Ben Francisco

@benfrancisco.bsky.social

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Queer Latinx fiction writer. Debut novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, out now! Stories in Strange Horizons, Indiana Review, Podcastle, LCRW, and more. All things geeky and social justice-y welcome. They/Them.
https://linktr.ee/benfrancisco

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Strange Horizons is one of my favorite publishers of short SF. They've published some wonderfully queer stories, genre-defying stories that might not find a home elsewhere, and amazing special issues like last year's Caribbean SFF Issue. And they're so close to their fundraising goal for next year!

It's THAT time of the year again! The annual STRANGE HORIZONS FUND DRIVE is now live. To donate: www.kickstarter.com/projects/str... Over the next 36 days, we're looking to raise $13,500 to stay alive through 2025, and beyond for some very special special issues!

kickstarter.com

Celebrate #Pride with Queers in Space! Check out this listicle of #LGBTQIA SF in space, including amazing books by @charliejane.bsky.social @riverssolomon.bsky.social @deuceofgears.bsky.social @daviddlevine.com @rykaaoki.bsky.social &more! benfrancisco.net/2024/06/18/q... #queer #spaceopera #scifi

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Ben Francisco

June 28, 1969.

Respect to Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and all the unnamed and unknown queens and dolls and fairies that put on for Gay Power and Queer Liberation. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

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Ben Francisco

So, a lot has happened on the health front. No final answers yet, but what we've learned so far needs to be followed up, & fast. For that, I need at least $11,000 (to go to $55,000 overall) for blood tests, CT scans, consultant fees & more. Please donate & share! www.gofundme.com/f/help-r-s-a...

Help R. S. A. Garcia Pay for Cancer Expenses, organized by Arula Ratnakarwww.gofundme.com Hi everyone, I'm Rhonda, also known as R. S. A. Garcia, a speculative … Arula Ratnakar needs your support for Help R. S. A. Garcia Pay for Cancer Expenses

Just read and loved DEFICIENT by Michael Solis. Highly recommended for fans of dystopian SF, superheroes, and #YA coming of age novels. #Latinx #ownvoices #pride #bookshelf www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

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Today marks the release of my space opera heist novel THE KUIPER BELT JOB audiobook! With the voices of Andrew Kishino, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Christa Lewis, Si Chen, and Sneha Mathan! Buy it here! https://podiumentertainment.com/titles/28122/the-kuiper-belt-job #spaceopera #scifi #heist #audiobook

In celebration of Pride Month, I made a listicle of some of my favorite novels featuring #LGBTQIA+ characters in space! benfrancisco.net/2024/06/18/q... #queer #spaceopera #sciencefiction #sciencefantasy #queersinspace #queerspaceopera #pride

HIGHLY recommend A BETTER WORLD, a brilliant dystopian novel by Sarah Langan. A dysfunctional yet sympathetic family faces impossible choices in a frighteningly realistic future of corporate greed. One of the most impactful reads of my year so far. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Ben Francisco’s review of A Better Worldwww.goodreads.com This is a brilliant dystopian novel of a not-too-distant future where the ecology and economy have collapsed into total chaos, and the only "livable" places are company towns literally gated off from ...

Oh dear. I seem to have written a 2nd person story, again. I was told each writer is only allowed one. But this one came out anyway, despite my best efforts to stop it. #writerproblems #WritingCommunity

Great session on our current golden age of #LGBTQIA #SFF at #Nebulas2024 with all stars @ceciliatan.bsky.social @charliejane.bsky.social @zrellor.bsky.social and @lpkindred.bsky.social!

Dr Kimberly Miner from NASA on terraforming: we've been doing terraforming here on Earth for a couple thousand years now (unintentionally) - and it hasn't been going very well... #Nebulas2024

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Ben Francisco

The Habitable Worlds Observatory project is a space telescope intended to directly image Earth-like exoplanets (small, cool, close to the star) which can't even be detected using current technologies. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitable_Worlds_Observatory #Nebulas2024

Excited to be on my way to Pasadena for #Nebulas2024! Looking forward to co-hosting the #LGBTQIA+ meetup (in person) and to being part of a panel on writing LGBTQIA characters!

VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH is on sale for #Pride for just $4.99! It's the perfect time to get your fix of Diplomacy Adventures of Latinx Queers in Space! #scifi benfrancisco.net/valvega/

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Ben Francisco

I'm just sad that I didn't read this one in time for awards season, but @benfrancisco.bsky.social's Brincando Charcos, published at @strangehorizons.bsky.social, is so beautiful! A great tale about caring and taking care. Highly recommended! strangehorizons.com/fiction/brin...

Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)strangehorizons.com “Dónde estámos?” Mateo asks, wiping the wetness out of his hair. We’re both sopping wet. Charcos may get you there fast, but it’s not the cleanest way to travel.

The cool folks at #CanvasRebel interviewed me about #WritingCommunity and other aspects of my writing journey! Includes highlights from my favorite rejections such as “This story is just too weird for me.” Canvasrebel.com/meet-ben-francisco/

canvasrebel.com

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"I couldn't suspend my disbelief, the villain's plan didn't make rational sense." I mean. Take a few minutes and just look around you. No, I mean really LOOK.

Such a lovely night with such a great crew of people!

I had a blast at dinner last night with Sarah Langan, @victorlavalle.bsky.social, Grady Hendrix, @mmdevoe.bsky.social, and @benfrancisco.bsky.social! (Photos courtesy of Milda DeVoe. Check out her free weekly newsletter: mmdevoe.substack.com !)

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Hey #WritingCommunity How about following the writers below. @brainhawk.bsky.social @terrorbytez.bsky.social @ozarkmisfit.bsky.social @miverras12.bsky.social @alexandre1.bsky.social @josephpgillis.bsky.social @ninaschuyler.bsky.social @benfrancisco.bsky.social @ronaldmcgillvray.bsky.social #booksky

Honored to have my @strangehorizons.bsky.social short story, "Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)," on this ballot along with a bunch of other great SF from 2023! Anyone can vote - by Apr 15!

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO VOTE 👾🤖🦄 Locus Poll & Survey is YOUR vote for the Locus Awards. Share your fave works from 2023 and help elevate the best works of the year. It's quick and easy to fill out - be a part of the awards! Deadline: Apr 15 poll.voting.locusmag...

Highly recommend "A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair" by @renanbernardo.bsky.social, on the Locus Recommended Reading List and a Nebula nominee. The struggles of family and mortality unfold from the vantage point of a heartbreakingly conscious chair.

A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair | Breve Biografia de Uma Cadeira Lúcidasamovar.strangehorizons.com I was conceived by a carpenter with quivering hands in the back of a lumberyard. She was called Anatólia. Some days she had to fix flaws, sawing one or two parts of me again. On other days she hurl…

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Hey, could you use some beautiful stories that will make you happy? Stories that, though not without struggle, end well? Enjoy this most recent Story Hour, featuring the debuts of @benfrancisco.bsky.social and Maya Beck! It's good for what ails you! #StoryHour2020 #Authors @mayathebeing.bsky.social

Story Hour (feat. Ben Francisco and Maya Beck) | Ben Francisco reads...www.facebook.com Ben Francisco reads

Excited to be reading at the next Story Hour! Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7pm PT/10pm ET. Log on from anywhere for queer romance, magic puddle gateways, and wise Latinas.

This Story Hour brings us two debuts! Brace yourself for stories from Ben Francisco and Maya Beck! Wednesday! 7:00 p.m. PDT! Join us! #StoryHour2020 #AuthorReading #ShortStories @benfrancisco.bsky.social www.storyhour2020.com

I got a belated birthday present in the form of a review from Booklife for Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth- and it's an Editor's Pick! It's even what television's Moira Rose might call an understated rave! "Francisco thrills with a coming-of-age debut set among the stars."

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Help us reach $25k by the end of today! You can give $10 or $500, we've got awesome perks for every price range. Best of all, you help all of us at Locus thrive and keep reviewing, interviewing, and covering our community's news. igg.me/at/locusmag2024

So honored that my story "Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles)" made A.C. Wise's list of top 10 stories from 2023! "A beautiful story about overcoming fear as two men at the beginning of their relationship discover they both have the power to jump from location to location through puddles..."

The Year in Review 2023 by A.C. Wise locusmag.com/2024/02...

The Year in Review 2023 by A.C. Wiselocusmag.com The Year in Review 2023 by A.C. Wise It’s been an odd year for me, reading-wise. I served as a World Fantasy Award judge, which was a wonderful experience, but meant a large portion of my year was…

Nicholas Kaufmann's Dr. Laura Powell books are brilliantly written suspense stories with great characters up against scientifically plausible horrific scenarios. Preorder THE MINDWORMS today! Each book stands on its own, so you can jump in with this one. www.nicholaskaufmann.com/book/the-min...

My free monthly newsletter went out to subscribers this weekend! It's chock full of cool stuff like recent and upcoming appearances, how to preorder my new novel THE MIND WORMS, and where and when the book launches will be! (Yes, that's launches, plural!) (1/2)

Nicholas Kaufmann - The Mind Worms (Dr. Laura Powell series #3)www.nicholaskaufmann.com

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Very happy to find "Kill Jar" here AND also, elated to see "Brincando Charcos" by Ben Francisco from Strange Horizon's Special Caribbean Issue on this list, with a bunch of stunning work. This is a very good place to start reading work I may have missed generally as the lists are fairly extensive.

Nerds of a Feather 2024 Hugo Award Recommendation List: Part 1 Welcome to the Nerds of a Feather 2024 Hugo Award Recommendation List. It's a bit uncomfortable, this year, given events in Chengdu but here are our major fiction recommendations. www.nerds-feather.com/2024/01/nerd...

Nerds of a Feather 2024 Hugo Award Recommendation List: Part 1www.nerds-feather.com Welcome to the Nerds of a Feather 2024 Hugo Award Recommendation List. As in previous years, this is a 4-part list covering things our write...

Love this review of Brincando Charcos and other SF stories from @cypayseur.bsky.social in @locusmag.bsky.social! "Francisco tells an aching story about trust and self-censorship through the budding romance of Javier and Mateo...."

Charles Payseur Reviews Short Fiction: Understudies by Priya Sridhar, Diabolical Plots, Samovar, and Strange Horizons locusmag.com/2024/02...

Charles Payseur Reviews Short Fiction: Understudies by Priya Sridhar, Diabolical Plots, Samovar, and Strange Horizonslocusmag.com Diabolical Plots 10-11/23 Understudies, Priya Sridhar (Hiraeth) February 2023. Samovar 10/23/23 Strange Horizons 10/30/23, 11/6/23 Over at Diabolical Plots, the publishing schedule has been tempor…

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Ben Francisco

Happy book birthday to my pal @benfrancisco.bsky.social, whose debut novel, VAL VEGA: SECRET AMBASSADOR OF EARTH, is out now!

Amazon.com: Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth: 9798989270903: Francisco, Ben: Booksamzn.to Amazon.com: Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth: 9798989270903: Francisco, Ben: Books