State of the Journal V
News and reflections on Futurist Letters.
The yule tide is here. The first quarter of the century is almost through. Futurist Letters is soon to begin its third year of weekly publication. We have gained an average of twenty-five new subscribers per piece and only continue to grow. Thank you for taking this ride with us.
The Futurist Letters Awards 2025
Please congratulate Willem Doherty and Olivia McNeilis on their well-deserved wins of the first-ever Futurist Letters Awards. You can read their winning pieces at the links below.
American Evil
This essay by Willem Doherty was the grand prize winner of the Futurist Letters Oneshotted competition, selected by EIC Cairo Smith and guest judge Katherine Dee.
Now That the Party's Over
The nurse enters with a white tray. Everything about her is designed to look non-threatening: her pale yellow scrubs, her serene smile, her sweet chemoscent perfume. I’m supposed to think of vanilla ice cream or breastmilk. Here’s mother to make everything right.
A statement from Willem:
It is a cliche to say that the experience of writing is largely a solitary one, so I will instead diverge and say that the experience of getting one’s work out there is quite thrilling in what I admit is sort of a lurid and egotistical way. Seeing the likes and comments pile up, obsessively checking the Substack website—this must be what being an influencer feels like!
In all seriousness, I’m so grateful to the Futurist Letters community for their interest in my story and for their kind words and well wishes. I’m even more grateful to be published alongside great writers like Olivia McNeilis, whose fiction piece “Now That the Party’s Over” is well-deserving of its prize. Most of all, I’m grateful to Futurist Letters Editor in Chief Cairo Smith, who continually invests in the sort of writing that he wants to see on Substack. Thank you to Futurist Letters, and onto even bigger and better things in 2026!
A statement from Olivia:
Thank you to Futurist Letters for this award, and to everyone who took the time to read and vote for my story. To be recognised by such a thoughtful readership, and in the company of such strong writers, is particularly meaningful at this stage of my writing life. I’m glad that “Now That the Party’s Over” found a fitting home here, and that it resonated with an audience willing to engage with the challenging questions it raises.
We invite you all to continue submitting. All non-staff, non-excerpt original work published by us in 2026 will be eligible for next year’s awards.
The Futurist Letters Show
TFLS is now approaching thirty episodes and will switch to an ad hoc basis with Kenny White and Lillian Wang Selonick continuing on as recurring cohosts.
We may experiment with new show formats in the coming year.
Futurist Print III
The next Futurist print edition will be out early next year. It will be called Futurist Letters: Bad End and feature highlights from the past half-year.
The San Zosimo Slipstream
Starting in 2026, this journal will be host to a new experimental media project called The San Zosimo Slipstream. Like everything else we run, it will be free to read.
TSZS is co-created by Cairo Smith and Emma Bowe-Wagner. We are also very glad to have Emma joining us as a staff editor in the new year.
Best wishes to you and yours. Keep on reading human work, and believe in yourself.
