March/April 2026 Issue Preview
Safe Spaces for Inspired Souls
This issue, with its dedicated focus on women’s stories and future-peering science fiction novels, is a special one. Though it arrives to you during soul-trying times, it is infused with our hearty encouragement to take solace in the stories of boundary-breakers, status quo-testers, and justice-seekers. Look to novels like The Radiant Dark for inspiring explorations of first contact themes; look to social science surveys like The Astonishing Lives of Older Women to witness the inventive ways that vulnerable people are already meeting contemporary challenges.
And with these strength-shoring 90+ books in hand, don’t forget to also look to the readers around you for support. Indeed, in the wake of poet Renee Good’s shooting, I took personal comfort in the community leadership of a local bookstore, the Folded Leaf: it posted a declaration that ICE agents, acting in their official capacities, would not be permitted in their store. To protect their “safe space for inspired souls who thrive in a world of wonder,” its owners decided to say “no.” Bookstores, they believe, should be a place for neighbors to rest and renew; such goals are antithetical to what government agents are doing in too many American cities.
This is the kind of leadership we need, and that you, our librarian and bookseller heroes, are uniquely positioned to effect. For this, we celebrate you with each book that we recommend. And like the owners of the Folded Leaf, we remain firm in our wholehearted belief that libraries and “bookstores are where we go to experience joy and peace and love through storytelling,” which is “crucial in these and all times.”
Sincerely,
Michelle Anne Schingler
Editor in Chief
mschingler@forewordreviews.com
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Michelle Anne Schingler
