Black Cat Weekly #16 is a special holiday issue, featuring three holiday-themed mysteries for your reading pleasure. We didn’t have any holiday science fiction or fantasy stories on tap this time, but we will definitely try to do better next year. (Decembers are always a bit chaotic at Wildside Press—we also have to get out the year-end royalties for hundreds of authors.)

If you are a fan of classic science fiction, you’ll appreciate “The Star Sneak,” by Larry Tritten—a Jack Vance parody, unearthed from 1974. And Darrell Schweitzer and Cindy Ward bring in stories by two masters—Michael Swanwick and Nisi Shawn. Tarnished Utopia by Malcolm Jameson is our pulp classic from the legendary Startling Stories magazine.

For the mystery reader, we lead off with my own “Christmas Pit,” an entry in my “Pit-Bull” Peter Geller series. Our editors Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken bring in holiday tales (with very similar titles!) by Paige Sleuth and Stacy Woodson. Plus a classic hardboiled story from Frank Kane, and a Mr. Clackworthy story by Christopher B. Booth. And what issue would be complete without a solve-it-yourself story by Hal Charles?

Without further ado, here is the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense:
“A Christmas Pit,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story]
“Sister Knows Best,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“Frame,” by Frank Kane [short novel]
“Mr. Clackworthy Forgets His Tonic,” by Christopher B. Booth [short story]
“Holiday Holdup,” by Paige Sleuth [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
“Holiday Hitman,” by Stacy Woodson [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“Maggies,” by Nisi Shawl [Cynthia M. Ward Presents short story]
“A Small Room in Koboldtown,” by Michael Swanwick [Darrell Schweitizer Presents short story]
Tarnished Utopia, by v [novel]
“The Star Sneak,” by Larry Tritten [short story]

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #3