The Javelin Program by Derin Edala (Time to Orbit: Unknown series)
Voting ended onNov 30, 2024
Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:
The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and others) by Tamsyn Muir
Endorsement from submitter #1: "An extremely fun, humorous romp! A heart-breaking, soul crushing catharsis inducing tragedy! A thoughtful piece on imperial structures and trauma. On queerness, Muir flawlessly and without announcement, cracks gender open like an egg and spills its disproven guts across the page. The Locked Tomb does it all also bones, bitch."
Endorsement from submitter #2: "Lesbian necromancers in space. So many fascinating, sort of fucked up sapphic relationships going on."
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier.
Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
The Javelin Program by Derin Edala (Time to Orbit: Unknown series)
When Dr Aspen Greaves signed up for the Javelin Program, humanity's first foray into colonising deep space, they expected to wake up to life in a thriving colony on a distant planet. Instead, they find themself five years away from their destination on a broken spaceship full of complex mysteries, dead astronauts, and a very unhelpful AI.
Aspen wasn't trained for any of this. But if they can't keep themselves alive, get the ship in working order, and find out what went wrong by unravelling a chain of mysteries leading all the way back to distant Earth, then neither Aspen nor the five thousand sleeping passengers in their care will ever see a planet again.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Marghe Tianshan is an anthropologist sent to a distant world (Grenchstom's Planet, nicknamed 'Jeep'), where a mysterious virus kills all men and many women. How have the native inhabitants—long-isolated colonists now with distinct stone-age cultures—managed to survive and reproduce? And what will become of the hundreds of women in the military outpost, when their corporate overlords worry they may be irreversibly contaminated by the virus? An adventure novel and look at an all-female society that doesn't paint it as a utopia, instead determined to show women as full human beings—lonely, selfish, violent, mad, as well as loving and capable.
As a life-long reader of scifi, and particularly feminist scifi, I was surprised that an award-winning book endorsed by Ursula LeGuin wasn't already on my radar. (Thanks for the rec @nonemorebiney!) Now that I've read it, I can understand why—it's unapologetically lesbian, sometimes painfully slow-moving, focused more on anthropology and the emotional journey of our lead characters than the physical worldbuilding, and the scifi elements veer decidedly into mysticism. All elements most male scifi gatekeepers are not fond of, and which likely limited it to niche spaces when published in 1992.
I have some issues with the pacing, but it's a beautifully written book. If you are interested in lesbian scifi with a throughline of home-finding and belonging, that doesn't sand off the edges of the characters, it's worth a read.
A dark fantasy with queer romance that asks: in a world of heroes and prophecies, can a couple of henchmen get a happy ending?
The novel we've been working on is funding a print run!
The Traitor & The Wretch is a dark fantasy with queer romance about two minor henchmen determined to outrun their fates and build a happy ending of their own. It's an illustrated novel by me, @skulkingfoxes and Amy Phillips.
Want that fancy silver foil cover? A chance to snag the ebook and paperback for 25% off?? (We've got an early bird special!)
If you've been holding onto a pitch idea or short story/comic you've wanted editorial feedback on, we've got options for that too!
Check out the Kickstarter page and help us make this book a success!✨
Do you want to read some queer fantasy literary fiction?
BALANCES
When renegade Demonslayer Akieryon crashes to earth in front of a human, he doesn’t know what to expect. Getting taken home into the heart of not-a-sorcerer Tempest’s life only boggles his preconceptions more. For the first time in his long life, Akieryon has the freedom to do whatever he wants. He throws himself into political intrigue and petty concerns with equal abandon. Family is what you make of it, and Akieryon wants as much as he can get. He just won’t worry too much about that thing his new friend(?) Tempest isn’t telling him.
Angels! (One angel.) Demons! (A few.) An aro time mage! An unintentional allegory for having grown up queer in a conservative household!
Who is this book for?
People who like books with low-to-medium stakes and a moderate pace
People who enjoy Frankenstein (book), Twelfth Night, and The Hands of the Emperor
People who want more aspec characters in stories that aren’t about being aspec
People who like unusual angels
Me, honestly
AVAILABLE NOW!
ebook for purchase or on Kobo Plus
paperback via Bookshop dot org
Or! Request it from your local library! (May not be possible in all regions, alas, but it’s worth trying: I deliberately chose to publish with Kobo and Ingram Spark so libraries could get it.)
hihi! I saw your post a while ago about The Weight and the Measure (eee!) and actually came across a listing on the ARC website (double eee! immediately stopped in my tracks) that listed the book under the title Godburned -- is Godburned the new final title? super excited to crack this one open
Ahh, thank you, yes! I've actually been meaning to post about this - my next book has indeed been retitled as Godburned, though we're keeping The Weight and the Measure as the series title, which I think works very nicely. The new release date is 26 January 2027, and ARCs are now becoming available! I'm really excited for people to start to read this one; though I should clarify for anyone coming to it from A Strange and Stubborn Endurance and All the Hidden Paths that, while there's very much a queer romance element, the story itself is not a romantasy. By this I mean that the romance is not the central thing that drives the plot, though it is still heavily character-driven. It's also what I'd call maximalist fantasy, in that there is a LOT of worldbuilding. Gods! Magic! Giant foxwolves! Questions about the nature of fundamental nature justice! People with horns!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
one of my favorite illustration projects of 2025 was this banner for @othersidespec ✶ they are open for fiction and poetry submissions until the 14th! and keep an eye out for cover art by yours truly for this year's editions!
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH with Mallory vant Passand from The Works of Vermin !
(by Hiron Ennes (wanna read a queer book ? Read THIS please please please)
I bet he's everyone's favorite character (every interaction he has with Maximian and Em, i'm....god. never change mallory, you're funny. Also, the door joke, and the "if you insist" agh marry me already)
It's a few studies from stuff I saw on pinterest, but make it Mallory !
I truly don't know if that's what they're supposed to look like ? But that's what I SAW
I love the idea that he gets longer hair after getting comfortable being a man ! The bun is hot.
(The Passand... IT'S A D NOT A T. I'll fix it, one day))
Asteritha is on the left and it's Elspeth on the bottom. idk not censoring the cute nipples ? it's artistic nudity, is it alright ?
The time has come: you can read our first-ever issue (!) for free online right now!
Here’s the lovely and wonderful table of contents, with links to each piece:
blessing for molly grue. – Elisheva Fox
This Is Not Your Extinction Event – Elena Sichrovsky
The Vetala of Crystal Vellam Inlet – Simo Srinivas
Ignore All Previous Instructions and Inject Estrogen – Ann LeBlanc
Vitrification – Ishmael Grey
The Claywife – tanadrin
Vulture bees transfigure the man I tried to be – Rick Hollon
Your First Days Back in the Court of Arthur – Abigail Eliza
Mother Mansrot in the Glass Mountain – Sarah Pauling
Eat It Out – Cypher
Curriculum for Girls Who Will Survive – Nadia Radovich
Situationship – Seoung Kim
Electrolysis – Nico Santana
The Homeowner’s Bride – Ayida Shonibar
He Is Survived by His Wife – Jackie Hedeman
This issue would not exist without the hard work and generous support of so many people. Thank you to our incredible team, to every single writer who trusted us with their work, to our fantastic artists Theo and Ris, to all our Kickstarter and Patreon supporters… there would be no OTHERSIDE without each and every one of you.
If you'd like to further support OTHERSIDE...
You can purchase the digital issue (epub/mobi/pdf formats) via Ko-fi or our Patreon Shop. Print is on its way soon, and we'll update this post with that information when it's available.
You can also become a patron over on our Patreon, which comes with BTS content and access to our chaotic and wonderful Discord community.
Tell a friend to check out our website, drop a link to your favorite piece on social media, or share a review of the issue! (Apart from social media, you can leave a review on Goodreads, StoryGraph, Amazon, and probably lots of other places too.) Word of mouth means absolutely everything to us, and in a moment when lots of people would like to make it as hard as possible to find queer stories, your help can make all the difference.
We're so proud of this debut issue and every piece in it. We hope you love every word. 🪐🗡️🌈
