To what extent does speculative fiction reflect the times in which it’s being published? A look at some of the books released by independent presses in May and June of this year suggests a few ways, from a concern over the environment to warnings about the flaws in modern society and the ways in which paranoia can lead to tragedy down the line. This edition covers everything from mind-expanding romantasy to uncanny trips into history. Maybe you’ll find your next favorite book here—or at least something that makes you see the world outside your window in a new light.
File Under: ALL THINGS ECOLOGICAL
Frequent collaborators Ryan Ridge and Mel Bosworth have returned with a new collection of short fiction, titled Climate Strange. As you might expect, the emphasis is on environments—some wild, and others domestic—where bizarre and unexpected happenings are underway. And if you’re curious about what to expect, Miracle Monocle recently published a trio of stories from Ridge and Bosworth. (Astrophil Press; May 15, 2026)
Geoffrey D. Morrison’s The Coffin of Honey sounds like heady stuff: it’s a story of contact with extraterrestrial life late in this century alongside the commodification of transcendental experiences. Morrison’s text blends historical allusions to paranoid observations; given that the author’s own observations on language make for fascinating reading, the international scope of this book takes on an even more intriguing dimension. (Coach House Books; May 12, 2026)
I’m not sure we’ll encounter a more evocative title this year than Mónica Ojeda’s Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun (translated by Sarah Booker). I’ve been impressed by Ojeda’s fiction that has appeared in translation here, including the novel Jawbone; this story blends uncanny storytelling with an ecological vision of the near future. Imagine a Burning Man-esque gathering taking place near an active volcano. What could possibly go wrong? Read this one and find out. (Coffee House Press; May 12, 2026)
Later this year, FC2 will publish Radhika Singh’s novel Weirdly Tuned Antennae. As Singh explained in an interview, the novel Earthly Playing Field is technically a sequel, with a character from Weirdly Tuned Antennae making their way back in time to the setting of Earthly Playing Field. “[T]he speculative aspect is almost deeper in this light,” Singh explained—charting how this book is designed to upend the expectations of certain readers. (Common Notions; May 2026)
Mia Tijam’s fiction has been covered in these pages for over a decade now. Her earlier collection Flowers for Thursday earned high praise on its 2024 release, and her new book The and That Was provides a gateway to an archipelago at once familiar and unexpected. (Rosarium Publishing; June 9, 2026)
File Under: CITY LIFE
It’s easy to go down a historical rabbit hole when it comes to the life of Jennifer Gibbons, who died in 1993 and was, along with her twin sister, the subject of several films. Both twins wrote novels decades ago, and Jennifer’s Discomania—about a local disco whose patrons engage in mysterious, violent behavior—ventures into the realm of the uncanny. (Strange Attractors Press; May 26, 2026)
For several years now, Ahmad Nabil has been researching uncanny tales from the history of Jerusalem and working to reintroduce them to the contemporary world. (In 2024, Jerusalem Story wrote about Nabil’s ongoing work.) The new book Hidden Companions: Paranormals from the Old City of Jerusalem brings together folkloric stories and art, offering a better understanding of one city’s history. (Radix Co-Op; May 26, 2026)
Last year at VoidCon 3, I heard David Simmons read from the story “Gigi’s Hands,” which was one of the most bizarre, most disturbing things I have ever experienced. To be clear, that’s intended as high praise. “Gigi’s Hands” is one of the stories that readers can find in the collection Fetty on the Switches. Based on the stories of his I’ve read, Simmons will commit to his story, no matter what strange places it might lead. (CLASH Books; June 30, 2026)
File Under: THE DEAD RISE
I’ve written about Eugen Bacon’s writings in this column before, and for good reason—she’s a talented writer who covers a lot of stylistic ground. (She was nominated for the Philip K Dick Award in 2024, for instance.) Her latest book, Muntu, has been getting rave reviews; in World Literature Today, Benjamin Kwakye wrote that the novel “probes the interconnectedness of the natural and supernatural, the rational and the mythical.” (Bad Hand Books; May 12, 2026)
Award-winning writer Pedro Iniguez returns to the uncanny with a new collection this year. Its title? The Build-A-Monster Workshop; and, as you might guess, this is a book that has the monstrous on its mind. If you’ve been looking to see how poetry can also delve into the horrific, Iniguez’s work is a great place to learn. (Raw Dog Screaming Press; May 7, 2026)
Protagonists don’t always need to be alive. Emma Osborne’s Grief Eater begins with the novel’s protagonist rising from the grave and making her way across Australia on a quest for revenge. The fact that writers like K Tidbeck and Cadwell Turnbull have had glowing things to say makes this particular story even more enticing. (Interstellar Flight Press; June 1, 2026)
Metafictional explorations of the “final girl” archetype are growing in horror fiction, with the likes of Grady Hendrix and Stephen Graham Jones penning memorable entries in a growing category. Mikayla Randolph’s Not Your Final Girl sits neatly in this camp as well, while also paying homage to Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. (CLASH Books, May 5, 2026)
File Under: FAMILIAR VS UNCANNY
Well, this is serendipitous: this is probably not the first thing you’ve heard about Nat Cassidy’s collection I Know A Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours this month. That’s because Cassidy’s story “Rest Stop” was recently optioned for film. The uncanny rest stop featured in that story isn’t the only memorably bizarre or haunting location you’ll encounter in these stories. (Shortwave Publishing; May 5, 2026)
Jendia Gammon is among the editors for an intriguing pair of anthologies due out in the coming months. Omniboz: Tales From the Land of Oz (edited with Ernie Chiara) includes stories from the likes of Vincent V. Cava and Adrian Tchaikovsky, who opted to revisit the fictional world of L. Frank Baum. Of Dread, Decay, and Doom: a Horror Anthology (edited with Gareth L. Powell and Scarlett R. Algee) heads into grimmer territory, with contributions from a lineup including P.A. Cornell, David Quantick, and Eden Royce. (Stars and Sabers; May 15, 2026 and June 15, 2026)
At the center of Ian MacKenzie’s novel of espionage Nothing on Earth is a mysterious substance that seems to defy any kind of rational explanation. When you add that kind of uncanny element into a spy thriller, you have the makings of something unpredictable and wholly compelling. (Unnamed Press; May 26, 2026)
In Luis Othoniel Rosa’s novel Animal Spiral (translated by Katie Marya), readers are ushered into one of science fiction’s boldest themes: what is the nature of consciousness? Animal Spiral explores the idea of a consciousness shared among bodies. It’s a bold novel full of contradictions: in a recent interview, Rosa said, “The 377 years narrated in the novel seem, to us, to be a desirable world and future. And yet, horror and fear are the novel’s constant sentiments.” (Charco Press; June 2026)
File Under: HISTORY AS MYSTERY
When it was first published in 2021, Tim McGregor’s novel Hearts Strange and Dreadful—a story of vampires and a community falling to pieces in 19th century New England—earned positive reviews. Writing at Cemetery Dance, Sadie Hartmann hailed “how indulgently delicious this book is in its setting and atmosphere.” Five years later, a new edition is set to remind readers of the primal themes this novel taps into. (Raw Dog Screaming Press; May 21, 2026)
Ito Romo’s novel Filth Eaters covers a lot of ground, spanning hundreds of years in telling a story of warring vampires against seismic changes in society. “Everything in this book is historically accurate—except, of course, the vampires. Oh, and what happens in the future. But almost everything else is historically accurate,” Romo recently told Publishers Weekly. (Deep Vellum; May 19, 2026)
Before her death in 2019, Vonda N. McIntyre finished what would be her final novel. Now, The Curve of the World is set for publication this year. It’s a novel set in ancient Crete, with Publishers Weekly highlighting its “feminist odyssey through six distinctive and mostly matriarchal cultures.” And if you enjoyed this book, there’s plenty more of McIntyre’s writings out there to pick up next. (Aqueduct Press; May 2026)
It’s a thought experiment that comes up all too frequently, with variations on it turning up in popular culture in myriad ways. What happens when you add science fiction into the mix? Michael Tomasky’s new novel Killing Baby Hitler—a satirical science fiction novel about, well, killing baby Hitler—does precisely that. (OR Books; June 9, 2026)
File Under: MAGIC AND CONSEQUENCES
I’m not sure I’ll encounter a more unsettling cover than the one on the novel Alicia Is in the Basement. That book, by Santiago Eximeno and translated by Alicia L. Alonso, tells the story of a missing child and the parents whose search for her leads them to places that are even more chilling than they had expected. Also of note: its publisher observed, “I felt off-kilter for two days after finishing it.” (Tenebrous Press; June 16, 2026)
It might not surprise you to learn that a novel entitled Magician does, in fact, include a supernatural component. Tracy Lynne Oliver’s book tells the story of a young man’s magical evolution, and the hazards that emerge along the way. Michelle Anne Schingler’s review hailed Oliver’s use of “disquieting prose poetry” in telling this story—something that adds to the mythic quality afoot here. (Roxane Gay Books; May 19, 2026)
The right location can help make a particular story transform from something entertaining to something enthralling. That’s the case for Nguyễn Bình Phương, whose novel The Young Die Old (translated by Khải Q. Nguyễn) is set in a village where surreal occurrences and strange transformations happen more frequently than elsewhere in the world. Karen Rigby’s review in Foreword Reviews called it “a revealing work of magical realism.” (Major Press; June 30, 2026)
The title of Greg Sarris’ novel The Last Human Bear is not a metaphor. Protagonist Mary Hatcher is someone with the ability to transform into a bear, though she also faces other challenges as a Pomo woman navigating a predominantly white society in mid-20th century California. “Stories are all we have as human beings,” Sarris said in a recent interview; the one he’s telling here has an especially vast canvas. (Heyday Books; June 16, 2026)
File Under: SPACEFARING
It’s fair to say that Violet Allen’s novel Plastic, Prism, Void has it all, including tiger-shaped mecha, cosmic deities, and parallel universes. It’s also described by its publisher as an “enemies-to-lovers romantasy,” so—again—there’s a lot going on here. You might also be interested to learn that Allen’s admirers include Charlie Jane Anders (who blurbed this) and Namwali Serpell (who wrote about Allen’s fiction in 2019). (Little Puss Press; May 19, 2026)
A 2024 Locus review of Aric McBay’s Inversion called this novel “a real treat.” McBay has returned to that novel’s setting for a sequel, Recursion, also set in a world where the landscape and biome is in a state of constant change. Here, McBay delves more deeply into this planet’s origins while also exploring conflicts evolving across the world. (AK Press/Black Dawn; June 9, 2026)
You might know Sheree Renée Thomas’s name from her work as co-editor of the 2022 anthology Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction. You might also know her from her fiction; this summer brings with it a new entry in the latter category, via the collection Ring Shout on Saturn. This wide-ranging book follows her earlier Mojorhythm and is the second in a linked cycle of three collections. (Third Man Books; June 9, 2026)
A chance meeting in the void of space is the event that sets the plot of Marlee Jane Ward’s The Forgetting Navigations into motion. Protagonist Evey is rescued from an uncertain future by a freight hauler named Shirr, and the bond that they form is tested by a series of events that follow. Meg Elison called it “a tapestry of blood, grief, and unbreakable love.” (Interstellar Flight Press; May 4, 2026)
