Editor John Joseph Adams joins UpperPen to discuss curating The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2025 anthology, how stories make it through the slush pile, and what editors really look for in great speculative fiction.
Welcome to UpperPen, where we explore the craft of writing, editing, and publishing.
In this conversation, John Joseph Adams—award-winning editor, publisher, and series editor for The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy—pulls back the curtain on how anthologies come together, what he likes in a short story, and the evolving world of science fiction and fantasy publishing.
Whether you’re a reader, writer, or editor, this episode is packed with insight into the creative and editorial process behind some of today’s best science fiction and fantasy.
You can find John at JohnJosephAdams.com.
About John Joseph Adams:John Joseph Adams is the editor of numerous acclaimed anthologies and the series editor of The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, published annually by Mariner Books. His work has been a finalist for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards, and he is known for championing emerging voices in speculative fiction.Find me at: UpperPen.comNew episodes Fridays at 11 AM ESTSubscribe for more conversations on writing, editing, and the publishing world.#WritingCommunity #ScienceFiction #FantasyBooks #Publishing #UpperPen #JohnJosephAdams #BestAmericanScienceFictionAndFantasy #SpeculativeFiction #BookEditing #WritersLife #Podcast #AuthorInterview
In the city of Dividium, the law is simple: commit a crime, and your punishment is a life sentence in Endlock.
Raven Thorne is Dividium’s most notorious bounty hunter, living on the edge of society. But when her younger brother, Jed, is sentenced to Endlock, Raven will do anything to save him—even if it means getting herself arrested.
Now trapped in a prison where danger lurks around every corner, Raven must use all her cunning and strength to protect Jed—and herself if she is to complete her perilous mission. But there’s one obstacle she never expected: the prison guard who stirs something deep inside her. The man she should hate. The man whose true motives seem impossible to pin down.
In a world where trust is a weapon and love is a liability, Raven must decide if she will risk everything to tear down a vicious system.
Brooke has a wonderful love of dystopian literature and you can feel those influences in To Cage a Wild Bird. Don't be mistake though, this is not a copy and paste kind of book!
Writing is the only interesting thing about Serra, aside from some other very interesting things that she would prefer to keep a secret. When she’s between projects, she likes to hang out with her husband (they’ve been together for over 20 years now and are very good at hanging out) and their Boston Terrier, Waffles. She can also be found reading, eating, and courting madness. She lives in Southern California, which has beautiful weather year-round as long as you don’t count “fire season.”
Kill the Beast is out now and available from all major book sellers.
Cait (they/them) grew up somewhere between the many farms and beaches of the North Fork of Long Island, NY. There, they found escape through the fictional worlds of books. Their love of literature inspired them to found BookTok and The Bookington Book Club. When they aren’t writing or scrolling on social media, they spend their time obsessing over theater, Dungeons and Dragons, and caring for their many dogs and pet snake (known professionally as Jake from Snake Farm). The Princess Knight is their debut novel.
You can find Cait sword fighting in the woods, or on Instagram, TikTok, and all additional platforms at @caitsbooks.
Courtney Floyd grew up in New Mexico, where she learned to write between tarantula turf wars and apocalyptic dust storms. She currently lives at the bottom of a haunted mountain in the woods of Vermont with her partner and pets. Her debut fantasy novel, Higher Magic, comes out with MIRA Books on October 7th, 2025.
Courtney has a PhD in British Lit and a penchant for irreverent literary allusions. Her short fiction can be found in publications including Haven Spec, Small Wonders, and Fireside Magazine, and her cozy horror audio drama, The Way We Haunt Now, is available on all major podcast platforms.
You can find her through her webstide Courtney-Floyd.com
Writer of over seventy-five fantasy books, Harmon Cooper lives with his wife in New England. His series include, but are not limited to, Pilgrim, War Priest, Cowboy Necromancer, The Feedback Loop, Proxima Legends, Monster Hunt NYC, and The World According to Dragons.He’s probably writing his next book now.To see the latest releases and follow Harmon on the various social medias go to:https://linktr.ee/harmoncooper
Devoney Looser is a writer and professor at Arizona State University. She also goes by Stone Cold Jane Austen, especially on roller skates.
Wild for Austen takes a deep dive into who Jane Austen was, but also how her stories- mild and tame as they may seem today- were pushing boundaries and considered "wild" for Austen's time (and frankly for a while after).
Looser is does a fantastic job of laying out her argument for how and why she considers Austen's work to be boundary pushing.
Wild for Austen is available now.
Lindsey Pogue is a genre-bending survival romance author, best known for her soul-stirring Savage North Chronicles. With a master’s in history and a passion for apocalyptic landscapes, Lindsey weaves epic adventures where humanity shines brightest in the darkest of times. Her weather-ravaged worlds defy genre boundaries, inviting readers to escape the ordinary and discover the boundless strength of the human spirit.Lindsey's Savage North Chronicles are a fantastic, fun, and sweetly romantic stories. I really loved them!There are many ways to support independent authors, below are a few links that lead to ways to support Lindsey Pogue directly.Pogue Gone Rogue book club: https://poguegonerogue.com/Lindsey's bookstore: https://lindseypoguebooks.com/Grumpily Ever After podcast: https://www.lindseypogue.com/grumpy
Seanan McGuire is a prolific author who has written in many genres, but by far my favorite have been her horror novels. Overgrowth released in April 2025 and feels simultaniously timeless and timely.
Check out the October Daye books if you are into urban fairy tales!
Mystic Neptune talks cozy fantasy, LitRPG, and Hearth Con.
You can find out more about Hearth Con at lazydragonbooks.com
A reluctant heroine finds unexpected love when she's sent to assassinate a lonely dark lord in the first book of this cozy romantasy series.
Henrietta Doryn has never enjoyed fighting. She'd rather be in the kitchen baking cookies. But it's her duty as Warrior Princess to face off against the forces of evil. As such, she's unceremoniously shooed from her kingdom to go eliminate the all-powerful Dark Lord next door.
Keith Monfort has never enjoyed ruling with an iron fist. He'd prefer to be in his workroom tinkering with practical magic. But it's his duty to lead the Dark Enchanted Forest and the forces of evil. So when Henrietta shows up at his door, he's only too happy to invite her in for tea to talk it out instead.
Can this unlikely pair prevent war between their two kingdoms? Where do their true loyalties lie? And when will they finally confess their growing feelings for each other?
Blending the best of love stories, fairy tales, and whimsy—with just a dash of mystery provided by the soothsaying Madame Potts's enigmatic announcements—I Ran Away to Evil is a deliciously delightful start to a charming romantic-comedy LitRPG series.
Lauren Wiesebron is a fantasy author, writing adventures for characters who do not yet know they need them.
She grew up in France and is now an itinerant academic studying sea creatures. When not writing, you can find her acquiring yarn and naming houseplants. She has also been known to pick up cats even when they don’t want to be picked up.
A. Zaykova loves to explore the deepest corners of faraway galaxies and of the human psyche alike.
As a second generation science fiction geek, she always liked to escape into imaginary worlds and has been writing for as long as she could hold a pen and storytelling since before then.
Growing up as a global nomad, she spent most of her adult life in New Zealand, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and spent a decade writing and managing media for central government. She currently lives in Australia with her husband, daughter, and rescue cat.
Beth Revis is an internationally acclaimed, bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages, and has toured internationally to meet her fans. Five of her novels have been listed in the NY Times.
Beth primarily writes science fiction and fantasy for both adults and young adults. She’s written three books for Star Wars, including the fan-beloved The Princess and the Scoundrel. Her most recent books include the historical romantasy duology starting with Night of the Witch, co-written with Sara Raasch, and a snarky sci fi novella series called Chaotic Orbits.
Jacquelyn Benson talks about researching for her books, support from fellow writers, and rewriting a previously published book.
About Empire of Shadows, Raiders of the Arcana book 1
One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions.
When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she’s holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There’s just one teensy complication. A ruthless villain wants it, and Ellie is all that stands in his way.
To race him to the ruins—and avoid being violently disposed of—she needs the help of maverick surveyor Adam Bates, a snake-wrangling rogue who can’t seem to keep his dratted shirt on.
But there’s more than Ellie’s scholarly reputation (and life) on the line. Her enemies aren’t just looters. They’re after an arcane secret rumored to lie in the heart of the ruins, a mythical artifact with a power that could shake the world.
Between stealing trousers, plummeting over waterfalls, and trying not to fall in love with her machete-wielding partner, will Ellie be able to stop the oracle of a lost empire from falling into the wrong hands?
Purchase the books:
https://jacquelynbenson.com/empire-of-shadows/
Chris Tucci is an actor and narrator who performed Children of the Cold Moon by The Longwinded One (whom I've previously spoken with).
This is one of my favorite LitRPGs of 2024!
Constance Fay is the author of Calamity, Fiasco, and coming March 11th Chaos. These are science fiction/romance. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of Chaos! I received an ARC from Netgalley and it was super fun! Don't forget to pick up copies of all The Uncharted Hearts books!
The Longwinded one sat down and chatted with me about his first ever novel: Children of the Cold Moon, book 1 of The Four Treasures Saga. You might know his voice from his podcast, The Longwinded One (https://longwinded.one/category/litrpg-gamelit/). He even has an interview with Max Heiliger of the CritRPG Podcast and myself. You can find that interview below. Let me know what you liked about the interview in the comments! https://longwinded.one/episode-242-interview-with-max-and-dakota/
Lore of the Wilds is a wonderful entry into romantasy! Book two: Lore of the Tides is out July 8, 2025. I am very excited about this sequel! A library with a deadly enchantment. A Fae lord who wants in. A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power. In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal with a Fae lord. She will leave her home to catalog/organize an enchanted library that hasn’t been touched in a thousand years. No Fae may enter the library, but there is a chance a human might be able to breach the cursed doors. She convinces him that she will risk her life for wealth, but really she’s after the one thing the Fae covet above all: magic of her own. As Lore navigates the hostile world outside, she’s forced to rely on two Fae males to survive. Two very different, very dangerous, very attractive Fae males. When undeniable chemistry ignites, she’s not just in danger of losing her life, but her heart to the very creatures she can never trust.
Amiee Gibbs talks about her novel The Carnivale of Curiosities, victorian inspiration, and language, and we try to skirt around some fantastic twisty turns (aka spoilers!). I think we stayed well enough away, but let me know what you think! Get The Carnivale of Curiosities at your local bookstore or online!
You know Travis Baldree. If you don't, you've likely heard of Legends and Lattes by now at least. Bookshops and Bonedust is the prequel to L&L. Travis is a very interesting dude who does it all. I loved this fun book, check it out and let me know what you think of it.