Improbable Press Blog

By Marlaina Cockcroft My short story, “Leviathan,” is one of those featured in the Improbable Press anthology Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging (Volume Silver). Since the anthology is all about cryptids, I was delighted to be able to do a library presentation about cryptids! Based on that fun experience, I learned some tips for future library presentations: Bring a water bottle, so you don’t spend the entire talk worrying that your voice is going to die on you. Remember that everyone knows what the Loch Ness Monster and mermaids are, but not everyone knows the word cryptid. You might need to correct...

We're excited to announce today that Sebastian Jack is the newest author signing with Improbable Press. Sebastian joins improbable with his near-future novel Electric Blue, releasing in 2023. Set in New York City in a time where you, me, just about anyone rich enough can buy new limbs (stronger, longer, prettier!) and bespoke organs (wouldn't you love bigger eyes?), fashioning themselves into gods. Sebastian is "an Italian- and Japanese-American family, which means he can’t do math and doesn’t like tomatoes." Sebastian is "a bilateral above-knee amputee and full-time wheelchair user – something he frequently misattributes to 'extreme body modification' in...

By Kaitee Yaeko Tredway It still feels surreal to see my name in a book, the title of my story in a Table of Contents. Feels surreal to know that friends and strangers alike have read my words. Feels surreal that this little exploration of identity and self-othering wrapped up in the tale of a little cryptid girl wanting to play in the weekly pickup game has a spot within an entire collection of stories, that it helps to paint the picture of “joyfully emerging.” Last week, in a conversation with some dear friends, I realized just how much the...

I'm not the only one who's missed these weekly prompts, so for those who've asked about them and for me, they're back! If you want a poke, a wee gentle poke, a soft poke, a pokey-poke to inspire you to pen a few words each week, consider this that. Look at the image, the words, both or neither, and write something. It may have everything to do with the prompt we've provided or nothing, it doesn't matter so long as you write. Put what you write in the comments below, because then it's out there and we can all see...

By Kaitee Yaeko Tredway Seeing Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov in the Netflix adaptation of Shadow & Bone was hugely important to me. I had never seen a biracial (and Asian!) main character in mainstream fantasy before. In the wake of the show, there was a lot of backlash against the microaggressions Alina experiences and the level of racism portrayed, especially among the bookstagram community. This essay was born from my need to say something, to advocate for this kind of representation. When the teaser for S&B dropped and I saw Jessie Mei Li for the first time, all...