Hoping to make their fortune (or at least climb out of debt), a trio of space traders travel on a dangerous hunt for a space whale.

"An Equal Share of the Bone" was originally published at Escape Pod. Find more of Karen Osborne's work at www.karenosborne.com.

Content Advisory: Animal death

Guided by an angel, a writer pens his greatest -- and perhaps most dangerous -- work.

"Killer of Kings" appears in Anjali Sachdeva's collection ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD.

Adolescent boys are faced with the reality of friendships, old and new, as they work on plans to build their own airplane.

"Flyboys" appears in Tobias Wolff's collection OUR STORY BEGINS, published by Vintage Books, and is available in audio from Blackstone Audio.

Content advisory: discussion of death

A woman helps to test the artificial intelligence based on the mind of her mother, a brilliant thinker. "The Regression Test" appears in Wole Talabi's collection INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS from Luna Press.

A government contractor deals with everyday frustrations in a small town. "Alluvial Deposits" appears in Percival Everett's collection DAMNED IF I DO. Check out other titles from Graywolf Press, including WILD SWIMS and BRING ME THE HEAD OF QUENTIN TARANTINO, at graywolfpress.org.

Content advisory: racial slur, hateful language

A woman struggles to understand why her elderly father has begun to spontaneously teleport.

Content advisory: drug addiction, illness, death

A teenage thief embarks on a mission to reclaim her people's sacred treasures. First published in A UNIVERSE OF WISHES in 2020 in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, New York. Find more from Rebecca at www.rebeccaroanhorse.com.

A waitress is jolted from her morning routine when she's visited by a mysterious child.

The wait is nearly over! Join us for Season 8 of LeVar Burton Reads, beginning next week and featuring stories from Rebecca Roanhorse, Tobias Wolff, Bishop Garrison, Damion Wilson and more.

LeVar talks to Africanfuturist Nnedi Okorafor about the visceral nature of her writing, writing a beautiful and green future for the Niger Delta, and how human-AI relationships can feel like parent-child relationships. Plus, she'll tell us what she thinks happens after those final tense moments in "Mother of Invention".