CURRENT ISSUE
JUNE 2025
FAlSE EQUIVALENCIES
By Evangeline Giaconia
Cover Art by Michelle St. James
Synth’s bad knee circuitry pulsed. It was raining on zir quadrant on Metztli, the moon’s surface pelted with thick, dark precipitation that would stain the streets for days. Synth peeked out zir window, wincing as zir eye socket crackled, orange starburst hallucinations fuzzing across zir vision.
It was going to be a bad day.
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Synth stumbled around zir little house, getting tripped up as zir ankle followed zir knee, pulsing and sparking from the humidity. Ze had to wrestle zir feet into workboots as zir toes twitched involuntarily.
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A pointed note had been left on the front door. “STAY HOME PLEASE.”
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Pointedly ignoring it, Synth extended an umbrella, looked out onto the streets with a dire expression, and then forced zirself forward, one jumping leg at a time, boots splatting down into the dense puddles. This area of Metzli was a remote corner of a remote city: it was mostly industrial buildings and defunct factories. Zir work was sustained by mail-in orders.
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By the time ze made it to the shop, zir hands were losing function, finger joints twitching sporadically. A pulsing electric headache shot from one temple to the other, and ze stumbled through the door with a gasp of relief.
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“Synth!” came the immediate, outraged shout. “I told you to stay home!”
FICTION
POETRY
False Equivalencies
by Evangeline Giaconia
Gravitational Tug
by Anne Wilkins
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Skinny Legs
by Pauline Barmby
ESSAYS & INTERVIEWS
Interview with Bogi Takács
John Keats 2.0
by West Ambrose
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The Wards of the Afterlife
by Richard Magahiz
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​Adjustments and Loss
by Mari Ness
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Autist Overstimulated by Raucus Small Talk Self-Soothes
by KVK Kvas
THE VAULT
FROM THE EDITOR
All Cats are Gray
by Andrew North (Andre Norton)
Letter from the Editor
by Lynne Sargent
5TH ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY
Utopia is not the end of progress, but the first step on an even bigger journey. Dare to leap into a world where hope defines us.
Utopia Science Fiction Magazine’s mission is to publish stories that shine with a more optimistic future, one we all want to believe in. This anthology collects some of the best stories published from 2019-2023.
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Included in this special five year anthology are exclusive interviews with staff and volunteers, introductions to the stories and poems by the authors themselves, and interviews with amazing talent such as James Gurney and Joe Haldeman. This book also includes gorgeous new artwork commissioned especially for this anthology.
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Authors Included: Krysten Lipp * Jessica Andrewartha * Penny Sebring Leigh * Kara Race-Moore * Dawn Vogel * Gabrielle Bleu * Adam Slavny * Loren Hall * Gwen C. Katz * Patrice Sarath * Raima Larter * Calie Voorhis * Alex Singer * Karl El-Koura * Timothy Hickson * Mahmud El Sayed * Andrew Najberg * Clare L. Deming * Nadine Aurora Tabing * Kelly Kurtzhals Geiger * Sterling Warner * LindaAnn LoSchiavo * Louis Gallo * Carmen Lucía Alvarado * Christopher Collingwood * Lisa Timpf * Elizabeth R. McClellan * Lynn White * Avra Margariti * Colleen Anderson * Lorraine Schein * Kim Whysall-Hammond * Eva Papasoulioti * Januário Esteves * Lauren McBride * Brian Hugenbuch * Jordan Hirsch * Beth Cato and Rhonda Parrish
