It’s that wonderful, harrowing time of the year when everyone makes lists and starts thinking about what stories and books to nominate for various awards. Really, this is sort of an exercise in futility: there are SO MANY great stories and books that are worthy of attention and awards.
If you want to see what I read an enjoyed in 2019, you can read my short fiction roundups and reviews,
And if you want to look at my own awards eligible stories, they are here:
In this post, I’ve gathered together a Very Long Lost of fantastic fiction I read in 2019. They are posted in no particular order, though short stories from November and December are at the top (to make up for the fact that they haven’t been around for very long). More will be added as needed here at the end of the year, because yeah, there are still stories to come.
Novels
The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley
The Lesson, by Cadwell Turnbull
Storm of Locusts, by Rebecca Roanhorse
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, by K. Eason
The Great Faerie Strike, by Spencer Ellsworth
Finder, by Suzanne Palmer
The History of Soul 2065, by Barbara Krasnoff
The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus, by Alanna McFall
Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
Riverland, by Fran Wilde
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez
Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer
Novellas
“From A Shadow Grave“, by Andi C. Buchanan
“Desdemona and the Deep“, by C.S.E. Cooney
“The Rampant“, by Julie C. Day
“The Boy Who Was Mistaken for a Fairy King“, by H.L. Fullerton
“Catfish Lullaby“, by A.C. Wise
“The Fire Opal Mechanism“, by Fran Wilde
“Sisters of the Vast Black“, by Lina Rather
“The Intercessor“, by Deborah L. Davitt in The Fantasist
Novelettes
“Seonag and the Sea Wolves“, by M. Evan MacGriogair at TOR.com
“The Backstitched Heart of Katharine Wright“, by Alison Wilgus in Interzone #279
“While Dragons Claim the Sky“, by Jen Brown in Fiyah #10
“Cratered“, by Karen Osborne in Future Science Fiction Digest
“Nice Things“, by Ellen Klages in Uncanny Magazine
“Fairest of All“, by Ada Hoffman in The Future Fire
“Cloud-Born“, by Gregor Feeley in Clarkesworld
“For He Can Creep“, by Siobhan Carroll at TOR.com
“His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light” by Mimi Mondal at TOR.com
“The Forge“, by Andrew Dykstal in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“The Rat King of Spanish Harlem“, by Nicky Drayden in Fiyah #9
“An Irrational Love“, by Marika Bailey in Fiyah #12 (novelette)
“The Second Nanny“, by Djuna translated by Sophie Bowman in Clarkesworld (translation from Korean, first publication in English)
“A Forest, or a Tree“, by Tegan Moore at TOR.com
“A Handful of Sky“, by Elly Bangs in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“Windrose in Scarlet” by Isabel Yap in Lightspeed
“The Archronology of Love“, by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed
“The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye“, by Sarah Pinsker in Uncanny Magazine
“One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit“, by Dominica Phetteplace in Lightspeed
“This Way to Paradise“, by Rati Mehrotra in Lightspeed
“O Have You Seen the Devle with his Mikerscope and Scalpul?“, by Jonathan L. Howard in Apex
“Kali-Na“, by Indrapramit Das in The Mythic Dream
Short Stories
“Wonderland” by Aysha U. Farah in Foreshadow
“The Time Invariance of Snow“, by E. Lily Yu at TOR.com
“The Mechanical Mind“, by Yume Kitasei in Lamplight 8.1
“Deep Water“, by Daniel Delgado in Lamplight 8.1
“This Is How“, by Marie Brennan in Strange Horizons
“The Longest Night“, by Emily B. Cataneo in Black Static #72
“The Beckoning Green“, by Elizabeth Childs in The Dark
“Personal Rakshasi“, by Suzan Palumbo in Fireside
“Written in the Book of the Woods“, by LJ Geoffrion in Reckoning
“The Lawman’s Boy“, by by Setsu Uzumé in The Bourbon Penn
“Such Thoughts Are Unproductive“, by Rebecca Campbell in Clarkesworld
“Dead Worms, Dangling“, by Joanna Parypinski in Nightmare
“The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir“, by Karin Tidbeck in TOR.com
“Mr. Buttons“, by Miyuki Jane Pinckard in Flash Fiction Online
“Ahura Yazda, the Great Extraordinary“, by Senaa Ahmad in Lightspeed
“Nothing to Fear, Nothing to Fear“, by Senaa Ahmad in Uncanny Magazine
“Roots and Shoots“, by Laura DeHaan in Augur 2.1
“Labbatu Takes Command of the Flagship Heaven Dwells Within“, by Arkady Martine in The Mythic Dream
“The Justified“, by Ann Leckie in The Mythic Dream
“Curses Like Words, Like Feathers, Like Stories“, by Kat Howard in The Mythic Dream
“The Shadow We Cast Through Time“, by Indrapramit Das in New Suns
“The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex“, by Tobias S. Buckell in New Suns
“Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister“, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia in New Suns
“The Wall“, by Lizz Huerta in A People’s Future of the United States
“Read After Burning“, by Maria Dahvana Headley in A People’s Future of the United States
“Kill the Darlings (Silicone Sister Remix)“, by E. Catherine Tobler in Do Not Go Quietly
“Advice For Your First Time at the Faerie Market“, by Nibedita Sen in Fireside
“The Night Princes“, by Megan Arkenberg in Nightmare
“It Is Not So, It Was Not So“, by Megan Arkenberg in The Dark
“Road: A Fairy Tale” by Shalini Srinivasan in Strange Horizons
“What Cradles Us But Will Not Set Us Free“, by Nin Harris in Strange Horizons
“Water Through Our Hands“, by Ross Showalter in Strange Horizons
“A Lady of Ganymede, A Sparrow of Io“, by Dafydd McKimm in Flash Fiction Online
“1078 Reasons“, by Aidan Doyle in Translunar Travelers Lounge
“This Was Never a Vigil“, by V. Medina in Capricious #12
“A Plea For A Haunting“, by Ray Yanek in Flash Fiction Online
“The Bones and Their Girl“, by Sylvia Heike in Syntax & Salt
“Octonet“, by Keyan Bowes in Escape Pod
“Where Gods Dance“, by Ben Serna-Grey in Apex
“The House Wins in the End“, by L Chan in The Dark
“Flash Crash“, by Louis Evans in Escape Pod
“58 Ways to Ensure Your Husband Loves You Forever“, by Rafeeat Aliyu in Nightmare
“The Crafter at the Web’s Heart“, by Izzy Wasserstein in Apex Magazine
“The Valley of Wounded Deer“, by E. Lily Yu in Lightspeed
“Some Kind of Blood-Soaked Future“, by Carlie St. George in Nightmare
“A Bird, A Song, a Revolution“, by Brooke Bolander in Lightspeed #112
“And Now His Lordship is Laughing“, by Shiv Ramdas in Strange Horizons
“The Happiest Place“, by Kevin Wabaunsee in PseudoPod
“The Horrible Deaths of Helga Hrafnsdóttir“, by Christine Tyler in Podcastle
“Moses“, by L.D. Lewis in Anathema
“Signal“, by L.D. Lewis in Fireside
“The Wilderling“, by Angela Slatter in The Dark
“Malotibala Printing Press“, by Mimi Mondal in Nightmare
“Another Day in the Desert“, by Mame Bougouma Diene in Escape Pod
“This is the Nightmare“, by Aysha U. Farah in Anathema
“The Haunting of 13 Olúwo Street“, by Suyi Davies Okungbowa in Fireside
“Before the World Crumbles Away“, by A. T. Greenblatt in Uncanny Magazine
“Red“, by Malinda Lo in Foreshadow
“Example“, by Adam Troy-Castro in Nightmare
“Barter Queen“, by Sarah Pauling in Cast of Wonders
“The Blanched Bones, the Tyrant Wind“, by Karen Osborne in Fireside
“Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders“, by Malka Older in Current Futures
“A Conch-Shell’s Notes“, by Shweta Adhyam in Lightspeed
“Teeth“, by Cathy Charlton in Truancy Magazine
“When Home, No Need to Cry“, by Erin K. Wagner in Clarkesworld
“Professor Strong and the Brass Boys“, by Amal Singh in Apex Magazine
“Elegy for a Slaughtered Swine” by Rafaela Farraz at Podcastle
“The Beast Weeps with One Eye“, by Morgan Al-Moor in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“The Homunculi’s Guide to Resurrecting Your Loved One From Their Electronic Ghosts“, by Kara Lee in Escape Pod
“Burrowing Machines“, by Sara Saab in The Dark
“Daughters of Silt and Cedar“, by Rebecca Mix in Kaleidotrope
“In A Dry Season“, by David Martin in Black Static #68
“Adrianna in Pomegranate“, by Sam Mills in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“Cavity“, by Theresa DeLucci in Strange Horizons
“A Cut-Purse Rethinks His Ways“, by Kate Heartfield in Timeworn Literary Journal
“Many-Hearted Dog and Heron Who Stepped Past Time“, by Alex Yuschik in Strange Horizons
“The Lights Go out, One by One“, by Kofi Nyameye in Asimov’s March/April 2019
“Risk“, by Rachel Hylton in Foreshadow YA
“Do Not Look Back, My Lion“, by Alix E. Harrow in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“Bootleg Jesus“, by Tonya Liburd in Diabolical Plots
“Hunting by the River“, by Daniel Carpenter in Black Static #69
“Lacuna Heights“, by Theodore McCombs in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2019
“Eater of Worlds“, by Jamie Wahls in Clarkesworld #148
“The Coven of Dead Girls“, by L’Erin Ogle in PseudoPod
“A Catalog of Storms“, by Fran Wilde in Uncanny Magazine
“Canst Thou Draw Out the Leviathan“, by Christopher Caldwell in Uncanny Magazine
“Debtor’s Door“, by Sarah Cavar in Vulture Bones
“On the Lonely Shore“, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia in Uncanny Magazine
“The Message“, by Vanessa Fogg in The Future Fire
“The Red Cloak“, by Vanessa Fogg in Truancy Magazine
“Glass Eyes in Porcelain Faces“, by Jack Westlake in Black Static #70
“No Folly of the Beast“, by Wren Wallis in Mithila Review #11
“Quiet the Dead“, by Micah Dean Hicks in Nightmare
“Growing Resistance“, by Juliet Kemp in Translunar Travelers Lounge
“Blood Is Another Word For Hunger“, by Rivers Solomon at TOR.com
“The Deepest Notes of the Harp and Drum“, by Marissa Lingen in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“A Catalog of Love at First Sight“, by Brit E.B. Hvide in Uncanny Magazine
“The Asking Price“, by Christie Yant in Kaleidotrope
“In That Place, She Grows A Garden“, by Del Sandeen in Fiyah
“As the Last I May Know“, by S.L. Huang at TOR.com
“The Best Scarlet Ceremony Ever!“, by Shaenon K. Garrity in Drabblecast
“Revival“, by Lisa M. Bradley in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“The Fourth Trimester Is the Strangest“, by Rebecca Campbell in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction May/June 2019
“The Visible Frontier“, by Grace Seybold in Clarkesworld
“Mother Ocean“, by Vandana Singh in Current Futures
Maria Haskins 
Hi Maria. Thanks for your recommended list. There are also some really fine stories in our online magazine, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores https://mariahaskins.com/2019/12/20/my-recommended-reading-list-2019/ Please check us out. Thanks:)
— Fran
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