Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. Graffiti of a boy, screaming, in a Banksy-esque style

Announcing our call for submissions for Banned Books Week 2024!


Every year in September, Cast of Wonders celebrates Banned Books Week, an annual international event celebrating the freedom to read and raising awareness of the immense social value of free and open access to information.

Unwanted, Unheard: Challenging the Silence

In the last year, we’ve seen countless attempts to silence the voices of others. Tennessee’s “drag ban“, the sacking of university staff associated with Diversity, Equality and Inclusion activities in Florida, and the disinvitation of queer erotica author Chuck Tingle from the Texas Library Association literary conference are just a few examples that speak to a concerted political effort to close down and undermine inclusive voices. In the SF world, we have our own examples of appalling behaviour: YA author and 2022 Astounding Award finalist Xiran Jay Zhao was ruled ‘ineligible’ for the 2023 award on specious political grounds, and a number of other authors (esp. those published in China) saw their works discounted from the longlisted nominations for no clear reason.  The casual manner in which the privileged perpetuate discrimination is something that many of us need to be on guard against in our own actions.  Sadly, this year has also seen far worse atrocities perpetuated against the innocent in the ongoing conflicts around the world, particularly in Gaza, and the silence of the West presents deep questions of culpability here. Isabel J. Kim’s Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole is a powerful call to action, and very much sets the stage for Cast of Wonders’ call for 2024 Banned Books submissions.

For Banned Books Week 2024, we want to see stories that challenge collective silence, that show the risks and consequences of inattention and inaction. We want the voices of the silenced and unwanted to be centered, in stories that demand to be heard.

At Cast of Wonders, we welcome stories that portray the full spectrum of human experience. We don’t challenge stories; we want stories to challenge us! Cast of Wonders looks for stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence, or pervasive obscene language.

Preference for this submission window is under 5,000 words with an absolute limit of 6,000 words. Flash submissions under 1.5k are also very welcome!

Submissions must adhere to Cast of Wonders guidelines, and our standard rates apply (8c/word for original fiction, $20/$100 for reprints depending on length).  Submissions will be accepted from April 15-30 through our Moksha Portal – we can’t wait to read what you send in!

Cast of Wonders 578: Cold Blessing


Cold Blessing

by Kelsey Hutton

The wind had gnawed his skin raw by the time they reached the nun’s door, the damp air sunk deep into his bones.

A warm orange glow leaked out of the small cottage into the night. While his daughter bounced about in front of him, immune to winter’s bite, he spread his hand out on the door. There, briefly. Not warmth, but a respite from the cold.

Then he shook himself straight and crushed the ice out of his moustache. He wasn’t here for respite. He was here so he would never need respite again.

He pulled Maisy in front so she could dart through the door as soon as the nun opened it. “Ready, girl?” he said. “Be good now, hear?” (Continue Reading…)

silhouette of horses against a backdrop of the milky way

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Cast of Wonders 577: Fording the Milky Way


Fording the Milky Way

by Megan Ng

There’s a festival celebrated in China that’s dedicated to young lovers. It is not one celebrated here, but Ma tells me about it all the same. Storytelling is our way of killing time as she makes supper for the ranch hands or patches Pa’s shirts, and whenever she’s sitting comfortably with her hands full I know I’m about to hear something interesting. Ma’s stories aren’t like the ones in books– hers seem more thrilling and real, even though I know she’s making most of them up.

She tells me a story about a beautiful weaver girl who lives among the stars and falls in love with a human cowherd. She tells me about a vengeful mother goddess who rips the sky in two with a hairpin to keep the lovers apart forevermore.

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Jade Emperor takes pity on them, Ma says. He allows all the magpies of the world to form a bridge between the heavens, so that the weaver and her cowherd can see each other for a single night. (Continue Reading…)

ice flower

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Cast of Wonders 576: Little Wonders 43 – Young Authors


At the Edge of Nowhere

by Peter Gooley

It saddens me to look out my window and see the secrets lying sad and broken across the dusty road. The sprays of wind toss them along, scattering the letters among the little, cream-coloured chunks of gravel. I think that sadness was what made me first start collecting them. I gather the tiny, sparkling thoughts from the dew-painted ground each morning as I tend my garden, like manna from heaven. (Continue Reading…)

On Our Skin


Associate Editor Somto Ihezue and author Innocent Chizaram Ilo are currently working on a short film based on Innocent’s story Our Skin Will Now Bear the Testimonies, which was published by Cast of Wonders during our 2019 Banned Books Week event. This a HUGELY exciting project, and it’s just reached its Kickstarter funding goal – check out the campaign for  a sneak peak at how On Our Skin is developing, and maybe help the team reach their stretch goals?

Nerds of a Feather Hugo Recommendations


The Nerds of a Feather team create excellent round-up lists each year for the Hugo Awards, and we’re thrilled to see Cast of Wonders on their shortlist for best semiprozine!  You can check out all of their recommendations via this link (part 4/4, including links to earlier posts). They’ve also highlighted four Cast of Wonders stories in the Short Fiction category:

Both Hope and Breath by Riley Tao (Cast of Wonders 527)
Glass Flies by Gwen C. Katz (Cast of Wonders 548)
Disposable Gabriel by Brian D. Hinson (Cast of Wonders 567)
The Woods in the House by Amanda Cecelia Lang (Cast of Wonders 568 & 569)

Thank you so much, Nerds!

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Cast of Wonders 575: Crystal Hexagons on Windowsills (Staff Picks 2023)


Crystal Hexagons on Windowsills

by Prashanth Srivatsa

I was the only one among my friends who did not get the letter. Which is a real shame, because I was the only one who could snap a finger to conjure a flame. (Continue Reading…)

Cast of Wonders Associate Editor recruitment


Cast of Wonders is currently open to applications for new associate editors. We particularly welcome applications from younger people, and people from backgrounds which have historically been excluded from publishing.

Please email backstage@escapeartists.net for more information

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Cast of Wonders 574: Printed in Ink and Ashes (Staff Picks 2023)


Printed in Ink and Ashes

by Priya Sridhar

In the basement, scant lightbulbs sputtered in and out. The single torch, propped on a shelf, shone on the pages as I reviewed my copy: The plight of the Hindu laborer must be addressed on a societal level. He is forced to face his burdens alone, often without friends or family.

Typewritten stencils, leaving corpses of plastic letters on the ground. Mildew sprinkled the walls and released a foul odor. When I opened new ink, that stink would mix with the mildew.

Rage filled me as I pressed the keys on the typewriter. When I visited my father, he hadn’t even offered me a cup of coffee or asked how I was. Instead, leaning on his store counter, he told me about his latest backaches and arguments with his tenants. When I hinted that I was parched but wanted to pay for a soda, he offered me a cup of white Ovaltine. Its taste reminded me of how I missed my mother’s chai, how it would always soak the tongue with spices.

Father owned a candy shop in Seattle by a trolley stop; it also sold sodas and tobacco for those interested. He would curate newspapers and magazines for travelers and offer hot coffee to loyal customers. For children, he would boil sweetened Ovaltine powder in milk.

“You have grown too fast,” he’d grumbled in Tamil. “And you are eating too much, Shyama. How much money are we sending for your education?” (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 573: The Hidden Forests of Earth and Mars (Staff Picks 2023)


The Hidden Forests of Earth and Mars

by Anna Zumbro

Seventeen hours before some of us are to launch on a nine-months-and-forever journey to Mars, my little brother Enoch lands on my tricked-out Park Place and even he knows before counting his cash that he can’t pay the rent. We’ve been lowballing him so he can stay in the game (he’s six), but I bankrupted my dad last turn on this square so he knows what’s coming.

His face twists into a pout, then calms with obvious effort. Kids who are going to Mars have to learn to bounce back from disappointment. He knows that, too.

“It’s a good thing,” my stepdad Hugh says, sweeping Enoch’s money toward me. “There’s an old astronaut tradition that you should lose a game before you launch. Uses up your bad luck.” (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 572: The Time Traveler’s Cookbook (Staff Picks 2023)


The Time Traveler’s Cookbook

by Angela Liu

  • Day: 4202
  • Place: Northern Laurasia (later known as Mongolia)
  • Time: 66,000,000 BC (late-Cretaceous Period)
  • Meal: Magnolia and Grilled Oviraptor

Mom’s cookbook recommends tenderizing the meat so I fashion a club from a young cycad, but I might as well be beating a rock with a feather.

Don’t eat dinosaur. Just don’t. Mom marked it as a must-have, saying it looks and tastes “like an exotic giant chicken,” but just getting to the meat has been a nightmare. The skin’s teeth breakingly-tough and the sucker hooked me in the thigh with one of its nasty claws during the hunt. I’ve staunched the bleeding with Happy Time Traveler’s super medical glue, but holy hell it still hurts. (Continue Reading…)