ISBN (for anthologies, collections, or other works published in print volumes)

Length (pages/wordcount standardized to 300w/p for online/digital resources)

Difficulty (machine generated or publisher provided)

Reading Time (estimated minutes)

Publication Year (book OR story)

Short: 20p (6k words approx.)

Teen/student, Syrian, gamer, mythical creature

War, coming of age, protection, manhood/adulthood/maturity, heroism, power/security/shelter, metaphorical/magical adolescence, legends and myths reimagined, Gilgamesh

war, bombs and gunfire, death and dying (nongraphic/implied)

2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards Shortlisted, 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award for G7-8 Nominee

Teacher's Guide/Discussion Questions

ON, Kashmiri-Canadian

Short: 22 p (7k words approx.)

13-year-olds, South & East Asian (India, China), orphans

Genie/wishes, orphans/foster kids, hockey/Toronto Maple Leafs, bullying, found family

2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards Shortlisted, 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award for G7-8 Nominee

Teacher's Guide/Discussion Questions

BC/Prince George, French Canadian/Quebecois, homesteader

Edge-of-your-seat, Stranger Things but Northern BC

Short: 15p (6k words)

Grade 10 boy from Prince George, ethnically diverse teens

new kid in town, single parent household, resource extraction, attraction/crush/romance, witches (eating children), homeschooling/child abuse, missing pets, urban/wild interface, kidnapping/petnapping,

missing pets, child neglect/abuse, child murder/cannibalism (witch)

Suggested extension activities: research a local historical place or notable event and add monsters/magic. Learn: the true story of Kitsault, research resource extraction, company towns, costs/benefits of resource economy. Comparative reading: Hansel & Gretel (for a discussion of witches eating children and fairytale logic)

Gross! Also smart, sensory-rich, subversive, sly

Short: 7p/2k words

Grade 5: Flesch Reading Ease 80.4, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 4.6, Coleman-Liau 7.2, Automated Readability Index 4.5

Hungry Shadow Press

body horror, deal with a devil, humour, writer jokes

body horror/bodily fluids/gross-out humour

Suggested extension activities: multisensory descriptive writing "Monster's Feast" or perspective (horror/humour/emotion) writing exercise "Twist & Turn"

Short: 10p/3k words

Grade 7: Flesch Reading Ease 73.4, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 6.3, Coleman-Liau 8.0, Automated Readability Index 6.1

Fantasy Magazine, reprint: Pulphouse Fiction Magazine

BC: Metro Vancouver (not specified)

ecopunk, body horror, housing shortage, greenwashing, rom-com, sustainability, composting

body horror/bodily fluids/gross-out humour

2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize longlist, 2022 Writers of the Future Awards honourable mention

Suggested extension activities: take three memories from different times/places in your life and create a narrative that ties them together/Un-Reality Worksheet

BC/Tsawwassen, from SK, Little Pine FN Cree, nonbinary

Satisfying—anticolonial ecopunk

Short: 16p (7k words)

BC: Future Vancouver decolonial postapoc/climate apocalypse, Stanley Park, Deadman's Island

Indigenous descendent, young adult girl, working age?

SciFi, Indigenous Futurism, decolonization, ecocities, ecological restoration, ecological reclamation, eco-apocalypse, solarpunk, future Vancouver, ?Elhdaqox River, Xwayxway, skwtsa7s, postcapitalism, rewilding, soil seeding, ghosts of the past, colonial/settler history, ecological destruction/extractive capitalism, clearcutting, Ludgate, history of Stanley Park, smallpox epidemic, transformation stories, Indigenous history and folklore

colonialism, extractive capitalism, captive labour, racism, sexism, pandemic, death

9780993937590 (Canada's Best reprint), 9781957849218 (Dread Machine reprint)

Short: 12p/4k words

Grade 5: Flesch Reading Ease 85.0, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 4.4, Coleman-Liau 6.3, Automated Readability Index 4.4

Chinese immigrant, factory worker, woman

Identity, bilingualism/foreign languages, capitalism, housing shortage, immigration, class struggle, justice system, arts and culture, structurally innovative

bullying, colonialism, extractive capitalism, sexism, racism

Suggested extension activities: blackout narrative/poetry, use (e.g. Morse, or create) a code & use it in a story

Novelette: 29p (9k words, approx.)

Canada, urban & small town

Asian siblings + friend, tween or teen

analog tech, retro tech, photography, immigrants and settlers, greed and capitalism

2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards Shortlisted, 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award for G7-8 Nominee

Teacher's Guide/Discussion Questions

9780063113220, 9780063315785 reprint Best American, 9781738187515 reprint Best Canadian

Novelette 25p/8k words

/ (fantasy/historical, Medieval?)

gaslighting, narcissism, lies and manipulation, toxic masculinity, perspective and reality, fairytale and folklore, witches, sapphic/lesbian/LBTQ/queer, repentance and reconciliation, change and transformation

gaslighting, emotional abuse, narcissism, pain/torture

MB, Vietnamese-Canadian, Winnipeg

Short: 10p (4k words)

Vietnamese international student (college age)

anti-Asian racism & violence, fear/power, agency, international students, responsibility and duty, romance, reclaiming power, cryptids/monsters, Vietnamese folklore & myth

anti-Asian racism, violence, ethnic slurs, profanity, heart attack, monster attack, death

Podcast: Part 1 / Part 2

9781250348425, 9781738187515 reprint

Novelette: 32p (10k words approx.)

Grade 6: Flesch Reading Ease 79.2, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 5.9, Coleman-Liau 6.9, Automated Readability Index 5.8

Tor/Reactor (Macmillan), Reprint: Ansible Press

/ (near-future Mississippi, flood)

Canadian disaster recovery/aid workers stationed in Toronto: white woman from Calgary, Cree woman from Saskatchewan

radicalization, politics, disaster relief/recovery/aid, emergency response, flooding, MAGA, poverty, hate, xenophobia, near future SF, climate apocalypse, extractive/end-stage capitalism, bankruptcy, QAnon, climate denial, gallows humour, election interference, neutrality, political organizing, campaign rally, doxxing, US/Canada relations/tension, hopepunk/solarpunk Canada

sick/injured/dead, natural disaster/flooding, MAGA/hate/white supremacy, (legal) alcohol, profanity

Joseph Andre Thomas

Alarming—classic horror

Short: 12p (5k words)

working adult (Costco manager), male

housing/rental crisis, roommates, history of Metro Vancouver, fire/arson, racism, extractive capitalism, haunting/ghosts, cryptid/monster, infant death/maternal grief, la llorona?

blood/bleeding, profanity, substance use, house fire, infant death (nongraphic), monster horror

Audio licensed; not yet available

Short: 12p/4k words

Grade 3*: Flesch Reading Ease 92.5, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 3.2, Coleman-Liau 4.3, Automated Readability Index 2.6 (*see content warnings)

Mysterion, reprint: Ansible Press

various, incl. young adult/college age, adoptee, blue collar/trades, elderly immigrant

toxic drug crisis/fentanyl, Vancouver, BC, Canada, speculative, ghosts, religion/Catholicism, afterlife, working class, adoption, parental abandonment

death & near-death experiences, substance use (toxic drug crisis/fentanyl, alcohol), child abuse (non-sexual, non-graphic), child abandonment, sacrilege (religious/Catholic), profanity (considerable), existential angst

2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize longlist, 2023 Writers of the Future Awards semi-finalist, Year's Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three (Ansible Press, 2025)

Mahtab Narsimhan

Novelette: 25p (7.5k words approx.)

/ (Enewetak Atoll/Runit Island)

Teens/students, South Asian/Indian, siblings

Plant horror, nuclear fallout/radioactivity/toxic waste, family bonds, parental neglect, absent father, dead mother, nuclear testing, US imperialism,

plane crash, minor injuries (bleeding),

2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards Shortlisted, 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award for G7-8 Nominee

Teacher's Guide/Discussion Questions

Short: 24 p (7k words approx.)

Teen/student, inventor-engineer, Black-coded community, girl in STEM

space SF, girls in STEM, capitalism/colonialsm/pioneering, space travel/exploration/settlement, community identity/bonds, relationships and community building, company towns, sick family, boarding school/foreign study

2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards Shortlisted, 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award for G7-8 Nominee

Teacher's Guide/Discussion Questions

Joshua Gillingham

Short: 15p (6k words)

BC: Vancouver Island: Cape Scott Park, Nels Bight, Hansen Lagoon

Biracial Jamaican/Icelandic Canadian women

white supremacy, Nordic folklore, Vancouver Island history, colonial history, online/social media radicalization, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, racism, neopagan and viking/neonazi gateway, bog bodies, human sacrifice, sea wolves

racism, violence, death/murder/human sacrifice, profanity

BC/Courtenay, from Vancouver

Short: 1.5k (Flash, almost)

Audio only/Grade 6: Flesch Reading Ease 81.9, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 5.5, Coleman-Liau 5.9, Automated Readability Index 5.1

The NoSleep Podcast

BC: Metro Vancouver (not specified)

not specified/2nd person, working adult, film industry

Hollywood North/film industry, BC, Canada, Twilight Zone, horror

Suggested extension activities: use basic story mapping to discuss the "shape" or characteristics of a story & whether this qualifies, take three memories from different times/places in your life and create a narrative that ties them together/Un-Reality Worksheet

Flash: 2p/500 words

Grade 7: Flesch Reading Ease 75.6, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 7.0, Coleman-Liau 8.6, Automated Readability Index 8.2

Lightspeed Magazine

slipstream, Canada, nature, mirrors, fairytales, secrets, magic, neurodivergence, autism spectrum,

Suggested extension activities: use basic story mapping to discuss the "shape" or characteristics of a story & whether this qualifies, take three memories from different times/places in your life and create a narrative that ties them together/Un-Reality Worksheet

Audio licensed; not yet available

BC/Courtenay, from Vancouver

Short: 18p/5k words

Grade 8: Flesch Reading Ease 76.9, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 6.7, Coleman-Liau 7.7, Automated Readability Index 7.2

BC: Kitsault, Okanagan, Fraser Valley/Metro Vancouver

various, incl. teens, WOC, immigrant & blue collar

ghost towns, forest fires, cryptids, urban legends, Canada, BC, Kitsault, Okanagan, Lower Mainland, trucking, 1980s, discrimination, racism, sexism, xenophobia, ecopunk, mining, capitalism, colonialism, pollution, resource extraction, white supremacy, toxic masculinity, elliptical structure, structural refrain, horror, science fantasy, speculative fiction, dark fantasy, paranormal

implied death, references to animal harm (roadkill, wildfire fallout), wildfire and house fires, industrial pollution, colonialism/end-stage capitalism, misogynistic and racist portrayals

Best New Weird Horror 2025 (reprinted in "Brave New Weird: Best New Weird Horror Vol. 3", Tenebrous Press, 2025)

Suggested extension activities: add monsters/magic to a current event (from a reputable news source—CBC, Tyee, etc.) and/or research a local historical place or notable event and add monsters/magic. Extending discussions: passage of time, viewpoint, and narrative "tone"—the writing style shifts between scenes; what effect does this have on the reader? what purpose does it serve in the story? Comparative reading: "The Madness of Lancelot" in THE CURIOSITIES or here. Discussion: the author says THE TANGLE (DID NOT KILL KITSAULT was a tribute to/inspired by the "structural refrains" in THE MADNESS OF LANCELOT. What are structural refrains and what purpose (if any) do they serve? In your opinion, do they add to the story or would it be better without them? Explain your perspective. Learn: the true story of Kitsault, research resource extraction, company towns, costs/benefits of resource economy.

Premee Mohammed

Novelette: 25p/8k words

Grade 6: Flesch Reading Ease 83.1, Flesch-Kincaid Grade 4.0, Coleman-Liau 6.1, Automated Readability Index 3.4

Near-future Science Fiction, surveillance state, AI gone rogue, terrorism, dystopia, anti-science, techno-fascism, defunding science, censorship, freedom of speech, cancer treatment, biochemistry, underground research

terrorism, math death, cancer references, fascism, surveillance, profanity

Suggested extension activities: discuss The 5 Types of Dystopian Narrative & Dystopias: Definitions and Characteristics — which dystopia(s) appear in this story, are any types of dystopias missing from these definitions, and how do they reflect real world situations, anxieties, histories, trajectories? Discuss: What is a surveillance state? Is there ever a situation or circumstances under which it's justified? What are some possibilities for the incident that happens before page one and kicks off the surveillance? Research/curricular connection: scientific research and oppressive regimes, political gag orders or selective research (see: Harper era Canada, Trump era USA, Nazi era Germany...) Writing prompt: you're a scientist doing lifesaving research and your know your new coworker is a spy. How do you react?