2025 Award Eligibility Post

 

The year’s not yet over, but it’s that time when writers begin posting about their award-eligible work. This year I had five new original short stories published. I also had my first collection of short stories, The House of Illusionists, published by Interstellar Flight press!

 

New Short Stories

 

“Sweetest” (dark fantasy/horror, 6640 words) in The House of Illusionists and Other Stories. Published November 2025 (Available from Amazon and other outlets. More book info at the bottom of this post)

 

A story about clowns in a candy shop. Seriously creepy clowns in a candy shop. It’s also about hunger, loss, old-fashioned treats, shadow-children, and truths that may be too much to bear. This story is original to The House of Illusionists, and I’m so pleased to hear from many readers that it’s one of their favorites in the collection.  

 

“The Space Roads” (science fiction/horror, 3174 words) in Space Horrors: An Anthology of Horror Science-Fiction Stories, edited by E.S. Magill. Published September 2025. Available in ebook and paperback from Amazon.

 

I am very psyched to appear in this anthology alongside some seriously cool authors and stories. My tale, “The Space Roads,” is about long-haul cargo pilots in space and the eerie dangers they face while crossing the void of deep space. Dangers that may be external. . . or might be only in the mind.

 

“When the Faerie King Toured the Human Realm” (fantasy, 3217 words) in Lightspeed. June 2025.

 

This story is about what the title says—a Faerie King on holiday in the human realm. It’s also about social media fame, parasocial relationships, street food, and the very human need to feel that we belong to a story larger than ourselves. It is one of my favorite things that I have ever written, and there’s a wonderful podcast version, narrated by Susan Hanfield, if you would rather listen than read.

 
  • Story notes here
  • Recommended as a bonus story in Myna Chang’s June 2025 Flash Round-up: “Fogg’s stories are always gorgeous and elegant. The longing in this one is sharp.”
  • Reviewed by the Skiffy and Fanty Show blog: “This story isn’t just a fun “what if” scenario, although it is that. I also found this to be a tender and delicate meditation on what online fandoms mean for the rest of us, those of us in lurking in the peripheries outside the spotlight.”


“Support Forum for the Care and Feeding of Your Personal Spirit-angel” (horror/dark fantasy, 4230 words) in Uncharted Magazine. May 2025.

 

A dark little piece about Internet forums, cult dynamics, and angels who promise to heal every wound in your soul.

 

“The Path She Sings” (dark fantasy, 1200 words) in The Deadlands. February 2025.

 

A weird little bit of dark fantasy/horror, about a perilous fog, pretending to be dead, and love that may outlast language and death. Just over flash-length, at only a little over a thousand words.

 

 

Short Story Collection

The House of Illusionists and Other Stories, stories by Vanessa Fogg, published in November 2025 by Interstellar Flight Press. Available at Amazon, Indiebound, Barnes and Noble online, and direct from publisher.

 


 My personal dedicated book page for more information (including advance praise and interviews).


Official publisher website here. 

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