Isabel J. Kim is an American

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

writer. For her short stories she has won the annual

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and dark fantasy are presented at Rea ...

and been nominated for the ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer. Her short fiction has appeared in ''

Clarkesworld Magazine ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as ...

'', ''Lightspeed'', ''

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American Horror fiction magazine, horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been ...

'', ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online magazine, online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and non-fiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in S ...

'', ''Fantasy Magazine'', ''

Beneath Ceaseless Skies ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' (''BCS'') is a fantasy adventure online magazine published in the United States by Firkin Press. History ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' first issue was released on October 9, 2008 featuring stories by Chris Willrich an ...

'', '' Cast of Wonders'', and khōréō. Her work has been collected in ''The Year's Best Fantasy Volume 2'' and '' The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023''. In April of 2024, Universal International Studios acquired the rights to her planned debut novel ''Sublimation''. The novel is part of a three-book deal.

Background and career

Kim attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, majoring in Creative Writing and Fine Arts. Kim attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania and now works as a lawyer in New York. Kim started publishing speculative fiction in 2021 and won the

for "You'll Understand When You're a Mom Someday", her second published story. She won the ''Clarkesworld'' reader poll in the Best Short Story category for "Calf Cleaving in the Benthic Black" in 2022. She was nominated for the ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer in 2023 in her second year of eligibility for the award. Her work has appeared on the ''Locus'' Recommended Reading List for 2021, 2022, and 2023. Her story ''Why Don't We Just Kill The Kid In the Omelas Hole?'' won the

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

in 2025. It is a finalist for the 2025

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

and 2025

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

. She co-hosts the

internet culture Internet culture refers to culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet (also known as netizens) who primarily communicate with one another as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence ...

podcast ''Wow If True'' with journalist Amanda Silberling.

Bibliography

Short fiction

* "Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self", ''Clarkesworld'' (March 2021) * "You'll Understand When You're a Mom Someday" ''khōréō'' (October 2021) * "AP Practical Literary Theory Suggests This Is a Quest", ''Cast of Wonders'' (November 2021) * "Clay", ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' (January 2022) * "The Massage Lady at Munjeong Road Bathhouse", ''Clarkesworld'' (February 2022) * "Plausible Realities, Improbable Dreams", '' Lightspeed'' (February 2022) * "Christopher Mills, Return to Sender", ''Fantasy Magazine'' (February 2022) * "You, Me, Her, You, Her, I", ''

'' (June 2022) * "Termination Stories for the Cyberpunk Dystopia Protagonist", ''Clarkesworld'', July 2022 * "Calf Cleaving in the Benthic Black", ''Clarkesworld'', November 2022 * "The Big Glass Box and the Boys Inside", ''Apex Magazine'' (January 2023) * "The Narrative Implications of Your Untimely Death", ''Lightspeed'' (January 2023) * "Zeta-Epsilon", ''Clarkesworld'' (March 2023) * "Day Ten Thousand", ''Clarkesworld'' (June 2023) * "The Labyrinth Loop", ''Assemble Artifacts'' (June 2023) * "You Will Not Live to See M/M Horrors Beyond Your Comprehension", ''Lightspeed'' (August 2023) * " Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole", ''Clarkesworld'' (February 2024)

External links

Official website

References

21st-century American short story writers American speculative fiction writers American technology podcasters American women podcasters American writers of Korean descent Living people Nebula Award winners New York (state) lawyers Place of birth missing (living people) Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{improve categories, date=March 2024