2024 Publications - Kelsea Yu

Since we’re halfway through December (somehow?) I thought I’d share my 2024 publications! As I was going through my site, checking which of these published this year, I was gobsmacked to realize I’ve published ten original pieces this year, had one story translated, and three more reprints produced as podcasts?? I’m really proud of these pieces! And, of course, I’d be really, really honored to have any of them considered for awards, but I’m also just excited to share.

Aside from my novel, if you want a copy of any piece, send me a message and I’ll send it your way! :)

As a reminder, you can always check my website for content warnings, links to read in all available formats, about the book/story, and short samples! For short stories, check here. For essays, check here. For books, go to the book’s page.

NOVEL

My debut novel came out this year!

It’s Only a Game

young adult thriller / horror novel

A gamer girl and her friends are blackmailed by a mysterious programmer into playing a dangerous video game with real life consequences—but the further into the game they get, the more she realizes the murderer knows too must about the past she ran from.

Published by: Bloomsbury

SHORT FICTION

I published five pieces of original fiction in 2024!

“Within the Pink Paisley Walls”

horror short story

A modern gothic story inspired by “The Yellow Wallpaper”—a lonely girl discovers an abandoned house with a presence claiming to be her dead mother.

PUBLISHED in: MOTHER KNOWS BEST (anthology, Black Spot Books)

“Carol of the Hells”

horror short story

A modern horror story inspired by “A Christmas Carol,” in which a woman who lost half her family in a house fire decades earlier has the chance to relive her worst moment and make a new choice.

Published in: The Darkest Night (anthology, Crooked Lane Books)

“Skittering Within”

literary / fantasy short story

A girl with eczema and a strange connection to the ocean begins to transform in strange ways.

Published in: Apparition Lit (magazine)

“Creature”

literary / horror short story

A woman suffers a miscarriage, but something escapes her body along with it.

PUBLISHED IN: Kaleidotrope (magazine)

“To Rise Again”

literary / fantasy flash fiction

Cozy apocalypse piece that won the February Apex Magazine flash fiction contest with the theme “falling skies.”

Published in: APEX (Magazine)

ESSAY

I published four original essays this year!

“All the Missing Mothers”

personal essay

A personal essay about fairytales in connection with maternal mortality.

PUBLISHED IN: Nightmare (magazine)

“Here in the After”

personal essay

A personal essay about miscarriage, ghosts, and anachronisms.

published in: Apparition Lit (magazine)

“Writing Chinese Food Into My Stories”

personal essay

A personal essay about writing Chinese food and restaurants into my stories.

published in: CrimeReads

“Kelsea Yu’s YA Thriller Recommendations”

essay + recommendations

Brief essay + recommendations for YA thrillers to read (9 recommended reads + 9 bonus recommended reads).

published in: Nerd Daily

TRANSLATION

Note: This is a translation of a previously published story and is not eligible for 2024 awards, but I wanted to share that it is newly available to read in German!

“A Scarcity of Sharks” (German translation reprint)

science fiction short story

In a future where (great) white sharks have not been seen for years, a team of scientists sets out to discover if they are truly lost.

published in: future fiction (magazine)

REPRINT

Note: These are reprints of previously published stories and are not eligible for 2024 awards, but I wanted to share that they are newly available to listen in podcast form!

“Obedient Son” (reprint)

historical horror short story

A 17th/18th century twisted Chinese folklore retelling.

published by: Tales to Terrify (podcast)

“China Doll” (reprint)

horror short story

A college girl begins dating a boy, but someone watches. (Themes of exoticism, transformation, and misogyny.)

published by: drabblecast (podcast)

“The Orchard of Tomorrow” (reprint)

science fiction short story

In a future ravaged by climate change, a woman tries to win back her former best friend by telling a tale of the Monkey King and the Peaches of Immortality.

Published by: Cool Zone Media Book Club (podcast)

2023 Awards Eligibility / 2023 Publications

Friends, I’m excited to share my first-ever awards eligibility post! I thought it would be fun to take a few minutes to share about all the pieces I published this year. I’d be honored if you’d consider reading any of these. :)

In general, horror stories and nonfiction are eligibile for Stoker Awards, while science fiction and fantasy stories are eligible for the Hugos, Nebulas, and Locus awards. Please see individual awards websites for specific rules.

My eligibility posts on social media:

INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

“Wanted: Bone-White Skull-Patterned Lace Trim” | PSEUDOPOD

HORROR, SHORT STORY (6.1K)

About the Story

A modern Gothic Rosemary's Baby if the coven were a wholesome sewing circle.

Content Warnings

pregnancy, miscarriage, verbal abuse (in backstory), dead mother (off-page)

*Also available through your favorite podcatcher! Look for the PseudoPod podcast!

“CHINA DOLL” | ASEPTIC AND FAINTLY SADISTIC

HORROR, SHORT STORY (3.1K)

About the Story

A college girl begins dating a boy, but someone watches. (Themes of exoticism, transformation, and misogyny.)

Content Warnings

racism (outright & implied), racist historical events (off-page), sexual content, dubious consent, degradation, rape (off-page & instances involving shades of questionable sexual interaction)

*If you would like a complimentary copy for possible awards consideration, feel free to email me at kelseayuauthor@gmail.com or DM me at @anovelescape on IG/Twitter!

“THE ORCHARD OF TOMORROW” | CLARKESWORLD

SCIENCE FICTION, SHORT STORY (5K)

About the Story

In a future ravaged by climate change, a woman tries to win back her former best friend by telling a tale of the Monkey King and the Peaches of Immortality.

Content Warnings

climate crisis, death including death of parents (off-page), fire (off-page), starvation, class discrimination

*Also available through your favorite podcatcher! Look for the Clarkesworld podcast!

“A SCARCITY OF SHARKS” | RECKONING

SCIENCE FICTION, SHORT STORY (4.3K)

About the Story

In a future where (great) white sharks have not been seen for years, a team of scientists sets out to discover if they are truly lost.

Content Warnings

climate crisis, animal death & trophy hunting (off-page), shark finning (off-page), animal injury, self sacrifice

“IN MEMORIES WE DROWN” | CLARKESWORLD

SCIENCE FANTASY, SHORT STORY (6.4K)

About the Story

In a climate-collapsed world, a marine botanist in an underwater lab discovers a plant that tastes of the home she's lost.

Content Warnings

climate collapse, loss, grief, depression

“THE GATEWAY BACK TO GOTHIC: 13 GOTHIC HORROR BOOKS BY BIPOC AUTHORS” | PSYCHOPOMP

personal essay, nonfiction (1.7K)

About the Essay

Personal essay about falling back in love with Gothic fiction, accompanied by BIPOC Gothic book recs.

“HUOGUO" | STONE SOUP

personal essay, nonfiction (1K)

About the Essay

Personal essay about my family's hot pot tradition.

I’ve been fortunate to find such incredible homes for my pieces this year! As always, links and more info (including previews!) are available for my short stories here and my essays here. Thank you to everyone who has read or shared my writing! And special thanks to those who have tagged or messaged me with kind words about them! You make this all worthwhile. <3

January 2023 Monthly Wrap-Up

Since I really enjoyed writing up my 2022 year-in-review, I thought it would be fun to start doing monthly posts along those lines! I also used to share a lot of book recommendations on my Instagram account, but I’ve had less time for lately, so this is also my way to get back to sharing books I loved. I’ll include them at the end of each post. :)

Kelsea’s writing desk with writer mug and celebratory carrot cake for her first sale of 2023 (“Huoguo” essay)!

ESSAYS GALORE!

2023 kicked off with a bang! On New Year Day, I received an acceptance from Sarah Gailey for my very first nonfiction piece: an essay on my family’s hot pot tradition and community care! We decided to slot it in to publish around Lunar New Year, so parts of the first week of January were spent compiling a hot pot recipe with my mom and working on edits for it. My mom painted a gorgeous piece to accompany it. “Huoguo” was published through The Personal Canons Cookbook on January 25, and it is available to read for free!

I took my mom’s painting on a walk around the area and snapped photos of it for Instagram, which was amusing!

And then…inspiration for another essay hit later this month when I saw the submission guidelines for Psychopomp. I typed up an essay in a frenzy (the same way I did for “Huoguo”), fixed it up over the next few days, and sent it in. The next day, I received an acceptance! “The Gateway Back to Gothic” will be published via the Psychopomp newsletter in late February/early March, then posted on their website at a later date!

Painting by Pearl Yu depicting Hot Pot meal: burner with soup in the center and platters of ingredients surrounding, with a hand holding chopsticks over the pot of soup.

Huoguo Painting by Pearl Yu

Cover of Reckoning 7: creative writing on environmental justice. Pastel sherbert gradient colors with an illustration of a wave and sailboat.

Cover of Reckoning, Issue 7

SHORT STORIES!

My first sci-fi / cli-fi story, “A Scarcity of Sharks,” was published in Reckoning 7, released via ebook early this month! It will be available in print form in July (preorder here) and free to read online in September.

The origin story: a few years ago, I was working on a horror novel. As part of the research for it, I read 23 nonfiction books on sharks, diving, oceans, and marine biology. Though I decided to set aside the novel (and hopefully return to it in the future!), all this info was sitting in my head…along with a torrent of emotions that came from reading about what we’re doing to our oceans. From there, this story was born. I ended up pouring a lot of that knowledge and those feelings into “A Scarcity of Sharks,” and I’m really proud of it. I’m so glad it found a wonderful home!

Early in the month, I revised another cli-fi piece I had written in late December, then submitted it to a dream venue. Fingers crossed!

I also started a new coastal horror story I’m really excited about. It’s threatening to be a longer piece (as often happens with my short stories), but I’m trying to keep it reigned in as a short story, for now!

NOVEL REVISIONS!

Aside from the above, my writing time this month was spent working on revisions for It’s Only a Game! I reread and reverse-outlined my manuscript, sent it to my editor for notes, and then started drafting the scenes we’re adding to the book. I’m really excited about all the changes we’re making. I was already proud of the story, and I think Camille’s vision is going to make it even stronger!

I also got info about my cover memo and author questionnaire, which is exciting. And I started looking into photographers for my official author photos!

Mood board for IT'S ONLY A GAME, featuring blue-toned images with pops of red. Includes a variety of video game and thriller-related imagery.

Aesthetic for IT’S ONLY A GAME

Cover for Space & Time Magazine, issue 142, Fall/Winter 2022. Cover image is green-toned and depicts a human or humanoid with a birdlike face/mask surrounded by trees, symbols, and a cavelike passageway.

Cover of Space & Time, Issue 142

OTHER BITS AND BOBS!

A few other random bits: I met up with Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito, which was really fun! Frances gave me a copy of Space & Time Issue 142, where she’d interviewed me for a six-pack author feature.

January was also a bit of a wild month for reading submissions, since three venues I’m reading for were open! I read lots of great stories and am excited to see the final line-up for each magazine/anthology.

One thing I’m proud of is that I worked toward a big 2023 goals of mine: to support fellow BIPOC writers in various ways. I reviewed some BIPOC-authored books I loved, critiqued several queries for BIPOC writers, and shared BIPOC-authored book recommendations (both on social media & in my forthcoming gothic essay).

January was busy, but it was exciting busy! We ended the month with a huoguo dinner and cake, an early celebration of my baby’s first birthday. :)

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Published “A Scarcity of Sharks” (ebook)!! | cli-fi story published in Reckoning ebook (print: July | free online: Sep)

  • Sold & Published “Huǒguō”! | essay published in The Personal Canons Cookbook

  • Sold “The Gateway Back to Gothic”! | essay + book recommendations to be published by Psychopomp

  • Wrote | revised cli-fi story | began revisions for It’s Only a Game | co-wrote & revised hot pot recipe with my mom | revised “Huoguo” essay | started new coastal horror story | wrote “The Gateway Back to Gothic” essay

  • Interviewed | Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito interviewed me in Space & Time Issue 142

  • Blurbed | 2 books: Linghun by Ai Jiang & The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp

  • Critiqued for friends | 1 short story, 6 query letters, 4 various other

  • Read 53 submissions | combined for Dark Matter Presents: Monster Lairs, Dark Matter Magazine, khōréō magazine

  • Reviewed 23 books | Netgalley, Goodreads, etc.

JANUARY RECOMMENDED READS

This month, I read 13 books! Here were a few of my favorites:

Collage of cover images. Top row: Disability Visibility, Linghun, Wasps in the Ice Cream, Song of Silver Flame Like Night. Bottom row: She is a Haunting, Unquiet Spirits, The Merry Dredgers, Hell Bent.

  • Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong | a heartfelt and thought-provoking collection of essays by a wide range of disabled authors that covers a vast range of topics and experiences

  • Linghun by Ai Jiang | a haunting horror novella about grief and so much more that will linger with readers for years to come

  • Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor | a nostalgic, coming-of-age horror novel that’s impossible to put down and boasts an unforgettable cast

  • Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao | a stunning epic fantasy novel that both broke my heart and pieced it back together again

  • She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran | a fast-paced, creepy and thoughtful YA horror novel that explores family and identity in a haunted house in Vietnam

  • Unquiet Spirits edited by Lee Murray & Angela Yuriko Smith | a beautiful, brilliant collection of essays by Asian women in horror that tore my soul apart in the best way

  • The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp | a trippy horror novella with a mashup of cults and carnivals that was wildly fun and impossible to put down

  • Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo | the sequel to Ninth House that absolutely delivered with more delightfully dangerous dark academia