My Life in Fiction

My Life in Fiction, 2025.

Posted on by Sam J. M.

Welcome to the other side of the threshold, fellow time travelers.

We’ve crossed over into 2026. A blank slate. Right? New beginnings, new chances, new resolutions.

Never mind that the Death Cult steering this ship is trotting out the same old nightmare scenarios, that war and hate and hunger and genocide still loom large. We will cling to hope, to power, to the belief that we can help shape a future that averts apocalypse.

One of the things I genuinely love about January is the chance to look back at all the great writing I consumed in the previous year. And this year I am excited to revisit an old tradition of mine: a round-up of “My Life in Fiction” – annual highlights as a reader and as a writer.

I read so much great stuff in 2025!! Not nearly as much as I wanted to – it’s never enough – but tons of excellence. I’m excited to shout out some of those stories.

First, though, I’ll talk about the two published things I’m proudest of, from 2025. “For your consideration,” as they say, in case you’re filling out an award ballot and have a couple empty slots 🙏🙏🙏

NOVELETTE: Courtney Lovecraft's Book of the Dead

Originally published in Nightmare Magazine, this horror story is rooted my rage at the way the world is treating trans and nonbinary folks. People have said it’s an “absolute banger,” “full of beautiful queer rage,” “equal parts chilling and beautiful,” with “angry ghosts who are sick of humanity’s bullshit” – and “the best drag name ever?… yes, obviously” đŸ„čđŸ„čđŸ„č

Read it here.

NOVEL: RED STAR HUSTLE

Published as a “Saga Double” with APPREHENSION by Mary Robinette Kowal, my fifth novel was an instant USA Today bestseller!! People said it was “fast and punchy, full of action and intrigue,” “just the gay-as-fuck vibe I needed,” “a nail-biting ride,” “powerful, thoughtful, and propulsive,” and “the kind of queer chaotic energy only Sam J. Miller can deliver.” 😍😍😍

Get your copy.

As always, I so so appreciate you for reading.

Now, on to the stuff I loved as a reader.

I have to say, up top – I don’t know what it says about me, or the world, that my two favorite stories of the year – “Ichthyosis” and “Nacre” – were raw wild aching screaming cries of pain and grief. With water monsters.

“Ichthyosis,” by M.L. Krishnan, in Psychopomp. I said it on Bluesky and I’ll say it again. This story breaks all the right rules for all the right reasons. Proof that if you’re a phenomenally skilled writer, you can just give me intense vivid emotion so compelling I won’t mind if it’s missing some of the things we are taught are “essential” to storytelling.

“Nacre,” by E. Catherine Tobler, in Three-Lobed Burning Eye. Ouch. Wow. This one hurt. It hurt so fucking good. One of the best speculative looks at grief I’ve ever read. Just as its protagonist undergoes an unimaginable transformation, this story transmutes incredible pain into astonishing beauty.

“The Husband,” by P.C. Verrone, in Podcastle #874. I’ve been a big fan of P.C. Verrone since reading “A Review of Slime Tutorial: The Musical” in the fantastic anthology Elemental Forces (both worth hunting down and devouring), and this story bit me hard and sucked me dry with its queer twisted horny hunger.

“Corporate Policy,” by Eden Royce, in Psychopomp. A fabulous short story told in corporate memos and group chats!! And it’s funny! And it’s fucked up.

What a great year for Psychopomp!!

“The Heart is Hungry Above All Things,” by Avra Margariti, in Three-Lobed Burning Eye. This somehow feels like something I’ve never read before, AND something that cleaves to the very heart of what speculative fiction can accomplish, how it can help us understand the harrowing world we inhabit. Also it has sentences like: “And that is our first memory, and our first glimpse of the burden we call brother.” 😍😍😍

What a wonderful year for Three-Lobed Burning Eye!

“Into Duty, Into Longing, Into Sparrows” by Somto Ihezue, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I have yet to be disappointed by a Somto Ihezue story, and this one took the fantastic narrative craft and the vivid human emotion and the incantatory prose to a whole new level.

“Blanquitos” by Karlo Yeager Rodriguez, in Typebar Magazine. Another short story writer who rarely fails to knock it out of the park, Karlo delivered a fantastic piece this year – there are monsters here, but presented in such a lovely understated way that it does a great job of asking one of my favorite questions: when weighed against U.S. imperialism, are eldritch abominations really so scary?

“The Flaming Embusen,” by Tade Thompson, in Uncanny Magazine. Tade always finds new ways to hit me right in the feels; this one did so by pairing the wide-eyed technological sense of wonder that characterizes the foundational classics of the genre with the grim stoic cynicism (flimsy armor for a broken heart) of the best vintage noir.

“Written on the Subway Walls,” by Jennifer Hudak, in The Sunday Morning Transport. A couple of years ago, at the World Fantasy Convention, on the final day, when I asked folks what the highlight of their con weekend was, multiple people said “Jennifer Hudak’s reading,” which would be impressive under any circumstances – but was especially astonishing given how many incredible famous rock star writers gave readings at the event. Jennifer Hudak’s writing, when I’ve sought it out since then, delivers on that promise – and nowhere more so than in this lovely haunting story narrated by a subway tunnel. Possibly. Or is it an entire gorgeous forgotten powerful city?

“The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For,” by Cameron Reed, on Reactor. I mean COME ON, look at that title!! And the story lives up to that high bar. Corporate dystopia + worldbuilding I’ve never seen before + rad trans protagonist + clones + high-stakes pulse-pounding action + + + so much other awesome stuff…

“A Tall Glass of Water,” by Xochilt Avila, in Night Shades. Fiction that truly goes by all in a flash, but so fucking fantastic – it’s fun, it’s funny, it’s hot, it hurts.

“To Access Seven Obelisks Press Enter,” by V.M. Ayala, in Lightspeed. My favorite thing – queer horniness as force for revolutionary transformation! The excellent worldbuilding and powerful characterization are just extra olives in the martini that is this brilliant story.

I regret to inform that I read hardly any 2025 novels in 2025. Some fabulous 2026 stuff that I was honored to be asked to blurb – some of which is so fucking fantastic I can’t wait for it to be out so I can start squeeing about it on every street corner, like SUBLIMATION by Isabel J. Kim and MUÑECA by Cynthia Gomez – and a lot of older stuff – neither of which, sadly are helpful to y’all if you’re looking for things to read to fill an awards ballot out.

Alas, I am all too aware that this is the tip of the iceberg, that there is so much more magnificent fiction in so many excellent outlets that I totally missed! So, like lots of the protagonists of these stories, I will let glorious hunger lead me through the year to come – even though I know I can never read ALL THE THINGS, and thus can never truly be satiated.

May we all stay hungry – for justice, and for stories.

Promotional image for my story "Courtney Lovecraft's Book of the Dead" and my novel RED STAR HUSTLE.

Life in Fiction 2017: Highlights as a Reader & a Writer

Posted on by Sam J. M.

It’s been a rough year.

A lot of protests. A lot of phone calls to Senators. A lot of crying over awful things I can’t control.

Also, I had a book come out. That, and the fascist takeover of the government really kept me from doing as much reading as I wanted to do, even though good storytelling is more important than ever, in times like this.

But I did read some great fiction this year. And it helped me a lot.  I even published some stuff I’m proud of. So if you’re in an award-nominating kind of mood, or are desperate to escape this disappointing reality, or are just looking for something awesome to read, here’s my round-up of the best stuff written by other people, as well as the work of my own that I think is halfway decent.

CATEGORY: NOVEL; NORTON AWARD
The Art of Starving (HarperTeen). Young adult science fiction about a bullied small-town gay boy with an eating disorder (all of which I was) who believes that starving himself awakens latent supernatural abilities (which mine did not). Starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, & Booklist; Barnes & Noble called it “a novel with the power to change the world.” A Junior Library Guild selection. 
CATEGORY: NOVELETTE
Making Us Monsters (co-written with Lara Elena Donnelly) (who accurately described it as “the anti-fascist gay time traveling epistolary WWI novelette about dangerous medical experimentation that you’ve all been waiting for!”) – Uncanny Magazine   
CATEGORY: SHORT STORY
 The Future of Hunger in the Age of Programmable Matter – Tor.com.  A group of friends, a pair of lovers, and the tussle between love, addiction, and what comes next…. “Plus there are giant kaiju that destroy New York. So it’s got a lot going on. It’s a moving piece about longing and desire and shame and abuse, and it’s very much worth checking out. Go read it!” – Quick Sip Reviews 
CATEGORY: SHORT STORY
The Ways Out – Clarkesworld. “It’s a story reflecting on prejudice, but also a story of hope, fighting back
 one of found family and people overcoming loneliness” – Apex Magazine. Rocket Stack Rank said the end reveal is “delicious.” And Tangent said: “I was rooting for the characters after seeing snippets of their conversations and hints of their inner goals, and wanted them to beat the system spying on them.”  
CATEGORY: SHORT STORY
Bodies Stacked Like Firewood – Uncanny Magazine. “As usual with Miller, this story is about love, loss and friendship and it features queer main characters” – the Curious SFF Reader.

And here are my favorite stories by other writers, from the past year [list in formation]:

 

 

Life in Fiction 2016: Highlights as a Reader & a Writer

Posted on by Sam J. M.

wp-1480451168053.jpg2016 was a rough year personally, and, uh, also, existentially. Prince died! And David Bowie! and… racist misogynist fascists took over the US government.

So I read a lot of fiction, this year. And it helped me a lot. And I believe that in the coming years, we’ll need fiction more and more.

If you’re in an award-nominating kind of mood, or are desperate to escape this disappointing reality, or are just looking for something awesome to read, here’s my round-up of the best stories written by other people that I read in 2016. I’ve also included the two pieces I’m proudest of, from 2016 – conveniently located in two separate award categories:

Short Story: Clarkesworld, Issue 117, June 2016

“Things With Beards”

Semi-sequel to The Thing, using John Carpenter’s gnarly monster to tell a story of AIDS, gay liberation, police brutality, & passing.  Locus said “The story is a tangle of metaphors that knot perfectly together. 
joins others of Miller’s, such as last year’s ‘‘The Heat of Us’’, as a startling and intelligent engagement with queer history through a science fictional lens.” And Peter Watts, author of “The Things,” said “It’s fucking amazing
 TWB can’t seem to go for a single paragraph without making some new, visceral, political observation/metaphor.” 

Novelette: Nightmare Magazine, Issue 40, January 2016

“Angel, Monster, Man”

sketch5220376-1.jpgIt’s the height of the AIDS crisis. Three friends, gay men overwhelmed with rage and sadness, who’ve inherited suitcases and boxes and garbage bags full of unpublished work from fellow writers killed by the virus, invent Tom Minniq: a collective pseudonym under which to publish all that orphaned work. Tom becomes a literary superstar, but he doesn’t stay on the page. And he starts acting out their anger in ways that they couldn’t anticipate, and can’t control.

And here are my favorite stories from the past year [list in formation]:

Life in Fiction 2015: Highlights as a Reader and a Writer

Posted on by Sam J. M.

Writing-wise, I had a pretty good 2015. The rest of my life was a miserable mess, but I did all right with my writing. In fact, the best thing ever in my life (selling my novel!) happened 24 hours before the worst thing ever in my life (my father’s passing).

So, yeah. A shitty year, but also an awesome one. Here are my stories that came out in 2015, and the stories that I loved that were written by other people, all of which I think you should think about if you’re in an award-nominating kind of mood, or just looking for something awesome to read.

“Calved” in Asimov’s

Probably the story I’m proudest of, from the past year. It was selected for inclusion in three “Best of the Year” anthologies. It’s been published in translation in Czech & Hebrew. Gardner Dozois said in Locus “The best story here is new writer Sam J. Miller’s emotionally-grueling Calved
 the twist ending
 arrives with the slow inexorableness of a Greek tragedy and strikes with brutal force. Grim stuff,  but compelling.” And the magnificent Jason Sanford “When I finished this story I wanted to scream. I wanted to punish Miller for writing something which so gut my emotions. I wanted to hug him for creating a story so beautifully captivating and so perfectly devastating to read. “Calved” by Sam. J. Miller is one of the year’s best stories and will likely be on my Hugo and Nebula Award short list. Seek this story out and read it.” You can read “Calved” for free over at my website.

“Ghosts of Home,” in Lightspeed

“The best story in the August Lightspeed comes from Sam J Miller, who has repeatedly impressed with his first several stories, and who shows a lot of range. “Ghosts of Home” is about the housing crisis of 2008 and its effects on people like the main character Agnes and her mother, but it’s set in a version of our world where household spirits are real.” – Rich Horton, in Locus

“When Your Child Strays From God” in Clarkesworld

“
 an evangelical Christian pastor’s wife dealing with the sinful rebelliousness of her teenage son
 a really cool made up drug that sounds absolutely transformative and I want to try it (along with a few close friends
 very close)
 Miller excels at blending cool speculative ideas with characters and situations very much grounded in our world.” – i09 Newstand

“The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History” in Uncanny 

“
puts a supernatural twist on the Stonewall Riots, an important event in the gay rights movement
 the story does an excellent job of capturing a moment in time, the injustice of the police, the desperation of men and women trying to find a place to be
 a call for change that can easily be brought forward from the past and unpacked in the present.” – Tangent

“To Die Dancing” in Apex

“Clive has survived the country’s fall into a Revival, a conservative fascism where women are seen and not heard, where everyone works and toils, where the state has access into the minds of every citizen
 It’s a heartbreaking story, one that builds tragedy over tragedy, failure over failure, and in the beauty of its prose and the humanity of its characters it whispers a warning. That there are things worth fighting for. That survival is not enough if it exists at the expense of others. Go read this story. Go now.” – Charles Payseur, Quick Sip Reviews

wpid-sketch20113227-1.jpgI also read a ton of great stuff in the past year, so, if you’re in an award-nominating mood, here are some of the things I loved [I missed a ton of great stuff, I am sure, and I will be updating this post in the next couple weeks as I go through my notes and paper mags and email to ensure I’ve captured all the awesome stuff I loved]