Summer Plans

And a happy ending for a story that's had quite an adventure on the road to publication.

Welcome to my June newsletter, and especially to my newest subscribers. I have lots to share this month so let’s get right to it…

RECENT NEWS

On May 28 (My birthday) the table of contents for The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026 was announced. While I didn’t make the final cut, my Nebula-nominated story “Through the Machine” did make the list of Notable Stories. Honored to be among all these great authors and their work.

The Halifax Examiner ran a story on Canadian speculative fiction. It begins with an in-depth look at the brand new TriCon convention, but also highlights Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction, Vol. 3 as their book of the week. My own story, “Bright Horizons” is named here among the standout stories of this volume.

RECENT FICTION SALES

I’ve been itching to share this news for months now and I’m thrilled to finally be able to do it.

First though, some of you may recall that last year I received a short story acceptance from Analog, a market I’d been trying to crack for years. This came just after this magazine—and a few others—were sold to new ownership. That also meant a new contract which was much discussed in the speculative fiction community because a lot of people weren’t happy with it.

As one of the first authors to see this contract, I wasn’t willing to sign it as it was, and spent seven months attempting to negotiate something more writer-friendly (for both myself and other writers), with the assistance of SFWA and other members of the community. Ultimately, unable to come to an agreement, I was left with no choice but to walk away from that sale. If you want more details about this saga, I wrote about it in my newsletter here, here, and here.

Despite having to shut the door on a dream market, I never lost faith in my story. I continued submitting it—though I admit that after what I went through, I was picky about what markets I sent it to. I wanted it to end up in a good home with not just a fair contract, but where people would be able to read it. So it’s with utter delight that I can now say that my story, “A Game of Go” will be included in Adventitious, Issue 4 this August.

This is my second sale to this market. Earlier this year they also published my novelette, “The Soundtrack of My Afterlife.” I can tell you that my experience with Adventitious has been wonderful and that signing their very writer-friendly contract was a joy. Again, if you haven’t subscribed to this publication or joined their patreon, please do. I’d love to see them stick around for a long, long time. They’ve been getting great press for their first few issues, and I know that’ll continue going forward.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

If you missed it, my latest publication was my science fiction story “Expendable Me” on May 19, in Gavagai. This is my first time appearing in this fairly new publication. Find the story here.

And while not exactly a new publication, “Feathers” (Worlds of Possibility 2) is newly available in audio as editor Julia Rios (who shares my birthday) decided to surprise me and Stephanie Burgis (who also shares my birthday) by narrating our stories on—you guessed it—our birthday.

Coincidentally, these stories have a lot in common. They both involve feathered characters, and as Julia Rios put it, both are about: “parents and children and accepting differences and allowing your children to fly”. I love how that worked out so perfectly for this birthday release.

Read or listen to “Feathers” and Stephanie Burgis’ “So, Your Child Turned Out to Be a Phoenix: A Few Words of Advice and Responses to Common Concerns Expressed by Parents, from Dr. V. Goldfinch, PhD” here.

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

I have a couple of publications coming this month. First up is my Nebula-nominated story “Through the Machine” in the Nebula Awards Showcase 61 anthology, out June 9.

And on June 16, Stars and Sabers releases their horror anthology Of Dread, Decay, and Doom, which includes my story “From the Ice and the Darkness.”

RECENT INTERVIEWS

Last month I was a guest on the What Does Star Wars Mean to You? podcast. This was such a fun interview, talking Star Wars with fellow fans and discussing how it’s impacted my life and my writing career. The interview will be out tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that.

RECENT REVIEWS

The Skiffy and Fanty Show’s Trish Matson recently reviewed Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl. Among other things, Trish had this to say:

“If you’re in the mood for a quick, cozy, elegantly crafted story, Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, by P.A. Cornell, may be right up your alley. The 1950s-style spacefaring society is fun to visit, in its retro way, with airship docks on the towers of alt-Toronto and regular flights to the Moon. Additionally, I love the cover art by Kim Herbst, and the Interior illustrations by Ahmed Raafat, which really enhance the setting and feeling of the story. Finally, I appreciated the author’s afterword, where Cornell put some of her choices into context.”

If you haven’t yet read this book, you can find purchase links here. Heads up to Canadians that some have had trouble getting print copies from Amazon.ca, so you may want to try an alternative vendor for that. Indigo.ca carries it, as does indie bookstore Bakka Phoenix Books (both included through the link)—but any bookstore should be able to get it, and let’s face it, giving your money to an indie is a lot better than giving it to Bezos anyway.

I also came across Jayde Holmes’ look at the current Hugo, Locus, and Nebula finalists for Best Short Story. This includes my story, “Through the Machine,” and Jayde had some really nice things to say about it. Among them, this:

This feels way too real. Cornell does a great job exploring the implications of increased AI usage on the movie industry. What makes this story extremely good at delivering its anti-AI message, is that it doesn’t just call out the studios who replace humans to save money. Everyday people using AI legitimizes its use, and that is dangerous. I’m glad it gets called out here.

Here’s Jayde’s full write-up.

WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO

I recently typed “The End” on draft one of a story that did not come easy. I can’t really talk about this one just yet, but it’s something kind of special that I’m excited to share with everyone when it’s ready.

I also finally get to share that I’m one of the judges (along with the amazing R.S.A. Garcia) for Dream Foundry’s Contest for Emerging Writers. It’s an honor to have been asked to do this and I know I can speak for both my co-judge and myself when I say we’re eager to start reading stories.

The deadline for submissions is June 8, so get those entries in soon!

WHERE TO FIND ME NEXT

If you’re planning on attending the 61st Annual Nebula Awards Conference, I plan to be there too. I wasn’t originally on any programming but now I’ll be taking part in the “Worldbuilding in General Short Fiction and Middle Grade Fiction: How Is It Different?” panel. This panel will be taking place June 6 at 1pm Chicago time. Here’s the panel description:

Writing SFF in abbreviated forms – short fiction and middle grade fiction – requires a different approach from writing a novel. Nebula Finalists Michelle Knudsen (Into the Wild Magic) and P.A. Cornell (“Through the Machine”) are part of an all-star panel discussing writing short form spec fic – how to wring the most worldbuilding out of limited words.

The panel’s followed by a half-hour meet-n-greet. See you there! And, of course, as one of this year’s finalists for the award, I’ll be attending the various finalist events as well. So you might see me at one of the following:

• June 5 - 6pm: Nebula finalist reception

• June 5 - 8pm: Nebula finalists and VIP autographing session

• June 6 - 6pm: Nebula Awards Reception

• June 6 - 7pm: Nebula Awards Banquet Dinner

• June 6 - 8pm: Nebula Awards Ceremony

Find the full program for the weekend here.

There will be a few copies of my latest book Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl available for purchase at the conference thanks to the official bookseller, Women & Children First. I’m not sure I’ll have space in my suitcase to pack a few more copies, but at the very least I’ll try to bring some SWAG and bookplates to hand out. All this will be first come, first served though, so keep that in mind.

If you can’t get to Chicago, maybe you can catch me in Toronto for the launch of my debut short fiction collection, The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories. This event will take place at Bakka-Phoenix Books. There’s no sign-up yet, but save the date for August 22 at 2pm. I hope you can make it!

And if you aren’t within reach of either city, you can find me online participating in Canada Fiction Fest. Come join me and a bunch of other Canadian authors for panel discussions and readings—and discover some terrific new reads from The Great White North. On June 22, I’ll be reading an excerpt from Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl. And that same day I’ll be talking about “Exploring the Unknown in Science Fiction: From Dystopian Futures to Outer Space.” Should be a good time, so mark those calendars!

RANDOM STORY I LOVE

Each month I choose a story that has stuck with me to share with you. I offer it without comment as to why I’ve chosen it, leaving it up to you to determine what you think of it. If you enjoy the chosen story, I encourage you to seek out more work by the author.

This month’s story is:

“A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair” by Renan Bernardo

• Audio Version Part One

• Audio Version Part Two

*For all stories, see the individual publications for content warnings

---

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: “The Futility of Warning You”

Spoilers ahead, so read the story before going on.

Long-time subscribers know that almost every year I participate in the Codex writers’ group’s flash contests, as a means to encourage productivity. This particular story got its start early last year during the “Weekend Warrior” contest. The contest has a 750-word limit per entry and takes place over several rounds.

For each round, multiple prompts are provided to help get that creativity flowing. You can choose one, or combine several. One round each year includes what’s known as the “Title Rummage Sale.” Here, titles donated by members can be accessed a few at a time by those participating in the contest. These are randomly arranged, and once you choose one, that’s it. It’s yours to keep and no one else gets it.

As you may have guessed, the title I wound up with was “The Futility of Warning You.” Because I write a lot about time-related stuff, that’s where my brain naturally went as soon as this title came up in my choices.

I combined this with one of the other prompts as well though, which was: “Your character returns home a hero. But what really happened?”

With this in mind, I came up with the idea that my main character would be the first person to successfully achieve time travel to the future. Upon their return, they’d be celebrated for this achievement, and of course the world would be greatly interested in what the future held. As far as the big picture goes, the future looks bright, except it’s not so great for someone the MC cares about.

My main character can’t help trying to fix things. They of course do what they can to warn their loved one, but for various reasons, that person won’t listen. So by the end of the story you realize our protagonist has been through this more than once, in a sense choosing to act out a time loop as they attempt to warn this person again and again, despite how futile it seems.

When you love somebody, sometimes that’s how it can go. You know your words fall on deaf ears but you have to keep trying—just in case. I don’t really say what the relationship is between the two unnamed characters in the story. When I was writing, I imagined them to be romantic partners. In a sense, it doesn’t matter though. I’m sure most of us have been in situations where we clearly see the writing on the wall, and try to help someone else avoid a bad result, only to be ignored.

As the mother of three teenagers, I know this feeling pretty well. I was also once a teenager myself (It’s true, I have photographic evidence!) so I’ve experienced it from both sides.

When you’re the person who can see the future, it’s natural to try to spare someone from making a mistake that will haunt them later. But when you’re the person who’s being asked to take a warning on faith, it’s also easy to assume things might not unfold the way you’re being told they will. It’ll be different this time, you think. Or else: it’ll be different for me.

Some of us, unfortunately, have to learn the hard way.

In the story, I never really get into the details of what exactly happens that the main character is concerned about. We just know it’s not great. For the purposes of this story, it doesn’t really matter. In fact, it’s more relatable to readers because it’s not that specific. This way they can relate to the kind of situation—to the frustration of trying to save someone from themselves, but having your warnings go unheeded.

The end of the story doesn’t tell us if things will work out, either. Will the “you” of the story continue to repeat their mistake? Will the MC keep traveling back in time in an attempt to change their mind? Are they locked in an endless loop of their own making?

In that sense, the story also asks an important question: For how long are you willing to go on trying to help someone you love? Do you continue for as long as it takes, or is there a limit where you finally give up? And if you do give up, how do you live with the consequences of that choice? What will the future bring?

I chose to leave the reader with these questions. I think the best stories are the ones that leave room to think and ponder, rather than spell out every little thing you’re supposed to think and feel. After all, the conclusions you draw might be quite different from mine, so who am I to tell you how to receive this story?

In the end it’s up to you to decide. Is this effort truly futile, like the title says, or is it not?

“The Futility of Warning You” was originally published in July 2025 in Factor Four.

---

Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you’re not subscribed you can do so by clicking the button below. Likes and shares are always appreciated too.

P.A. Cornell