Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · 7d

Charm City Spec alumna (and friend) Fran Wilde putting an early flag down with her new fantasy heist—Go Fran Go!

Fran Wilde @franwilde.bsky.social · 7d

I don’t think I’ve ever orange flagged right after launch - this is exciting! For everyone boosting, reading, & reviewing- thank you so much from the Canarviers and me! How far will you go to catch a thief?

@erewhonbooks.bsky.social @dianapho.bsky.social

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/781353...

An orange flag over the PHILOSOPHY OF THIEVES COVER

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · 26d

Edited by CCS alumna Ann Leblanc!

The Transfeminine Review @thetransfemininereview.com · 26d

Today's read is a book I'm incredibly excited for - last year's award-winning cyberpunk anthology from @neonhemlock.bsky.social and @robotleblanc.bsky.social!

Huge shoutout to the team at NH for the review copy, let's give it a whirl ✨

Embodied Exegesis trans feminine cyberpunk futures edited Ann Leblanc

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 28d

The first episode of the new podcast miniseries I'm hosting at @issuesinst.bsky.social comes out on Tuesday! I'll be talking with @boriscrito.bsky.social about the anthropology of cloud storage, his Caribbean-influenced speculative fiction genre, Taínofuturismo, and more!

Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · Aug 26

So pleased to share the incredible conversations of this upcoming podcast, talking to friends who work on topics like the intersection of food systems & climate; the takeover of Afghanistan; gender inequality; and how all of these fit into our understanding of disasters~ I hope you enjoy listening

Not Now, But Soon

Malka Older challenges our typical stories about disasters, and explains what they can teach us about society and building better futures.

issues.org

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

TTMadden GORMAN'S HOUSE out now! @ttmaddenwrites.bsky.social · Sep 8

TOMORROW!

TTMadden GORMAN'S HOUSE out now! @ttmaddenwrites.bsky.social · Sep 3

It's almost heeeeeere!

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 6

Jeff's novel SHADOW OF A DOUBT is the first Mirabelle Sinclair mystery.
Jeff is the creator of the Speculative Fiction Magazine Subscription database and a co-editor of Trollbreath Magazine. You can learn more about him and his work at www.trollbreath.com

Cover art for SHADOW OF A DOUBT by Jeff Reynolds. A woman in a black dress and fedora stands foreground, the title appears as if a sign held up by scaffolding. Behind the letters, a dirigible looms in through a bank of fog.

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 6

Jeff is a writer from the foggy coast of Maine, which only vaguely resembles Stephen King’s nightmares. His work has appeared in Clarkesworld, Escape Pod, and Analog magazines, among others.

Photo of author Jeff Reynolds wearing an elaborate green jacket and a leather top hat with authentic dirigible piloting goggles.

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · Sep 5

Just a heads up that if you're coming to Charm City Spec tomorrow night--and you should! Look at that lineup!-- the bike race has falls road closed from Hampden to northern parkway and Northern parkway closed falls to Roland Ave. You can still get to the ivy if you come from the north.

Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 2

Come join us this Saturday night when Alaya Dawn Johnson steps up to the mic! We have a killer lineup, and it's going to be a great night out on the patio at The Ivy Bookshop! 6:30 pm September 6th—free to all, and everyone is welcome!

Pictured: kind of galactic scarab including at its center a planet, a mysterious blue-red gas giant. Text: Alaya Dawn Johnson reads Charm City Spec
September 6th, 6:30 pm
The Ivy Bookshop
5928 Falls Road in Baltimore
All are welcome

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 6

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!! Don't forget to join us on the patio of the inimitable Ivy Bookshop, for an evening of drama and intrigue, as author Jeff Reynolds takes the mic to read, alongside a stellar lineup at the next CHARM CITY SPEC!! This Spec is going to be truly special. You won't want to miss it!

Fake newspaper 'The Baltimore Bugle' with headline "JEFF REYNOLDS READS CHARM CITY SPEC!!" Subheadings "Populace reacts with fear and uncertainty" and "MAYOR URGES CALM" Splash black-and-white photo of a dirigible coming in low over a city, with a dark sky and lightning behind.

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Jo Miles @jomiles.bsky.social · Sep 5

New story day! "The Truth About Crows" is a sweet fun story about what happens when a dragon finds a crow trespassing in her lair. I think my fondness for both crows and dragons is well documented by now!

It's the perfect length for a Friday afternoon break, too: factorfourmag.com/the-truth-ab...

The Truth About Crows by Jo Miles

The clink of gold against diamonds woke Artrullaxi the Magnificent from her slumber, and she held statue-still, listening. Someone had intruded on her lair. Another knight with more ambition than s…

factorfourmag.com

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 5

completed the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Televisin's Professional Program in Screenwriting. She lives in Washington, D.C. Find her on the web at marygthompson.com.

Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 5

Mary G. Thompson is the author of the sci-fi novella ONE LEVEL DOWN (Tachyon, 2025). She also writes YA and children's sci-fi/fantasy, YA contemporary thrillers, and short fiction. Mary holds an MFA in Writing for Children and (cont'd)

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 5

Friends, please join us this Saturday, September 6th, when Mary G. Thompson takes the mic to read from her provocative story of simulation, ONE LEVEL DOWN, at the next Charm City Spec! She joins a thrilling group of authors for what's sure to be a classic night!

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

Charm City Spec alum Andrew Hiller, kickstarting the audio book for his new novella—>

Andrew Hiller @andrewintheclouds.bsky.social · Sep 3

A sheyd is framed for murder in the Devil's corner of DC and Detective Sol Weiss is the only one with the Manischewitz to do anything about it.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit x Michael Chabon
#Humor #Fantasy #noir & look what @princejvstin.com has to say about it!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...

A cartoony, winking detective holds a waterballoon in the upper right while a cute demon wearing a Sucker 4 Sin t-shirt sits in the lower left. In the middle is a quote from Paul "Princejvstin" Weimer that reads.

"Hornytown Chutzpah is a light, funny, and audacious... genre splitting mixture that hits all the beats... Hiller's novella relies as much on screwball comedy as it does hard-boiled noir, with more than a dash of Manischewitz wine."

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

Charm City Spec alumna Allison Pottern's story, up and free to read in the new Trollbreath! 👣

Trollbreath Magazine @trollbreathmag.bsky.social · Sep 4

It's Thursday, so we are looking through our bag of gems to feature. This week, enjoy a laugh to get through: Allison Pottern's Cryptid Car Rental magazine.trollbreath.com/cryptid-car-...
@apottern.bsky.social

Cryptid Car Rental - Trollbreath Magazine

by Allison Pottern

magazine.trollbreath.com

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · Sep 2

Hey, this Saturday night, come to Charm City Spec at Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore for a reading with a bunch of great writers, and also me. 😜

Note: I am not one of the amazing writers in the anthology, but I HAVE been reading it, and it IS really excellent!

www.theivybookshop.com/event/charm-...

Ivy Bookshop - Charm City Spec: September Edition

Join us for Baltimore’s longstanding speculative fiction reading series on the Ivy patio! This September edition features an incredible lineup: Andy Duncan C.S.E. Cooney Mike Allen Alaya Dawn Johnson ...

www.theivybookshop.com

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

As an editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award. He’s a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry.
With his wife Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia.

Come out and hear him read at The Ivy, this Saturday night!

Cover art for the book STIRYTELLER: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology, of which Mike Allen is a contributor.

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

Unseaming and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable “The Button Bin” was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story.

The arresting and creepy cover art for Mike Allen's horror novel, UNSEAMING.

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

An author, editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them his forthcoming dark fantasy Trail of Shadows, his sequence The Black Fire Concerto, and The Ghoulmaker’s Aria, and his newest horror collection, Slow Burn.

A photo in which the author Mike Allen is smiling enigmatically.

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 4

Come join us this Saturday, September 6th, as Mike Allen augments a star-studded lineup for the next Charm City Spec! It's going to be a massive night!

A promo image of a blue star, traced with erratic orange lettering that says "MIKE ALLEN READS CHARM CITY SPEC". Smaller text: September 6th, 6:30 pm, The Ivy Bookshop, 5928 Falls Road. Only in Baltimore. All are welcome!"

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Andrew Hiller @andrewintheclouds.bsky.social · Sep 1

I got swag just in time for
@charmcityspec.bsky.social
on Sept. 6. Now, all I need is a book.

Wait!

That's tomorrow!

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Reposted by Charm City Spec Official

Mike Allen (Mythic Delirium Books📚) @mythicdelirium.bsky.social · Sep 3

REMINDER! This Saturday I'll be part of the @charmcityspec.bsky.social reading in Baltimore, alongside @csecooney.bsky.social, @andyduncansf.bsky.social & Alaya Dawn Johnson, reading from @thisjulieday.bsky.social’s STORYTELLER: A TANITH LEE TRIBUTE ANTHOLOGY!

descentintolight.com/2025/09/02/s...

A photo of my contributor copy of STORYTELLER!

Event Details
The Ivy Bookshop, Back Patio
5928 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21209
Saturday, September 6th, 2025
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Join us for Baltimore’s longstanding speculative fiction reading series on the Ivy patio! This September edition features an incredible lineup:

Andy Duncan

C.S.E. Cooney

Mike Allen

Alaya Dawn Johnson

Mary G. Thompson

Jeff Reynolds

Many of these writers are contributors to the exciting new tribute anthology to Tanith Lee, Storyteller. “Packed with diversity, supercharged with emotional and philosophical revelation, and full of surprises and power, Storyteller is a special ‘must have,'” writes the Midwest Review of Books.

Whether it’s your first time at the series or you’ve been coming for years, we can’t wait to see you for what is always a warm, wonderful evening in support of exciting authors.

Books and refreshments will be available at the event.

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 2

Her most recent novel, The Library of Broken Worlds, was a finalist for the Ursula K. Le Guin prize. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, most notably the title story in The Memory Librarian, in collaboration with Janelle Monáe. (!!)

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 2

Alaya Dawn Johnson is a short story writer and the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, including World Fantasy Award-winner Trouble the Saints and Nebula award-winner Love Is the Drug.

Photo of the author, Alaya Dawn Johnson. (Her first name rhymes with papaya.)

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 2

Come join us this Saturday night when Alaya Dawn Johnson steps up to the mic! We have a killer lineup, and it's going to be a great night out on the patio at The Ivy Bookshop! 6:30 pm September 6th—free to all, and everyone is welcome!

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Charm City Spec Official @charmcityspec.bsky.social · Sep 1

Andy lives in western Maryland and teaches at Frostburg State University where he is a professor of English. He recently contributed a story to STORYTELLER, a Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology.

Cover for the book STORYTELLER, A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology. Artwork is a mysterious pale figure striding through a forest, bringing fire with their footsteps (I'm guessing.)

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