Hello and welcome! I am Radha Pyari Sandhir, and I write speculative fiction as “R. P. Sand“. My writing through-lines include grief, trauma, mental health, and (often non-romantic) love. I manage to slip in a cat or two every so often as well. How exciting it is to be able to make my second ever awards eligibility post! It’s been a tough year, but I managed to do some fun things.
This is the second year I’m eligible for the Astounding Award.
Here’s a quick bib of my 2021 work:
- R. P. Sand. “The Last Civilian.” Clarkesworld. January 2021. (Novelette, WC: ~7600)
- R. P. Sand. “Rat-tail Tea and Buttermilk Biscuits.” Constelación Magazine. October 2021. (Short Story, WC: ~1200)
- Radha Pyari Sandhir et. al. “The Photonic Trail.” QPlayLearn. September 2021. (Game)
Scroll down to learn about each of these!
Note: If you have time to look at only one, I recommend The Last Civilian.
The Last Civilian by R. P. Sand
Clarkesworld, Jan. 2021, Issue #172
The Last Civilian is eligible for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, etc. awards in the novelette category.
Category: Novelette
Word Count: ~7600
First line: You blink into existence, and the first thing you hear is: We are at war with the Uilai. The Uilai must be eliminated.
What some lovely people had to say about it:
The Last Civilian made the 2021 Locus Recommended Reading List!
The Last Civilian made A. C. Wise’s Favorites of 2021 list!
The review from Quick Sip Reviews:
A rather haunting story of cloning and war, and a soldier who yearns for a better way.
You can find the review here.
Spoiler-free snippet of the review from SFRevu:
On the planet Uiloolea, there is a war between humans who crashed there and the indigenous species, the Uilai, who are telepathic. […] A touching, poignant tale.
For the complete review with spoilers, please click here.
Rat Tail Tea and Buttermilk Biscuits by R. P. Sand
Constelación Magazine, October 2021, Issue #2
Rat Tail Tea and Buttermilk Biscuits is eligible for the Nebula and Hugo awards in the short story category.
Category: Short Story
Word Count: ~1200
[Link to issue, not free to read online]
First line: My dear little Spiviteth, I trust this letter finds you well, that your award-winning warts are ever taut and unrelenting, and that you are not actually as little as my salutation would imply; I’ve always said, “skinny witches are duplicitous bitches.”
For an awards-reading copy, please contact me.
Spoiler-free snippet from Quick Sip Reviews:
This epistolary story is written one witch to another regarding the narrator’s/sender’s…situation with a new neighbor. […] A delightful and rather hilarious read!
You can find the complete review here.
Spoiler-free snippet from Maria’s Reading:
A hugely enjoyable epistolary story, written as a letter from one witch to another, detailing the acrimonious one-upmanship that is triggered when a witch called Isabeth moves into the small town where the witch Portitia Wimbleduck has chosen to retire […]”
You can find the complete review here.
The Photonic Trail
A web-based educational game published on QPlayLearn.
This is the first game I’ve ever written! The Photonic Trail is an immersive quantum optics single-player fantasy game that allows anyone from beginners to seasoned pros inculcate quantum optics concepts through game play. It is a treasure hunt with six missions that span the basics of quantum optics.
I was responsible for: the concept and stories, art direction, building the UI, and part of the physics.
Full credits:
Radha Pyari Sandhir (Concept, Stories & World Building, Physics)
Sibel Kantola (Art & World Building)
Caterina Foti (Physics)
Daria Attila (Physics)
Quantum Flytrap team: Piotr Migdał, Klem Jankiewicz, Paweł Grabarz
Each mission is a locked webpage. If you’d like to read through the stories, I’ve written the password in white-simply highlight them!
- Home page: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt
- Mission 1: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-1 Password: WINGS
- Mission 2: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-2 Password: TREE
- Mission 3: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-3 Password: GHOST
- Mission 4: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-4 Password: KELP
- Mission 5: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-5 Password: ICE
- Mission 6: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-6 Password: FIRE
- Treasure: https://qplaylearn.com/treasure-hunt-treasure Password: SHINE
Thank you for your consideration!
Please feel free to take a look at my other published writing and works in progress here.
And find me on Twitter at @RadhaPyari!
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Round-up of Awards Posts by F&SF Writers, Editors, and Publishers for 2021 | The World Remains Mysterious
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