Sam J. Miller

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About Sam J. Miller
Sam J. Miller is the Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving (an NPR best of the year) and Blackfish City (a “Must Read” in Entertainment Weekly and O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine). Sam’s short stories have been nominated for the World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, and Locus Awards, and reprinted in dozens of anthologies. He is the last in a long line of butchers, and he has also been a film critic, a grocery bagger, a community organizer, a secretary, a painter's assistant and model, and the guitarist in a punk rock band. He lives in New York City, and at samjmiller.com.
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Blog postWay back in 2014, I won the Shirley Jackson Award for my short story “57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides.” A weird gay story from an unknown author – it had been my first pro story sale!
It was one of my proudest moments. And it wouldn’t have been possible without this awesome independent award, where the passions and perspectives of a handful of individual jurors could spotlight the oddball stuff that would be missed by the bigger awards, with their inevitable bias toward estab6 days ago Read more -
Blog postMy first novella drops July 13 from Rebellion/Solaris’s Satellites line!! KID WOLF & KRAKEN BOY is the story of forbidden love between a Jewish boxer & his tattoo artist in 1920s NYC. Also there’s a bad-ass crime empress. And tattoos give magic powers.
The full flap copy:
“Kid” Wolffe is an up-and-coming boxer in 1920s New York. An honest fighter’s got little chance at success on the mob-controlled circuit—until ambitious lieutenant “Hinky” Friedman starts making moves3 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postI wrote THE BLADE BETWEEN to help process all my messy, complex feelings about the transformation of my home town of Hudson, NY. And I was excited (and scared) to engage in dialogue with other folks who call it home – the ones who go back generations as well as the new arrivals.
But because the book dropped in December of 2020, pandemic restrictions meant public events were impossible.
So I am super happy to share details on an AN ACTUAL IRL reading and Q&A I’m giving on M2 months ago Read more -
Blog postBeyond insanely proud and happy and humbled that I’m on the ballot for the 57th annual Nebula Awards!!
“Let All the Children Boogie” took a long time to gestate and finalize and find its way into the world, and it’s such a tingly privilege to receive this kind of recognition for my gnarled messy story of queer teen love and the transformative power of music – and Iggy Pop and David Bowie – and the very 90’s feeling of falling in love with a song you heard on the late-night radio and2 months ago Read more -
Blog postTor.com just announced the Table of Contents to its annual “Best of” anthology, for the short fiction it published in 2021, and my story “Let All the Children Boogie” is included!
It’s about a bunch of my usual obsessions – queer teenage love and mysterious late night radio broadcasts and maybe time-traveling super-intelligences? But mostly it’s about David Bowie, and Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger,” and the lonesome magic way music can break you out of the bubble of your body.
The5 months ago Read more -
Blog postMy short story collection BOYS, BEASTS, & MEN will be published by Tachyon in May of 2022 – and now it has a cover!! The gorgeously creepy artwork is by Jennifer O’Toole, and perfectly matches the vibe of the stories.
You’ll also notice that the book features an introduction by the incredible Amal El-Mohtar, one of my absolute faves. I am so honored and grateful!
And it’s available for pre-order now!
7 months ago Read more -
Blog postI’ve been submitting to the Southwest Review since 2009, and now I am proud to say that my short story “Feral Arcade Children of the American Northeast” will appear in this year’s Halloween edition!
This annual edition is always such a highlight – last year’s, edited by the incredible Gabino Iglesias, was brilliant – so it’s such an honor to be in the mix on this.
The story was workshopped at Sycamore Hill in 2018, where it benefited hugely from the wise critiques of Nathan Ba9 months ago Read more -
Blog postHere’s some delightful insanity: almost eight months after publication, THE BLADE BETWEEN is a bestseller, according to Library Journal.
In fact, it’s #2 on the Bestseller List in the Horror category, ahead of some of my very favorite recent scary books (and Shirley Jackson, wtf), including the amazing anthology Tiny Nightmares, which has a story of mine!
My shock is not false modesty. It’s unusual for a book to hit the lists so long after publication without some big visible10 months ago Read more -
Blog postI was crazy honored to speak with two of my favorite writers, Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, on their magnificent podcast “Our Opinions are Correct.” Which, if you’re not subscribed to, correct that mistake immediately!
Episode 84, “The Eldritch Horror of Gentrification,” is out now. An incredible opportunity to talk with two brilliant minds about an issue that obsesses me, and is at the heart of my new horror novel.
“Recently there’s been a rise in horror stories tha11 months ago Read more -
Blog postI am super honored to have been part of the BBC4 radio documentary “Daughters of the North,” which looks at the North Pole through the lens of colonialism, imperialism, romanticization & empowerment.
I discuss my novel BLACKFISH CITY, which is set in the Arctic, as well as the power of storytelling to help us rethink our relationship to the world and shift the boundaries of what’s possible.
Also… I might be *slightly* losing my mind because I am a huge huge fan of the Inuk1 year ago Read more -
Blog postThe new issue of Apex Magazine is out, and I am excited to reveal that it contains my new short story “A Love That Burns Hot Enough to Last: Deleted Scenes from a Documentary.”
As the title may tip you off, this piece is inspired by Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” – my favorite song of all time.
It’s also about the eerie supernatural connection between musician and listener. There’s a lot of give in that bond, but a lot of take, too. What might a rock star sin1 year ago Read more -
Blog postI am insanely proud to have written the cover story for the January 2021 issue (“the Animal Issue”) of Vogue Italia. It launches a partnership between the magazine and WWF Italia, “with the aim of spreading greater awareness on the conservation of nature, habitats and endangered species through the print and digital channels of Vogue Italia.”
And it features seven collectible covers, all centering animals:
“This year we wanted animals to take over our physical a1 year ago Read more -
Blog postThis crazy-good review has got me completely verklempt. I could totally just quote the whole thing here because there’s so much awesome stuff about this crazy haunted mess of a book, but I’ll keep it brief and encourage you to go read the whole thing!!
“The Blade Between is a book about broken people. The creepy atmosphere and ghosts make it horror, but the drug abuse, evictions, cheating, and destroyed lives make it noir. Also, Miller’s writing and vivid imagery, especially when1 year ago Read more -
Blog postOn Tuesday, December 1st, my fourth novel THE BLADE BETWEEN was released.
It’s a twisted little horror thriller about gentrification, ghosts, hate, homophobia, and the complex meaning of home. Plus whales!
One reviewer even called it “James Baldwin meets Stephen King,” and honestly it’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever gotten.
Launching a book under lockdown, in a wild and weird horror movie of a year like 2020, feels… wrong? Bizarre? But I’m excited to be telling to1 year ago Read more -
Blog postI am super proud and profoundly humbled to have served as the judge for the 2020 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards.
And after many months of reading incredible books and agonizing over the decision I had to make, I am delighted to join the Institute staff in congratulating the winners!
Debut Novel Category:
Cadwell Turnbull, The Lesson (Blackstone Publishing, 2019)
Open Category:
Ted Chiang, Exhalation (Knopf, 2019)
I am so gra2 years ago Read more
Titles By Sam J. Miller
“One of the most intriguing future cities in years.” —Charlie Jane Anders
“Simmers with menace and heartache, suspense and wonder.” —Ann Leckie
A Best Book of the Month in
Entertainment Weekly
The Washington Post
Tor.com
B&N Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog
Amazon
After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.
When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.
Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.
Winner of the 2017 Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book!
“Funny, haunting, beautiful, relentless, and powerful, The Art of Starving is a classic in the making.”—Book Riot
Matt hasn’t eaten in days. His stomach stabs and twists inside, pleading for a meal, but Matt won’t give in. The hunger clears his mind, keeps him sharp—and he needs to be as sharp as possible if he’s going to find out just how Tariq and his band of high school bullies drove his sister, Maya, away.
Matt’s hardworking mom keeps the kitchen crammed with food, but Matt can resist the siren call of casseroles and cookies because he has discovered something: the less he eats the more he seems to have . . . powers. The ability to see things he shouldn’t be able to see. The knack of tuning in to thoughts right out of people’s heads. Maybe even the authority to bend time and space.
So what is lunch, really, compared to the secrets of the universe?
Matt decides to infiltrate Tariq’s life, then use his powers to uncover what happened to Maya. All he needs to do is keep the hunger and longing at bay. No problem. But Matt doesn’t realize there are many kinds of hunger…and he isn’t in control of all of them.
A darkly funny, moving story of body image, addiction, friendship, and love, Sam J. Miller’s debut novel will resonate with any reader who’s ever craved the power that comes with self-acceptance.
“Miller’s sheer talent shines through in abundance . . . Boys, Beasts & Men is an outrageous journey which skillfully blends genres and will haunt you with its original, poetic voices as much as its victims, villains, and treasure trove of leading actors.”
—Grimdark Magazine
Despite his ability to control the ambient digital cloud, a foster teen falls for a clever con-man. Luring bullies to a quarry, a boy takes clearly enumerated revenge through unnatural powers of suggestion. In the aftermath of a shapeshifting alien invasion, a survivor fears that he brought something out of the Arctic to infect the rest of the world. A rebellious group of queer artists create a new identity that transcends even the anonymity of death.
Sam J. Miller (Blackfish City, The Art of Starving) shows his savage wit, unrelenting candor, and lush imagery in this essential career retrospective collection, taking his place alongside legends of the short-fiction form such as Carmen Maria Machado, Carson McCullers, and Jeff VanderMeer.
A Library Journal Horror Best Seller
From Nebula Award winner Sam J. Miller comes a frightening and uncanny ghost story about a rapidly changing city in upstate New York and the mysterious forces that threaten it.
Ronan Szepessy promised himself he’d never return to Hudson. The sleepy upstate town was no place for a restless gay photographer. But his father is ill and New York City’s distractions have become too much for him. He hopes that a quick visit will help him recharge.
Ronan reconnects with two friends from high school: Dom, his first love, and Dom’s wife, Attalah. The three former misfits mourn what their town has become—overrun by gentrifiers and corporate interests. With friends and neighbors getting evicted en masse and a mayoral election coming up, Ronan and Attalah craft a plan to rattle the newcomers and expose their true motives. But in doing so, they unleash something far more mysterious and uncontainable.
Hudson has a rich, proud history and, it turns out, the real-state developers aren’t the only forces threatening its well-being: the spirits undergirding this once-thriving industrial town are enraged. Ronan’s hijinks have overlapped with a bubbling up of hate and violence among friends and neighbors, and everything is spiraling out of control. Ronan must summon the very best of himself to shed his own demons and save the city he once loathed.
From the Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving comes Sam J. Miller's sci-fi time traveling tale, "Let All the Chlidren Boogie," a Tor.com Original
As the Cold War stalls and the threat of nuclear warfare dominates the news, small-town misfits Laurie and Fell bond over a shared love of music and the mystery of the erratic radio messages that hint at the existence of a future worth reaching out for.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A crucial, genre-bending tale, equal parts Ned Vizzini and Patrick Ness, about the life-saving power of friendship.
Solomon and Ash both experienced a traumatic event when they were twelve.
Ash lost all memory of that event when she fell from Solomon’s treehouse. Since then, Solomon has retreated further and further into a world he seems to have created in his own mind. One that insulates him from reality, but crawls with foes and monsters . . . in both animal and human form.
As Solomon slips further into the place he calls Darkside, Ash realizes her only chance to free her best friend from his pain is to recall exactly what happened that day in his backyard and face the truth—together.
Fearless and profound, Sam J. Miller’s follow up to his award-winning debut novel, The Art of Starving, spins an intimate and impactful tale that will linger with readers.