Renan Bernardo

ARC of Rabbit Test and Other Stories held up outdoors against a sunny sky and bright green leaves

It is March already. 😱 It is unseasonably warm out. 😱 My first short story collection comes out April 21. 😱😱

Rabbit Test and Other Stories contains all my favorite experiments in scifi and fantasy. I'm very proud of it. :)

Preorder links at samtasticbooks.com/collections

ECO24: The Year’s Best Speculative Ecofiction edited by Marissa van Uden There’s beauty in the imagery. There’s hope in it, even. But it’s inspiration, not application.

First review of the week @ SH is a lot more besides. Pieces by @octavia-cade.bsky.social are always worth stopping for, but - really - this one is urgently good.

“There’s only so much empathy that can be felt before it does become exhausting, and we harden ourselves so easily.”

On warning fatigue:

A wooden sign, “Books Read This Year, 47, Sarena”

2025 Favorites The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel A Olivas The Llano County Mermaid Club by Kathleen M. Rodgers The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma by Ferrett Steinmetz Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle by Renan Bernardo Sundown in San Ojuela by M.M. Olivas Crosstalk by Connie Willis

I read 47 books in 2025. Here are a few of my favorites, including books by @danielolivas.bsky.social @renanbernardo.com @theferrett.bsky.social @olivasthewriter.bsky.social @kathleenmrodgers.bsky.social and more!

What were your favorite reads for the year? 💙📚

An African View Of The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List, Hugo and Nebula Nominations, BSFA voting and More. Hey y’all. The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List is out and as usual, I did a quick analysis of the list to see how much work by African authors appears, something I've been tracking since 2021. There is work by 15 African* authors/editors (including myself) recognized – Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Laila Lalami, Nnedi Okorafor, T.L. Huchu, Adam Oyebanji, Eugen Bacon, CL Hellisen, Tochi Onyebuchi, M.H.

An African View Of The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List, Hugo and Nebula Nominations, BSFA voting and More.

Hey y’all. The 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List is out and as usual, I did a quick analysis of the list to see how much work by African authors appears, something I've been tracking…

Cornwell, actually**

I never saw myself as part of an organized religion, but I remember that Bernard Cornell Warlord Chronicles and Saxon Stories played a great part in how I saw organized religion as a whole.

Happy International Women's Day! I wish I could name drop every inspiring woman in SFFH, but I'll start with 5 and ask others to pass it along and shout-out more:

@jenniferhudak.bsky.social
@cornellwriter.bsky.social
@samtasticbooks.com
@abigailkemske.bsky.social
@akatherineblack.bsky.social

[image desc: CLUB CONTANGO by Eliane Boey and a highball glass with a pale fizz sit in golden sun flanked by deep shadows.]

NEW VIDEO ALERT! Today on Bar Cart Bookshelf we're talking about CLUB CONTANGO by @elianeboey.bsky.social. A tangibly present noir at the twilight of the 21st century with a sharp blend of heart and social insight. Our drink, the Freeport Fizz, is bright and bubbly, to be enjoyed in a moment.

Into the Hyperspace: P. A. Cornell and Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl "Readers are saying it packs a lot of punch in its few pages."

👞🚬 Honored to have @cornellwriter.bsky.social in the Hyperspace of Words today, talking about (among other things) Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl (out by @starsandsabers.bsky.social).

renanbernardo.substack.com/p/into-the-h...

I had such a great time being interviewed by Renan. He asked some great questions and also gave me a chance to shout-out @culagovski.net and @theahmedraafat.bsky.social. Give this one a read!

Into the Hyperspace: P. A. Cornell and Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl "Readers are saying it packs a lot of punch in its few pages."

👞🚬 Honored to have @cornellwriter.bsky.social in the Hyperspace of Words today, talking about (among other things) Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl (out by @starsandsabers.bsky.social).

renanbernardo.substack.com/p/into-the-h...

I would love to do a replay sometime! I don't play it for many many years.

Forgot Lineage 2, which was important to me but… I got so addicted to it that I flunked some exams at college.

Portal 😍 I spent hours creating levels too and then sending it to a friend who agreed to test them.

Yeees! It would be cool if there was a real board game of it!

It's missing some, but…

9 important games to me.

I'm very sad to see her go… 🙁

The nice metaphor that I had written for the story but that doesn't fit it anymore.

Happy birthday!!!!

Yeeey! Awesome!!! Can't wait for it!

MULTITUDE Microfiction Contest Marie Vibbert's Multitude explores the concept that we aren't the only intelligent life in the universe, an idea which has long fascinated humanity. But if, in fact, aliens exist: what would they be l...

Do you write micro-fiction? Think you can whip up 300 words on human-alien contact? If so, Apex has a contest for you: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/frontp...

Happy book birthday to @garethlpowell.bsky.social and Jitterbug!!!

screenshot from the film BOILER ROOM (2000) Vin Disel in more clothes than one has ever seen him in, pointing and clapping in the office. along with various other suited men

Cover of CLUB CONTANGO by Boey. Amazing art work by Nickolej Villiger shows four well-dressed Southeast Asian individuals in an underground trading club. Colour scheme is dark yellow and brown. "Boey, how much did you borrow from your own experiences, for the loser Connie?" "A lot. I am quite a bit of a loser, just ask my Dad."

The horrors persist whilst I try to find a good time for book promo of a 📵cautionary📵 story🙅‍♀️ I wrote on betting on human futures, that grew into a ✨self-affirming✨ novel about a loser who bet against **herself** but finds self-love, community, and union power 💪⚒️ And dumplings and all that jazz 🥟

Hyperspace of Words | Renan Bernardo | Substack The Hyperspace of Words is a newsletter focused on spotlighting science fiction, fantasy, and horror artists. It is managed by Renan Bernardo. Click to read Hyperspace of Words, by Renan Bernardo, a S...

My next guest in the hyperspace had their shoes shined and bought a pack of cigarettes. While you guess, you can check my previous guests, @tkrex.bsky.social and @thesuiway.bsky.social!

renanbernardo.substack.com

Happy birthday to the great @annleckie.com!!!! 🎉

Screenshot of a magazine feature titled “Locus Looks at Short Fiction: Paula Guran,” showing four magazine covers side by side—Uncanny, The Deadlands, Adventitious, and Dark—along with publication details and excerpted review text below.

!!!!

Deeply honored to be 😍 @locusmag.bsky.social Official 🤩

I am once again asking USians to consider why it bothers you so much that we are taking "America" back to mean the continent instead of just your country. We call you USians because WE ARE ALSO AMERICANS.

Today is the last day to submit your Nebula ballot! Don't forget to vote in the things you loved in 2025!

So nice to see initiatives like Emmie's spotlight. I was honored to be on it with several stories reviewed and I'm overjoyed that her favorite was "The Offer of Peace Between Two Worlds", because it often goes underlooked.

PS.: I have a novella and a novel written in that universe! (Not published)

I love this, Emmie! Thank you for the opportunity and for creating this space. It is very important! ❤️

Into the Hyperspace: A.D. Sui and The Iron Garden Sutra "Being an author is 90% dealing with rejection and 5% answering emails"

New issue of the Hyperspace is now out, and no one better to travel through the Hyperspace than @thesuiway.bsky.social, who recently published The Iron Garden Sutra by @erewhonbooks.bsky.social. 🚀

renanbernardo.substack.com/p/into-the-h...