Our Favorite Articles of 2023 in Print and EBook Format

​Step into the captivating realm of Interstellar Flight Magazine, your go-to online destination for all things speculative nonfiction. In essays, interviews, and reviews, talented contributors from across the globe explore the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror through books, film, TV, comics, games, and art. In this selection of nonfiction from 2024, the anthology dives into topics such as Horror’s final girl, UFOs, true crime podcasts, video games as escapism, book banning, small press publishing, translating books, and more. These essays give insight into popular SFF creators like Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Mike Flanagan, and more. Find the answers to questions like: Why is Gremlins a cult classic? What did Jordan Peele mean by miracles in Nope? and Why Aren’t There More Fear Street Movies? Think of Interstellar Flight Magazine as a time capsule preserving the vital conversations shaping the speculative landscape today.

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The Never-ending Tedium of Survival: a Long-form Essay on the Final Girls Who Struggle to Stay Alive Again and Again and Again
by Andrea Blythe
The Sega Saga as Told by a Kid Trying to Escape: A Personal Essay
by Salena Casha and Mahailey Oliver
UFOs and the Link to Ancient Indian Literature: A Deep Dive Into Fascinating Futuristic Technology from the Past, with Brishti Guha and Indrani Guha
by Brishti Guha and Indrani Guha
The Lotus Eaters: A Longform Essay on Addiction in the Works of Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Stephen King
by Grant Butler
Why Do We Keep Inventing the Magical School?: From T.H. White to Ursula K. Le Guin, Hogwarts Isn’t the Only School in Fantasy
by Tanvi Chowdhary
Five Horror Movies That Reflect Our Times: The Power of a Powerful Message in Contemporary Horror
by Ryan Fay
“Fallen Women” in Fantasy: Sex Work as Characterization in Popular Fantasy Novels and the Complications Therein
by Alex Kingsley
How Science Fiction and Fantasy Can Help Authors and Readers Fight Book Banning: Fahrenheit 451 and The Book Thief Teach the Power of Reading
by Priya Sridhar
I’m (Not) What I Write: That Time I Went Viral on Twitter for Being a “Scary” Horror Author
by Robert P. Ottone
Is It Frankenstein’s Creature or Monster? A Retrospective on Two Early Frankenstein Films
by Ryan Fay
The Mash-Up Mythos: A Parent’s Guide to the Monsters Your Kids Are Obsessed With: Kids Horror from Gaming to Memes to McDonald’s
by Patrick Barb
The Nature of Fear: What Truly Terrifies Us Are the Horrors Haunting Us from Our Childhood
by Christina Sng
The Small Press Horror Renaissance: Six Indie Presses Publishing Horror to Add to Your TBR Pile
by Ryan Fay
Horror Hostesses with the Most-Esses: Late-Night Horror Hosts from Vampira to Elvira
by Ryan Fay
Did Ray Bradbury Predict the Smart House in “The Veldt”? Can the House Replace Us?
by Priya Sridhar
The Witch of the A&P: A Horror Author Looks Back on Childhood Terrors
by Patrick Barb
From Spooky Lovers Lovers to Amantes Espeluznantes: One Book, Two Languages: J.V. Gachs on the Process of Publishing in Multiple Languages
by J.V. Gachs

Gremlins: Secretly a Cinematic Masterpiece?: One of the Most Polarizing Horror Films in Existence
by Alex Kingsley
Underwater Civilizations, Action Against Oppression, and Friendship: Review of Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz
by Archita Mittra
The Horror of Women’s Pain: On “The Retrievals,” a True Crime Podcast from the NYT and Serial Productions
by Holly Lyn Walrath
A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree Blends Gripping Folklore with Subtle Body Horror: Irish Horror Film Mesmerizes with Tale of Old Gods
by Patrick Barb
Why There Should Be More Fear Street Films: Netflix’s Horror Film Trilogy and Teen Horror
by Chloe Smith
Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel: A Spellbinding Anthology of Thirteen Short Adventures Set in the Dungeons & Dragons Universe, All Conceived and Written by People of Color
by Archita Mittra
Dinner on Mars Gives Food for Thought
by Lisa Timpf
Saltburn Drips Sexuality and Intrigue: Barry Keoghan, Rosamund Pike Devastate in This Dark Masterpiece of Desire
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Queer Representation in Supermassive Games: BAFTA-Winning Game Studio and Queer Gamer Culture
by Vanessa Maki
Anne Hathaway Shines in Eileen, a Story of Unrequited Love: Stuck in Massachusetts in the 1960s
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Five Nights at Freddy’s Offers a New Gateway to Horror: But More Experienced Fright-Flick Fans Will Want to Wait for a Level-Up
by Patrick Barb
Ashin of the North Review: The Final Girl Brings the Fire
by Christina Sng
The Toxic Avenger Reboots “Toxic” Hero: The Toxic Avenger Premieres at Fantastic Fest Starring Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, and Elijah Wood
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Haunted House and Cursed Land: Mombauer’s The House of Drought Blends Gothic and Folk Horror in Timely Climate Change Novella
by Patrick Barb
Bad Miracles and Other Spectacular Things in Jordan Peele’s Nope: Surviving Trauma and Memory
by Gretchen Rockwell
A Game of Shadow and Bones: Netflix’s YA Fantasy Show and the Changing Art of Book Adaptations
by Hesper Leveret
Black Mirror Season 6 and the Power of Situational Horror: What Writers Can Learn About Storytelling from the Popular Netflix Series
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Finding a Place in the Medieval: Thinking Queerly by Jes Battis Jousts with Tradition
by Lisa Timpf
Dark Poetry Abounds in Where the Devil Roams: Set at a Carnival in the Great Depression, the Latest from the Adams Family Is a Rotten Riot
by Holly Lyn Walrath
The Only Way to Survive the World Burning: Review of Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations on Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature in a Pandemic
by Taylor Jones
Strange Darling Flips Script on Serial Killer Movies: JT Mollner’s Second Feature Film Explores the Gender Dynamics of Murder
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Mike Flanagan’s House of Usher Stands on a Firm Foundation: All That We See or Seem…
by R. Thursday
South Korean Film Sleep Weaves Sleep Disorders, Magic, & Marriage in Heartfelt Love Story: Debut from Jason Yu Explores Horrors of Sleepwalking
by Holly Lyn Walrath
The Creator Props Up Hyper-Optimism with Gorgeous Visuals: But Does It Succeed?: Gareth Edwards’ New SF Flick May Leave a Bad Taste in the Mouth of Those Worried About AI
by Holly Lyn Walrath
A Shadow of Reincarnation in a Solarpunk World: Review of Another Life by Sarena Ulibarri
by Megan Wegenke
There’s Something Familiar About There’s Something in the Barn: Norwegian Holiday Horror Comedy Is National Lampoon’s Meets Gremlins
by Patrick Barb

Moving with a Monument: Art, Archaeology, and Artificial Intelligence, Research Questions and Project Beginnings
by T.D. Walker
Interview with Roboticist Daniel Williams and Master Craftsperson Justin Green, Collaborators on Sacrifice: Can You Trust a Stone? at the University of Melbourne
by T.D. Walker
Immortality, the 1960s, and the Power of Women’s Voices: An Interview with Gwendolyn Kiste, Author of Reluctant Immortals
by Andrea Blythe
D&D in Full Color: Interview with Ajit A. George, Editor of Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel
by Archita Mittra
Toxic Relationships and Greek Mythology: Interview with Jordan Kurella, Author of I Never Liked You Anyway
by J.Z. Weston
Hope, Horror, and Queerness: An Interview with Lucy Hannah Ryan, Author of You Make Yourself Another
by J.Z. Weston
Old Legends Through the Voices of the “Things and Beasts” Therein: Interview with Melissa Ridley Elmes, Author of Arthurian Things, a Collection of Poems
by T.D. Walker
Apocalypse and Perseverance: COVID, Science Fiction, and Poetry of Survival: Interview with Jeannine Hall Gailey, Author of Flare, Corona
by T.D. Walker
Caught Between Two Worlds: Family, Far Away Places, and Formal Poetry: Interview with Lindaann Loschiavo, Author of Apprenticed to the Night
by T.D. Walker
STEM, Women Scientists, and Sexism: Interview with Jessy Randall, Author of Mathematics for Ladies: Poems on Women in Science
by T.D. Walker
Seasons of Questioning: Grief, Parenting, and Navigating Illness: Interview with Emily Hockaday, Author of Naming the Ghost
by T.D. Walker
Scholarship, Song, and the Supernatural: Interview with Kendra Preston Leonard, PhD, Author of Grab
by T.D. Walker
Short SFF, Day Jobs, & Late Night TV: An Interview with William Ledbetter, Author of The Long Fall Up: And Other Stories
by Holly Lyn Walrath
Out of the Earth, Out of the Closet: Mythmaking and Queerness: An Interview with Maxwell I. Gold, Author of Another Mythology
by R. Thursday
Disability, Queerness, & Poetry as Community: Interview with Ennis Rook Bashe, Author of Beautiful Malady
by Julie Reeser

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Interstellar Flight Magazine publishes essays on what’s new in the world of speculative genres. In the words of Ursula K. Le Guin, we need “writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope.” Visit our Patreon to join our fan community on Discord. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram

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