Short Fiction — Isabel Cañas

Short Fiction & Poetry

Untitled Story in Ghosts of Where We Are From (Primero Sueño Press, Atria/S&S), edited by Cynthia Pelayo, forthcoming 2026.

“Eva and the Devil,” in the anthology Monsters in Masquerade (OwlCrate Press).

“skeletal arms will sprout,” in Small Wonders (Issue 23).

“Babywings,” in Lightspeed Magazine (Issue 174).

“NotRob,” in Nightmare Magazine (Issue 145).

“Three Things That Happen The Night My Dad Dies,” in The Deadlands Magazine (Issue 35).

“Reasons for a Disappearance” in hex (September 2023).

Selected to appear in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Vol. 5, edited by Paula Guran.
“…a strangely beautiful and poignant tale.” —Locus Magazine
“A surreal and eerie story… heartbreakingly beautiful.” Maria Haskins, “My Weekly 5 — November 12, 2023”

“Six Goats” in Fireside Magazine (August 2022).

“Cañas doesn’t shy away from the violence and chaos of colonization or revolution, but also centers the power of memory and storytelling in the face of historical erasure and genocide.” Locus Magazine

“The Rustle of Growing Things” in Lightspeed Magazine (July 2022).

“There Are No Monsters On Rancho Buenavista” in Nightmare Magazine (June 2022).

Appears in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2023, guest edited by R.F. Kuang and edited by John Joseph Adams (available now!).
“A deliciously wicked flash fiction story... Cañas tells the story with such panache and with such a biting sense of dark humour that it had me charmed from the first sentence to the last.” Maria Haskins, My Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Short Fiction Roundup for June 2022
“... a visceral flash horror story [...] In under a thousand words, Cañas crafts a brilliant story inspired by a folk tale of Mexico.” Lyndsie Manusos, BookRiot
“Isabel Cañas’s new story is delightfully eerie, the kind that sends a shudder down your spine and gives you goosebumps.” Alex Brown, Tor.com

“The Law of Take” in GigaNotoSaurus (March 2022).

“The law of take, though, isn’t something that can be followed halfway, and the story does a great job of following Vis through the ambition, drama, and action that follows in the wake of not conceding the things that matter most [...] a rollercoaster ride of a tale that does not disappoint.” Locus Magazine

“The Kingdom of the Butterflies” in The Deadlands (reprint; September 2021).

“My Sister is a Scorpion” in Lightspeed Magazine #135 (August 2021).

“A Land of Saints and Monsters” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies #334 (July 2021).

“A moving and wonderfully built story, with a balanced, messy, and powerful ending.” Charles Peyseur, Quick Sip - BCS #334.

“Silver as the Devil’s Necklace” in PseudoPod (September 2020).

Also available as a podcast narrated by Sandra Espinoza.
“I love the rich, sumptuous prose of this story and I love the fierce desperation and urgency of Ruth’s quest.” Maria Haskins, My Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Short Fiction Roundup - September 2020.

“The Weight of a Thousand Needles” in Lightspeed Magazine #109 (June 2019).

Also available as a podcast narrated by Roxanne Hernandez.
Interview: “Author Spotlight: Isabel Cañas,” by Jude Griffin.
“Like the stories that Soraya tells to Parviz, this story carries with it its own magic and, more importantly, the ability to relieve some of the pain that exists in the world.” Charles Payseur, Quick Sip - Lightspeed #109.

“No Other Life” in Nightmare Magazine #82 (July 2019).

Also available as a podcast narrated by Roxanne Hernandez.
Interview: Author Spotlight: Isabel Cañas, by Xander Odell.
“As much as I was hooked by the plot, it was Isabel Cañas’ descriptions that landed this story a spot on this list. Her text is as rich and thick as a tapestry [...] Someone get her a book deal ASAP.” Alex Brown, Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction: July 2019 (Tor.com)
“Every sentence here has a flow to it, like a song, like a voice, and it is absolutely mesmerizing. Read it for the horror, read it for the enchanting descriptions of a time and a city long gone, and read it for the sheer beauty of the language.” Maria Haskins, 8 Extraordinary Stories I Read in July.

“The Kingdom of the Butterflies” in Luna Station Quarterly Issue 040: Potions & Poisons (December 2019).

“At the Frayed Edges of the Night” in Frozen Wavelets Issue 1 (December 2019)