Don’t call it a comeback.
2026 has started off very well in my writing life. While my output of new work has slowed, I did finish a story in February and I am gearing up to work on something longer in the next few weeks. But publications are going great, with three stories already out in this fresh new year.
Let’s start with the first issue of NAT20 magazine, a new and unique concept that pairs playable games and short stories based on those games in the same space. I was approached by the editors of this magazine, both of whom had I worked with before (at Space & Time Magazine and the Cozy Cosmic series from Underland) and they asked if I would be interested in writing a story based on a space-based rpg called Behemoth. You know I said yes immediatly. They sent me a copy of the game and I had to buy dice to play it properly. When I did, I found a riveting game that kept punishing me and I kept dying, which inspired my story: “I Will Follow You into the Dark” which shares a title and theme with a classic song from Death Cab for Cutie. I’m still waiting to see the magazine, but based on images and videos I’ve seen so far, it looks amazing. Check out this brilliant cover below and I’ll put an order link if you want to join us on this amazing aventure.
Next up in February saw the release of ANIMAL NOIR, a wonderful anthology that started with a joke about killer geese on a Discord server and turned into a book of anthropohic noir\crime stories. Back on the Discord, it was all puns and fun until someone said, “this could be a book!” and we all took it from there. Two editors came up with a concept and a list of potential animals. One of the editors, Mark from Underland, dropped out due to his busy schedule so Elizabeth Mitchell, who runs Little Key Press, decided to spearhead the project and she has done an AMAZING job. She wrangled a bunch of scattered writers to get our proveribal shit together, write some stories, and she got the book out in record time. I’ve been in anthologies that seem like they take years from concept, to execution, to a real book but this one went super fast. I have the book (in both digital and print) and I’ve been reading and loving the contributions from my fellow writers. Check out this book, you won’t be disappointed.
And, finally, a reprint came out today. This story, “It Only Rains at Night” was originally published at a very small blogspot magazine in 2019. It was featured in my book, but never got a full rollout like this. I’m very happy. I love this piece. It was an intentional attempt to blend genres, to take the classic Haunted House trope and put a science fiction twist on it. I hope it finds a much bigger audience.
I’ll share more news when I have it. I know the world is literally on fire right now and it weighs heavy on me, but we need art, writing, music, film, all of those beatiful distractions in times like this more than ever.
Stay classy, San Diego.
Elad
Elad Haber 
Leave a comment