Quick Sips - Glittership Spring 2020

New Glittership!!! That’s right, there’s a brand new issue packed with queer short SFF! Three short stories and three poems to be precise, with lots of reprint work as well that I definitely recommend you check out! The stories and poems run a nice range of themes and genres, from fantasy to science fiction to horror, and I love the way the authors weave identity and queerness into the works. Always deliberately. Always carefully. Always with respect and compassion. And they find such joy in the ways they bring their characters out from the grim expectations put on them and to places where they can live authentically and free. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Winter 2020

Not sure if you missed it, but the latest issue of Glittership is available for purchase Right Now!!! Four original short stories and two poems, plus five reprints (which I’m not covering but that you should definitely check out!) make for a jam-packed issue of queer short SFF. Some of the works are smoking hot, some smoldering--some lighter and fun, some with a bit more heft and depths. Whatever the case, though, they follow through on the Glittership promise of featuring SFF works with queer characters. Adventures are had, mysteries are explored, relationships are formed, and evil is thwarted in these tales of people mostly just trying to live their lives, and finding out that along the way they might just need to change the world. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Autumn 2018

Having a new issue of Glittership to read and experience is always reasons to celebrate, so break out the rainbow streamers and mix up something fruity as we celebrate Pride with a slew of queer short SFF. I should note that despite the cover reading Autumn 2018, these stories and poems are all 2019 originals (well, aside from the reprints) and should be considered for this year's awards eligibility. It's a great mix of work this issue, with three original stories, three poems, and three fiction reprints (which I won't be looking at today but which look very much worth checking out). They cover a range of genres and identities and really, if you're looking for some wonderfully queer works to read to celebrate the feeling of the season, you should pick up the issue or stream the podcasts immediately. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Summer 2018

A new Glittership is out and super queer!!! Now, though the cover says Summer 2018, these are all original to 2019, which means that people nominating for awards should consider these very much eligible as 2019 releases. That said, there are three original stories and three original poems, as well as three reprints (two of which I’ve reviewed when they originally came out, I think). And the stories are wonderfully defiant, full of characters dealing with systems and settings where they are oppressed, where they are criminalized, and where people try to bend them to fit into what is comfortable and allowed. But even facing the threat of violence and erasure, these characters manage to reach for the unknown, for space where they can be safe and free. Not all of these are incredibly happy, but they are all driven by hope in the face of tyranny, and they are all amazing. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Spring 2018

There’s a new issue of Glittership out!!! Cue the queer dance party! The issue is dated spring on the cover but the pieces inside are definitely more appropriate for autumn. At least, there is a strong theme of death and hurt that grounds the stories and poems in rather dark territory. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope, but rather that the works recognize the dangers waiting for those who are different, who are queer. The violence lurking, ready to pounce. The promise and power of community when isolation often means abuse and exploitation. For all that, there are moments of tenderness, defiance, and freedom to be found here as well, though not easily won or without scars. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Autumn 2017/Winter 2018 (part 4/4)

I’m closing out my look of Glittership’s Autumn 2017/Winter 2018 issue today with reviews of an original story, two reprints, and an original poem. And…and I think for these stories there’s a general weirdness that pervades. They’re queer not only in the identities of the characters involved, but in the way they bend genres and expectations. From a vampire dating story to gay space cowboys and beyond, the pieces have a way of being original and very memorable. They also carry with them some heavy darkness. From loss, from fear, from the various systems that have let the characters down, and that they are determined to fight back against. And ultimately the stories mix tragedy and hope, survival and joy, and make for a great way to close out what has been a great issue for the publication. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Autumn 2017/Winter 2018 (part 3/4)

The latest double issue of Glittership is officially out, featuring a whole lot of queer SFF short stories and poetry. As I’ve already looked at some of this issue, I’m dividing up the content I haven’t gotten to between April and May. This month I’m looking at two original stories, one reprint story, and two original poems. And everything is as wonderfully queer as ever. The stories move between historical fantasy, contemporary fantasy, and near-future fantasy (so if you wanted a taste of magic across any time period, you’re in for a treat), and the poems both dwell a bit on grim futures. There is a small theme of extinction moving through a number of these pieces, and also fear of failure. And while many of them are on the tragic side, there is also a feeling of survival, and fighting for something worthy and beautiful. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership March 2018 [er...part 2]

Okay so I jumped the gun a bit on the March Glittership offerings. Instead of one original story and three reprints, there were an additional two original stories (one very very short) and an original poem as well. Which means that there’s enough for me to do a second review just for the ones I missed. And it’s a wonderful collection of Queer SFF, with a breath of weird and a sense of quiet longing. In many of the pieces, at least, we find characters who find value in a quest that might never really be over. Who realize that the quality of a journey is much more often about who you’re with and what you’re doing than it is about where you’re going. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership March 2018

March brings one new and three reprint stories to Glittership (well, maybe more if they release again before the end of the month, but for now...). And can I just say that it's a delight to find a whole series of stories that don't really delve into the tragedy so often paired with being queer. Not that the stories are free of pain, or hardship, or loss, but that most of them imagine positive outcomes for the queer characters. Lifetimes to spend with the people that they love. Love blossoming. Resistance burning bright. And it's just a great assortment of settings and characters, most of them leaning fantasy but not entirely (time travel ftw!). To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership February 2018

Glittership is back after a short delay with new 2018 content! Woo! First up is an original story, a reprint, and a poem, all of which are gloriously queer. The fiction is set in the "real" world with a heavy emphasis on death and with people generally occupying space bordering both the living and the dead. Especially for queer people who are in a state of constant danger, it's a precarious space, but it can also be a powerful one that allows them to face the larger world and its mysteries more directly. These are rather wrenching pieces, and the the poetry doesn't let up, looking at shapeshifting and portrayal and it's just wonderful work all around that I should get to reviewing!

Quick Sips - Glittership Summer 2017 [part 2]

I’m looking at the second half of the Summer 2017 issue of Glittership and it’s another great collection of queer SFF. Because of what I got to last time, what’s left is an original story, a reprint story, and two original poems. I must say I’m an especial fan of venues that mix their fiction and poetry, and this half of the issue features outstanding examples of both. All the pieces in this half of the issue seem to follow a theme surrounding repression and fear. The pieces are about characters moving through a world that is openly hostile to them, where they don’t fit in and cannot full express who they are. Because of fear, because of hate, they have to hide a part of themselves, and the action threatens to rot them from within. In some of the pieces this gives way to acceptance and expression, and in some it…doesn’t. It’s a mix of heartbreaking and heart warming, and it’s all very good, so let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Summer 2017 part 1

The Summer 2017 issue of Glittership is out, and it is full of gloriously queer stories and poetry! And wouldn’t you know it, a certain intrepid reviewer might have a poem in this issue as well! I won’t, of course, be reviewing “becoming, ca. 2000,” but I wouldn’t mind if you all checked it out anyway. What remains I’m breaking up into two reviews, today looking at the first half of the issue’s content. Which would mean two original stories, two reprint stories, and a poem...except that my poem is first up, so I’m skipping that. And the first of the reprints, by Bogi Takács, I have already reviewed when it appeared in the inaugural issue of Capricious SF. What remains is a trio of stories that are dense and moody, that revolve around hurt and grief and fear. They are not, as a rule, happy stories, and some of them might have reduced me to a small collection of salty tears, but they are all deep and heavy and incredibly crafted. So yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Spring 2017 part 2

For this second half of Glittership’s Spring 2017 issue there’s still a lot to read and experience. There’s a bit more reprinted fiction than in the first half of the issue/releases, including “She Shines Like a Moon” by Pear Nuallak, which I’ve already reviewed here back in 2015 when it appeared in Lackington’s Skins issue. As such, I won’t be reviewing the story again, but I will definitely say people should check it out. Of the four remaining works, there’s one original story, one new poem, and two other reprints, and in case anyone was wondering it is all fucking good. I absolutely love that Glittership has added poetry and between the original and reprint fiction it’s definitely the publication to go to for gloriously queer content. I heartily point people toward their Patreon, especially if you want the awesome ebook delivered to you every quarter. Do it, people. Do it. But ahem, yeah, to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Spring 2017, part 1

People, Glittership now has POETRY!!! Rejoice! Queer speculative poetry is like the best so I am ALL ABOUT this decision, and especially with poetry being discontinued at Apex I love that a venue has re-upped on the form. Plus, you know, awesome SFF short fiction. Today I'm looking at half of the most recent issue, some of which is available online for free right now and some that will be available soon. I do recommend that if you like the publication you go and either buy the issue or become a Patron, which will also get you access to the back issues of the ebook as well. The stories are largely about challenge and about the strength it takes to keep going in the face of pain and loss and adversity. These are stories of people overcoming the tragedies in their lives and finding people who make going on easier. And along with the poetry the issue is one about hope in darkness, and the coming of light. It's an amazing issue that I will review presently!

Quick Sips - Glittership March 2017

I'm looking at two stories from this month's Glittership. There were three originally on the schedule (I think), but the third story (which doesn't seem out yet) they're running is a reprint of a story that I've already reviewed, R.B. Lemberg's "How to Remember to Forget to Remember the Old War." It is still amazing. If you want to check out my original review, it can be found here. That still leaves an original story and a different reprint to tackle, though, and they are delightful, filled with monsters and villains and humanity, food and taste and hunger. These are stories that offer nicely complex flavors that deepen the more you peel away their layers. They're fun and it's powerful and I should just review them already!

Quick Sips - Glittership February 2017

It's my second month of reviewing Glittership and February brings a pair of original stories that mix caution with wild abandon, curiosity with extinctions. The tones of the stories are quite different, the first piece fun and free and the second more tinged with grief and a suffocating anticipation. And where the first story looks a future where people bound forward with a rush of enthusiasm, the second story holds back, the whole world wincing as people wait for the next shoe to drop. Both stories, though, capture a bit of what makes humanity interesting. Our resolve in the face of adversity, yes, but also our creativity, our curiosity, and our passion. And both stories show that the human spirit resists cages, and yearns to find people to connect to, new adventures to experience. So let's get to the reviews! 

Quick Sips - Glittership January 2017

2017 is bringing a few new faces to Quick Sip Reviews, and Glittership is the second new publication I'm adding to my review list. Since it's beginning I've followed the publication and I'm thrilled to start officially reviewing it. This comes at a time when Glittership is changing its format somewhat. It's still releasing stories every month, but now it will also be releasing a quarterly issue to collect all these fine stories. I'm going to be checking in every month, though, to look at what they're putting out. Which kicks off with the January offerings of an original story and a reprint, both of which dive headlong into some rather strange waters. Which is rather wonderful, to be honest. The stories show settings that are weird and, at times, a bit uncomfortable. Goofiness hiding something dark and sinister that is brushed against, that informs the stories without overwhelming them. These are stories that might make you laugh but will definitely catch your attention and, before you know it, might twist into something a bit more serious. Or might just be fun. Whatever the case, it's time to review!