Recs if you like Audition...

book recs for purple readers according to read your color on substack | updated periodically

Short-ish (& sometimes spicy) standalone speculative stories.

Books that have been shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. I compiled this list because the criteria (and Le Guin's works) resonate with me:

"The Prize will be given to a writer whose work reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own work, including but not limited to: hope, equity, and freedom; non-violence and alternatives to conflict; and a holistic view of humanity’s place in the natural world."

Nominees for the Ursula K Le Guin Prize for for Fiction, awarded since 2022 for imaginative fiction. (Mostly I have made this because they're always really great picks and I want to work my way through all of them.)

books that will leave you in a "what did i just read" cloud for weeks after (scifi, horror, contemporary, etc)

or books set (ambiguously or not) in space

The shortlist for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize in 2026

Aussie and Kiwi Classics to take you far into Oceania

In her words, this prize is for "realists of a larger reality, who can imagine real grounds for hope and see alternatives to how we live now." Usually these books are all amazing, so I wanted a place where I can see all of them. Hopefully this helps someone else too :)

I've challenged myself to read all the shortlisted books for this year's prize before October 21st when they announce the winner!