DOUGLAS SMITH | Writing the Fantastic

Another of the top book review sites in North America has selected my upcoming collection, Borderlanz, for their top honour.

Founded by a respected literary agent and an award-winning former book review editor, Blueink Review call themselves "the gold standard in book reviews." Are they? I don't know, but their "Starred" reviews, meaning highly recommended books, are reprinted in top publishing journals, so someone thinks so.

Blueink gave Borderlanz a starred review, their top rating. Here's an extract:

“Starred review: Smith’s impeccable third collection of short stories … contains a diversity of compelling speculative fiction tales … a testament to Smith’s mastery at crafting short stories. The first lines are all solid hooks, … the writing is razor-focused, [and] each story ends with thematic impact … Aspiring short-form writers could well use this flawless collection as a primer. … sure to delight from the first story to the last. ” —Blueink Review

Impeccable? Flawless? Sure to delight? Maybe you want to check it out. See below for how to pre-order it now.

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Borderlanz contains 15 short stories, including award winners, award finalists, "best of the year" selections, and features a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more. Plus an introduction by award-winning fantasy author, Charles de Lint! Full details on the contents of the collection are here.

A reminder that the ebook is available NOW for pre-order at special pre-release pricing at all major retailers ahead of its March 15, 2026 release date.

Pre-order pricing:  US$4.99  /  £4.49  /  €4.99  /  CA$6.99  /  AU$6.99

After March 15:  US$6.99  /  £5.99  /  €9.99  /  CA$9.99  /  AU$9.99

Click here to pre-order Borderlanz from your favourite retailer and save!

Recently, one of the top book review sites in North America selected my upcoming collection, Borderlanz, for their top honour.

BookLife (part of Publisher's Weekly) awarded Borderlanz their coveted "Editor's Pick," used to denote "a book of outstanding quality." 

Read the full review here (page down to find the review below the book description). 

Some highlights:

“Editor’s Pick: A collection that refuses easy categorization. Spanning cosmic fantasy, noir mystery, and psychological horror, these 15 interconnected stories share a single preoccupation: what happens to people when systems demand everything from them … 

"Smith excels in character work … protagonists whose internal struggles drive the narratives. … Even in fantastical settings, emotional stakes remain grounded and affecting … [presenting] love, resistance, and balance as ongoing acts rather than resolved outcomes. … Borderlanz is ambitious, exacting work for readers willing to sit with difficult questions about what we owe each other when the world demands too much.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ” —BookLife Reviews

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Borderlanz contains 15 short stories, including award winners, award finalists, "best of the year" selections, and features a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more. Plus an introduction by award-winning fantasy author, Charles de Lint! Full details on the contents of the collection are here.

A reminder that the ebook is available NOW for pre-order at special pre-release pricing at all major retailers ahead of its release on March 15, 2026.

Pre-order pricing:  US$4.99  /  £4.49  /  €4.99  /  CA$6.99  /  AU$6.99

After March 15:  US$6.99  /  £5.99  /  €9.99  /  CA$9.99  /  AU$9.99

Click here to pre-order Borderlanz from your favourite retailer and save!

I announced a while back that my newest collection of short stories, BORDERLANZ: Tales From the Edges, will be released on March 15, 2026 in ebook, trade paperback, and hard cover editions.

My ARC (Advanced Review Copy) team has already posted some early reviews on Goodreads and Bookbub. 

Borderlanz contains 15 short stories, including award winners, award finalists, "best of the year" selections, and features a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more. Plus an introduction by award-winning fantasy author, Charles de Lint! Full details on the contents of the collection are here.

A reminder that the ebook is available NOW for pre-order at special pricing at all major retailers, including Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google Play, and many more. The price will be going up after the book's release on March 15:

Pre-order pricing:  US$4.99  /  £4.49  /  €4.99  /  CA$6.99  /  AU$6.99

After release:  US$6.99  /  £5.99  /  €9.99  /  CA$9.99  /  AU$9.99

Click here to pre-order Borderlanz from your favourite retailer and save!

I was interviewed in December by California writer Mike Consul on his podcast, The Novelist Spotlight. 

Mike's past guests have included Andre Dubus III, T.C. Boyle, Jay McInerney, Gay Talese, Dean Hargrove (TV writer/producer — Columbo, Matlock, Man from UNCLE, etc.), Ali Hazelwood, Melanie Benjamin, Jonathan Dee, Kate Manning, and Alyson Richman. 

You can listen to my interview here on any of the following platforms:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

I hope you'll give it a listen.

After thirty-five years as a beloved Canadian institution, one of the best and longest running speculative fiction magazines in the world recently published its final issue.

Veteran managing editor (and friend) Diane Walton announced her retirement earlier in 2025. With no one with the necessary skills and experience available and willing to step into the work intensive role, the difficult decision was made to end the magazine's run of three and a half decades. 

I loved On Spec. As a writer, they were a wonderful group to work with. As a reader, their taste in speculative fiction was both stellar and eclectic. When asked over the years how I'd differentiate Canadian speculative fiction from what's written south of the border or in other parts of the world, I'd just point to On Spec.

My stories appeared in On Spec five times, first in 2001 and most recently in 2023. Those five appearances resulted in an Aurora Award win ("The Walker of the Shifting Borderland"), an Aurora Finalist selection ("The Red Bird"), and an Alberta Magazine Award Finalist selection ("Gypsy Biker's Coming Home").

Although the magazine is gone, its last issued published this past December, its name will live on for at least one more publication. Regina-based small press, Shadowpaw Press, run by Canadian writer and publisher, Ed Willett, will be crowd-funding an On Spec anthology of all new stories, expected to be released this fall.

I am honoured to be one of the "anchor authors" invited to contribute to that anthology. If it does well, it might become an annual publication, keeping the On Spec name alive. 

If you'd like to read more about this great magazine, check out this CBC article.

Since this is the start of a new year, I'm looking back at my writerly year of 2025 and also looking ahead to the projects planned for this year. 

Here are some of the highlights from my 2025 writing year:

• The Lost Expedition: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3 was a finalist for Canada's Aurora Award for Best YA Novel, bringing the award total for the series to two wins and four nominations.
• The Dream Rider Saga: The Complete Trilogy ebook boxset was released in September on all major retail platforms.
• I sold a brand new story, "The Stopover", to a new pro magazine, Merganser. The story will be included in my upcoming collection.
• My flash piece, "Nothing," was chosen as an Editor's Pick and published in the new online professional magazine, Gavagai. Read it here.
• I began drafting a new novel, a post-apocalyptic SF tale based on the characters in my novelette, "Memories of the Dead Man" and other stories in that universe. Working title: Taken in Passing.
• I was interviewed in December by writer Mike Consul on his podcast, The Novelist Spotlight. Details below on how to listen to the episode.

My major planned projects for 2026 include:

• Releasing my newest collection of short stories, Borderlanz. The release date will be March 15, but you can preorder it now on all major retail platforms. More on this below.
• Releasing an audio book edition for my first novel, the urban fantasy shapeshifter story, The Wolf at the End of the World. More info on this project below.
• Attending a Canadian convention on the west coast in the fall as the invited "Guest Author." Details and dates to come.
• Writing a new story for the upcoming On Spec anthology (more info below)
• And finishing the draft of Taken in Passing, the SF novel I started last year.

Thanks as always for being a fan. I wish you a happy, healthy, and rewarding 2026.

I'm thrilled to announce my third collection of short stories:

BORDERLANZ: Tales From the Edges

Check out the cool cover to the right, by award-winning Canadian artist, James Beveridge.

Borderlanz contains 15 short stories, including award winners, award finalists, "best of the year" selections, and features a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more.

Plus an introduction by award-winning fantasy author, Charles de Lint!

The book will be released on March 15, 2026 in ebook, trade paperback, and hard cover editions, but the ebook is available NOW for pre-order at special pricing at all major retailers, including Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google Play, and many more.

Pre-order pricing:  US$4.99  /  £4.49  /  €4.99  /  CA$6.99  /  AU$6.99

After release:  US$6.99  /  £5.99  /  €9.99  /  CA$9.99  /  AU$9.99

Pre-order Borderlanz now from your favourite retailer and save!

About the book:

Take a trip to the edges of imagination in this stunning collection of short stories from the five-time award-winning author described by Library Journal as “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction.”

There’s something here for every reader. Award winners and finalists. “Best of” selections. Science fiction and fantasy. Mystery and horror. Darkness and humor. Love and revenge.

An immortal battles the Lords of Order and Chaos to save the woman he loves.

A woman plans a very special homecoming for the body of her soldier husband.

Strange radio broadcasts haunt a man trying to change the past.

A shapeshifter confronts his own dark past as a covert agency hunts him.

Bizarre deaths threaten a private eye’s favorite restaurant.

A woman makes an unexplained stopover on a transatlantic flight.

Disaster strikes a space freighter when an unlucky newcomer joins the crew.

The House promises wealth and fame...if it doesn’t kill you first.

A thief’s attempt to lift a curse goes less than perfectly.

A boy has a plan to find his missing brother—a deeply disturbing one.

A new father questions his ability to love his disabled son.

To win her freedom, a woman must simply prove she’s human.

A shapeshifter must overcome her hatred of humans to help a young girl.

Four warriors set out to slay the last dragon.

Two young lovers are hunted across dimensions and time.

Welcome to the Borderlanz!

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“Doug Smith is quite simply, the finest short-story writer Canada has ever produced in the science fiction and fantasy genres. ... His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner

“The man is Sturgeon good. Zelazny good. I don’t give those up easy.” —Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner

“A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice.” —Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner

Pre-order Borderlanz now!

A little short notice, but if you're in the GTA or more specifically, York Region, this might be of interest to you. The Georgina Public Library is hosting a Local Authors Day this Saturday, November 29 from 10am-4pm at their Keswick branch at 90 Wexford Drive.

A bunch of local authors, including me, will be there, selling and signing their books, with many also doing readings. 

I will also be giving a workshop on "The Craft of Short Fiction" on how to craft a short story from initial idea to creating a structure for your tale, using scenes as your building blocks. Later in the day, I will be doing a short reading.

I hope to see you there!

The entire multi-award-winning Dream Rider Saga trilogy released today in one ebook volume that includes all three books in the trilogy, plus exciting bonus material:

The box set is available for the next two days only at the special release price of $4.99 USD, which will be going up significantly (at least DOUBLE) on Sept 17. Order it below from most major retailers, including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and many more.  

Order it from your favourite retailer now!

Note: The book will NOT be available on Amazon in Canada, Australia, and Mexico, because of Amazon's pricing policies on box sets. However, if you have a Kindle, you can buy the book from my Payhip store here. Bookfunnel will provide easy-to-follow instructions to load it directly onto your Kindle.