Hi! Thanks for checking out my eligibility post! Through a combination of hard work and serendipitous timing, I had eight stories published this year.
Since this is my first year being published, I’m eligible for the Astounding Award, in addition to the stories themselves being eligible for awards.
There’s a lot of angst here, but also a lot of hope, and most of it is pretty queer, even if not explicitly so. Thanks to all of the editors who took a chance on my words and thanks to everyone in my writing community—you’ve helped me more than I can say.
Happy reading! (Also, check out my recommendations for stories I loved, that weren’t mine, in 2021)
I Wear My Spiders in Remembrance of Myself
The spiders lower themselves onto the couple’s cutting board, threads hitched to the man’s stubble. I start to point, but Mom snatches my arm out of the air and murmurs apologies as she drags me out of the room. I can feel everyone staring, and I want to shout back at them, Why are you looking at me? Didn’t you see what came out of his mouth?
Published in Apparition Lit, July 2021 (free; audio available). 4700 words.
Cover art by Erion Makuo
Delete Your First Memory for Free
As we all enter the ‘brain spa,’ me and Fatima exchange a glance. Her mouth is a tiny O as she takes in the decor. I ask her, “Ever done this before?”
“No,” she says, “but I’ve thought about it.”I start to ask what memories she wants to get rid of, but it’s my turn to check in … Even with the discount, I can only afford to delete three memories. I’ll have to live with the rest.
Originally published in FIYAH, January 2021; Reprinted in Escape Pod, September 2021 (free, audio available). 3600 words.
Cover art by Nilah Magruder
Before, After, and the Space Between
A necromancer’s magic is strongest on the anniversary of their death.
This bit of Izaani lore cannot be twisted to benefit the lightless scrawlers and is thus unproven by their standards. So, it surprises me to find you, after a childhood of rejecting your heritage, preparing for a spell this frigid evening.
It has been nine years to the day since my soul and body were parted.
Published in Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness, October 2021. 4900 words.
Cover art by Robin Ha
In a lush waistcoat of peacock blues and greens, the ringmaster spins in a tight circle, arms flung wide to welcome her audience. Her gaze passes over the stands, bulbous milky eyes protruding from a bare, metal skull.
The beetle teeters on the edge of the seat—the ringmaster has a talent for making each spectator feel special and seen.
Published in Anathema: Spec from the Margins, May 2021 (free). 2600 words.
Cover art by Rob Cham
… the scent of fry oil kept transporting me to our first date—cheap drinks, greasy food, and a girl who made me laugh until it hurt. The place had been a dive, with one of the ceiling lights flickering and buzzing the whole time, but it’d had a student discount and killer french fries.
Here and now, my girlfriend was late. Top marks went to the designer for accuracy.
Published in Diabolical Plots, February 2021 (free). 2500 words.
Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash
Excerpts from Mx. Powell’s Ledger of Post-Cataclysm Exchanges
Miss B. Average height, dark brown, septum piercing, 40s
Traded: Unopened bag coffee beans, two polo shirts (size 20, clean)
For: Love, in Letters edited by Chaudhry (singed cover), King James Bible, Kindred by Butler
Notes: Almost never trade books but I’m weak for former English teachers, piercings, and coffee (SWEET FUCKING JESUS, the smell)
Published in Pipe Wrench, October 2021 (free). 400 words.
Art by Becca Thorne
He was chosen — as were the other children, as were you — for the same reason the fairwoods were propagated: a talent for drawing the malignance close.
Published in Pipe Wrench, October 2021 (free). 500 words.
Art by Becca Thorne
I wake up and remember the world is ending soon.
It’s like sudden, summer rain. Startling. All-consuming. Enchanting in its inescapability.
Published in Pipe Wrench, October 2021 (free). 500 words.
Art by Becca Thorne
KEL COLEMAN 
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