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B. Pladek

B. Pladek is a writer and literature professor based in Wisconsin. He’s published fiction in Strange Horizons, Slate Future Tense Fiction, Lightspeed, and elsewhere. His debut novel Dry Land appeared in 2023. You can find him @bpladek on all socials.


B. Pladek in our archives
Current Issue
31 Aug 2026
Poetry
Come Sell Us Your Dreams 
By: J. P. Babb
We’ll furnish some drugs to max-out your REM cycle: our bestsellers dream twenty hours a day
Poetry
Scenes From the Dream Prompt 
By: Isabella G. Mead
A prompt, pressing deeper, touches another creature’s skin.
Fiction
MR_MR_CENTICORE 
By: Micah Giddens
In the screen glow of the witching hours you see a silhouette flit in and out of the doorway. Your first meme and your first violation.
Reviews
Monday: Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV 
By: Duncan Lawie
Wednesday: The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty 
By: Anushree Nande
Friday: The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu 
By: Alex Kingsley
Read Issue
Issue 24 Aug 2026
Poetry
Let This Vessel Be My Offering 
By: Joy Donnell
Art by: Romie Stott
Poetry
You’re the Only One Who Knows 
By: Adam Coday
Articles, Non-Fiction
Move Fast and Don’t Ask Permission: Techno-Optimism in R.U.R. and Arcane 
By: Claire Jia-Wen
Reviews
Monday: The Hugo Award for Best Novel Shortlist 2026: Part One 
By: Nick Hubble
,
Wednesday: The Hugo Award for Best Novel Shortlist 2026: Part Two 
By: Nick Hubble
,
Friday: Of the Emperor’s Kindness by Chaz Brenchley 
By: Kate Macdonald
Read Issue
Issue 17 Aug 2026
Fiction
A Tiny™ Concert for the No-Name King 
By: Crowe Powell
Poetry
Sock Drawer Astronomy 
By: Yanqing Yang
Poetry
To the Reader 
By: Mary Soon Lee
Reviews
Monday: As If by Isabel Waidner 
By: E. C. Barrett
,
Wednesday: The Icarus Coda by Timothy Zahn 
By: Electra Pritchett
,
Friday: Teddy Bears Never Die by Cho Yeeun, translated by Sung Ryu 
By: Shannon Fay
Read Issue
Issue 10 Aug 2026
Poetry
Diary of a Figurehead - Part II 
By: Valerie Wardh
Fiction
Scarcely Gone 
By: Marissa Lingen
Poetry
The Deicide 
By: Deborah L. Davitt
Azimuth
Call for Editors: Social Media Editor and Patreon/Fundraising Editor 
By: Gautam Bhatia
Reviews
Monday: What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed 
By: Cat Fitzpatrick
,
Wednesday: The Vampire Lestat 
By: AJ Odasso
,
Friday: The Sovereign by C. L. Clark 
By: Tadeo Ward
Read Issue
Issue 3 Aug 2026
Fiction
Every Child a Changeling 
By: Samantha Pellegrino
Poetry
Indigo 
By: Heera Kumar
Poetry
death to the phoenix metaphor 
By: Kiki Em
Critical Friends, Podcasts
Critical Friends Episode 26: On Awards 
By: Amritesh Mukherjee
By: Abigail Nussbaum
By: Dan Hartland
Reviews
Monday: Earthly Playing Field by Radhika Singh 
By: aegor ray
,
Wednesday: The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan 
By: Andy Sawyer
,
Friday: Moon Over Brendle by Jeff Noon 
By: Nileena Sunil
Read Issue
Issue 27 Jul 2026
Poetry
Independence Day Event 
By: Tessa C. Berman
Art, Poetry
Bakotsu says his skin is our skin 
By: Betsy Aoki
Art by: Romie Stott
Azimuth, Editorials
Imprisoned Lightning: Trust and AI-Generated Submissions 
By: Romie Stott
Read Issue
Issue 20 Jul 2026
Fiction
Burning Hope on Auntie Regina’s Breast 
By: Chris Kuriata
Poetry
Digital Black Lung 
By: Chris Dolan
Poetry
Becoming State Equipment 
By: Hannan Khan
Reviews
Monday: Man, Muse, Monster by Naomi Gibson 
By: Hana Carolina
,
Wednesday: Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur 
By: Phoenix Scholz
,
Friday: Anti-State by Allen Stroud 
By: Eric Hendel
Read Issue
Issue 13 Jul 2026
Fiction
Guillotine 
By: Max Franciscovich
Poetry
Our Love Is A Fiction Demanding To Be Future 
By: Jenna Hanchey
Poetry
Communion: An Elegy 
By: Sonia Sulaiman
Podcasts
Podcast: Because I Held His Name Like a Key 
By: Aimee Ogden
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Reviews
Monday: The Mulai by Munir Hachemi, translated by Julia Sanches 
By: Dawn Macdonald
,
Wednesday: Olyoke by Vincent Endwell 
By: David Lewis
,
Friday: Orca and Bird by Anna Chilvers 
By: Kate Macdonald
Read Issue
Issue 6 Jul 2026
Fiction
Promises, Promises 
By: Cara Masten DiGirolamo
Poetry
Hero Worship 
By: Jessica Stritch
Critical Friends, Podcasts
Critical Friends Episode 25: Reading Queerly 
By: Dean Leetal
By: William Shaw
By: Dan Hartland
Poetry
My Dog is a Fish 
By: Elizabeth Lee Vines
Reviews
Monday: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 
By: Abigail Nussbaum
,
Wednesday: The Wildcraft Drones by T. K. Rex 
By: Octavia Cade
,
Friday: The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire by India Holton 
By: Anushree Nande
Read Issue
Issue 29 Jun 2026
Poetry
haunting the homeowner 
By: Hikari Leilani Miya
Articles, Non-Fiction
A Brightness Queering Everything: The Haunting Potential of Animal Worlds in Vandermeer, Jones, and Shelley 
By: Ben Berman Ghan
Fiction
The Wisdom of the Galaxy 
By: Will McMahon
Reviews
Monday: Saving Utopia: Imagining Hopeful Futures in Dystopian Times, by Joe P. L. Davidson 
By: Nader Elhefnawy
,
Wednesday: anOther Nemesis by Ai Jiang, Angela Yuriko Smith, Eugen Bacon, and Maxwell I. Gold 
By: Tristan Beiter
,
Friday: Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta 
By: Amritesh Mukherjee
Read Issue
Issue 22 Jun 2026
Poetry
The Glass Beach 
By: Nestor Walters
Poetry
Permafrost 
By: M. Frost
Reviews
Monday: Vigil by George Saunders 
By: David Soyka
,
Wednesday: The Young Die Old by Nguyễn Bình Phương, translated by Khải Q. Nguyễn 
By: Rachel Cordasco
,
Friday: River of Bones and Other Stories by Rebecca Roanhorse 
By: Alex Kingsley
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Strange Horizons is a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. We publish fiction, poetry, reviews, essays, interviews, and art. For more information, see our about page. All material in Strange Horizons is copyrighted to the original authors and may not be reproduced without permission.

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