Three stories this week, including a short-short from the new-to-me Shannon Weston (who I’ll be following immediately). I’m gonna do this every Friday-ish, so if you are:

• A pub who regularly posts free-to-read stories, or
• A writer with a free-to-read story or stories posted this week, or
• Another fan with a lead on more free-to-read stories …

Drop me a line and I’ll happily add to the list. 

2026-05-15: Terminal, by Shannon Weston at Night Shades

Maria works for a store that sells junk food and magazines. She’s been mopping  the same spot on the floor for hours.The airport was packed with travelers when I arrived. Parents  with their toddlers on leashes, teenagers on their first solo flights nervously staring.

Come for the Marias, stay for running screaming through the airport

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2026-05-14: Archaeological Evidence for the Time Traveler, by Tia Tashiro at Clarkesworld

An archaeologist discovers messages her ex might’ve left for her hundreds of years in the past.

This one is also available in audio!

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2026-05-11: Coming Home, by Dhiyanah Hassan at Strange Horizons

If only Serthe’P had been able to fit in, maybe she could have protected —. No. This thought was dangerous. Mnth’R had helped her understand that their isolation had more to do with the Raja’s exploitation of their cast’s fears than any shortcomings of theirs, his Manifest Sight propaganda curdling climate anxieties into prejudice against community members. Serthe’P needed to remember that their lives mattered too much to be reduced by a tyrant’s ideology. Separated from the cast, they were still finding ways to take care of each other.

Dhiyanah Hassan is a visual artist too — check out their other art here, including the lovely and golden “Sunshine Capybara.”

Happy reading! Support your favorite authors! Support your favorite pubs!