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 near future, where e-tattoos power wearable screens, track biomarkers, and alter the perception of time, a junior analyst and a seasoned investor explore how this technology could reshape happiness—and the markets.
"Can you turn this tattoo off?" is a part of the Practical Futures series, envisioning everyday products and services reshaping the near future of our daily lives.
Thanks. Maybe the “dark” part of this story has already happened? One of the characters mentions their failed investment in skingestibles, a tech that another character's spouse was testing in a previous story.
Serial scifi—character-driven mystery, unique POV, succinct writing with lots of snappy dialogue, short scenes “most days” now publishing into Act 2 https://whowillsaveher.substack.com/
My debut Substack serial, INGRESSION, is a completed 120k word speculative fiction novel, fusing dystopian, first contact and climate fiction themes, with a hint of swords and eagles fantasy!
JR's new serial is really good, btw - I've read the first 4 or 5 instalments so far and it's totally intriguing, and very deftly written. Definitely check it out.
In a future Philadelphia, someone is killing blue-eyed girls for a bizarre religious ritual. When tough-as-nails PI Saru Solan takes the case she draws the ire of an alien death god — and the interest of all its enemies.
As the Lambda War is approaching its climax, Prince Alexios of the Alliance must cope with the UEC's attempt to starve out his forces on Altair Prime. Meanwhile, Sergeant Major Icardi has some... personal business to take care of before he is off to fight once more.
My satirical sci-fi novel, Ship of Fools, finally lives up to its sci-fi billing - in Chapter 30! Rockets! Moon bases! The extra grossness of vomiting in microgravity! All seen through the eyes of space cowboy Slim. https://larryhogue.substack.com/p/ship-of-fools-chapter-30
I serialized a literary military sci-fi story with only light editing so that I could edit it before an audience. Here's a link to the third part, which links the first two parts. It's a story that was born out of the desire to exalt the storytelling of sf war fiction. It's about the Ranger Elites in the deep Yangala jungle: https://hwtaylor.substack.com/p/they-that-bite-and-devour-pt3
Opt-In is a tech horror sci-fi about an app with a mind of its own. I published Episode one on 9/20. Episode 3 comes out this Friday. The first three episodes read like a short story, but it gives me an option to continue. Hope ya'll enjoy it!
This is a first for me. This short story is in a format I've never tried before: a log generated by an AI entity!
When their life-giving star, Surya, is about to extinguish and morph into a neutron star, the last few survivors on an orbiting ship must find a way to escape their doom, or risk being sucked in by the increasing gravitational pull of the star. The time is ticking, the star is spinning faster and faster, and the only guide they have is an AI teacher with depleting battery...
This is episode 1 from my fantasy/romance ‘Glass Heart’
“Thalia, a young psychologist with a dark past, is sent back in time to a kingdom ruled by the scheming Lord Malgor and brooding King Alexander. As danger rises, she must confront her own inner demons—and a love she never expected.“
A delicate dance of life, death and magic in the chill of a winter's night -- "A Shiver in the Air" is a fantasy story from my Sorrows Hill world of witches, dark sorcery and the fae in Civil War-era Appalachia.
A young mother soothing her restless infant in the small hours of the night reflects on the day her life was forever altered in this romantic and tragic installment of the fantasy anthology series, The Chronicles of Cyron.
Earth’s smartest girl explores the secrets of the Universe inside the Enigmatic Object at the edge of the galaxy. Will she get all the way through its treacherous yet fascinating layers and into the Core?
My first serial, Destination Europa, is approaching completion, so I'm going to pitch it one more time! The colony ship Leifr, flagship of the Federation of Scandinavian States, is on its way to Europa. Aboard is habitat engineer Aquilla O'Neill. He's got his own mission to deal with, as well as his own broken heart, but when he notices strange things happening aboard the ship, he discovers there's something bigger at stake...
Who isn't fed up with those annoying "offers" that pop up on computer screens? But Veracity delivers on its promise, it is an AI program that gives the user unique insights.
In the middle of the last century, we took our first tentative steps out beyond the atmosphere and then on to the Moon. But what happened to those visions of the future from the 1960s? Generations were left orphaned by progress that ground to a halt, the future which was promised and never came to fruition.
“Orphans of Apollo” is an alternative history/science fiction story of those who fought to regain that future.
Mirrors of the Snow Queen is a three-part short story serial that sees the knight Red Riding Hood face off against the mysterious Snow Queen, who seeks to expand her domain of snow and ice! ❄😱❄
I’m not writing Sci-Fi on Substack (I’m here to promote my upcoming dystopian YA novel), so I’ll link a few recent reads here on the ‘Stack that others might enjoy…)
And as the second episode of my new fantasy serial (stand alone (mostly) eps) comes out next week. Here’s the first one. “Hiraethl (heer-eye-th) charts the story of a Chosen Court who are called to uncover a new homeland for the sea dragons, the dreigiau môr. Disaster strikes and they are swept far off course. Will they discover a new homeland? Will they find their way back home? Will these new challenges fracture or strengthen this Chosen Court? It is set in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/1-like-today-is-the-last-day?r=1mk6at&utm_medium=ios
For my little pitch (thanks Brian!) I thought that, by way of also introducing my new section all about Paschats (leonine/feline lifeform from Sirius), along with the one I did from the prompt quest (also entered into the current season's lunar awards), I hereby present you with your first introduction to a new character called Unofficial Katy, who is a 'starseed', meaning an extraterrestrial incarnated into human form. In her case she is a Paschat, and exceptionally mischievous and very funny, with a definite penchant for offbeat conspiracy theories, which she simply indulges as postmodern fun. So you never know if she's serious or not. Anyway, there will be a lot of forthcoming Katy stories in my new section, but the first (which is actually the fourth Katy story I wrote) is already fully available, and you can read it here: https://inadifferentplace.substack.com/p/katys-mcguffin?r=2s9hod
This one is written like a funny movie, complete with meta-narrative and a cracking soundtrack (links provided), and plays on a lot of the tropes from the lunar landing conspiracy theory (impassable van Halen radiation belts and such like), all completely tongue in cheek. It's about 7k words though, so you will need to make sure you're sitting comfortably and have your popcorn handy. There are also some very, very cool cameos. Enjoy.
Legend of the Gods Book One: Oathbreaker (Free to read!)
A century since the departure of the Gods, the Three Nations are now united beneath the Tsar. Magic has been outlawed, its power too dangerous to remain unchecked. All Magickers must surrender themselves to the crown, or face imprisonment and death.
Currently unfolding a fantasy serial "Rundellfall." Beset with rampant crime, civil unrest, and the occasional murder by the Fey, Sheriff Ratcliff finds himself at the center of a conspiracy to tear down the city, and is wildly distracted by two chaotic street kids with a magical gift for causing trouble.
A dark fantasy set in a semi-medieval world, with a romantic subplot.
A fair maiden cursed with the Dragonling’s flames. A reckless man, burning with desire for her. A tyrant disguised as a friend, only to unleash his army of dragons upon the Three Kingdoms. Will the forced marriage of the maiden and the tyrant be the salvation or will it set the Three Kingdoms ablaze?
The Last Daughter of Dragons, a serialised novella on Substack:
Here's the link to the story I wrote for Prompt Quest #3:
A village depends on a special plant to make the magic that protects them. When the crop is threatened, Kai, the youngest and strongest Warden, must find a way to save it and the village.
new scifi serial / rpg videogame called GOD WATERS about a young ethnographer studying a remote, technofeudal island community of quirky, deeply cybernetic people. Which means it's also about the mad scientist who put them all there: https://godwaters.substack.com/p/this-guy-cant-be-real
In the near future, where e-tattoos power wearable screens, track biomarkers, and alter the perception of time, a junior analyst and a seasoned investor explore how this technology could reshape happiness—and the markets.
https://practicalfutures.substack.com/p/can-you-turn-this-tattoo-off
"Can you turn this tattoo off?" is a part of the Practical Futures series, envisioning everyday products and services reshaping the near future of our daily lives.
very smart. a crackling read but i was expecting something dark was going to happen with the tech... now i can only hope this is what happens later!
Thanks. Maybe the “dark” part of this story has already happened? One of the characters mentions their failed investment in skingestibles, a tech that another character's spouse was testing in a previous story.
https://practicalfutures.substack.com/p/he-was-still-getting-used-to-her
With Spooktober here, who knows? Perhaps something darker, exploring the unfortunate side effects, is lurking just around the corner...
Serial scifi—character-driven mystery, unique POV, succinct writing with lots of snappy dialogue, short scenes “most days” now publishing into Act 2 https://whowillsaveher.substack.com/
My debut Substack serial, INGRESSION, is a completed 120k word speculative fiction novel, fusing dystopian, first contact and climate fiction themes, with a hint of swords and eagles fantasy!
If you're into near-future settings, character-driven plots and strong, contemporary woman protagonists, then this might be for you. Here's the prologue: https://consilienceseries.substack.com/p/ingression-1-1-first-time?r=wtpo
JR's new serial is really good, btw - I've read the first 4 or 5 instalments so far and it's totally intriguing, and very deftly written. Definitely check it out.
That's very kind of you, Evie. Plenty of intrigue and action still to come!
sounds like something to add to my never diminishing queue....
Thanks, Nick. May your TBR queue grow shorter!
In a future Philadelphia, someone is killing blue-eyed girls for a bizarre religious ritual. When tough-as-nails PI Saru Solan takes the case she draws the ire of an alien death god — and the interest of all its enemies.
Science fiction horror. Rated R.
https://andyfuturo.substack.com/p/no-dogs-in-philly-1?r=2esei3
Fantastic pitch, Andy! This sounds good.
Thank you 🙏
Love Your Enemy: A UEC Story
Part 5: Love and War
https://germanicus.substack.com/p/love-your-enemy-a-uec-story-5
As the Lambda War is approaching its climax, Prince Alexios of the Alliance must cope with the UEC's attempt to starve out his forces on Altair Prime. Meanwhile, Sergeant Major Icardi has some... personal business to take care of before he is off to fight once more.
My satirical sci-fi novel, Ship of Fools, finally lives up to its sci-fi billing - in Chapter 30! Rockets! Moon bases! The extra grossness of vomiting in microgravity! All seen through the eyes of space cowboy Slim. https://larryhogue.substack.com/p/ship-of-fools-chapter-30
I can attest that this one is a great read! Plus Larry includes fantastic world-building additions like character profiles.
Thanks, CB!
I serialized a literary military sci-fi story with only light editing so that I could edit it before an audience. Here's a link to the third part, which links the first two parts. It's a story that was born out of the desire to exalt the storytelling of sf war fiction. It's about the Ranger Elites in the deep Yangala jungle: https://hwtaylor.substack.com/p/they-that-bite-and-devour-pt3
Can these superheroes defeat their enemies- or be defeated themselves?: https://davidperlmutter.substack.com/p/a-hole-lotta-trouble
Opt-In is a tech horror sci-fi about an app with a mind of its own. I published Episode one on 9/20. Episode 3 comes out this Friday. The first three episodes read like a short story, but it gives me an option to continue. Hope ya'll enjoy it!
https://merakiwriting.substack.com/p/opt-in
QQ: is this for newly published work, or newly appearing on Substack?
Even stories from your Substack archives!
Thank you.
This is a first for me. This short story is in a format I've never tried before: a log generated by an AI entity!
When their life-giving star, Surya, is about to extinguish and morph into a neutron star, the last few survivors on an orbiting ship must find a way to escape their doom, or risk being sucked in by the increasing gravitational pull of the star. The time is ticking, the star is spinning faster and faster, and the only guide they have is an AI teacher with depleting battery...
"There is no place like home"
https://kanwarpsplaha.substack.com/p/goodbye-world-hello-world
This is episode 1 from my fantasy/romance ‘Glass Heart’
“Thalia, a young psychologist with a dark past, is sent back in time to a kingdom ruled by the scheming Lord Malgor and brooding King Alexander. As danger rises, she must confront her own inner demons—and a love she never expected.“
https://open.substack.com/pub/svndavn/p/glass-heart-s1-episode-1?r=44pmqu&utm_medium=ios
A delicate dance of life, death and magic in the chill of a winter's night -- "A Shiver in the Air" is a fantasy story from my Sorrows Hill world of witches, dark sorcery and the fae in Civil War-era Appalachia.
https://blackmoonjournal.substack.com/p/a-shiver-in-the-air
This is a good one. Dark and intimate.
Thanks! I love this story, so I'm glad others do too.
A young mother soothing her restless infant in the small hours of the night reflects on the day her life was forever altered in this romantic and tragic installment of the fantasy anthology series, The Chronicles of Cyron.
https://joshtatter.substack.com/p/amidst-the-alders
A satirical look into the future demise of humanity through vignettes of our arguments, activism, and stories. Shorty Story
https://thisnickwrites.substack.com/p/death-by-polyethylene?r=mruzz
Earth’s smartest girl explores the secrets of the Universe inside the Enigmatic Object at the edge of the galaxy. Will she get all the way through its treacherous yet fascinating layers and into the Core?
FOREVER CURIOUS (already completed) and FOREVER THRILLED (underway): https://jetse.substack.com/t/forever-curious-serialisation .
My first serial, Destination Europa, is approaching completion, so I'm going to pitch it one more time! The colony ship Leifr, flagship of the Federation of Scandinavian States, is on its way to Europa. Aboard is habitat engineer Aquilla O'Neill. He's got his own mission to deal with, as well as his own broken heart, but when he notices strange things happening aboard the ship, he discovers there's something bigger at stake...
https://coraclevoyager.substack.com/p/mission-europa
Who isn't fed up with those annoying "offers" that pop up on computer screens? But Veracity delivers on its promise, it is an AI program that gives the user unique insights.
https://douglasmcclenaghan.substack.com/p/veracity
In the middle of the last century, we took our first tentative steps out beyond the atmosphere and then on to the Moon. But what happened to those visions of the future from the 1960s? Generations were left orphaned by progress that ground to a halt, the future which was promised and never came to fruition.
“Orphans of Apollo” is an alternative history/science fiction story of those who fought to regain that future.
https://amturnbull.substack.com/s/orphans-of-apollo
Mirrors of the Snow Queen is a three-part short story serial that sees the knight Red Riding Hood face off against the mysterious Snow Queen, who seeks to expand her domain of snow and ice! ❄😱❄
https://ehlau.substack.com/p/mirrors-of-the-snow-queen-part-one
Thank you for the opportunity to pitch! 😄
I’m not writing Sci-Fi on Substack (I’m here to promote my upcoming dystopian YA novel), so I’ll link a few recent reads here on the ‘Stack that others might enjoy…)
https://open.substack.com/pub/gibberish/p/brood?r=3o0pm0&utm_medium=ios
AND
https://open.substack.com/pub/automaticwriter/p/rinko?r=3o0pm0&utm_medium=ios
Five men take shelter in an abandoned mine and discover they are not alone.
"The frontier land towards Night" is a horror Western. Listen or read. https://adventuretoaquietplace.substack.com/p/the-frontier-land-towards-night
And as the second episode of my new fantasy serial (stand alone (mostly) eps) comes out next week. Here’s the first one. “Hiraethl (heer-eye-th) charts the story of a Chosen Court who are called to uncover a new homeland for the sea dragons, the dreigiau môr. Disaster strikes and they are swept far off course. Will they discover a new homeland? Will they find their way back home? Will these new challenges fracture or strengthen this Chosen Court? It is set in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/1-like-today-is-the-last-day?r=1mk6at&utm_medium=ios
My prompt quest story: “The Battle for Mother’s Sea-rice Cakes”, the story of an unlikely sea dragon hero who alone can save his dreigiau môr city from starvation when a blight overtakes the foraged sea grass meadows. https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/the-battle-for-mothers-sea-rice-cakes
https://indianamichael.substack.com/p/awakening
Thrud, the daughter of Thor, thunder god, warder of Earth, has returned after a long absence, brought back by a science lab mishap. She is not happy.
Michael, this sounds like all manner of interesting crazy!
For my little pitch (thanks Brian!) I thought that, by way of also introducing my new section all about Paschats (leonine/feline lifeform from Sirius), along with the one I did from the prompt quest (also entered into the current season's lunar awards), I hereby present you with your first introduction to a new character called Unofficial Katy, who is a 'starseed', meaning an extraterrestrial incarnated into human form. In her case she is a Paschat, and exceptionally mischievous and very funny, with a definite penchant for offbeat conspiracy theories, which she simply indulges as postmodern fun. So you never know if she's serious or not. Anyway, there will be a lot of forthcoming Katy stories in my new section, but the first (which is actually the fourth Katy story I wrote) is already fully available, and you can read it here: https://inadifferentplace.substack.com/p/katys-mcguffin?r=2s9hod
This one is written like a funny movie, complete with meta-narrative and a cracking soundtrack (links provided), and plays on a lot of the tropes from the lunar landing conspiracy theory (impassable van Halen radiation belts and such like), all completely tongue in cheek. It's about 7k words though, so you will need to make sure you're sitting comfortably and have your popcorn handy. There are also some very, very cool cameos. Enjoy.
Awesome idea thank you for the opportunity:
Legend of the Gods Book One: Oathbreaker (Free to read!)
A century since the departure of the Gods, the Three Nations are now united beneath the Tsar. Magic has been outlawed, its power too dangerous to remain unchecked. All Magickers must surrender themselves to the crown, or face imprisonment and death.
https://aaronhodgesauthor.substack.com/s/the-legend-of-the-gods-complete
Wish I could share the cover, it's pretty epic as well ;-)
Currently unfolding a fantasy serial "Rundellfall." Beset with rampant crime, civil unrest, and the occasional murder by the Fey, Sheriff Ratcliff finds himself at the center of a conspiracy to tear down the city, and is wildly distracted by two chaotic street kids with a magical gift for causing trouble.
https://robingeorge.substack.com/p/dark-places?r=idpp7
The Annals of St. Remedius Medical College: the biggest and most important organization dealing with the exonormal you’ve probably never heard of, and that’s not for lack of trying. https://open.substack.com/pub/stremedius/p/st-remedius-medical-college-lets?r=3x4p35&utm_medium=ios
A dark fantasy set in a semi-medieval world, with a romantic subplot.
A fair maiden cursed with the Dragonling’s flames. A reckless man, burning with desire for her. A tyrant disguised as a friend, only to unleash his army of dragons upon the Three Kingdoms. Will the forced marriage of the maiden and the tyrant be the salvation or will it set the Three Kingdoms ablaze?
The Last Daughter of Dragons, a serialised novella on Substack:
https://open.substack.com/pub/kathrineelaine/p/the-last-daughter-of-dragons-1?r=2rhgsy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
A professor discovers his odd student isn't even human:
https://gallagherstories.substack.com/p/experimental-error
Here's the link to the story I wrote for Prompt Quest #3:
A village depends on a special plant to make the magic that protects them. When the crop is threatened, Kai, the youngest and strongest Warden, must find a way to save it and the village.
https://myscribblings.substack.com/p/edgewood
new scifi serial / rpg videogame called GOD WATERS about a young ethnographer studying a remote, technofeudal island community of quirky, deeply cybernetic people. Which means it's also about the mad scientist who put them all there: https://godwaters.substack.com/p/this-guy-cant-be-real
When your only safety feedback is after the crisis ends, you can either worry or relax. If you suddenly gain the ability to contribute, a new event comes with a great deal more stress: https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-11
(This is chapter 11 of an ongoing fantasy serial.)
"Kori Chthamali was sixteen when she realized that the myth of Persephone was about her."
https://danielmbensen.substack.com/p/wealthgiver-prologue
The prologue of Wealthgiver, a serial alternate history novel about nationalism and cave-Thracians in the 1870's Balkans. Updates Thursdays.