TABLE OF CONTENTS Issue 140, January 2022 FROM THE EDITOR – “Editorial: January 2022” by John Joseph Adams SCIENCE FICTION – "Dissent: A Five-Course Meal (With Suggested Pairings)" by Aimee Ogden – “Up Falling" by Jendayi Brooks-Flemister – “On the Ship” by Leah Cypess – “Cale and Stardust Battle the Mud Gobblers of Hudson Valley" by Lincoln Michel FANTASY – “In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird” by Maria Dong – “In the Cold, Dark Sea” by Jenny Rae Rappaport – “An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words” by Vanessa Fogg – “Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death” by N.K. Jemisin EXCERPTS – “Goliath” by Tochi Onyebuchi NONFICTION – “Book Review: Far From the Light of Heaven, by Tade Thompson” by Aigner Loren Wilson – “Book Review: The Misfit Soldier, by Michael Mammay” by Chris Kluwe – “Book Review: Trouble the Waters, edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Pan Morigan, and Troy L. Wiggins” by Arley Sorg AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS – “Author Spotlight: Maria Dong” by Laurel Amberdine – “Author Spotlight: Jendayi Brooks-Flemister" by Laurel Amberdine – “Author Spotlight: Vanessa Fogg” by Laurel Amberdine – “Author Spotlight: Lincoln Michel” by Laurel Amberdine MISCELLANY – “Coming Attractions” by The Editors – “Stay Connected” by The Editors – “Subscriptions and Ebooks” by The Editors – “Support Us on Patreon, or How to Become a Dragonrider or Space Wizard” by The Editors – “About the Lightspeed Team” by The Editors – “Also Edited by John Joseph Adams” by The Editors © 2022 Lightspeed Magazine
Authors
I wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive). However, I took a few detours along the way to becoming a full-time writer. After selling my first story (Temple of Stone) while in high school, I gave in to my mother's importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. I then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a large law firm in New York City. I kept writing and submitting in my spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after my first short story acceptance, I am going to be a published novelist. I am very excited about this! I currently (as of the time of my writing this) have four published YA fantasy novels: Mistwood, Nightspell, Death Sworn, and Death Marked. I live in the DC area with my husband Aaron, and our children.
Vanessa Fogg dreams of dragons, selkies, and gritty cyberpunk futures from her home in western Michigan. She is a lapsed scientist and now works as a freelance medical writer. Her short stories have appeared in a number of science fiction and fantasy magazines, as well as in a few non-genre outlets. She is fueled by green tea. For more, visit her official website www.vanessafogg.com.
