mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06Quarterly indie digital magazine featuring weird fiction, science fiction, fantasy & fact.
Editor-in-Chief: @esraye@mastodon.social
Issue 9: Spring 2026 live now. Get it free at http://perseidprophecies.ca
Horror, scifi, fantasy, and weird fiction.
If it's strange, dark, or just off the beaten path of "reality," we want to read it.
Submissions for our Summer '26 issue are open until May 31st.
See guidelines here:
https://perseidprophecies.ca/submissions/
One of the hellhounds pulled a weird and wonderful (and strangely lichen-encrusted) short story out from under the basement stairs this morning. No one remembers receiving it, and its author is listed only as "Fae."
It feels like a trap, but we're not sure if acceptance or rejection will spring it.
Submissions are open!
Remember, we don't insist on a theme, but matching your story to the issue's season may catch the eye of that eldritch demi-god known only as "The Reading Team."
This issue's rant is a look back at the wisdom of the man who inspired the Rants in the first place: Stan Lee and his soapbox.
With the world as it is, it's still important to remember his words about bigotry and hate.
"The Far-cry of Archaic Dust" by Antoinette Van Sluytman is a beautiful, afrocosmic story of a far future where tales of walking among the dust quicken the imagination.
It's an experience far better read than described.
What do you do when you're on a planetary expedition and you discover your whole crew dead, you're locked out if the ship's controls, the ship-board AI starts acting cagey about someone else on board, and THEN you start having dreams that feel like someone else's memories?
Read "The Speed of Dark" by Floyd Largent:
https://perseidprophecies.ca/issue-9-spring-2026/the-speed-of-dark/
We *knew* it!
A prodigal son returns home to learn his old money comes with some old and very dark secrets, in Marsden Lyonwahl's Southern Gothic yarn "Me, Myself, and I."
https://perseidprophecies.ca/issue-9-spring-2026/me-myself-and-i/
#southerngotihic #horror #shortstory #indiemagazine #indiezine
Submissions for our Summer '26 isssue are open until the end of May! Check our Submissions page for genres and guidelines! We don't ask that you stick to a theme, but matching the season of the issue is encouraged!
Trapped in a debris-filled orbit and weighed down by grief and guilt, Airo is chosen by Zeng, the pirate holding thr system captive, to aid him in his efforts.
But when Airo learns the truth, he must choose what his new legacy will be.
Read "Inherited Crimes of an Orbit Lord" by Andrew Westermanm for free at:
#scifi #sciencefiction #shortstory
Edited · 5m
It's a brand new year, which means submissions are open for our Spring 2026 issue!
Remember, we don't insist on a theme, but if your scifi, fantasy, weird fiction or horror short story matches the issue's season, it *may* be looked on more favorably by that ageless beast we call "The Reading Team!"
Check our submissions page for more guidelines.
https://perseidprophecies.ca/submissions/
#submissionsopen #submissioncall #scifi #sff #fantasy #horror
Happy New Year!
And to celebrate, our Winter 2026 issue is now live, free, and features these incredible stories:
The Far-cry of Archaic Dust by Antoinette Van Sluytman
Brethren by L.M. Conkling
The Good Stuff by Dennis M. Powers
How Not to Live Forever by Douglas Kolacki
The Starward Cormorant by Nathan Poole Shannon
The Man with Glass Wings by Maria Chiru
Beyond the Door by Phillip K. Dick
#sciencefiction #scifi #sff #fantasy #horror #shortstories #shortstory
Spring has arrived, and with it, our latest issue! Read it free at the link below.
Fiction:
Inherited Crimes of an Orbit Lord by Andrew Westerman
Me, Myself, and I by Marsden Lyonwahl
The Speed of Dark by Floyd Largent
The Moon Disc by B Myers
Clay Gods by G. R. Ashford
A Man Walks into a Bar by Dennis M. Powers
By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét
Fact:
The Thinking Plant’s Man by Ben Seal
Raye’s Rants:
Say it Again, Stan
If you're visiting our website today (and in the future) to get the latest issue, you may notice some subtle changes.
The IT gremlins worked with the ghosts in the machine to see to it we can now host each issue's stories directly on the site!
You can still download a pdf or epub from our Patreon, but you can also now read everything straight from the source!
An isolated city in the clouds is visited by a stranger on glass wings. Where did he come from? Another city? Perhaps. What does he want? That's a more dangerous question.
Read "The Man with Glass Wings" by Maria Chiru for free!
Lost and alone, a shipboard AI considers its fate and that of its long gone crew in "The Starward Cormorant" by Nathan Poole Shannon.
Read it now at
All stories for our upcoming spring issue have been finalized!
If you submitted a story and are waiting to hear, check your inbox!
What would you do if the death of certain people added to your own lifespan? Would you honor those who have made you functionally immortal, or would you feel entitled to your years?
Read "How Not to Live Forever" by Douglas Kolacki free in out Winter 2026 issue.
They say a good deed is its own reward.
But who could guess that simply giving a stranger a lift to the bus terminal could take you--and your beat up old car--to the most amazing places?
Read "The Good Stuff" by Dennis M. Powers for free, now!
#scifi #weirdfiction #shortstories #sff #fantasy #indiemagazine
The forests of Northern California are ancient--eldritch in their own right.
When Tex finds themselves lost among in those uncanny woods, they realize these trees know things they could not, and the forest craves more than they are willing to give.
Read "Brethren" by L.M Conkling, free, in our Winter 2026 issue!
RE: https://mastodon.social/@perseidprophecies/116047520309831015
We are ALSO open for science fact article and cover art submissions!
We are OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS for our Spring 2026 issue!
We don't stick to a theme, but if your #scifi, #horror, #weirdfiction, or #fantasy short story matches the issue's season, the Reading Team's unsettling eyes may look on it more favorably!
Submit by Feb 28th for the April issue!
Ooof. Feels like we fell into a black hole for a while there.
Spaghettification can make posting to social media difficult.
But we're out the other side and ready to get back into it!