2021 Eligibility Roundup

And that’s a wrap! On my 2021 publishing year, at least. I have a few things lined up for next year, including a poem I’m very excited for, but for now, a quick recap of my work published in 2021, two short stories and five poems:

Short Fiction:

• “Her Mother’s Stories” – 2400 words, published in A Quiet Afternoon 2 from Grace & Victory Publications. A quiet piece about growing up with childhood stories and bringing their magic with us as we start lives of our own.
• “Nine-Tailed Heart” – 3500 words, published in issue 1.3 of khōréō. A queer retelling/re-imagining of the gumiho story, in which a woman learns about the power of reshaping stories and taking control of her own when a nine tailed fox comes for her heart. Very much written from my own diaspora heart.

Poetry:

• “Grandmother Spider” – 31 lines, published in the Spring issue of Kaleidotrope. A poem about heritage and family and stories in an ever-changing world. Content note: spiders.
• “untitled senryu” and “untitled fibonacci” – published in the 18th anniversary issue of Scifaikuest.
• “Pocket Change” – 18 lines, published in the Autumn issue of Kaledotrope. A poem about missed opportunities, split infinities and who picks up after all our choices.
• “After the End” – 50 lines, published in issue 73 of Fantasy Magazine. My favourite poem of the year and honestly one of my favourites to date. A fairy tale poem about what happens after “The End” is written, but the protagonists’ stories continue on. About taking control of your own endings and creating your own joy.

Non-Fiction

• “A Deeply Rooted Wonder” – 1200 words, published in the Wonder issue of Apparition Lit. My first published essay, delving into how I learned to approach my own diasporic identity with a sense of wonder, in all its myriad forms.

And that’s it! As always with these, I feel a bit odd framing these in an awards eligibility sense, but I remind myself that I’m proud of these words and want to share them with the world. I plan on doing another end of the year wrap-up post with stats, but it’s been a pretty good year overall, and as mentioned, I have some fun stuff lined up for 2022, which I hope to share soon.