J.L. Forrest — Short Fiction — Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction — SFWA

I write science fiction and fantasy. Like Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, or Michael Chabon, my writing carries me across genres, and I constantly wish to challenge readers’ perceptions of genre. I love only an excellent tale well told.

My stories have appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Crossed Genres, Third Flatiron, Robot Cowgirl Press, the Story of the Month Club, and elsewhere. My works include the short-story collections Delicate Ministrations and Minuscule Truths, along with the novel Requies Dawn. Most of my published fiction can be purchased here.

Active SFWA.

The J.L. Forrest Newsletter

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Announcements and Upcoming Events

Westercon 71

4–8 July 2018, Hyatt Regency DTC, Denver

I’ll be a guest at Westercon 71 in Denver. This will be a joint con, along with MalCon, the Myths and Legends Con of Denver. Join me, along with artist Jeff Sturgeon, grandmaster Connie Willis, scientist Lou Mayo, the legendary David Gerrold, the award-winning Nancy Kress, and editor and author Rebecca Moesta. Buy your tickets now!

Reading Series no. 5

14 July 2018, BookBar, Denver

Join me at BookBar at 7pm on 14 July with authors Jeffe Kennedy and Darynda Jones. Jeffe will be reading from her Prisoner of the Crown, and Darynda will read from The Trouble with Twelfth Grave. As always, BookBar will offer delicious wines and tasty treats. Learn more about the Reading Series and BookBar. Be sure to RSVP.

Third Flatiron Best of 2017

Lampblack and Dust

I’m proud to announce that the story “Lampblack and Dust” featured in Third Flatiron Publishing‘s Best of for 2017. In addition, an unabridged version of “Lampblack and Dust”, including scenes never before published, will appear in the upcoming collection Peculiar Declarations.

Pushcart Prize 2017

Nomination for Best Short Story

This year, I’m honored to have been nominated for best short story for the Pushcart Prize. The story, “Lampblack and Dust”, appeared first in Principia Ponderosa by Third Flatiron, edited by Juliana Rew. Nominations closed on 1 December 2017 and, if selected, the story would go into the 2019 Pushcart Prize Best Of. Stay tuned.

J.L. Forrest on Twitter

Find Your Next Favorite Story

Minuscule Truths, short fictions by J.L. Forrest (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Literature)

Delicate Ministrations, short fictions by J.L. Forrest (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Literature)

Requies Dawn, a novel by J.L. Forrest (Science Fiction)

Minuscule Truths collects ten stories of speculative literature—from hard-science fiction to mythopoetic fantasy—and weaves them into an experience which will haunt you long after you’ve read the last word. Many of these tales appear in print for the first time, while others clawed their way into existence through the likes of Analog Science Fiction and Fact or Crossed Genres. Available digitally, in paperback, or hardcover.

Delicate Ministrations includes eleven tales of science fiction and fantasy. Honest Indie writes, “Forrest’s stories put Faulkner’s ‘eternal verities’ of love, honor, courage and compassion on bold display, gems in ring settings of the bizarre, dramatic and even frightening. These are great stories from a writer who knows the techniques of good writing and infuses them with heart, soul, insight and a fearful imagination.”

Requies Dawn is the first installment of the Eternal Requiem. It is the tale of a terrifying and perfect future, one which ultimately shatters, leaving the world to begin again. In this far future, Nyahri hunts with her tribe and tends her horses—dreaming of Old Gods. When one Goddess arises, hell bent on righting old wrongs and exacting her own justice, Nyahri follows, and she discovers both horrors and an ancient love which cannot die.