Editor's Note

Thank you for again being a part of our literary rebellion. As our days darken, it’s vital we each read to exercise our imagination and empathy. Fiction is the perfect tool to transport us into foreign mindsets and explore across reaches of time. The chains that constrain our creativity and compassion are tightening across our society, but the authors inside these pages demonstrate thinking outside this cage.

This editor’s note finds us inside the world we feared only a year ago. Our editors are doubling down on the journal’s mission because we believe it is more valuable than ever to hold a mirror up to the world through a future lens. The authors in this collection are simultaneously serving us warnings and invitations, and we should pay close attention.

These stories dare you to challenge the world, channel your rage, and hold onto your hope. They sprinkle in little bits of love, uncover self-worth amid hopeless misery, escape government persecution, and remain insightful with a dash of daydream. They define for us how the will to fight for a brighter tomorrow is a choice we must all continually make. It is never easy, but always necessary.

Words are increasingly difficult during times when the unthinkable has become dull reality. So, it is all the more impressive that the authors in this issue have found the courage to write and express themselves. To be human and artistic in the face of inhuman actions.

It is now normal to have discussions with our loved ones on how to avoid ICE and not be kidnapped. It is routine to have fewer inalienable rights than the night before. It is customary to have masked men patrol our cities, snatch our neighbors, and send them to concentration camps. It is expected to distrust the CDC and any government message. It is conventional to have no congress or representation as we are taxed by tariffs. It is common for the government to track women’s cycles and arrest them and their newborns during delivery. It is standard to present our papers on the street and for our identities to be called into question. It is typical for institutions to be purged and members replaced with party loyalists. It is habitual to have our social media history checked when entering the country. It is ordinary for us to be murdered on our home streets for doing no wrong.

Except, none of this is normal. And we must say so bluntly to ensure that what is defined as truth is not taken from us.

The speculative stories within these pages are also not normal, but in the best way possible. Let their slanted realities allow you to better analyze the dim present day and the radiant one you hope to make tomorrow.

We rely on one another more than ever before within the SFF community, and we want to take this time to thank you all. The journal continues to grow and be met with resounding appreciation across oceans and computers. In 2025, we increased our poetry pay for the second time and will soon follow suit with our prose in 2026. The Radon community Discord has grown into one of the largest and most supportive environments in the industry. We look forward to sharing many more opportunities, insights, vents, and laughs.

Our editors braved the physical world for the first time last year. We enjoyed meeting so many of our readers and authors at Philcon, and look forward to seeing more at Capclave, Balticon, Worldcon, and beyond. Thank you Neil Clarke and Oddity Prodigies Productions for taking us under your respective wings and showing us the ins-and-outs of the conference circuit life. You can also expect our journal to appear at more SF conventions and anarchist bookfairs in England and Wales as we continue our partnership with Seditionist Distribution.

We say a heartfelt farewell to our 2025 artist, Ninja Jo, for her captivating covers across Issues 9–11. You’ll find that in 2026 we are beginning with a defiant color palette to showcase an audacious worldview featuring a more hopeful dystopia.

We enjoyed beginning our new Submission Insights series and sharing looks behind the curtains with you all last year. We are humbled by the support we receive and reaffirm our vow to remain not-for-profit, with all support directly enabling the journal’s existence. We have also revamped our author spotlight and interview series through the creation of a burgeoning Substack. Innovating how we can best promote our authors and their work is something we continue to strive for.

Please enjoy the first issue of 2026. Allowing yourself to imagine, escape, and dream is more important than they have been before in our lives. Five years of publication, and we’re only getting started.