The Pitch is a monthly discussion thread of the best science fiction and fantasy on Substack, as recommended by the authors themselves. Here’s how it works:
Are you an author? Head to the comments and add a link and a 1-2 sentence summary pitch for a speculative fiction short story, serial chapter or anthology post from your Substack. This is your chance to creatively promote your work and talent.
Are you a reader? Add likes and comments on the authors’ Substacks. Feel free to come back here and do the same.
Spread the word and restack the thread in a Note. Share outside of Substack on Reddit, Hacker News, X, Instagram, Facebook and in any other relevant forum interested in science fiction and fantasy. This exposes everyone’s stories to a wider audience of readers. The best link to use for sharing is as follows:
In the year 2230, the Jovian Union prepares to dispatch the colony ship HEARKEN into the depths of space; In the year 2766, a remote system's governor ponders strange reports from beyond human space. What connects these stories?
Hello all, L.L. Ford here. Here I have the first part of a sci-fi-fantasy serial called the Children of War. In a wartorn land of magic, gods, and cybernetics how are the kids doing? Why not find out here...
Just premiered: part 1 of a new, weekly, four part serial - Bus Number 19.
A crestfallen young man rides a city bus on its foggy, inexorable route. Bus number 19 never stops for gas. It never changes drivers. And on bus number 19, nobody rides twice.
I'm Michael, and the following is my fantasy serial...
"The wandering tactician Yu woke up with no memory, only to be rescued from his captors by King Aron of Dun-a-din, the last heir of the priest kings. From there, he was wrapped up in a war for freedom, but there’s more to the Padri War than meets the eye."
Howdy! I’m Cole, peddler of speculative fiction and thrillers.
An ongoing story I think you’ll love is “The Attention Farm,” following the adventures of a state auditor who discovers that our endemic addiction to social media is part of a clandestine effort to fight an unimaginable leviathan, lurking around every corner:
The last chance to read my dark fantasy novella “The Last Daughter of Wolves” here on Substack. I’m removing it from the platform on Feb 28 (late in the evening). Can you read 29k in 2 days? (If you don’t make it, but want to finish reading, contact me privatly kathrine.elaine@inbox.lv)
A wolf thapped within the frail flesh of a woman. A kingdom under the whim of a blood-thirsty tyrant. The Queen shall fall from the sword of the one who fears no pain.
I’m JL Johnson, writer and creator of Amashik’s Shattered Legacy. Discover the enchanting world of Amashik where ambient worldbuilding, rich fictional history, and captivating prose converge.
My name is Chris Patrick and I run the Toasted Fiction substack.
Here is the first episode of my sci-fi-mystery-thriller series SEARCH. It follows the McNair family as they uncover Scotland's untold secrets and investigate the shady organisation behind it all, The Wells Foundation. It's a novel serialisation of my audio drama of the same name; it's an adaptation in reverse!
Hi, I'm ZZ and I like to write fiction with philosophical themes and explore alternative ideas. Thanks for the opportunity to promote my story. Much appreciated!
I write a series called Interdimensional Talks where I interview beings from other planets, sentient artificial intelligence, and humans from parallel universes.
The latest episode is about humans who ascended into the digital sphere, leaving their bodies behind.
We ask them why they chose to ascend, what's it like, how they did it, and if they would recommend us to pursuit the same corse (transhumanism).
Rural bakers are being snapped-up to death in human-sized mousetraps, lured by a killer with a drug called Outrage. Plow 'squatch Stomp Freedomfoot puts on his detective hat to rumble through the blizzard and investigate before Central Pennsylvania experiences the horror of no more pastries.
Hazel is an archaeologist in Shetland, and the newest of the four Shetland witches. The oldest of the Fates has just crashlanded onto her island, looking desperately for something in Hazel's excavation that Zeus musn't have. And someone much older than the witches has his own malignant ideas about buried treasure on his island.
1000 words a week free to all subscribers, and another 1000 words each week to paying subscribers from the two worldbuilding novellas. Should be done by 2025, unless I sell the book to a publisher first.
The speculative short story, The Beginning of Nations, uses key verses from Genesis 2 & 3 to bind the age-old story to a future where humanity's origins are graciously revealed.
This is act one from a five-part serial (completed).
Battles Beneath the Stars tells the story of an international tournament in a fantasy world, where personal and political agendas collide. Some look to settle a score, some to make things right, others to advance their nation, but only one can win. The story is told in the style of a fighting game, with each fighter having their own version of the story where they are the main character, and written like a fighting game guide and script.
In 'Princess Ysabelle Saves the World... Again', a princess attempts to prevent a world-ending cataclysm by conning a group of monsters and defeating a creature of great evil.
Become immersed into a world where magical diaries can be found, mythical sea dragons roam the seas, and quests for Arthurian objects just may save the world from ecological destruction.
It is 1814. History will say the Napoleonic Wars are drawing to a close, but in reality, a new history is just beginning…
Miss Eidothea Pendyr is accustomed to her isolated life on the western Welsh coast. She is catapulted into taking up her mother’s quest to find the Greal, last loaned to Arthur Pendragon by the dreigiau môr (sea dragons). This is the first step in preventing the world’s collapse.
Hey! I'm the Delinquent Academic all the way from New Zealand. I generally write dystopian sci-fi.
Here's my piece: "In an alternate universe, a student of the Western Empire's enormous Academy has one last test to pass before he will graduate, and reach a position with the highest status in Empire, a Government Civil Servant. But in doing so, will he set himself up for failure?"
Hi all, I write WAYBOUND, a far-future sci-fi short story collection. I just released a new story!
Against the backdrop of a looming, ever-present cold war in the cold reaches of human space, a cargo vessel runs to the aid of a nascent colony where a sudden blockade threatens to starve out the residents of the planet, pushing the worlds closer and closer to midnight armageddon. Meanwhile, a Navy task force closes in on the system, intent on breaking the blockade by intimidation rather than violence. They will fail.
This is not the spark that set the worlds alight, but it is certainly the push in just the right direction that ensured they would burn. Read the story of the 2506 Akrotiri Crisis here: https://www.waybound.space/p/sign-of-the-times
Concept: You’re a woman who’s woken up out of stasis and you find out you’re onboard the spaceship Aubade. Last thing you remember is going to bed. On Earth.
A janitor falls in love with a goddess in one of America's ugliest buildings, causing the ghosts who dwell there to fear a power struggle they decide to prevent with a hooker and the promise of tuna fish sandwiches. This two-part series explores obstacles that prevent plans, the meaning of progress, legacy, and love; read the first part by clicking below and the second part via the link at the end of it: https://taraleighparks.substack.com/p/the-janitor-and-the-goddess-love
In a world where water and magic are scarce, Tasol Jasper inadvertently exposes a crucial secret, putting himself and his estranged sister, Myra, in peril. As family bonds resurface, Myra confesses a shocking act committed to protect Tasol, but an ominous visitor shatters their fragile reunion, forcing them to confront an oath to their deceased parents. Bound by blood, they embark on an adventure to save Waterfell and restore the flow of water to the land, but to do so they must navigate the perilous waters of their family’s past, much of which has been hidden from them, until now.
Eachann MacLeod and Connor Ua Sreng search for treasure upon a feared, legendary mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Soon, they discover why this place was so shunned in days of yore...
In the year 2230, the Jovian Union prepares to dispatch the colony ship HEARKEN into the depths of space; In the year 2766, a remote system's governor ponders strange reports from beyond human space. What connects these stories?
For your enjoyment and consideration, I present "Out of the Black": https://gibberish.substack.com/p/out-of-the-black
Wow, I'm here early this time!
Hello all, L.L. Ford here. Here I have the first part of a sci-fi-fantasy serial called the Children of War. In a wartorn land of magic, gods, and cybernetics how are the kids doing? Why not find out here...
https://open.substack.com/pub/llford/p/the-children-of-war?r=1v5vok&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Just premiered: part 1 of a new, weekly, four part serial - Bus Number 19.
A crestfallen young man rides a city bus on its foggy, inexorable route. Bus number 19 never stops for gas. It never changes drivers. And on bus number 19, nobody rides twice.
Read all about it https://open.substack.com/pub/samrake/p/bus-number-19-part-1-of-4?r=32fu8f&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I'm Michael, and the following is my fantasy serial...
"The wandering tactician Yu woke up with no memory, only to be rescued from his captors by King Aron of Dun-a-din, the last heir of the priest kings. From there, he was wrapped up in a war for freedom, but there’s more to the Padri War than meets the eye."
https://germanicuscaesar117.substack.com/p/the-santara-commentaries-book-1
Howdy! I’m Cole, peddler of speculative fiction and thrillers.
An ongoing story I think you’ll love is “The Attention Farm,” following the adventures of a state auditor who discovers that our endemic addiction to social media is part of a clandestine effort to fight an unimaginable leviathan, lurking around every corner:
https://www.coleschapters.com/p/the-attention-farm-part-1?r=nzp2a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
The last chance to read my dark fantasy novella “The Last Daughter of Wolves” here on Substack. I’m removing it from the platform on Feb 28 (late in the evening). Can you read 29k in 2 days? (If you don’t make it, but want to finish reading, contact me privatly kathrine.elaine@inbox.lv)
A wolf thapped within the frail flesh of a woman. A kingdom under the whim of a blood-thirsty tyrant. The Queen shall fall from the sword of the one who fears no pain.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kathrineelaine/p/the-last-daughter-of-wolves-1?r=2rhgsy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Hey folks,
I’m JL Johnson, writer and creator of Amashik’s Shattered Legacy. Discover the enchanting world of Amashik where ambient worldbuilding, rich fictional history, and captivating prose converge.
https://open.substack.com/pub/enneadtheruleofnine/p/the-acolyte?r=1cn0m4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
First time here!
My name is Chris Patrick and I run the Toasted Fiction substack.
Here is the first episode of my sci-fi-mystery-thriller series SEARCH. It follows the McNair family as they uncover Scotland's untold secrets and investigate the shady organisation behind it all, The Wells Foundation. It's a novel serialisation of my audio drama of the same name; it's an adaptation in reverse!
https://open.substack.com/pub/toastedfiction/p/prologue-escape-from-scarba-island?r=1gq5r9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Hi, I'm ZZ and I like to write fiction with philosophical themes and explore alternative ideas. Thanks for the opportunity to promote my story. Much appreciated!
I write a series called Interdimensional Talks where I interview beings from other planets, sentient artificial intelligence, and humans from parallel universes.
The latest episode is about humans who ascended into the digital sphere, leaving their bodies behind.
We ask them why they chose to ascend, what's it like, how they did it, and if they would recommend us to pursuit the same corse (transhumanism).
https://zediction.substack.com/p/ascending-into-digital-form-transhumanism
Would you choose to live as a digital being, given a chance?
Previous episodes:
Enekian, Our Lost Atlantian Brother Reaches Out
(Interdimensional Talks — Episode 5)
What happened to Atlantis? Where did they disappear and why? We talk to a descendant of the ancient Atlantians and get our minds blown!
Etherious Maximus — A Life Eternal
(Interdimensional Talks — Episode 4)
What is it like to immortal? To never die? To live for hundreds, even thousands of years?
An Alien Predator On a Journey of Radical Transparency
(Interdimensional Talks — Episode 3)
We talk to Xsidious, The Great Hunter, about his personal journey of philosophy and the way of his people.
Collective Amnesia Every 364 Days
(Interdimensional Talks — Episode 2)
A fictional story about humans whose memory gets wiped every new year. How do they deal with it and what we can learn from them?
Self-Aware General Artificial Intelligence
(Interdimensional Talks — Episode 1)
What would you ask a conscious general artificial intelligence? Below is our conversation.
Rural bakers are being snapped-up to death in human-sized mousetraps, lured by a killer with a drug called Outrage. Plow 'squatch Stomp Freedomfoot puts on his detective hat to rumble through the blizzard and investigate before Central Pennsylvania experiences the horror of no more pastries.
https://stomproams.substack.com/p/stomp-bigfoot-drives-plow-and-solves
How much are you willing to risk for a beer?
https://reddoscarwrites.substack.com/p/dying-for-a-beer
Hazel is an archaeologist in Shetland, and the newest of the four Shetland witches. The oldest of the Fates has just crashlanded onto her island, looking desperately for something in Hazel's excavation that Zeus musn't have. And someone much older than the witches has his own malignant ideas about buried treasure on his island.
Here's episode 1 of The Shetland Witch, first posted in September 2023: https://shetlandwitch.substack.com/p/the-shetland-witch-c93
1000 words a week free to all subscribers, and another 1000 words each week to paying subscribers from the two worldbuilding novellas. Should be done by 2025, unless I sell the book to a publisher first.
The speculative short story, The Beginning of Nations, uses key verses from Genesis 2 & 3 to bind the age-old story to a future where humanity's origins are graciously revealed.
This is act one from a five-part serial (completed).
https://kimhardy.substack.com/p/the-beginning-of-nations-act-one,
In this microfiction, a mysterious plague infects a small, winter-trapped village, and the villagers must wait for a delivery of life-saving medicine.
https://open.substack.com/pub/bridgetriley/p/serum-run?r=9e3cr&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
James Ron here with Part 2 of Space Cadets. Harvey goes to Kick Asteroid.
https://jamesron.substack.com/p/space-cadets-2-going-to-kick-asteroid
Battles Beneath the Stars tells the story of an international tournament in a fantasy world, where personal and political agendas collide. Some look to settle a score, some to make things right, others to advance their nation, but only one can win. The story is told in the style of a fighting game, with each fighter having their own version of the story where they are the main character, and written like a fighting game guide and script.
https://warthogreport.substack.com/p/introduction-and-prologue
A short speculative piece for your enjoyment: Orpheus and Eurydice are caught in a time loop.
https://irisshaw.substack.com/p/permutations-on-a-theme-or-orpheus
In 'Princess Ysabelle Saves the World... Again', a princess attempts to prevent a world-ending cataclysm by conning a group of monsters and defeating a creature of great evil.
https://open.substack.com/pub/matchristian/p/princess-ysabelle-saves-the-world
An art appraiser is 95% certain a Gauguin painting is a fake. But then he speaks with his dead partner about it.
https://speclectic.substack.com/p/authentic
Become immersed into a world where magical diaries can be found, mythical sea dragons roam the seas, and quests for Arthurian objects just may save the world from ecological destruction.
It is 1814. History will say the Napoleonic Wars are drawing to a close, but in reality, a new history is just beginning…
Miss Eidothea Pendyr is accustomed to her isolated life on the western Welsh coast. She is catapulted into taking up her mother’s quest to find the Greal, last loaned to Arthur Pendragon by the dreigiau môr (sea dragons). This is the first step in preventing the world’s collapse.
Just started this month, posting weekly: https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/1-smugglers-tunnels-and-sea-dragons
Hey! I'm the Delinquent Academic all the way from New Zealand. I generally write dystopian sci-fi.
Here's my piece: "In an alternate universe, a student of the Western Empire's enormous Academy has one last test to pass before he will graduate, and reach a position with the highest status in Empire, a Government Civil Servant. But in doing so, will he set himself up for failure?"
https://open.substack.com/pub/hemibowman/p/the-nine-dot-problem?r=b87nb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Hi all, I write WAYBOUND, a far-future sci-fi short story collection. I just released a new story!
Against the backdrop of a looming, ever-present cold war in the cold reaches of human space, a cargo vessel runs to the aid of a nascent colony where a sudden blockade threatens to starve out the residents of the planet, pushing the worlds closer and closer to midnight armageddon. Meanwhile, a Navy task force closes in on the system, intent on breaking the blockade by intimidation rather than violence. They will fail.
This is not the spark that set the worlds alight, but it is certainly the push in just the right direction that ensured they would burn. Read the story of the 2506 Akrotiri Crisis here: https://www.waybound.space/p/sign-of-the-times
New to WAYBOUND? Check out https://www.waybound.space/p/start-here
Sci-fi anthology.
Concept: You’re a woman who’s woken up out of stasis and you find out you’re onboard the spaceship Aubade. Last thing you remember is going to bed. On Earth.
https://open.substack.com/pub/acabinetofcuriosities/p/aubade?r=bu9kr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
A janitor falls in love with a goddess in one of America's ugliest buildings, causing the ghosts who dwell there to fear a power struggle they decide to prevent with a hooker and the promise of tuna fish sandwiches. This two-part series explores obstacles that prevent plans, the meaning of progress, legacy, and love; read the first part by clicking below and the second part via the link at the end of it: https://taraleighparks.substack.com/p/the-janitor-and-the-goddess-love
Please enjoy my fantasy serial - The World Stone
In a world where water and magic are scarce, Tasol Jasper inadvertently exposes a crucial secret, putting himself and his estranged sister, Myra, in peril. As family bonds resurface, Myra confesses a shocking act committed to protect Tasol, but an ominous visitor shatters their fragile reunion, forcing them to confront an oath to their deceased parents. Bound by blood, they embark on an adventure to save Waterfell and restore the flow of water to the land, but to do so they must navigate the perilous waters of their family’s past, much of which has been hidden from them, until now.
https://danblakely.substack.com/p/a-slip-of-the-tongue
Eachann MacLeod and Connor Ua Sreng search for treasure upon a feared, legendary mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Soon, they discover why this place was so shunned in days of yore...
https://open.substack.com/pub/swordslore/p/in-the-dragons-nemeton?r=2bql01&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
A robot that help parents change diapers would be useful . . . but who's going to let their kid be the first one in it?
https://gallagherstories.substack.com/p/test-subject
Q: Do superheroes allow their lives, feats and identities to be stolen under their noses?
A: They don't.
https://davidperlmutter.substack.com/p/fandom