2023 Awards Eligibility

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 also manage to slip in a cat or two wherever I can in my writing.

Here’s a quick bibliography the two novelettes I published in 2023.

Scroll down to learn about each of these!

Note: If you have time to look at only one, I recommend An Ode to Stardust.

An Ode to Stardust by R. P. Sand

Clarkesworld, Feb. 2023, Issue #197

An Ode to Stardust is eligible for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, etc. awards in the novelette category.

Category: Novelette

Word Count: ~15k

[Link to story]

[Link to the podcast version]

Description: A far future sci-fi piece set on a mining moon in the Archipelago about a chronically ill, neurodivergent woman who becomes the youngest Station Commander in history. (This is a sequel to Ask the Fireflies, but also works as a standalone.)

 

Spotted on socials:

Spoiler-free snippet of the review by Karen Burnham in Locus Magazine:

Clarkesworld in February is full of beautiful and interesting stories, of which my favorite was the novelette “An Ode to Stardust” by R.P. Sand. Tara Jacksingh is the super overachieving young station commander who has also been struggling all her life with undiagnosed chronic pain. […] It’s a story that invites reflection, and leaves one wondering what the Esslugai perspective on the whole tale would have been.

For the complete review with spoilers, please click here.

Spoiler-free snippet of the review on The Grimoire Reliquary:

 The kernel of kinship between our protagonist and the Slug (a bastardization–a slur, really–of “Esslugai,” as they call themselves) Bikbik grows from there, into a touching display of intimacy I couldn’t look away from.

That’s the word. There’s something wonderfully intimate in reading “An Ode to Stardust”. In doing so, I was replenished in some way I cannot quite describe–perhaps you will be, too.

For the complete review with spoilers, please click here.

A few more reviews and lists:

 

 


No Truer Shades by R. P. Sand

ParSec Magazine, Jan. 2023, Issue #6

No Truer Shades is eligible for the Nebula, Hugo, and BSFA awards in the novelette category.

It’s about a witch who thinks she’s no good at being a witch, and is my love letter to anyone who’s ever felt unworthy of taking up space or pursuing a dream.

Category: Novelette

Word Count: ~9k

[Link to story]

Review on SFRevu

 


Thank you for your consideration!

Please feel free to take a look at my other published writing and works in progress here.

And though I’m not really active on social media (I know I know I should be, but why does it feel like scratching nails on a chalkboard every time I think I should post something??), here are my profiles:

 

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