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Release day for The Dragon Has Some Complaints!

The Dragon Has Some Complaints is finally out! It feels like ages since I first picked up a pen and jotted down ideas for Garrodigh. His three heads sprang into being almost immediately, in this funny stew of personalities that couldn’t stop fighting each other, but also needed each other. Even at my sickest in the last year, writing him was a joy. And now, I get to share him with you. What is…

Book Tour Dates for The Dragon Has Some Complaints!

Thank you all for being patient with me. You’re probably aware how profoundly sick I was for several months there, and the road to recovery has been fraught. But I survived, and I came out of it with a new book . It’s a book I can’t wait to give to you. And this July, I’ll be bringing it myself! I’m giddy to share the dates for my first book tour in over a year. I’ll be hitting New York City,…

New Story Day: Welcome To Heroism

Beloved readers, I’ve got a new short story for you! Today “Welcome To Heroism” went live at Uncanny Magazine. It follows a mysterious app called The Dare. Appearing out of nowhere, The Dare gives users outrageous fame if they’re the first person to complete its challenges. At first the challenges just seem incredibly reckless, like running into wildfires or messing with data centers. But as the…

New Story Day: "Phantom View" at Reactor!

My final publication of the year dropped today: a new novelette called “Phantom View”! I love that Reactor held this one off for Halloween. “Phantom View” is about a son caretaking for his father, and discovering a blurry person in all their family photos. He has no memory of this person. He can’t even tell if it is a person. Then he discovers the same blurry figure is in all his dad’s old…

Announcing: Wearing The Lion

Today I have the great pleasure of revealing my second novel to you all. Please give a warm welcome to WEARING THE LION . WEARING THE LION is a remix of the myths of Hera and Heracles. My Heracles has been raised since he was a baby to revere his Auntie Hera, Goddess of Family. As he grows up into the strongest man in the world, he spreads the word of her glory and raise a family of his own. But…

Interviewed at Polygon!

2025 isn’t sure what to do with itself. Here it’s been unseasonably warm, followed by historically cold, followed by dangerous winds, followed by a thunderstorm, followed by snow flurries last night. We’ll get deserts and glaciers running through here soon enough. In the meantime, my first interview of the year dropped. Tasha Robinson of Polygon invited me over to chat about how I deal with New…

Flights of Foundry Schedule 2024

This weekend I'll be doing programming for Flights of Foundry ! It's a lovely annual convention that takes place entirely online and welcomes people from the around the world. There is programming 24/7 so that no matter where you are, you'll log on and find something to do. I hope to see you there! Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE 2023 Writing Contest Winners Showcase: Interview and…

John Wiswell's Tour Schedule for 2024

Now that my book is out in the world, I have to go follow it! On this post you'll find every official event and convention I'll be attending this year. I'll add events to this page as contracts are signed. Especially if we're at the same con, please say hi! I love meeting folks and signing books. You'll notice some events are tagged as (VIRTUAL). These are ones where I'll only be attending online,…

Someone You Can Build A Nest In launches on April 2nd!

My debut novel is extremely nigh! It releases April 2nd in the U.S., and April 11th in the U.K.. In this post, I'll walk you through everything you need to know. Let's start here: what is Someone You Can Build A Nest In about? Shesheshen is a shapeshifting monster who lurks in the ruins of an isthmus, fending off monster hunters and other vile humans. After she is poisoned and driven off a cliff,…

All the Short Stories John Wiswell Published in 2023

2023 is ticking down to a close. As I’m wrapping up the final touches on my debut novel, I’m also looking back on all the short fiction I got to share with you folks this year. I got late word from an editor that the final story of mine that *was* going to be published this year will now be coming out next year. Having things wrapped up makes a boy nostalgic. I'm proud of all my weirdo fictional…

New story day: The Three O'clock Dragon at Tordotcom

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE It’s a new story day! My short story “The Three O’clockDragon” is live and free to read on Tordotcom. “The Three O’clock Dragon” follows Liza, who is your average, mild-mannered half-mile-long dragon, who lives on the city’s rail system. These metro tunnels make great lairs. The mayor spends no expense trying to kill her off, and she’s frankly…

New Story: So You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis

I’m proud to share my first-ever story in Lightspeed Magazine: “So You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis.” You can read it for free right here. “So You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis” is a flash fiction story about an unusual kind of romantic supply store. Do you absolute detest someone who is frustratingly hot? Well, the Intimate Blade sells the weapons you need to propose to that special arch-enemy in your…

New Fiction: "Bad Doors" at Uncanny Magazine

It's New Story Day! "Bad Doors" is live at Uncanny Magazine. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Kosmo is a simple English teacher with no interest in evil magic doors. However one day they take an interest in him. A burgundy door with a shiny black knob appears in his hallway, where no door has ever been. Kosmo does what he thinks anybody would do: he grabs his dog, runs out of his…

All the Short Stories That I Published in 2022

I've never had a year like 2022. This is the year I won a Locus Award, got an agent, and sold my debut novel. It's a year where I broke into so many magazines that were but distant dreams to me a few years ago. I've connected with more readers than ever, and every message from them has brightened my days and nights. As a reflection on the year that was, I'm doing a round-up of every short story of…

Announcing My Debut Novel: SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN

I have some huge news to share with y'all. It is my great pleasure to announce that I've sold my debut novel, SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN, to Katie Hoffman at DAW Books . In fact Katie liked it so much that she signed me to a two-book deal. We're making books, my friends! I've been honing my craft at novels for years, finding ways to pack them with the same kinds of warmheartedness and…

New Fiction: "D.I.Y." at Tor.com

Today I am proud to present my first-ever Tordotcom short story: "D.I.Y."! Noah Byrne is a disabled boy who always wanted to go to wizarding school--but his medical debt meant he couldn't afford it and they turned him away. But Noah never gave up on the dream. Together with another disabled kid, Manny, Noah has pursued forbidden knowledge about water magic to address his city's drought. What…

New Fiction: "Demonic Invasion or Placebo Effect?" at Sunday Morning Transport

Today I'm happy to share a brand new story with you all: "Demonic Invasion or Placebo Effect?" It follows a pair of demon scientists who are out to prove a controversial hypothesis: demons are not creations of the human imagination. They've isolated an entire town and intend to stimulate as much Satanic panic as it takes in order to prove demons don't sprout into being just because people believe…

New Fiction: "The Coward Who Stole God's Name" at Uncanny Magazine

Today I'm happy to present to you my newest short story: "The Coward Who Stole God's Name." It's a story about the most popular man in the world - even though nobody can actually remember why they like him. He's summoned one special journalist to his home to reveal his secret. But a warning: that secret will get inside your head. It's a story written out of the many cultural betrayals we've had…

Balticon 2022 Schedule

Greetings! This coming weekend I'll be participating in Balticon, a regional convention hosted in Baltimore, Maryland. It runs from Friday, May 27th through Monday, May 30th. Due to the pandemic many of their program items will be available to watch live on their website. So I'll be sitting in New York digging into some meaty topics with some fellow authors over the internet. Perhaps you'll come…

"Too Little, Too Little, Too Much" published at Cossmass Infinities

Today I'm proud to share with you my newest short story: "Too Little, Too Little, Too Much." Fires have been starting around this little family's house. Nobody knows exactly why, although the youngest son has an inkling. It has to do with what his older brother is doing to him when nobody's around - and perhaps with what their father is doing in secret. But nobody wants to confront what's actually…

"The Tentacle and You" at Pseudopod

Greetings friends and fellow conspirators! It's about to be a very busy series of months, with a series of story publications, convention appearances, and wild announcements. And it all starts today. It starts with the return of one of my quirkiest stories: "The Tentacle and You." This little story is like if a TV pitchman was trying to sell you on alien parasites living in your body. It's going…

LeVar Burton Reads "Open House on Haunted Hill"!

A dream came true this week, for both and author and for his haunted house. You probably know my little story, "Open House on Haunted Hill." But you've never heard it like this. It is a thrill to present the newest episode of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast , in which he narrates the full story of 133 Poisonwood Avenue. LeVar Burton is an iconic of literacy to me. He's one of the first adults I…

Worldcon Schedule, December 15-19th

It's my first Worldcon as a Hugo finalist! This is such an honor, and I wish I could be there in person. But at least I can participate virtually. I have a few program items which will be available to all virtual and attending members, before the Hugo Awards themselves on Saturday night. Social Media: Making Enemies & Alienating People Thursday, December 16 10:00 pm EST Area: Congressional On-Site…

Awards Eligibility Post 2021

2021 is almost in the record books! I can't say it was an easy year, but it was a busy one. I published nearly as many stories and essays this year and as last year, and I'm hard at work on stories for 2022. If you're catching up on work for awards, I've collected links to all of my fiction and non-fiction right here in this post. Where possible I've included the categories, lengths, and dates of…

New Fiction: "That Story Isn't The Story" in Uncanny Magazine

Hello my dear readers! I'm happy this month to bring you my first-ever novelette. It's the longest piece of fiction I've ever published, and tells the deepest story of someone psyche. "That Story Isn't The Story" follows Anton, a familiar who seeks to break his connection to his abusive master. He runs away with the help of the last friends he hasn't been estranged from, still bearing the marks of…