Julia Rios, writer, editor, narrator, podcaster. The OMG Julia Podcast explores creative lives and processes. Worlds of Possibility collects stories and poems by others.
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Julia's Work

Julia's Work
Some books in which work I have edited or written appears.

Writing

Editing

Worlds of Possibility

The August 2022 cover for Worlds of Possibility, featuring art by Julia Kim of a chunky orange cat riding a rocket powered bike. 

In the Worlds of Possibility project, Julia Rios buys original stories, poems, and art by other creators to display on this website. Paid subscribers directly sponsor these pieces with their subscription fees, and get early access to the works! The eventual goal is to publish an anthology of works originally published on Julia's site. Worlds of Possibility works leave us with a sense of hope, peace, or contentment.

Bridge to Elsewhere

Alana Joli Abbott and Julia Rios co-edited Bridge to Elsewhere, an anthology of stories set on the bridges of spaceships.

print copy and ebook cover of Bridge to Elsewhere

Contributors include: L.X. Beckett, John Chu, Rin Chupeco, Zig Zag Claybourne, C.S.E Cooney, E.R. Donaldson, R.S.A. Garcia, A.T. Greenblatt, Carlos Hernandez, SL Huang, Justin C. Key, Mari Kurisato, Malka Older, Anjali Patel, Alexandra Pitchford, Jennifer Lee Rossman, R J Theodore, Peter Tieryas, Valerie Valdes, & CG Volars.

If you like, you can read Julia's short explanation of all the stories.

Mermaids Monthly 2021

A monthly magazine all about mermaids! For all the issues in 2021, Julia Rios was the Editor, Meg Frank was the Art Director, Ashley Deng was the Assistant Editor, and Lis Hulin Wheeler was the Logistics Wizard. All issues from 2021 are free for everyone in web, PDF, and ebook formats. The PDFs are the prettiest because Meg designed the the magazine with those in mind. But also you can read them just on the web or you can download ebook versions, which won't have the same careful design as the PDFs, but will still be totally readable on your ereader of choice.

A collage of the January-June Mermaids Monthly covers, featuring art by Nilah Magruder, Aqua Moon, Nivedita Sekar, Dianita, Che Gilson, and Sara Eileen Hames
A collage of the July-December 2021 Mermaids Monthly covers, featuring artwork by Julia Jeffrey, Mariana Palova, Aylin Sophia, John Picacio, Sadagat Aliyeva, and Lauren Raye Snow

Cast of Wonders Banned Books Week Showcase 2019

Cast of Wonders Banned Books Week 2019 logo

Cast of Wonders is a YA speculative fiction podcast. Julia Rios was the guest editor for this showcase, and selected original and reprint flash fiction and short stories. They also hosted one of the three episodes, and narrated a story for another. More details on all the episodes, contributors hosts, and narrators in this post.

Fireside Magazine

Julia Rios was the Editor of Fireside from 2017 - 2019. The magazine was a finalist in the Best Semiprozine category of the Hugo Awards in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Julia was a finalist in the Best Editor Short Form category of the Hugo Awards in 2019. "STET" by Sarah Gailey was a finalist in the Best Short Story category of the Hugo Awards and the Locus Awards in 2019. "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by Phenderson Djèlí Clark was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award in 2019, as well as being a finalist in the Best Short Story category of the Hugo Awards, the Nebula Awards, and the Locus Awards. It won the Nebula Award and the Locus Award for Best Short Story that year.

Spider Road Press Spider's Web Flash Fiction Contest

Title card for The Book You Find When You Really Can't Afford to Get Pregnant by Jeana Jorgensen

In 2018, Julia Rios was the judge of the Spider's Web Flash Fiction contest for feminist flash pieces about women. Jeana Jorgensen's "The Book You Find When You Really Can't Afford to Get Pregnant" was the winner, and there were also a few honorable mentions. You can find all of them at the link above, including an audio version of the winning story, read by Julia.

Uncanny Magazine

Julia Rios was the Poetry and Reprints Editor at Uncanny Magazine from 2016-2017. The magazine won the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine in 2017 and 2018. "Seasons of Glass and Iron" by Amal El-Mohtar (originally published in The Starlit Wood, co-edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominik Parisien, and reprinted in Uncanny) was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award in Best Short Fiction, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award in 2017. It won the Locus, Hugo, and Nebula Awards for Best Short Story that year. "Rose Child" by Theodora Goss won the Rhysling Award for Best Long Poem in 2017.

Strange Horizons

Julia Rios was a Senior Fiction Editor at Strange Horizons from 2012-2015. The magazine was a finalist in the Best Semiprozine category of the Hugo Awards in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. "Selkie Stories Are For Losers" by Sofia Samatar was a finalist in the Best Short Fiction category of the World Fantasy Awards and the Best Short Story category of the Nebula Awards in 2014. "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind" by Sarah Pinsker won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award in 2014. "Good Hunting" by Ken Liu won the WSFA Small Press Award in 2013.

Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction

Julia Rios co-edited three wolumes of the Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction with Alisa Krasnostein for Twelfth Planet Press. The 2015 volume was the Aurealis Awards, best anthology, winner in 2016.

Kaleidoscope

Julia Rios co-edited this anthology of diverse YA science fiction and fantasy stories with Alisa Krasnostein for Twelfth Planet Press.

The cover for Kaleidoscope

Contributors include: Garth Nix, Sofia Samatar, William Alexander, Karen Healey, E.C. Myers, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Ken Liu, Vylar Kaftan, Sean Williams, Amal El-Mohtar, Jim C. Hines, Faith Mudge, John Chu, A A McNamara, Tim Susman, Gabriela Lee, Dirk Flinthart, Holly Kench, Sean Eads, and Shveta Thakrar

Awards and Honors for Kaleidoscope:

  • Aurealis Awards, best anthology, winner, 2014.
  • Ditmar Awards, Best Collected Work, winner, 2015.
  • Tiptree Award Honor List, 2014.
  • "The Truth About Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar: Locus Awards, Best Short Story, winner, 2015. Read Amal's acceptance speech!
  • "Vanilla" by Dirk Flinthart: Aurealis Awards, best young adult short story, winner, 2014.
  • "The Legend Trap" by Sean Williams: Ditmar Awards, Best Novella or Novelette, winner, 2015.

Narration