BOOKS

Upright Beasts, Coffee House Press 2015

Gigantic Worlds, Gigantic Books 2015

Tiny Crimes, Black Balloon Press 2018

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~~2025~~

Ongoing: My essays appear (more or less) weekly over at Counter Craft.

10/12: I was on NPR talking about the Nobel Prize.

08/27: I had a great time speaking to Stephen Fishbach at the Paraphrase Podcast.

08/05: I spoke to Vox about the literary scene at Substack.

07/26: A great review of Metallic Realms in Locus magazine: "The comedy of this tragedy is unrelentingly smart and inventive. [...] Ultimately, this novel has a lot to say about friendship, aspirations, art, commerce, existential fears and, of course, the nature of science fiction."

07/23: Scientific American includes Metallic Realms in their list of "fantastic fiction and notable nonfiction" to read this summer.

07/15: Vox named Metallic Realms one of the 9 best books of 2025 (so far)!

07/11: I was interviewed by the Los Angeles Public Library about Metallic Realms and other things.

07/01: Metallic Realms got a nice review in Electric Literature's round-up of comic SF novels: "An exceptional version of the classic “it’s a story about the story within the story”... [Metallic Realms] will leave you cringing, asking your friends if you’re the Annoying One, and laughing out loud."

06/24: Another Metallic Realms rave, this time Danny Sullivan's The Underline newsletter: "A testament to the power of having fun, and to the deeper meanings that playing around can bring to light."

06/04: A lovely review of Metallic Realms in Reactor: "It’s a space opera, a commentary on the craft of fiction, a story of literary rivalry, and an unexpectedly moving study of a friendship. These realms are vast, indeed."

05/31: Another rave for Metallic Realms, this one in the Chicago Tribune: "an absolute blast."

05/30: Another very nice review for Metallic Realms in Shelf Awareness ("sly, intricate, genre-hopping .... Readers who appreciate a clever, winking read should boldly go here.")

05/19: An excellent review of Metallic Realms from Crime Reads: "a rococo house-of-mirrors that is at once a tour-de-force rocket-ride across the length and breadth of sci-fi as a genre, a celebration of the unreliable narrator, and a combined paean and satire of 'fandom.' ... succeeds resoundingly."

05/16: Metallic Realms gets another great review, this time in The Bulwark: "what would happen if Ignatius J. Reilly wrote Pale Fire about an issue of Clarkesworld."

05/15: Rounding up some more Metallic Realms coverage. I was interviewed by Publishers Weekly and also Maggie Slater. The novel was reviewed in C-Ville (my hometown alt weekly!) and recommended in Vol. 1 Brooklyn.

05/14: Metallic Realms is on Esquire's list of the Best Books of 2025 (So Far).

05/13: Metallic Realms has landed in a bookstore near you! I wrote about writing it here.

05/13: I wrote about novels with unusual structures for Literary Hub. And I also contributed to Lit Hub's "Lit Hub Asks: 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers."

05/09: The Masters Review has a lovely review of Metallic Realms: "Metallic Realms is a genre-bending examination of friendship, obsession, and creativity that moves between SF, autofiction, and experimental literature with clear intent. I left this book feeling both assured of the future of storytelling and lamenting the realities of writing fiction today."

05/05: More Metallic Realms love. Included in Lit Hub's best new SFF books and Andrew Liptak's SFF May round-up. Elle calls it a best book of spring: "“Lincoln Michel’s hilariously clever Metallic Realms […] like the best of science fiction, might not be for everyone. But those who get it will be...well, obsessed.”

05/01: A lot of Metallic Realms love today. Gizmodo, BookRiot, and Goodreads pick it as a best book for May. The Chicago Review of Books says, "The brilliance of Metallic Realms will burn your senses."

04/02: A very lovely review of Metallic Realms at Mythaxis: "Metallic Realms is a brilliant enigma, a novel in layers that works as an ode to worldbuilding and imagination and, at the same time, as a cautionary tale about the dangers of losing oneself in one’s fantasies...A hilarious book with a hard core of sadness."

03/18: Publishers Weekly gives Metallic Realms a starred review: ⭐"A riveting tale of a sci-fi writing group and its obsessive hanger-on...This captivates."

03/05: Booklist says Metallic Realms is "exciting and tragic and funny and bewildering and just plain wonderful."

03/05: I have a new short story in Nightmare magazine called "The Tugwort."

01/21: Esquire includes Metallic Realms in their "20 Most Anticipated Books of 2025."

01/01: Polygon includes Metallic Realms in their 2025 preview: "[Lincoln Michel is] one of the sharpest and cleverest minds when it comes to modern sci-fi, and his latest work, Metallic Realms, is further proof of that fact."

~~2024~~

12/12: I have a new short story in Lightspeed called "Sleeping Beauty and the Restless Realm."

11/27: The first review of Metallic Realms (out in May) is a rave!

10/16: Cover reveal for Metallic Realms!

10/16: My story "The Last Serving" discussed in a Reactor article about SF and ethics.

09/24: I reviewed The Repeat Room by Jesse Ball for the New York Times.

08/06: I'll be talking with Helen Phillips at Greenlight Bookstore for the launch of her new novel HUM.

07/12: The Body Scout made Esquire's "75 Best Sci-Fi Novels of All Time" list!

04/30: Slate has republished my most newsletter on viral book sales myths.

02/14: Had a great time chatting cyberpunk, punk, Neuromancer, and more on the Imaginary Worlds podcast.

01/14: A new book review from me: Burn Man by Mark Anthony Jarman in the New York Times.

01/13: I have a new short story, "The Good Building," in the latest issue of the Southern Review.

~~2023~~

12/20: I wrote about AI and the arts for The New Republic.

11/10: I was interviewed by Gabe Hudson for the podcast Kurt Vonnegut Radio Hour.

10/26: My story "Red Oil" (originally in The Baffler) is in podcast form at StarShipSofa.

10/06: My story "The Pond God" is in the gorgeous new McSweeney's horror issue edited by Brian Evenson.

10/04: New novel announcement! Forthcoming from Atria in 2025.

10/02: I'll be at the Brooklyn Book Festival moderating "Oh the Horror," a panel on horror fiction with Victor LaValle, Gabino Iglesias, and Allegra Hyde.

09/04: For the NYT, I reviewed Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels.

08/18: A new short story about A.I., climate change, and other things: "Algorithm America."

07/27: I appeared on Slate's podcast Working.

05/31: My short story about death and social media, "Notifications," is up at The Brooklyn Rail.

05/30: I have a short story in a cool new lit mag, Roadmap.

05/25: I wrote about genre, form, and playfulness in Charles Yu's Interior Chinatown for Alta.

05/02: My interview with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is online at BOMB.

04/25: I reviewed the novel Ascension by Nicholas Binge for the New York Times.

03/01: I interviewed Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah for the spring issue of Bomb Magazine.

01/05: I have a new, weird science fiction story in Lightspeed: "The Last Serving."

~~2022~~

11/01: I reviewed a new novel by Cho Nam-Joo for the New York Times.

10/21: The Body Scout is coming out in Turkey soon! Cover reveal here.

09/02: I had a great time on the Beginnings podcast. Listen here.

07/29: I have a new fable about healthcare in Outlook Springs called "Hansel and Gretel's Teeth."

07/28: I had an amazing time at the Second Life Book Club talking about The Body Scout. You can watch it here.

07/13: For Esquire, I wrote about some recent speculative novels that use a telescopic lens to tackle the issues of our day.

06/23: Very excited to have a new short story in One Story: "From the Comfort of Your Own Home."

05/15: A new interview with Split Lip Magazine about worldbuilding, dystopian capitalism, and genre omnivores.

03/21: The Body Scout was named one of the best 50 science fiction novels of all time (!) by Esquire.

03/19: My Virginia Festival of the Book panel with Ryka Aoki and Micaiah Johnson moderated by Emma Ito is online.

03/01: I have an article on book advances in the new print issue of Poets & Writers.

02/16: Analog has a very nice review of The Body Scout (temporarily online here): "Filled with shrewd neo-noir wit and smirking leftist critique, The Body Scout is layered with cultural criticism and reflections on what truly matters."

02/16: I'll be reading at Table of Contents with Hannah Lillith Assadi and Pik-Shuen Fung.

02/08: Today.com picks The Body Scout as one of 5 books every Aquarius should read.

02/04: I was interviewed by my old hometown paper about science fiction and The Body Scout.

01/27: I have a new SF story about climate change and giant mud gobblers at Lightspeed! (Also an interview here.)

01/18: I reviewed How High We Go in the Dark for The New York Times.

01/04: I have a new essay/rant in Uncanny about cyberpunk and the body in fiction.

01/01: A new short story in Lightspeed (for subscribers now, online 1/27!)

LINCOLN MICHEL