In case you missed it, the full pod episode with author @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social is now available to watch on Substack!
Tune in to hear his thoughts on the current state of climate fiction, what animal he would choose to be in another life, and what his novel writing process really looks like.
hehe see you there!! ๐๐ชฑ
Have any questions you want us to ask him? Drop them in our group chat on Substack! And subscribe (for free!) to get notified as soon as we go live.
tractorbeamearth.substack.com/podcast
A very special guest is joining us this week on Book Worms! ๐๐๐ฆโจ
Tune in Thursday, April 9, at 12pm EDT for a live reading and conversation with Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social, author of the award-winning Southern Reach series and guest editor of Tractor Beam's Winter 2025 issue, Thaw.
This is your sign to ask your local bookstore to carry @tkrex.bsky.social's debut book, The Wildcraft Drones!! Pre-order link below ๐
#clifi #soilpunk #sciencefiction
Itโs a new story by me
In "Like a Skeleton in Desert Sand" by @tkrex.bsky.social, Prima visits Mongolia decades after working on a paleontology museum. As she explores the new space, she reminisces on her past and makes an unexpected four-legged friend. ๐ฆ๐ฟโจ
Read the final story from Underground out now on Tractor Beam!
Subscribe to Tractor Beam's Substack to get the first look at the final story of our Spring Issue, Underground, dropping tomorrow! ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฑโจ
tractorbeamearth.substack.com
#clifi #sciencefiction #soilpunk #underground #tractorbeam
In "Why Was Christ Ululating," a man finds purpose in a radical ecological movement often mistaken for a sex cult. When its leader, known as the Matriarch, is imprisoned, he spearheads a bold prison break that โ like the movement itself โ begins underground.
Read the full story here:
The premise resonates with Merlin Sheldrake's 'Entangled Life': mycelium doesn't just connect, it remembers. Slime molds (Physarum) solve mazes and optimize transport networks without a brain. What looks monstrous from one frame looks intelligent from another.
yess love this connection! we โค๏ธ Merlin Sheldrake
We've got a new comic from our Spring issue, Underground, to get you through your Thursday! ๐๐ต๐ฅ
In "Desert Story," a scientist tracks an ant population to understand changing climate patterns. Could the ants be trying to tell us something?
Read the full story here:
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Everybody go read this new story by @shingai-be-like.bsky.social
I have a new story out! ๐ฑ๐
I gave a lot of what I'm feeling about this moment in time over to the story, and I'm excited for folks to check it out! If you're into Black queer baddies collaborating with the earth to destroy systems of power then you may like this one.
Stay tuned tomorrow for another story from our new Spring Issue, Underground! ๐ท๐ฑ๐ชฑโจ
You can explore the full issue on Substack or our website, including annotations from our guest editor, Fatimah Asghar!
#underground #scifi #climatefiction #tractorbeam #soilpunk
If you were programmed to be respectable, what would you do to break your code?
In "Mycelium Memory Makes A Monster," Imani is imprisoned by a cop and finds an unlikely ally in the Once Girl Made of Mycelium, a vast, interconnected network of fungi.
Read the full story out now on Tractor Beam! ๐๐โจ
What does the soil remember when a country tries to forget?
In "The Keeper of the Hive," Fernanda returns to her late grandparentsโ farmstead outside Rio to recover from a breakup, uncovering records of Brazil's dark political past in the process.
Read the full story, out now on Tractor Beam! ๐๐ฑโจ
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Check out my latest short story, โLike Salt Marshes, Like Yourself" beautifully illustrated by Sean Suchara, with insightful annotations from Fatima Asghar and Autumn Brown. Thanks, @tractorbeamearth.bsky.social team!
Could your time-traveling bog boyfriend fight gentrification with peat moss?
Find out in "Like Salt Marshes, Like Yourself" by @cycling2asylum.bsky.social, available to read now on Tractor Beam! ๐๐ณ๐๐โจ
#soilpunksunday #clifi #scifi #shortstory #tractorbeam
Read the fifth story from our Spring Issue, "Those of Desecrated Places" by @mimimondal.bsky.social, out now!
#climatefiction #underground #tractorbeam #scifi #soilpunk
A new type of hominid has been living beneath Kolkata's landfills, surviving, like the people above, on what the city throws away. When Lava is chosen to make first contact, what she finds underground is closer to kin than an alien species...
Our first comic from our Spring Issue is officially live! ๐ฑโจ
In โNo One Can Stop The Rain,โ political cartoonist Ben Passmore @benpassmore.bsky.social retells Assata Shakur's celebrated poem, interpreted through the lens of contemporary policy. People protect their neighbors. Plants bloom.
๐บ๐โจ
extremely psyched to share a ToC with @shingai-be-like.bsky.social
theirs drops 4/1, mine drops 4/5
In the short story โReprise,โ Tash, O, and Amrit live in micro-communities scattered across Europe after societal collapse. They keep each otherโand the soilโalive. But they long for more: to host a party, to thrive.
Read the full story from our Spring Issue, Underground, out now! ๐ฅ๐ฑโจ
And if you're new around here, welcome! ๐๐
Tractor Beam is a quarterly science fiction publication dedicated to soilpunk. Book Worms is our weekly read along podcast, helmed by Claire, our co-founder and Anuska, our community manager (that's me!).
You can check out past Book Worms eps here ๐
Heyyy soilpunks! ๐๐ชฑ๐๐ฑ
Weโre kicking off Underground launch week with an exclusive episode of Book Worms featuring author and curator, Celina Basra! Tune in tomorrow on Substack for a live reading and Q&A featuring her story, Reprise, from our new Spring issue.
tractorbeamearth.substack.com
Make sure to subscribe to our Substack to receive future stories from our Spring Issue: Underground in your inbox as soon as they drop! ๐โจ
tractorbeamearth.substack.com
#springishere #springequinox #TractorBeamUnderground #scifi #soilpunk