Yes, it is December now. And that means a new issue of Clarkesworld.

The two stories in this issue are by writers I’m not familiar with. We have “The Taxidermist’s Other Wife” by Kelly Barnhill and “The Children of Main Street” by A.C. Wise. I see from their bios that they are both building solid careers in short fiction, and Neil always buys great stories, so I’m looking forward to discovering what these ladies produce. As usual, the lead story (Kelley’s) is available as a podcast and A.C.’s story will follow mid-month. Kate, as ever, provides the narration.

In contrast Jeremy’s column in this issue features a short fiction writer that I know well. Theodora Goss’s collection, In the Forest of Forgetting, is a favorite of mine. I’m glad to see that she has a bunch of new projects bubbling along.

The piece I bought is deliciously subtitled “A History of Evil Entertainment”. Ostensibly Nancy Fulda’s article is about video games, but in order to make her point she goes back over the history of other forms of entertainment that were once held up as evidence of rampant moral corruption. You know, things like the Waltz, and Ballet… Seriously.

This month’s cover is by Brazilian artist, Rafael Sarmento, and is called “Solitude”.

And if you are looking for something different to give as gifts this year, how about this: