.com/pixars-elio-...
Today is the last day of my writing residency in Tennessee. After nightfall, I am going to close it out by following the advice of @kellylink.bsky.social and writing by the light of the moon! (It should be just about full.)
June 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Today is the last day of my writing residency in Tennessee. After nightfall, I am going to close it out by following the advice of @kellylink.bsky.social and writing by the light of the moon! (It should be just about full.)
Squee! So honored and excited to learn that VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSAFOR OF EARTH is a finalist for the 2025 International Book Awards - in both the science fiction and young adult categories!
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...
International Book Awards - Honoring Excellence in Independent & Mainstream Publishing
Celebrating the 16th Annual International Book Awards!
www.internationalbookawards.com
June 6, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Squee! So honored and excited to learn that VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSAFOR OF EARTH is a finalist for the 2025 International Book Awards - in both the science fiction and young adult categories!
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...
www.internationalbookawards.com/2025awardann...