Sumiko Saulson

TOP 7 / 300-WORD STORIES featured on #138

1. 1: LARVAE by Sumiko SaulsonLARVAE – A sliver of sunlight pierced the stagnant air of the subbasement, illuminating claw marks in the mossy walls. Under the stream of light I observed bloodstains at the base of my torn nailbed. I winced. The iron-rich smell would attract the creature.

   Its piteous mewling arose from the depths. I nervously kicked soil into the tunnel at my feet. I had to escape before it returned. Clutching the soil, my fingers dug deep within. Quickly, I ascended. I was six feet up when I felt a tug at my feet. Looking down in horror, I witnessed the creature’s bloated, white body creeping up my pants leg.

   “Get off me, foul thing!” I screamed, kicking the hideous larvae. It was three feet long. Its maw oozed putrescent yellow fluids reeking of fetid lard. That evil oral emanation…

GRAND PRIZES (One lucky winner):

If novels are the meat and bones of Black Speculative Fiction – science fiction, fantasy and horror written by and about people of African descent – then short stories are the lifeblood.

Anthologies are great because the short fiction found within them allows readers to expand their reading horizons in a relatively short amount of time through diverse stories written in a variety of writing styles.

Here are 10 Black Speculative Fiction anthologies that will show you just how Blacktastic science fiction, fantasy and horror storytelling can get.

Black Power: The Superhero Anthology

This groundbreaking anthology brings together twenty authors to craft original short superhero stories.

BLACK POWER: THE SUPERHERO ANTHOLOGY offers BANG-POW-THOOM action, searing satire, and thoughtful social commentary from a people too often overlooked in mainstream comic books and heroic cinema and television.

The superheroes in BLACK POWER: THE SUPERHERO ANTHOLOGY come from all walks of life. Some…