unspeakably honored to be included on the Brave New Weird Vol. 4 shortlist, alongside some seriously great writers!! thanks to @tenebrouspress.bsky.social and @cold-signal.com for giving That Red Hot Beat a home ❤️🖤
tenebrouspress.com/blog/2026/1/...
Thanks, Stephanie 💙
Sorry again, amigo! Definitely has taken way longer than I ever imagined, but this is what I get for being a stubborn asshole and doing everything by myself, lmao
Thanks for your understanding, your patience, and I love ya all
-John
One day, when both my feet are firmly planted, I’d love to do an anthology of the magazine, to get authors paid and to capture the essence of the mag. And maybe, if I can manage it, I’d like to turn CS into a small press or imprint.
But I need time to get balanced and in a healthy place for that
Cold Signal won’t go away forever by any means, but it’s never meant to be a venue that keeps regular hours and turns a profit. It was meant to be a gallery space for great writing, and it’s been that, and I’m proud of it.
Full honesty: I’m spread thin. I’m working two jobs and dealing with a lot of personal issues, and if you follow my personal account you’ve probably been made aware I’m hanging on for dear life.
Hey pals, CS update:
Novelettes are still in consideration. Sorry for the delay. Novelette summer will be novelette fall and winter as I got way more than I expected. But once this is done, CS will be going into stasis for a time.
Hey bud, still in the works. Have had to put everything CS on the back burner the last few months. Apologies for the delay. Hoping to get to it soon, but the novelettes will likely be the last of CS for a while, at least until I’m done working two jobs
FFer Read of the Day: "Toxic Positivity" by @joellekillian.bsky.social in @cold-signal.com
cold-signal.com/toxic-positi...
Also this gives us all more time to read and appreciate everyone in the three massive and filled with bangers issues on the site hahaha
I’d also like to, if I can afford it, join SFWA and HWA and whatever else I need to do to promote Issue 3 and novelette peeps come award seasons
I will say from what I’ve read, there’s a LOT of good shit here, and way more submissions than I was expecting, so kinda thinking I might do novelette fall and winter and wait to do the next full issue till 2026???
Just as an update to all interested parties, I’ve been extremely busy the past few weeks and as such it’s been slow going through the novelettes. I don’t want to reject anyone just bc I’m not in peak submission reading condition so please don’t be discouraged by radio silence!
Extremely, deeply pleased to see Karlo Yeager Rodriguez (@kjy1066.bsky.social) on the Nebula Reading List for his wonderful story "A Line of Ink, Stretching Back Like a Shadow" in the latest issue of Cold Signal. A wonderful testament to Karlo's craft and the quality of the story itself
Thanks so much for reading and sharing! Spencer wrote a gorgeous one here
Happy to have a story on this year’s @wigleaf.bsky.social longlist. Thank you @laughingyeti.bsky.social and the Wigleaf readers and series editors for selecting it. And thank you, always, @johnchrostek.com for publishing the piece in @cold-signal.com
FFer Read of the Day: "The Problem of Evil" by @spencerwriting.bsky.social in @cold-signal.com
cold-signal.com/the-problem-...
Psyched to see @pdforan.bsky.social’s story from Issue 2 of Cold Signal in the @wigleaf.bsky.social 2025 long list alongside so many other wonderful names of friends and talents! Wigleaf has always done a wonderful job championing short fiction + it’s lovely to see Pat’s work + CS make the list
Today’s the last call for novelette submissions! As a reminder, it’s novelettes only at this time :)
Quick note: I've gone in and made a change to the Submissions page to reflect that previous inclusion in a Cold Signal issue is not disqualifying for the novelette calls.
Novelette Summer is a block party and I'd love a mix of new and familiar voices getting funky with the format
Novelette Week is here! Until Friday, I'll be accepting submissions for strange, singular + surreal novelettes between 7k-18k in length. To best understand Cold Signal's house style, reading prior issues is recommended. More info about submitting can be found here:
cold-signal.com/submissions/
Sure! Just preferably only submit one, longer submissions this go round means no wiggle room on submitting multiples (gotta protect my sanity lol)
next time!!!
collage image that reads "Cold Signal novelette series" novelette submission window: JUNE 16th-20th 2025 7k-18k Word Count No Theme See Fiction Submission Guidelines Below
ONE WEEK UNTIL NOVELETTE WEEK!!!
cold-signal.com/submissions/
SEND ME SOME WEIRD NOVELETTES!
Novelette Summer is here and it's happening! Love to see it & love Strange Horizons!
As a reminder, Cold Signal will also be open for novelettes from the 16th-20th. CS's tastes skew towards the weird and genre-agnostic. Check out our backlog for a taste of the house style.
Long live the novelette!
COLD SiGNAL UPDATES:
Novelette submission window: June 16th-20th. No theme. Aiming to publish a handful throughout the summer, spaced out. 7k-18k length.
Issue Four later this year. Themed. Haven't officially settled on a theme yet, but leaning towards THE CREATURE. Demons, beasts, oddities & us.
