Table of Contents, September 2026

A new crop of stories to start the fall off with

September has arrived. I'm still recovering from WorldCon, where I got to chat with a bunch of fellow writers and editors, and it was nice to see the community in person, rather than just words on a page or website. I heard from at least one person who said that they appreciated this roundup, which I was thrilled to hear: I'm glad it's useful.

Here are the short stories coming out in September. As usual, I've updated last month's list, which you can read here, and the prior installments here.

Amazing Stories (September 2026)

Fiction

"Narcopia" by Winifred Morris
"Popcount Zero" by Ralph Benton
"Residual Effects" by Nicholas Samuel Stember
"Karl’s Moon" by Chris Jones

Apex Magazine (September 2026, Issue 154)

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Fiction

"Parts and Halves" by Alia Ai-Ming Shahzad
"In the Blue Hour" by RJ Aurand
"Dispatch From My Ex-Girlfriend's Lower Intestine" by A.M. Maris

Nonfiction

Interview with Author Alia Ai-Ming Shahzad by Marissa van Uden
Learning From the Nerds: Game Writing Techniques That Apply To Fiction by Richard Dansky

Analog Science Fact and Fiction (September / October 2026 Vol. XCVI No. 9 & 10)

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Fiction

"The Light Of Darian" by Sean Mcmullen
"Beggars Mounted" by Eric Del Carlo
"The User Manual" by Tony Ballantyne
"Septo’s Taj" by R.R. Corvi
"Bella’s Heart" by A.T. Sayre
"Robo Bashers" by Harri Hemlock
"Socrates" by Geoffrey Hart
"Relative Error" by Jay Werkheiser
"Meeting A Mom At The Edge Of Space by Xu Mason
"A Dark Or Red Forest by Jakub Tomczyk
"The Supply-side Ouroboros by Noah Lemelson
"Roots Rememberance by Jennifer S. Hane
"Upcoast by J.L. Rifkin
"Career Considerations For Starship Burglars by Hans Ege Wenger
"The Daughter by Stephen Case
"Wee Man by David Mcgillveray
"Bright Points On The Quiet Sun by Jody Rich
"Preggo Bomb by J.R. Dewitt
"Neomergence by Paul E. Franz
"Will Everyone Please Rise? by Adam-troy Castro
"The Hubble Constant by Ashleigh Gill
"Time Between Wars by Carol Dorf

Nonfiction

Editorial: The Long Road by Trevor Quachri
Astounding And von Braun by Edward M. Wysocki Jr.
Out Of “Some Warm Pond” Part 3 by Kelly Lagor
Anlab Results
Unknowns, Naming Convention by Todd Mcclary edited By Alec Nevala-lee
Alternate View by John G. Cramer
In Times To Come
The Reference Library by Sean CW Korsgaard
Brass Tacks

Asimov's Science Fiction (September/October 2026 Vol. 50 Nos. 9 & 10)

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Fiction

"Visiting Skins" by Christopher Ruz & Rich Larson
"Night Caller from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey
"Forever and Again" by Leah Cypess
"The Case of the Lost Busker" by David Ira Cleary
"The Weight of a Heart" by Tegan Moore
"The Wages of Saints" by Eric Del Carlo
"We Shall Be Monsters" by Esther M. Friesner
"This World is a World of Dew" by Andrea Kriz
"The Great Game" by Lois Metzger
"The Invisible Bone" by Stephanie Feldman
"Embers" by Lawrence C. Connolly
"Curiosities Found on Captain Nemo’s Nightstand" by Gretchen Tessmer
"Why We Give" by Andy Dibble
"Roadside Geology of Hell" by Jennifer Crow
"Every Atom of Your Flesh is as Dear" by Marisca Pichette

Nonfiction

Editorial: Fortieth Annual Readers’ Awards’ Results by Emily Hockaday
Reflections: Starting Out by Robert Silverberg
On the Net: I, Chatbot by James Patrick Kelly
Thought Experiment: The Haunting of the Nostromo by Kelly Lagor
On Books by Peter Heck

Augur Magazine (Issue 9.1)

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Fiction

"Love in Futures Past" by Nara Monteiro
"To Carry the Future" by Aishatu Ado
"The Salmon Carry Constellations" by Kath Healing
"Morning Glories at Dusk" by Em X. Liu
"Prayer Song" by Sneha Subramanian Kanta
"Interstellar Catalogue: No Bridges" by Shana Ross
"Horse Trailer, Ash, Pumpjack" by EC Dorgan
"Dance As A Response Mechanism For Fear And An Act Of Survival" by Gospel Chinedu
"Full Body Blister" by Maxwell O'Toole
"MOSH" by Maggie D. Waldron
"Ode to the Wild Bologna" by Tori Gosse
"A Thing of Fearsome Beauty" by Everett Alistair

Aurealis (August 2026, Issue 193)

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Fiction

"The Map and Territory" by Jocasta Suzanne and Maddison Stoff
"Song of the Stormy Petrel" by Kaaron Warren
"Treasure Moon" by Neurocleric
The Orc" by Emmet O’Cuana

Nonfiction

From the Cloud
An Interview with Keri Arthur by Trevor Howis
I Am Providence: A City’s Influence on Lovecraft and His Work by Paul Lonardo

Beneath Ceaseless Skies (September 2026, Issue #465 and #466)

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Fiction

"The Cold That Brings You Home" by E.M. Linden
"Sous Lumière Aigre" by Jonathan Louis Duckworth
"The Thirteenth Dancer" by Leah Cypess
"The Eldest Bird of Paradise" by Denzel Xavier Scott
"Seneschal of Shattered Tor" by Abhijeet Sathe
"Let the Gods Drown With Us" by R.K. Duncan

Clarkesworld Magazine (September 2026, Issue 240)

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Fiction

"Water-Eaters" by Beth Goder
"When Humans Are No Longer Born Human" by Zhu Yixuan
"To Walk This Distant Shore with You" by A.D. Sui
"And So I Open My Fists" by Rachel Sobel
"Fistful of Antimatter" by Rich Larson
"Country Music" by Madeleine Vigneron
"Skin and Glass" by R. P. Sand

Nonfiction

Talking to Whales (and Other Cetaceans) by Priya Sridhar
Devastating and Liberating: A Conversation with Cadwell Turnbull by Arley Sorg
Enjoy the Apocalypse! A Conversation with Peter Watts by Arley Sorg
Editor's Desk: The Other Shoe by Neil Clarke

Cosmic Horror Monthly (September 2026, Issue #73)

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Fiction

"Skin Thief" by Sophia Krich-Brinton
"Supplicate" by Adam Porkolab
"The Queen of Lunar Ghosts" by Forestleg
"Solar Flares and Witches’ Snares" by Marisca Pichette
"Worm Coral Bifurcated" by Isla Lader

The Dark (September 2026, Issue 136)

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Fiction

"Ticky-Tacky" by Kristi DeMeester
"I Swear I Didn’t Kill the Others" by Kelsea Yu
"The Boy the Bhoot Loved" by Fatima Taqvi
Cul-de-Sac" by Françoise Harvey

Dark Horses Magazine (September 2026, Number 54)

Fiction

"Death Trip At Command Of Fat Man" by Samuel Ramirez
"Here, The Woods" by Leah Kafetz Rothman
"Nightberries And Mammoths" by Griffith Pound
"The Dagger And The Chalice" by Wayne Kyle Spitzer
"Rock Resurrection" by David Sheskin
"Sweet Revenge" by June Trop
"Gen-f" by Bill Walthall
Playtime With Our Men" by Abigail Shackelford
"The Ghosts Adrift And Three Others" by Jack Ranieri
"Beer And Tentacles" by Bill Link
"Flamenco Frio" by Tom Witherspoon
"Salvage" by Kelly Shepherd
"Escalot" by Thalia M. Peters
"Day 97" by David Blitch

Diabolical Plots (September 2026)

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Fiction

“Everyone Wants to be a Part of Sasha" by J.N. Bilse
“One Heart" by Annika Browne

Flash Fiction Online (September 2026)

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Fiction

"Welcome, Welcome." by Daniel Roop
"Guardian of the Thresholds" by Elijah J. Mears
"Ghostwalking" by Jonathon Burgess
"By Candlelight, By Blue Jeans" by Elitsa Dermendzhiyska
"How to Cross a Covered Bridge" by Stewart C Baker
"For the Good of the Engines" by Margaret A. Hanson
"One God Loved Me as I Died" by Hannya Kay

Nonfiction

Editorial, Introduction: Tiny Gods by Jennifer Brozek

Forever Magazine (September 2026, Issue 140)

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Fiction

“Wyatt Earp 2.0” by Wil McCarthy
“Cuttlefish” by Anil Menon
“Encore” by Wole Talabi

Future Tense Fiction (September 2026)

Fiction

"Sunshine Hills Reality Edit" by Tina Connolly

Nonfiction

What Happens When Information Is Severed From Its Source? by Monika Sengul-Jones

GigaNotoSaurus (September 2026)

Fiction

"Knots of Red and Black" by Victoria Brun

Grimdark Magazine (September 2026, Issue 48)

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Fiction

The Last Fire Bearer by Alex Fox
A Beautiful Accident by Peter Orullian
Father, Son, Holy Rabbit by Stephen Graham Jones
Kissing Carrion by Gemma Files
Shadow Prisons of the Mind by Caroline M. Yoachim
Underbelly by SenLinYu
Futerphage by Laurel Hightower
The Rule of the Isotope by Ken Liu

Nonfiction

Is Beowulf Grimdark? by Philip Chase
The Art of Making: Peter Orullian on Music, Darkness, and Story (Interview by Beth Tabler)
REVIEW: Monstera by Delilah S. Dawson (Review by Sally Berrow)
The Truth, Told Slantwise: An Interview with Alix E. Harrow by Krystle Matar and Beth Tabler
REVIEW: The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories by Alix E. Harrow (Review by Krystle Matar)
Project Starship: How Ceramics Could Build the Starships of Tomorrow by Dr. Brittney Hauke
The Limits of Knowing: A Conversation with qntm (Interview by Beth Tabler)
REVIEW: The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman (Review by Rai Furniss-Greasley)
Rise of the New Wave of Directors: From the Internet to the Big Screen by Aaron S. Jones
The Stories We Choose to Live By: A Conversation with Ken Liu and Caroline M. Yoachim (Interview by Beth Tabler)

khōréō (Volume 6, Issue 3)

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Fiction

"So Many Many Awful Things Lived On; And So Did I" by Yelena Crane
"Safe in the Garden" by Amanda Cecelia Lang
"The Monkey King in Orbit" by Victoria N. Shi
"The Meme That Launched a Thousand Pets" by Arvee Fantilagan

Nonfiction

Letter from the Editors: Issue 6.3

Lightspeed Magazine (September 2026, Issue 196)

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Fiction

"A Guide on How to Repay Your Vow to the Deity of Many Faces" by Oyedotun Damilola Muees
"Dreamweavers" by Alexander Weinstein
"The Chrysalis of Moth One" by V.M. Ayala
"Long Goodbyes" by Anya Ow
"Alterverse" by Sanjana Raj
"The Dragon, the Scarab, the Wolf, the Dragon" by Rhiannon Rasmussen
"Maskwork Saltman Giftbox" by Rich Larson
"Jempo" by Thomas Ha

Nonfiction

Editorial: September 2026 by John Joseph Adams
Author Spotlight: Alexander Weinstein by Robin Jeffrey
Author Spotlight: Anya Ow by Phoebe Barton
Book Review: Africanfuturism Short Stories by Chinelo Onwualu, ed. by Arley Sorg
Author Spotlight: Sanjana Raj by A Humphrey Lanham
Book Review: Black Arts: Stories by Megan Giddings by Melissa A Watkins
Author Spotlight: Thomas Ha by Erik Grove
Book Review: Code and Codex by Yoon Ha Lee by Chris Kluwe

Luna Station Quarterly (September 2026, Issue 067)

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Fiction

"The Disappearance" by Kristine Chang
"Low Orbit" by Anna Sheffer
"The Mischievous Kind" by Spoorthi AG
"Marigold and the Toad with Cerulean Eyes" by Morgan Lockhart
"The Road from Windy to Dragonroot" by Francesca Forrest
"For the Living" by Emma McCoy
"Baba Yaga in Chernobyl" by Ava Neumaier
"Rules for Inter-Dimensional Refugees" by Esther Lim
"Rest for the Weary" by Alexandra Claus
"Bahiyyah and the Brass Lamp" by Rozalija Grace
"The Hand of Death is Mine" by Tabor Skreslet
"Geese are Born Without Fear of Gods" by Erin Keating
"The Green Girl and the Creeping Vine" by Lauren Stark

Nature Futures (September 2026)

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Fiction

"City of slop" by Erin Cullen
"In the basement of miniaturized relics" by Carol Scheina
"I who have never known trees" by Hannah Cocks
"The courier" by Joel Glover
"The buck stops with me" by Mercer Eddy

Neon Dystopia (September 2026)

Fiction

"Charlie and the Whale" by Adam Contini
"Polar Shift" by Oleg Kazantsev

Nightmare Magazine (September 2026, Issue 168)

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Fiction

"The Red Veil" by Daniel Roop
"Useless Heart / Stopped Cold" by A. Artemis Chen
"Not Even a Fly" by Phoenix Alexander
"Sweet Certainty" by Deborah L. Davitt

Nonfiction

Editorial: September 2026 by Wendy N. Wagner
Author Spotlight: Daniel Roop by Clay Vermulm
The H Word: Roadside Dread—Horror at the Diner by Matthew Sorrento
Author Spotlight: Phoenix Alexander by Clay Vermulm
Book Review: September 2026 by Adam-Troy Castro

Otherside (September 2026, Issue 3)

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Phano (September 2026)

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Fiction

"Goo Duty" by T. R. Tuttle
"Wake Me When It’s Better" by Andrew Kozma

Reactor (September 2026)

Fiction

"Audit of the Collapse and Convalescence of Minds" by Renan Bernardo
"Occupants" by Steve Rasnic Tem
"After the Tripods" by Dale Bailey

Small Wonders Magazine (September 2026, Issue 39)

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Fiction

"In Defense of Wolves" by Dyani Sabin
"Drowning Pool" by Jacqueline West
"A Single Song" by Nico Martinez Nocito
"Love Letter" by Teresa Milbrodt
"The Cosmitanical Gardens of Cygnus" by Gretchen Tessmer
"A Recipe for the Day Alban Kills the King" by M. R. Robinson
"The Inheritance of Water" by Grace Yang
"Single Mothers and Coyote Fathers" by Angel Leal
"Heritage, or This Body of Folklore" by Ayida Shonibar

Solarpunk Magazine (September / October 2026, Issue #29)

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Fiction

“In the Land of Sky Dancers” by Sayani De
“What We Learn from Trees” by M. Frost
“The Photosynthesis Choir” by Uzma Kadri

Poetry

“Downtown Revitalization” by JM Kehoe
“A Dream Called Now” by Jade Montoute

Nonfiction

“Small Futures” by Aya Al-Hattab
“The Time Machine” by Michael J. DeLuca
“Your Yard Is Speaking to You, Are You Ready to Listen: A Weeder’s Herbal Diagnosis” by Babs Clayton
“Flexible Options for Solar Panel ” by Geoffrey Hart