Zack Be
… is an award-winning author, obscure songwriter, and Couple and Family Therapist long trapped in the gravity well of the Washington, DC, area.
Zack is an emerging SFF writer whose work has appeared regularly in Asimov’s Science Fiction and in Analog Science Fiction and Fact. His story “As Able the Air” was a winning story in Writers of the Future vol. 36, the most prestigious contest for emerging SFF authors in the world. In 2024, he was the grand prize winner of the Jim Baen Memorial Science Fiction Award for his story “Locus of Control,” linked below.
Praise for Zack Be’s work:
Pull It From the Root is “a solid adventure story set in another star system… the milieu is intriguingly alien… and the noirish tale is good fun – more stories about Gaiel would be worth reading.”
- Rich Horton, Locus Magazine
“[Zack Be] has a gift for characterization”
- Victoria Silverwolf, Tangent Online
Publications
“The start of Something Beautiful”
Content Creator Seven Cartagena has been shot into space for an ill-conceived promotional stunt aboard a lunar space station only to find herself in a hair-raising life-or-death emergency that forces her to use skills she didn’t know she had!
This story was a finalist for the 2023 Jim Baen Memorial SF award!
“Locus of Control”
Winner of the 2024 Jim Baen Memorial Science Fiction Award for Excellence in Near-Future Science Fiction!
Trapped aboard an orbital medical station, Master Sergeant Zebulon Reed must defend himself and the crew from… pirates!
“Early Adopter”
My first of 2 Asimov’s tales in 2024!
How would you manage an implant that tracks the best - and worst - of your every day thoughts?
“Trust Fall”
My first story in Analog, the longest running Science Fiction Magazine - a huge honor!
Nadia, a badass veteran astronaut, finds herself in a race against time to save herself and her amateur partner from certain death after a malfunctioning orbital space-junk collector sends them spiraling toward Earth. But can she trust her green co-pilot when everything is on the line?
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Sept/Oct ‘23
“The Visions Are free After Exit 73”
On the night before he leaves the moon he failed to terraform, a disgraced scientist embarks on a hallucinogenic journey down a forgotten highway to take part in a dangerous ritual.
Asimov’s Science Fiction May/ June ‘23
“Meryl’s Cocoon”
A pair of struggling musicians fight to find relevancy and meaning in a music scene increasingly dominated by powerful artificial intelligences.
Asimov’s Science Fiction, May/June 2022
“As Able the air”
On the outskirts of a war zone scarred by endless conflict, a lonely landmine decommission expert struggles to connect with his nonhuman partner.
Out now! In Writers of the Future Vol. 36
“True Jing”
What do we become in the hunt for a true jing?
Asimov’s SCience Fiction, July/AUgust 2020
“Pull it from the root”
Cyborgs, gravity bikes, mind-erasing parasites, and an honest-to-god identity crisis beset our lonely hero…
Asimov’s Science Fiction, November/December 2020
“an action-packed adventure… There is no shortage of excitement in the narrator’s dangerous quest to protect herself and those who hired her. The story has the feeling of an old pulp yarn brought up-to-date with modern science fiction themes. It is likely to satisfy those looking for escapist entertainment” - Victoria Silverwolf, Tangent Online